Posted on 06/14/2007 5:57:53 AM PDT by kellynla
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.
Don’t confuse Hindus with Bhuddists.........Hindus don’t have the Peace at all costs outlook the Bhuddists do......
Muslims say the same thing......
Let me guess, you were the sort of kid who couldn’t just walk past a hornet’s nest without throwing a rock at it.
No, I destroyed they honet’s nests whenever I found one..........
That is a good summary statement. Hinduism has never had problems with other religions and except Christianity has thrived in India for years. Churches and missionary schools are all over the place and in fact catholic schools are the most sought after schools in the country.
Aye you only have to look at the Paddies, Belfast was on fire for 30 years.
If you have studied Hinduism or Indian culture, then would you know that there is a vast difference in the social position of Hindu extremists in Indian culture and that of Muslim extremists in Muslim countries. Simply put, Hindu religious beliefs and practices are specific to a family rather than handed down from a central religious authority. There aren’t “fatwas” that all Hindus are compelled to follow.
Also, there is an embrace of democratic practices and a positive feeling for the US among the overwhelming majority of Indians.
They may say the same things but what do their actions indicate. Since 622 ISLAM has spread by killing people and more than 50 million people have been killed since. Even today on a daily basis, more than 99% of all terrorist incidents are ISLAM related. So their talk and actions do not tell the same story.
That is simply not the case with Hindus. When was the last time a Hindu conducted a crime in the name of their religion especially outside India ? How about never.
I hope he wore the sign as a badge of honor. God bless that pastor.
We shouldn't be surprise by this kind of thing, Christ told his followers that we would be persecuted for our faith in Him. We American Christians have never faced that kind of religious persecution at home, and that's why it is so shocking to us to hear that it still goes on in the world 2000 years after Nero was burning Christians at the stake to light his gardens at night. We may think that kind of violent persecution could never happen here in the land of religious freedom, but don't be surprised if it eventually comes here too. There are many Americans right now who would have all Christians rounded up and either deported or imprisoned if they could. The hate for Christians by the American far left is expressed so often and so vividly on forums like Democratic Underground and Daily KOS that it's disturbing to know that there are Americans with that much hatred for their fellow citizens just because of their religious faith.
Glad the police are so intersted in enforcing the law. /sarcasm. Of course, India is still a third world country in many ways, and police protection is probably very uneven at the best of times.
Was Ghandi a proponent of religious freedom? I know little of his life.
Thanks for posting this information.
Also if I were stranded anywhere in India I would not be afraid, but in any Muslim country...I'm probably not coming back.
The Muslims will say the same thing about their religion. The Hindus have been successful in outlawing conversions to other religions in many areas of India. Hinduism is the basis for the caste system that created the untouchables. So much for tolerance.
Mahatma Gandhi was once asked what if a Hindu comes to feel that he can only be saved by Jesus Christ? Gandhi's reply may be paraphrased thus: so be it, but why should he cease to be a Hindu?"
“Was Ghandi a proponent of religious freedom? I know little of his life.”
Yes he was. So much so that he gave away part of India to become Pakistan !
I don’t know that I understand that quote either. Certainly it shows a misunderstanding of the Gospel and what it is.
In the Koran the punishment for apostasy is death and is carried out regularly. There is no such religious backing in Hinduism and people convert of free will with no fear for their life in 95% of India.
The caste system is horrendous and is slowly dying out especially in the big cities where it is essentially non-existent.
Hinduism encourages critical thinking and discussing your own and other religious faiths. It is open to change and only governs personal behaviour.
ISLAM discourage critical thinking and any talk of other religions is blasphemy. It is still stuck in the 7th century and the biggest difference is in the treatment of women. Women in India are largely emancipated and free to do what they want. In the world of ISLAM they still spend their life in a black tent and have no rights.ISLAM is also more than a religions, it is a political system with stated goal to kill all unbelievers and establish Sharia law on earth.
Hinduism has never spread by violence and India has no history of Imperialism in its past for 6000 years.
There is no case for moral equivalence between the two
I say all this as a very proud American with allegiance and loyalty only to India. I do have the advantage of seeing ISLAM up close and personal growing up in India and am not afflicted by the PC disease of believing that most Muslims are peaceful.
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