photo: ICC
Five Christian residents of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh were recently rushed to the hospital for treatment of injuries received in an attack by
radical Hindu nationalists.
Local sources said the attack was an attempt to ‘reconvert’ Christians to their earlier Hindu faith. Thirty believers were summoned to the village center and asked to renounce their newfound Christian faith. When they refused, the Hindu nationalists attacked and beat them with rods and clubs.
An ambulance was called but the mob initially refused to let it through. Five victims were eventually transported to the hospital and the others were chased away.
Christians in this community have faced ongoing harassment. On multiple occasions leading up to this event, believers were threatened with violence by their neighbors to stop praying to Jesus. Christians remained strong in their faith, however, refusing to deny Christ in the face of opposition.
A Christian leader in the community who requested anonymity said, “The attacks against Christians have increased sharply in the last several weeks, as the state will soon hold regional elections. It is saddening that Christians must suffer violence in the name of religion simply because a politician wants to gain power.”
Chhattisgarh is one of the 11 Indian states that enforce anti-conversion laws, and of these eleven, it ranks second in number of incidents involving attacks against Christians. — International Christian Concern
