Hindu Mob in India Beats, Strips, Parades Pastor
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Hindu Mob in India Beats, Strips, Parades Pastor*
During assault, they douse him with kerosene and toss burning Bible at him.
mercredi, 14 juin 2007
by Vishal Arora
Compass Direct
NEW DELHI, June 12 – A mob of Hindu extremists on Friday (June 8) beat a
pastor and tried to set him on fire before parading him naked in the
suburbs of Bangalore, capital of Karnataka state.
Laxmi Narayan Gowda, an independent pastor and representative of the
Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), was recovering in a hospital
at press time with swelling and numerous bruises.
The incident took place at about 7 p.m. in Hessarghatta, about 30
kilometers from Bangalore, when a group of about 50 people barged into
the pastor’s house and threatened him with violence unless he moved out
of the area, said Sam Joseph, a Karnataka-based leader of the All India
Christian Council (AICC).
The group returned with 100 more people shortly after, cornered Pastor
Gowda in a room in his house, and began assaulting him in front of his
wife and two small children.
Extremists of the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP or World Hindu Council), allegedly led the mob.
One of the assailants threw kerosene on the pastor, and others started
burning Bibles. Someone tossed a burning Bible onto Pastor Gowda, but
miraculously he did not catch fire, Joseph told Compass.
The extremists then stripped the pastor naked and hung a board around
his neck that said, “I am the one who was converting people,” before
parading him through the area.
“By this time, the mob had swollen to about 1,000, as more people joined
in to harass and torture the pastor,” Joseph added.
Local police arrived about an hour later, after one of the pastor’s
relatives called them by telephone.
The assailants burned at least 250 Bibles and also vandalized furniture
and equipment.
Police had not registered a case against the attackers at press time.
When Compass spoke to Inspector R. Malesh of the Soladevanhalli police
station, he said the victim did not want to file a complaint.
“We have requested the Christians to give us a complaint in writing, but
they do not want to press charges against the attackers,” he said.
Malesh claimed that the mob consisted of local people who did not belong
to any Hindu extremist groups. Some of Pastor Gowda’s neighbors
attacked, he said, because they do not want Christian prayers and
meetings to take place in his house.
A local source, however, told Compass on condition of anonymity that the
attack was pre-planned and directed by an unidentified lawyer. The
lawyer suggested to the crowd that if they hit the pastor as a mob, then
there would be no possibility of prosecution, said the source.
Before Pastor Gowda accepted Christ about 15 years ago, the source said,
he was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent
organization of numerous Hindu extremist groups in India.
“The attackers seemingly wanted to punish Pastor Gowda for converting to
Christianity from their Hindu nationalistic ideology, and warn others
against dong so,” added the source.
Pastor Gowda has been working in the area for the last 12 years. The
source also said the pastor was firm in his faith following the attack.
Dr. Sam Paul, AICC’s public affairs secretary, said that although
Karnataka was known for anti-Christian attacks, the situation has become
more volatile in the state since the Janata Dal-Secular party, in
coalition with the Hindu nationalistic Bharatiya Janata Party, took
power from the Congress Party in February 2006.
“Extremists in Karnataka are emboldened as the police usually turn up
after the incident,” he said. “There are also times when the police
encourage anti-social elements to harass Christians.”
Paul also stressed the need to educate India’s people about true
conversion, in particular that it does not mean that one becomes
anti-national.
Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the GCIC, told Compass that
he was thankful to God for saving the life of one of his organization’s
representatives.
Copyright © 2007 Compass Direct