Bibles burnt as Hindu extremists launch brutal assault on Indian church

A Christian congregation in central India has been left traumatised and fearing for his or her lives after a brutal assault by Hindu extremists on 8 June, during which Bibles were burnt, worshippers beaten, and a pastor left unconscious.

The attack took place during a Sunday service on the independent Penial Prayer Fellowship in Borsi village, Dhamtari District, Chhattisgarh.

According to church leader Pastor Wakish Sahu, the mob of around 15 assailants stormed the church wielding wood rods and shouting Hindu nationalist slogans, including “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Rama).

“They forcibly entered the church, disrupted the worship service and were carrying wood rods and shouting slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Hail lord Rama],” Pastor Sahu told Morning Star News.

The extremists reportedly smashed chairs and musical instruments, tore through the church constructing, and set fire to all Bibles and Christian literature they may find. Worshippers were then assaulted indiscriminately, including women and the elderly.

Pastor Sahu’s 57-year-old father, Mannohan Sahu, who co-leads the church, suffered probably the most severe injuries.

“My father was being beaten up, and through this time blows landed near his ear, and he lost his consciousness,” his son said.

“The assaulters, probably scared that he was dead or going to die from the beating, called for a glass of water and compelled it in his mouth.”

At least seven worshippers required hospital treatment, including Pastor Sahu’s mother, who was attacked as she tried to shield her husband from the blows.

“Two women and five men sustained severe injuries and needed to be taken to the hospital for treatment,” he said.

This is the second time the church has been attacked in only over a yr, and for the reason that latest violence, nearly all members have stopped attending services out of fear.

“Since the attack, the believers have stopped coming for worship as they’re too scared, and understandably so; but our relations, around 10 of us, still worship at the identical time,” Pastor Sahu said. “We have decided that we’ll not give in to fear.”

Despite the severity of the attack, police have yet to file a proper grievance. Pastor Sahu said he lodged an in depth report with the local police station in Maganlodh, but officers told him they’d “investigate first”. More than three weeks later, no charges have been filed.

Police had visited the church earlier that very same morning and warned against the attendance of outsiders – something local authorities have discouraged.

“Police have been patrolling every Sunday since last yr,” Pastor Sahu said. “They often come inside to envision if any individuals from nearby villages are in attendance, because they maintain that only people from our village must be present in our services. They have warned repeatedly that nobody from other villages must be present in our midst.”

They typically photograph attendees before leaving. When the violence broke out, the identical officers returned – but in response to Sahu, they intervened only verbally.

“It was very surprising that the police just told them, ‘It is enough,’ they usually all just walked away,” he said. “It appears that it was all within the knowledge of the police even before they attacked us.”

When Christian leaders attempted to file a grievance in person, the identical mob was reportedly waiting for them outside the police station. “When the police were driving us back, the Hindu mob was following the police vehicle,” Pastor Sahu said. “They got here after us for a mile after which took a detour.”

He later learned that the identical group had also vandalised and set fire to a close-by Christian home.

The same day because the Borsi assault, at the very least three other churches within the Dhamtari District were disrupted or attacked.

At Elohim Church, Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal disrupted the service by loudly singing religious hymns.

“The Hindu extremists entered the church while the service was happening and disrupted it by loudly singing Hindu religious hymns,” said Pastor Alok Majumdar.

Police intervened, but once more, no arrests or formal complaints followed.

In one other incident, a 21-year-old man attending church for the primary time was assaulted outside the church of Pastor Rekha Mahilanh. When the mob demanded to see the pastor, Mahilanh and a gaggle of female congregants improved. “The Hindu extremists discreetly used some form of a twig on a number of the women,” Pastor Mahilanh said.

She selected to not file a police grievance.

Pastor Raju Verghese, Pastor Majumdar and the Rev Diamond Phillius, president of the Dhamtari Christian Forum, submitted a memorandum to the collector’s office on 1 July highlighting the rise in attacks against area churches and appealing for motion.

The collector, Avinash Mishra, was reportedly in a gathering but agreed to contemplate their concerns.

“Since the attack last yr, our congregation shrank from nearly 50 to only 15,” Pastor Sahu said. “Now, nobody from outside our family dares attend. People are terrified – and rightly so.”

The fear extends even to believers in larger cities. “Many of them have told us that they may attend worship in other churches in nearby areas or in town but are afraid of attending worship services at our church due to fear of violence and the police,” he said. “However, they don’t understand that even city churches haven’t been spared.”

Christian advocacy groups say these attacks reflect a broader trend of spiritual intolerance in India. The country now ranks eleventh on the World Watch List of countries where Christians face probably the most persecution – up from thirty first in 2013. The rise is widely attributed to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014.

Religious freedom campaigners argue that BJP rhetoric has emboldened extremist groups, who increasingly act with impunity.