Uttarakhand – A mob of about 300 Hindu extremists in Makhdoompur on July 31 beat Christians at a church service and accused Pastor Bachan Singh of forceful conversion. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that as the church was about to take the Lord’s Supper, a large mob of Hindu extremists gathered, accusing the congregation of forceful conversion. Those the extremists beat included women and children as the extremists demanded that the Christians stop all church activities, according to the AICC. Local police arrived after about 25 minutes and stopped the commotion, and no one was seriously hurt.

Madhya Pradesh – Hindu extremists in Dewihar, Bajna, Ratlam on July 15 barged into a prayer meeting conducted by a Christian convert from Hinduism, damaging a roof and ransacking the house, stealing 20,000 rupees (US$440), some silver and five kilograms of corn. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that they entered Suresh Maida’s house and verbally abused those at the gathering for their faith in Christ. The Christians filed a police complaint, according to GCIC, but at press time police had made no arrests.

Uttar Pradesh – Police in Katra Divan Kheda, Dhagpur, Unnoa on July 14 arrested pastors Om Prakash, Ganga Prasad, Premshankar, Desh Kumar and one identified only as Vinod of the New India Church of God for leading a prayer meeting in Prakash’s home. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the Hindu radicals ordered Prakash and his family to give up their faith in Christ and stop the services in their home. Police along with the Hindu extremists had earlier threatened Prakash’s wife, Uma, and her three grown daughters if they continued in their faith, according to the GCIC. The church subsequently stopped Christian activities in the area.

Orissa – Hindu extremists in Banapur, Khurda, on July 8 harassed a Christian family for their conversion from Hinduism to Christ, ending in a Hindu woman beating her Christian daughter-in-law. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that after Satyaban Nayak and his family began to trust Christ as Lord and Savior and were healed from physical ills, Nayak’s mother strongly opposed her son’s worship of Christ and warned him to either forsake Christianity or be deprived of his birthright; she also told him she might commit suicide if he and his family did not deny Christ. When this failed, according to the GCIC, she planned a village meeting or “panchayat”  with area hard-line Hindus so that the community would pressure him into forsaking his faith, but the village head questioned him and his wife about their faith in Christ and found them guilty of no wrongdoing. Nayak’s mother took a firewood log from a burning furnace and began beating her daughter-in-law in front of the crowd, cursing and verbally abusing her, knocking her to the ground as the extremists demanded the family’s expulsion from the village, the GCIC reported, adding that Nayak’s wife, Sarojini, continued to pray and praise the Lord amid the beatings. As her mother-in-law continued to deal her painful blows, Sarojini prayed louder, praising God with calls of “Halleluiah” and asking forgiveness for her, according to the GCIC. The village head and some villagers rescued the Christians.

Orissa – Hindu extremists in Sundergard district on April 13 held a Christian family captive, imposing a socio-economic boycott on them and other Christians for helping Christian neighbors rebuild houses burned in 2008 violence. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Hindu extremists laid siege to Keshav Digal’s house in Bodimunda village, and held his family captive, including four women, for one night. Announcing the boycott, the extremists said they would fine shopkeepers who sold goods to him and other Christians. Subsequently, all truck owners refused to transport goods to Christians, as the Hindu extremists had already damaged one truck Digal had leased. The GCIC reported that police did nothing to help Digal’s family even after they arrived, though Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said a case had been registered and was under investigation. Naveen Nayak, a local Christian leader, said that no vehicles were even allowed to bring Christians to hospitals, according to the GCIC. Another village resident, Joseph Digal, said, “When I brought housing materials in a rented tractor, the vehicle was damaged. Police filed a case only when the superintendent of police was informed about it.” At least 97 area Christian families whose houses were damaged during the 2008 violence were trying to rebuild their dwellings after the state government released initial funds for repairs. – MS

NEW DELHI, April 29 (Compass Direct News) – An attempt by police in India’s Madhya Pradesh to survey the state’s Christian minority came to light this month and left church leaders calling for a federal investigation into alleged religious profiling. Dr. John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council, called for a National Commission for Minorities probe into the survey, which sought data on where Catholics and Protestants live, their economic status, and details of Christian-operated schools, including sources of income and whether they get foreign funding. Police later withdrew the controversial survey after Christian leaders approached state Director General of Police S.K. Rout, who denied any knowledge of it. “The survey was a mere goof-up by lower-rung officials,” Rout reportedly said. In a statement to the BBC he added, “Though police collect such information periodically to ensure protection to minority communities in the state, the way this survey was ordered was incorrect.” Christian leaders remained largely upset and demanded a central government investigation. “We do not believe the police pretext that they want to know the locations to protect the Christians,” Dayal told Compass. “All these questions about funding of churches and missions are absolutely illegal . . . The blame for all this rests squarely with the chief minister of the state and his home minister, who are acting at the behest of the RSS [the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] to which they both belong.”