India: Hindu Extremists Attack Church in Odisha State

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Amid ongoing persecution against Christians in India by Hindu extremists, a pastor and several other believers were assaulted during a Hindu nationalist attack on a church service in Odisha state on Sunday, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

The attack on Sunday, September 9 was carried out against a church in the city of Bhubaneswar, Odisha state, ICC reports. Accusing the pastor and congregants of forcing Hindus to become Christians, members of the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh and Bajrang Dal organizations raided the service attended by dozens of people and carried out the assaults.

“After the RSS and Bajrang Dal learned that more than 100 people were attending the church’s services, they decided to attack the church and make false allegations of forced conversions,” ICC said in its report. “Police arrived at the church and took some people, including Christians, to the police station for questioning.”

“Area Christians are on alert as previous such events have led to widespread persecution of Christian communities,” ICC noted.

In a website statement about the situation currently facing Christians in India, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization reports: “Christians around the nation of India find themselves increasingly under threat. This hostility is often driven by an ongoing belief among some Hindu extremists that Indians ought to be Hindu—and any faith outside of Hinduism is not welcome in India. This mindset has led to violent attacks across the country and impunity for the people who perpetrate this violence, especially in places where the authorities are also Hindu hardliners.”

Rights groups report that Hindu extremist persecution of Christians in India has intensified “dramatically” since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014: India ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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