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January 5, 2007

NEW YEAR ATTACKS
INDIA: ANTI-CHRISTIAN ATTACKS MARK NEW YEAR

NEW DELHI, January 5 (Compass Direct News) – After launching several anti-Christian attacks during the last week of 2006, Hindu extremists went on to beat more Christians, vandalize vehicles and organize a protest rally against a church, dampening New Year celebrations.

Extremists beat four pastors and vandalized a vehicle in the north central state of Uttar Pradesh state on Tuesday (January 2). They attacked two more Christians and damaged another vehicle in neighboring Madhya Pradesh state, while others staged an anti-Christian rally in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, the same day.

At midday on Tuesday (January 2), around 200 members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council), attacked four pastors of the Brethren Assembly church in Indrapuram, near Delhi, Uttar Pradesh. The victims, identified as Samuel John, George Thomas, Abraham George and V.P. Paulouse, received internal injuries.

“We were attacked while we were distributing tracts on God’s love to the local residents,” George told Compass.

George said the attackers accused the pastors of offering money to Hindus for their conversion to Christianity, an allegation that he denied. The extremists also badly damaged a car belonging to Pastor Paulouse.

After the attack, the mob dragged the Christians to the local police station. Officers kept the injured Christians in the police station for more than four hours but did not register the extremists’ complaint of forced conversions. Police also refused to file an incident report on behalf of the Christians.

When the All India Christian Council (AICC) offered assistance in lodging an official complaint, the pastors said they preferred not to press charges. “We are Christians, and we believe in forgiveness,” George said.

Dr. John Dayal, secretary general of the AICC, condemned the attack. “The fact that Christians can be attacked in the National Capital Region (NCR) reflects how insecure we are in this country,” he told Compass. The NCR includes Delhi and neighboring cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon.