By Caleb Campos –
A Christian man was dismembered and murdered in front of his wife by Hindu extremists in India, one of the most extreme recent persecutions perpetrated by hardline Hindus in Northern India, reports International Christian Response.
Some Christians are feeling intimidated. “Carrying a Bible is like a death sentence,” one believer told ICR.
The radical Rāstrīya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization that believes India should be 100% Hindu, has carried out persecutions not only against Christians, but also Muslims.
The RSS, backed by the 2021 state anti-conversion law, have shut down church services, beaten Christians and patrolled the streets with rods to intimidate Christians. The persecutions are occurring mostly in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
“Today, many believe India should be a pure Hindu state. They think India should be for Hindus, Muslims should be sent to Pakistan or Bangladesh, and Christians should be killed,” says ICR, which advocates for freedom of religion.
Christians raise the ire of the extremist Hindus because they evangelize.
“We are to blame for the persecution because we are active and pass on our faith to others but we cannot remain silent about what we have discovered with Jesus,” says Rekha, who leads a church in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Currently, 80% of India is Hindu, and only 2.5% are Christians. The party ruling at the national level, Bharatiya Janata Party, is either encouraging or turning a blind eye to the persecutions.
After a church was shut down in Chhatisgarh, members met in homes. But when RSS extremists saw the same church members carrying Bibles, they realized they were still meeting. RSS confronted them, questioned them, formed mobs and wielded iron bars and sticks.
In Uttar Pradesh, a pastor and nine church members were arrested earlier this year due to pressure of RSS over the police, who stormed the meeting and also confiscated 30 Bibles, according to The Times of India.
The Christian man dismembered in front of his wife never got justice. His tormenters were not held accountable by police, ICR reports.
These incidents in Northern India undercut India’s official position regarding freedom of religion. A human rights monitor documented 601 anti-Christian incidences in India jumped in 2023 – up from 413 in 2022.
Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, both in northern India, have the highest incidences of persecution.
Rekha, who runs a church planting network in Chhatisgarh, prepares her disciples for persecution. They hold house meetings and keep worship to a very low volume, to not arouse the ire of neighbors.
“If you are serving the Lord, and something happens, no problem!” Rekha says.
To learn more about a personal relationship with Jesus, click here.
About this writer: Caleb Campos studies at the Lighthouse Christian Academy near Los Angeles.
