Saturday, March 03, 2007

Radical Hindus attack a Christian College

Normally you don't think of Hindus as violent but this appears to be a radical strain of Hinduism. They want to make Hinduism the state religion:

About 500 anti-Christian radicals attacked a Gospel for Asia Bible college in the eastern Indian state of Orissa on Wednesday evening, February 28. Gospel for Asia leaders in the area report the mob, which was mobilized by a Hindu nationalist group, systematically attacked the approximately 300 students and staff members present on the campus. Five students and the women's dorm director were seriously injured. All have been hospitalized, and one student is in critical condition.

The rest of the student body and staff remain inside the dormitories. Local and reserve police have arrived on the scene, but have found it difficult to control the crowd, and the situation remains tense.

The attackers also disconnected the electricity and ransacked the campus, destroying the roofs of many of the school buildings.

[...]

The attackers have been identified as members of the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu militant group. The VHP is one of the organizations that falls under the Sangh Parivar umbrella, a loosely organized association of Hindu militant groups that promotes a philosophy known as Hindutva, literally translated as "Hindu-ness." This is the view that "to be Indian is to be Hindu." Groups adhering to Hindutva claim that Indian citizens who become Christians are abandoning their national identity, and their goal is to see Hinduism become the state religion.

[...]

Orissa has a history of violence against Christians. Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were burned to death in the state in 1999. Two other Christians-a pastor and a layperson-were stabbed to death in February. Police have yet to take any action on these two recent murders of Christians.

In spite of the Indian constitution's provision for freedom of religion, the state of Orissa, now governed by the Hindu nationalist BJP party, has an anti-conversion law aimed specifically at Christians. Citizens must report to the government if they become Christians and then petition for permission to be baptized.
Please pray for the Christians in India and especially this area. Pray that the Lord will work in the hearts of those who attacking the Christians. Please pray that the Lord will show them that they live in darkness. Also, pray for the students that they will be protected from their enemy and to heal those who have been injured.