Hindu terrorism continues to rise in India as the power of Hondu nationalists increases. Christians are a threatened minority who are regularly attacked and abused because they are Christians. In a recent report, fifteen Christian homes were attacked and at least three families ran out of one village by a mob of one hundred Hindu terrorists who, working with members of the Hindu terrorist group Rashtriay Swayamsevak Sangh, beat them with clubs and sharp stones, and demanded that they apostatize to Hinduism.
“I felt at one point that it is better to die than going through [this] terrible pain and trauma,” 46-year-old Siddesh Bhovi recently told International Christian Concern (ICC). Siddesh and his wife, Sharada, used to live in Banni Mardatti village, located in India’s Karnataka state. However, the Christian couple, along with two other families, was displaced by radical Hindu nationalists.
On January 12, a mob of 100 extremists led by a man named Raghu, who local Christians believe to be a member of the RSS, attacked the Christian homes of Banni Mardatti village. Using wooden clubs and sharp stones, the mob ransacked the homes, breaking windows and leaving several Christians severely wounded. According to local Christians, four Christian women had to be rushed to the hospital and were admitted for a week following the attack. Following this brutal assault, the Christian families of Banni Mardatti village fled.
“There is fear that we will be killed,” Revanna, another displaced Christian, told ICC. “We are not staying in our village, because the aggressive mob can do anything they want. Now the question is how long can we stay like this?”
“We have been hounded by Hindu radicals ever since the first attack [on] December 4,” Sharada told ICC. “On that day, we were clearing an open plot to have a Christmas program. The police told us that we Christians should not have any sort of prayers in the village and told our pastor, Pastor Raja Bhovi, not to have prayers or Christian programs in the village.”
When the Christians of Banni Mardatti ignored these threats, the radicals cut off the public drinking water to all Christian families. In addition, local Christians reported that for several days following the December 4 incident, extremists went door to door to each of the 15 Christian homes in Banni Mardatti, accompanied by a Hindu priest, in an attempt to get the Christians to recant their faith.
While the situation was very alarming for the Christians of Banni Mardatti, none caved into the demands of the radicals.
“They took from us what they could, including a physical assault,” Revanna told ICC. “Our homes have been looted and destroyed. We have been thrown out of the village. Now the worst thing that can happen is they can take our lives.” (source)