Orissa: Pentecostals beaten for refusal to “return” to Hinduism

Seven Christians were hospitalised after being attacked by a mob incited by Hindu nationalists as they were returning home from church in their village. Threats and intimidation have been on the rise since the BJP came to power in the local government in Bhubaneswar. Bishop Aplinar Senapati told AsiaNews: ‘People are being persecuted for their faith.’

Bhubaneswar (AsiaNews) - A crowd of Hindutva supporters attacked a group of Protestant Christians in a village in Orissa on 21 June for resisting alleged pressure to convert to Hinduism. 

Seven of them were injured, local Christian leaders said on Sunday. The injured, who were attacked as they returned from church in the village of Kotamateru, in the district of Malkangiri, are being treated at the district hospital, police said.

Local Christians point the finger at Bajrang Dal, the Hindu nationalist organisation, whose threats and intimidation seem to have increased over the past year since the BJP came to power in the local government of Orissa. 

For its part, Bajrang Dal denies any involvement.

Local Christians held a peaceful demonstration yesterday in front of the police superintendent's office. According to Pallab Lima, Orissa secretary of the Rashtriya Christian Morcha, "tension has been building in the area in recent months. 

Hindu right-wing activists kept threatening people to change their religion and accept Hinduism, but many of those who are Christians by birth resisted. 

On Saturday morning, as they were returning from prayers, hundreds of people armed with axes attacked the Christians. 

The attack lasted for hours." Lima said that one person managed to contact the district pastor, who immediately informed the Malkangiri police, who rescued the Christians and took the injured to hospital.

Bijoy Pusuru, another Christian community leader, said, ‘Our people are in shock. Those who are in hospital are afraid to return to the village.’

The police are downplaying the violence, attributing it to a family feud. "The incident was triggered by a dispute between two brothers, one Christian and the other Hindu. 

The latter was pressuring his Christian brother to return to the Hindu faith," said Inspector Rigan Kinda of the Malkangiri police station.

The district leader of the Bajrang Dal, Sibapada Mirdha, denied allegations of violence or a campaign to convert Christians.

However, he added: ‘Hindus have raised their voices against forced conversions by Christians. Sometimes there is a spontaneous reaction to this.’ 

Bishop Aplinar Senapati, of the diocese of Rayagada, commented to AsiaNews: "This is a fact to be condemned. These Pentecostal Christians are very vulnerable people and suffer marginalisation because of their faith.

It happens in the most remote areas: this district borders Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh and is an area with a presence of Maoist militants. The accusations of conversion are fabricated and unfounded against innocent Christians who struggle with the daily difficulties of life."