On March 8, 30 Christians were attacked by a mob of 70 radical Hindus who were reportedly armed with weapons. The Christians were gathered at the house of Jaggu, also a believer, for their prayer meeting when the vicious assault happened.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the incident took place at the Surguda, Bastar District of India's Chhattisgarh state. An eyewitness to the attack said that the mob surrounded Jaggu's house while some of its members carried out the assault inside, burning Bibles and furniture, and totally ripping off the property. About six Christians were also seriously injured and had to be admitted to the hospital.
"This brutal attack on a prayer meeting is yet another example of the rise in crimes against religious minorities in several Indian states," said CSW's Chief Executive Scot Bower. "When private prayer gatherings are seen as soft targets for mob violence, it is evident that states are failing to uphold an individual's right to manifest their faith, which is a central aspect of freedom of religion or belief and protected by the Indian constitution."
This recent mob attack was linked to the newly approved anti-conversion law in India. Police in charge of the case said that they will open an investigation against the vandals and bullies.
After tagging India as the 10th most dangerous country to be a Christian, Open Doors noted that since 2014, "incidents against Christians have increased, and Hindu radicals often attack Christians with little to no consequences."
Chhattisgarh is one of the nine states in India where the controversial anti-conversion law was enforced. This is not surprising because according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India, Christianity has been present in the state for the last 200 years.
Since September, CSW documented three separate attacks against Christians in Chhattisgarh state. The attacks' severity ranges from the pillaging of their properties to physical assaults including attempted rape.
According to a report by Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), Chhattisgarh state is second to Uttar Pradesh where violence against Christians were recorded. EFI has received 55 incident reports last year and an additional 8 between January and March 2021.
"As a result of the anti-conversion laws, religious minorities can now be targeted by just about anyone, especially vigilante groups many of whom are complicit in the mob violence of earlier years in campaigns against beef and the slaughter of cows. Moreover, this law places the burden of proof on the person who has been accused of conversion," EFI said.
"In any criminal case (where) conversion is presumed to be illegal, the burden of proof is usually on the prosecution. In this ordinance, every religious conversion is presumed to be illegal. The burden of proof lies on the person accused of illegal conversion to prove that it is not illegal. So there is a presumption of guilt. The offence is cognisable. It is non-bailable and the police can arrest anyone," Justice Shah was quoted saying.
The increasing intensity of Christian persecution prompts Rev. Vijayesh Lal, National Director and General Secretary for EFI to appeal to the state governments.
"We especially appeal to the State Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh to deal stringently with the various right-wing organizations operating in these states whose primary agenda is to create an atmosphere of fear among the Christian community and other religious minorities," said Rev. Vijayesh Lal.
