Hindus thrash Christians over conversions Wednesday, May 09, 2007
MUMBAI: Hindu hardliners on Tuesday attacked two Christian missionaries in public the latest violence against priests accused of trying to convert lower-caste Hindus to Christianity by right-wing Hindu groups.
Indian TV channels showed Hindu activists kicking and punching two young priests while dragging them through Kolhapur town. News footage showed an activist knee one priest in the groin, making him double up in pain. Another kicked the missionary in the head. …
Last week, Hindu zealots beat a pastor with sticks and left him bleeding in Rajasthan state where the BJP is in power. …
why do you always use a Pakistani news paper as a source for news happening in India:confused:? Most of the time they leave the important info out and kind of twist the whole story. Daily Times is not a very reliable source.
13 arrested in India over Christian-Hindu brawl Thursday, May 10, 2007
MUMBAI: Police arrested two Christian missionaries who allegedly forced conversions, and 11 Hindu hard-liners accused of attacking them this week in western India, police said Wednesday.
Indian law tolerates missionaries but bars forced conversions. However, any missionary activity often provokes harsh reactions - especially in states ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies. In such states the laws are often used to harass, imprison or drive out Christian missionaries.
In the latest case, local police charged the two missionaries with “unlawful religious conversions” following a complaint filed by two Hindu residents of Ichalkaranji town, 225 kilometres south of Maharashtra state’s capital of Mumbai, said police inspector Praful Bhingarde.
The residents alleged that “they were deceitfully baptised” by the missionaries on Sunday, Bhingarde said. However, the missionaries told police they were attacked by Hindu hard-liners. Television footage showed a group of Hindus kicking and punching the missionaries.
On Tuesday, police arrested 11 people for the attack and charged them with rioting and causing bodily harm, said area police commissioner KK Pathak. The Press Trust of India news agency said the 11 arrested belonged to the Bajrang Dal and the Shiv Sena, two right-wing Hindu groups leading a campaign against Christian missionaries.
The agency said the groups accused the missionaries of trying to lure poor people away from Hinduism - India’s largest faith - through monetary offers or coercion. Churches have denied that anyone can be coerced or bribed to change his or her personal religious beliefs. Hindus form 84 percent of India’s more than 1.2 billion population; Muslims, 13 percent; and Christians, 2.4 percent. ap
I remember how Dawn got the Bangalore riot story all wrong and it was all twisted by the reporter who didn’t seem very objective when writing the story. After reading that Dawn article, I would never go by what dawn or Daily Times has to say about anything happening in India.
In terms of this story, many times the Christian missionaries bribe the extremely poor into converting to Christianity by offering them food if they agree to convert. That’s just not right in so many ways. But I don’t think things should’ve gotten violent though.