Roman Catholic priest attacked in India

Pakistan Christian Post ^ | 11th July, 2007

[Ghayyour]

INDIA: July 1, 2007. (ANS) A group of Hindu Extremists attacked a Roman Catholic priest, Carmelite Fr. Silvester Pereira, of the Carmel Church in the village of Koteshwara, Kundapura, Udupi District of Karnataka State in India on Monday, June 25th.

The attackers, who were from an anti-Christian group called Bajrang Dal, beat him savagely and struck him with blows.

The incident took place as Fr. Pereira was in a hospital along with a Hindu covert to Christianity and three others who had brought him there medical treatment. Then the gang shouted slogans and severely beat him ruthlessly. The local extremists had targeted his work and accused him of “forced conversions” by these activities.

The priest sustained serious injuries and was undergoing treatment at press time. A case was registered with the local police and they arrested Ramanna Shetty, the leader of Bajrang Dal. Three days after the attack, three more persons were also arrested. They were Ramanna, Nagaraj and prashant Ankalakatti. Ramanna Shetty was later released on bail.

Speaking to ANS, the Police Inspector D’souza said, “The reason these Hindu extremists beat the church father was because he had took a sick person along with him for a medical check up to a nearby hospital, and they alleged that the church father was converting him through this activity.”

Huge crowds gather in Karnataka to protest attack against Fr. Pereira and other Christians

One June 27th, huge crowds gathered in Karnataka to protest attack against Fr. Pereira and other Christians. Mgr Stanislaus Fernandes, archbishop of Gandhinagar and secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), said later that he was overwhelmed by the solidarity of the population, irrespective of caste or faith. “The state must however act against the culprits who too often get away with it,” he said.

Bajrang Dal is an anti-Christian group prevailing in the land of India, mainly in the southern parts of the country. Their goal is to have an organized Hindu society in which all its constituents and institutions function in harmony and co-ordination, just as in the body organs.

So in order to fulfill their aims and objectives they are keenly interested to see that their land is protected and people are “not led astray” and they are always on watch on people and forces that try to “divide their” nation.

So the main targets are Christians who proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people so that is why there are attacks on Christians and their evangelists.

[voice of india]

It is unfortunate that such incidents still happen.Karnataka state has got a seizable Christian popualation and was relatively peaceful state as far as the minorities were concerned, however there seems to have been a change in the scenario with the BJP-JD(u) combine taking over the power.It is gratifying to note the participation by so many irrespective of caste and creed and religion.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Karnataka state has got a seizable Christian popualation and was relatively peaceful state as far as the minorities were concerned

It's good to see that most of the people of Karnataka are opposed to this kind of criminal behavior by Hindu extremists. At the same time, I have to wonder how peaceful Michigan or Texas would be if the situation were reversed and Hindu organizations had as large a presence and were as active in seeking converts in the US as Christian groups in India are.

Islam and Christianity are the only major religions in the world that actively seek converts, and a lot of blood has been shed over the centuries that wouldn't have been shed otherwise.

[MimirsWell]

In other news, how did Pakistan Christian Post pick up the happenings in India without AP/Reuters in between? Do we have Pakistani journalists around reporting from India?

Rana Ghayyour Ahmed is the poster Ghayyour? And his profile says he’s from Thailand!!! Can someone shed light on this?

[Gengis Khan]

 

Ghayyour

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[ArjMoney]

it is impossible to convert to Hinduism.

[Cronos]

I have to wonder how peaceful Michigan or Texas would be if the situation were reversed and Hindu organizations had as large a presence and were as active in seeking converts in the US as Christian groups in India are.

It has been pretty peaceful -- the Hare Krishna's have been here for quite some time...

[AnotherUnixGeek]

It has been pretty peaceful -- the Hare Krishna's have been here for quite some time...

Wow, this thread is over two and a half years old - I didn't know threads this old could still be read.

Anyway, in answer to your response, I know that the number of converts to Christianity in India are in the millions and the conversion efforts are funded by many large churches and evangelical organizations in the West. I grew up in a neighborhood full of evangelicals and I remember the fund-raising efforts for missionary work in India and Africa.

The Hare Krishna cult can't begin to compare with that kind of effort - the kind of social disruption caused by millions of people switching religions due to mass conversion efforts by foreigners is not something we've experienced in the US. I think the Saudi government, a big sponsor of Muslim organizations, restrains itself in the US due to our alliance with them, but I fear the day they decide to start aggressive conversion campaigns in the US.