05-10-2021, 09:02 AM
PUBLISHED 11 HOURS AGO
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Some 200 men armed with rods and sticks stormed a church in northern India during Sunday prayer service, police said, in the latest anti-Christian violence in the officially secular country.
At least five people were injured in the attack allegedly carried out by members of hardline Hindu vigilante groups in Uttarakhand state, according to a complaint by the church authorities.
......
Since the beginning of the year there have been similar attacks on Christian churches, mainly in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh - two Indian states with large populations of marginalised, low-caste tribal communities.
Hindu groups accuse pastors and activists of converting tens of thousands of tribal people by offering cash and other incentives, a charge denied by the Christian community.
Christians instead say the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to protect the minorities.
Hindus comprise nearly 80 per cent of India's 1.3 billion population and critics say Modi's two huge election wins since 2014 have empowered his hardcore followers.
Last month, bishops urged the Indian president to intervene to stop anti-Christian violence across the country.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-...b-in-india
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Some 200 men armed with rods and sticks stormed a church in northern India during Sunday prayer service, police said, in the latest anti-Christian violence in the officially secular country.
At least five people were injured in the attack allegedly carried out by members of hardline Hindu vigilante groups in Uttarakhand state, according to a complaint by the church authorities.
......
Since the beginning of the year there have been similar attacks on Christian churches, mainly in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh - two Indian states with large populations of marginalised, low-caste tribal communities.
Hindu groups accuse pastors and activists of converting tens of thousands of tribal people by offering cash and other incentives, a charge denied by the Christian community.
Christians instead say the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to protect the minorities.
Hindus comprise nearly 80 per cent of India's 1.3 billion population and critics say Modi's two huge election wins since 2014 have empowered his hardcore followers.
Last month, bishops urged the Indian president to intervene to stop anti-Christian violence across the country.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-...b-in-india