India Christian Families Injured and Hiding after Hindu Attacks
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Three Christian families were hiding in India’s Chhattisgarh state on Sunday after they were attacked by Hindu nationalists while sleeping in their homes, rights investigators confirmed.
Some 15 attackers raided the families’ homes, awoke them, and “beat them, causing serious injuries,” added advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Among those injured were at least four people with head wounds, Christians said.
Details of the May 20 incident in the town of Kokkar Pal Panchayat in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma District, emerged Sunday after the Christians reportedly fled for their lives into a jungle not far from their homes. Their assailants had warned them never to return to the village, according to Christians familiar with the situation.
It comes amid reports of attacks against devoted Christians in several parts of the Hindu-majority nation. “One week before the incident, the families had been threatened with violence and pressured to abandon their faith by a group of nationalists,” CSW told Worthy News.
The group added that the families, comprising fourteen people, including five children, have now taken refuge in a church leader’s home in the Sukma District. They are reportedly afraid to return to their homes amid fear of more attacks.
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
The local police were asked to open a criminal investigation, but none of the suspects have been detained so far, Christians claimed. This has raised “serious concerns” about local police’s reliability and willingness to take action, CSW warned.
“It is deeply concerning that far-right Hindu nationalist groups feel emboldened to break into people’s homes. To threaten and harm them in the name of religion, and not fear the consequences,” CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas told Worthy News in a statement.
“Such intolerance towards the freedom of others to choose and practice their religion will only result in the division of communities. And propagate deeper fear and animosity, with minorities becoming more disenfranchised,” Thomas added.
There was no immediate known comment from India’s Hindu-led government or police about the incident. Thomas said CSW had urged India’s authorities “to investigate this matter urgently, ensuring that the families are free to live in a safe environment.”
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
It was crucial that “they are able to continue their livelihoods and practice the religion of their choice without further harassment, intimidation or violence,” Thomas stressed.
India was recently listed as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent body dedicated to protecting freedom of religion or belief.
That concern was shared by several United Nations rights envoys seeking to prevent genocide, violence, and other forms of religious persecution.
Christians comprise just over two percent of India’s mainly Muslim population of over 1.3 billion people, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
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