Phulbani (Orissa), March 21-The body of a worker with gun shot mark was found near G Udaygiri town of Orissa’s Kandhamal district. The body, identified as that of Gobind Pradhan of Killakiavillage under Raikia police station, was found yesterday. No arrest has been made in connection. Global Council of Indian Christians(GCIC) demands a proper investigation in the brutal murder of Gobind Pradhan.

NEW DELHI, February 17 (Compass Direct News) – A pastor in India’s Rajasthan state who was stripped, beaten and wounded by Hindu extremists earlier this month is still traumatized, while police have yet to investigate due to family fears of further violence, security and hospital officials said. Pastor Hari Shankar Ninama, 65, was praying for an 8-year-old boy’s recovery from illness at a house in Ambarunda, Peepal Khoont, Pratapgarh district on Feb. 1 when at least 10 Hindu extremists arrived on motorbikes and stormed in, he said. The assailants beat him and, putting him on one of their motorbikes, took him outside the village, where they stripped off his clothes and struck him. “They criticized me with abusive language and accusations of forced conversion and made me repeat words after them,” Pastor Ninama said – still in visible pain, and sobbing. “Threatening to kill me if I continue to spread Christianity, they left me naked on the road and fled.” Area Sub-Inspector Bhagwat Singh told Compass the pastor’s family was afraid that a police investigation would lead to retaliation from the extremists. “Ninama’s daughter and son-in-law came to the police station requesting the police not to pursue the case,” he said, acknowledging that police had yet to investigate. Area source Sunny Meda told Compass that the extremists have threatened to burn down the home of the family of Pastor Ninama’s daughter if police prosecute. Dr. Ravi Upadhaya told Compass that Ninama’s injuries were emotional as well as physical. “He had a sharp wound behind his neck which bled, and the victim complained of internal chest pain,” Dr. Upadhaya said. “But more than physical pain, the 65-year-old man is mentally traumatized.”

Tribal locals oppose Hindu nationalist rally in Madhya Pradesh; 2 million pilgrims expected.

NEW DELHI, February 9 (Compass Direct News) – Responding to a petition by the state Catholic Bishops Conference, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh yesterday directed the state government to ensure the safety of Christians in during a massive Hindu nationalist rally scheduled tomorrow through Saturday (Feb. 10-12) in Mandla. Organizers of the Maa Narmada Samajik Kumbh (Mother Narmada SocialKumbh, with “kumbh” literally meaning, “pot”) on the banks of the Narmada River hope to draw 2 million pilgrims to the event. Christian leaders said that the Kumbh – which reportedly received 1.4 billion rupees (US$30.7 million) in infrastructure funding from the state government – is the latest in a series of anti-Christian propaganda events that Hindu nationalist organizations have held in recent years. “We are worried about our safety and security, as our attempt to get adequate protection from the state government received a very cool response,” said Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur. A similar event in Dangs district, Gujarat state in 2006 was filled with hate speech against Christians and attempted mass “reconversions,” and area media in Mandla district have already begun carrying false stories of “forced conversion” and other malicious accusations against Christians. A local tribal party known as the Gond Mahasabha (Great Assembly of the Gonds) has vehemently opposed the Kumbh. The Gonds have stated that they are not Hindus and are against the proposed “reconversion” drive by the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS umbrella group of hard-line Hindu extremist groups asserts that all people born in India are Hindus, and that therefore anyone who believes otherwise must be “reconverted” back to Hinduism. The Gonds have delivered an ultimatum to the RSS threatening violence should even one case of “reconversion” occur at the Kumbh. They have called for a protest tomorrow (Feb. 10), and clashes are expected.

NEW DELHI, February 8 (Compass Direct News) – Panel absolves Hindu nationalists in Karnataka state.

Christians in India’s southern state of Karnataka are preparing to file a court petition against a panel that blamed a series of anti-Christian attacks in 2008 on conversions from Hinduism. In its Jan. 28 report on the violence, the Justice B.K. Somashekhara Commission absolved the state government, ruled by a Hindu nationalist party, of any responsibility in the violence. Defending the state government and recommending the enactment of an “anti-conversion law,” the commission stated that an allegation of misuse of foreign funds for “mass conversions of innocent and helpless members of the society belonging to weaker sections … is true.” Dr. Sajan K. George of the Karnataka-based Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) called the report “a bundle of lies intended to mislead and confuse the people,” and Dr. John Dayal, a member of the government’s National Integration Council, said it “parroted” Hindu nationalists. The more than 28 attacks in Karnataka in August-September 2008 were believed to be led by Hindu extremist groups, mainly the Bajrang Dal, close to the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The violence was seen as fallout of a deadly spate of anti-Christian attacks in eastern Orissa state’s Kandhamal district, which killed about 100 people and burned thousands of houses and churches beginning in August 2008. The Catholic Secular Forum released a statement criticizing the report for calling anti-Christian assaults a spontaneous reaction of Hindus “victimized” by conversion attempts, and for denying collusion of the administration. George of the GCIC said the panel tried to “rewrite the whole story as if dictated by [its political] mentors as per their requirements and convenience.”

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Chhattisgarh – In Sirisguda, Jagdalpur, Hindu extremists on Jan. 12 beat a Christian for leaving Hinduism, seriously injuring him. Pastor S.S. Jhali told Compass that Itu Veko of Obedient Life Church decided to trust in Christ for his salvation a year ago, and since then area extremists have been threatening him. Hindu extremists led by Jintu Gond verbally abused Veko for his faith, ordered him to return to Hinduism and repeatedly beat him, Pastor Jhali said, describing an injury to Veko’s head as life-threatening. The Christian was receiving treatment at a government hospital. Area Christian leaders submitted a complaint to police in Badanji Thana, but no arrests had been made at press time. –MS

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Maharashtra – Hindu nationalists on Jan. 6 beat three Christians who were distributing Christian literature in Kolaphur district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Akhil Prasanna, Shiju Mathew and Thomas George of the Satveda Mission were distributing gospel tracts when they were surrounded by nearly 35 Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal. The nationalist extremists grabbed the tracts, tore them up, shouted profanity at the Christians and falsely accused them of forced conversion before taking them to the Rajawada police station. Officers forced them to pledge that they will cease any future Christian work, according to the GCIC. Pastor Johnson George, director of the Satveda Mission, told Compass that while the Christians were later running errands at a market, the extremists pounced on them and beat them, as well as kicked them, pushed them to the ground and stomped on them. The Christians rushed back to their campus in Nagadev and later went to Kerala for medical treatment. Prasanna and Mathew were discharged after treatment for minor injuries, but George underwent further treatment for backbone injuries at Sree Sankara Hospital, Changanacherry, Kerala, according to the GCIC.  – BW

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– Hindu extremists on Dec. 24 attacked tribal Christians in Vikramgarh, Thane district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that two unidentified tribal Christians from the Catholic Church were verbally abused for their faith in Christ and beaten mercilessly on Christmas Eve. The two Christians were treated at a hospital for their injuries, according to the GCIC. – MS

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Karnataka – Police in Hirekerur, Haveri district, on Jan. 23 detained a pastor after Hindu extremists disrupted the prayer service at the home of Rajanna Handijogar, where nearly 45 believers had assembled. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Pastor Suresh Yakob of the Christ’s Discipleship Prayer Fellowship was leading the weekly worship when nearly 50 extremists from the Bajrang Dal, led by extremists identified only as Shivakumar, Raghu and Veera, forcibly entered the house, took their Bibles, spoke in foul language and accused them of forced conversion. Pastor Yakob told Compass that Hirekerur police arrived and took him and at least 10 other Christians into custody, including a man identified only as Handijogar, his wife Girijima and their two daughters. The pastor said police also interrogated the Hindu extremists at the station. After nearly three hours of questioning, police reprimanded the extremists, saying the Christians had not violated any laws. “Police told me to give a written application requesting that they provide security,” Pastor Yakob said. – BW

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Karnataka – Acting on false complaints by Hindu nationalists, police on Jan. 25 arrested Christians in Kanakagiri village, Koppal district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that at around 6:30 p.m., more than a dozen Christians had met for worship led by pastors John Harris and Ravi Kumar of the Evangelical Church of India when a mob of nearly 20 extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh stormed into the service. Led by an area extremist identified only as Purushotham, they shouted profanities as they falsely accused the Christians of forced conversion, threw chairs and broke musical instruments, according to the GCIC. After chasing the Christians out, they hit Pastor Harris and Pastor Kumar with their fists. The extremists telephoned the police, who took the two pastors into custody. Kanakagiripolice officials told Compass that the pastors have been charged with “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting religion or religious beliefs.” At press time, the pastors were still in custody at Ganagavati sub-jail. – BW

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Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists kidnapped a pastor identified only as Jonathan D. and tried to force him to worship at a Hindu temple on Jan. 26 in Secunderabad. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that extremists with their faces covered grabbed the pastor from behind and forced him into a vehicle, and then drove him around for about six hours. The next day they forced him to enter a temple in a forested area, where they told him to bow down before their idols and shout “Jai Shri Ram [Hail Lord Ram],” and then beat him when he refused, verbally abusing and threatening him, according to the AICC. The pastor was able to escape on the night of Jan. 28 while the assailants were asleep. He walked about 15 kilometers (nine miles), found a main road leading to Gulbarga and, though he had no money, managed to reach Patancheru and call his family. His family had not informed police due to uncertainty and fear, according to the AICC. His relatives and church members picked him up by auto-rickshaw and returned him home. – BW