ICC Note: Hindu radicals across India are becoming more aggressive in their activities against religious minorities, including Christians. In January, a Hindu radical group in southern India attacked a group of Christians distributing Bibles. As a result of this attack, the Christians were threatened and hundreds of Bibles were burned. To date, no police action has been taken against the Hindu radical group despite the entire incident being caught on video.

02/27/2018 India (Morning Star News) – Hindu extremists in southern India issued harsh threats to Christians distributing Bibles before snatching their car keys, taking Bibles out of their vehicle and setting the Scripture on fire, sources said.

Christians associated with Gideons International, all senior citizens, told Morning Star News that their advanced age did not temper the vitriol they received in Singotam village, Nagar Kurnool District, in Telangana state on Jan. 21.

“From now on, if any of you distribute Bibles, we will attack you brutally [till your genitalia are damaged],” one of the Hindus warned the Christians, according to a video the extremists took of the attack. “How dare you promote Christianity?”

The video shows the group harassing Christians after one of the group snuck into the car, took the keys and tossed the Bibles out, which the group then began kicking.

“You are useless people, and all your activities are useless,” the video shows one saying. “You will give a Bible to whoever you want? How dare you …You shameless idiots. Get the hell out of here.”

One of the assailants then poured fuel as his colleagues instructed him to pour it on the copies; he then lit a matchstick and set the Bibles on fire.

The hostilities come after “one of the most traumatic” years of persecution of Christians, according to a report released last week by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).

The Christians had obtained permission to distribute the Bibles at government-aided school in Singotam village from the headmaster. They had set out from Nagarkurnool at 11 a.m. and reached Singotam 90 minutes later, waiting another half hour for four other Christian associates, the group’s Richard Nixon told Morning Star News.

“Eight of us were travelling in two different cars,” he said. “Before distributing the Bibles, we prayed together, and we had first asked the school administration that we will place the Bibles there, that the students may take them, but we were told to distribute them by ourselves. It was such a joy! The children came to us few at a time with their friends and received the Bibles happily.”

They distributed nearly 170 Bibles, Nixon said. Five cartons remained with 80 copies of the New Testament in each, and they proceeded towards the town distributing the Bibles to shops and passers-by.

“There was a Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy temple in that area called Kollapur, and a man came out from the temple and asked us if we can give him some copies of New Testament, and we gave some 20 copies to him,” Nixon said. “Each of us was carrying handful of Bibles and were walking on the road adjacent to the temple.”

Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess for wealth, and Narsimha is the Hindu lion god. They are regarded as husband and wife in Hindu mythology.

A group of at least 10 Hindu extremists approached and ordered them to stop distributing the Bibles, Nixon said.

“We didn’t want to argue with them and just kept calm,” he said. “But they started badgering us with questions: ‘Who sent you here? Why are you distributing Bibles?’ They soon slipped into filthy language. We told them that we will move on from here, and requested let there be no fight.”

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For interviews with William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].