A pastor from India's Dhar District in Madhaya Pradesh is reportedly recovering after sustaining injuries from the attack of Hindu extremists.
The Christian Post reported that Pastor Kailash Dudwe of Kukshi Village was attacked by Hindu nationalists last January for allegedly violating the state's anti-conversion law. Dudwe's wife, Jyoti, and his children were also attacked during the incident and are similarly recovering. However, the attackers have filed a complaint against Dudwe in court, which has ordered his attendance.
Meanwhile, Jyoti filed a counter-complaint against Ashok Bamnia, a Hindu nationalist man. Bamnia led 25 others to break into Dudwe's home and attack him and his family. The counter-complaint excludes charges of wrongful restraint, assault, and criminal intimidation against Bamnia and his group. While local police added violations to the Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Scheduled Caste Act to the charges of Bamnia and his companions, who all remain at large.
The said attack took place on January 14 and its victims included Dudwe, his wife, their five-year-old daughter, four men, and a 16-year-old girl. Two of the four men were Dudwe's brothers-in-law, Aakash Joshi and Vikas Joshi. Dudwe recounted that the attackers tried to hit their daughter with an iron bar but Jyoti was able to dodge it.
"My wife caught the rod and stopped it from hitting our daughter. I still get terrified at the thought of their brutality, that they showed no mercy toward my little girl," Dudwe said.
Providentially, someone was able to document the incident in a video. The footage showed that the Christian women were pleading with the attackers to give the pastor some water. Dudwe, at that time, had fallen to the ground with a bloody nose. He was semi-conscious and could not lift any part of his body. The Joshis were also seriously injured by the attackers.
After the attack, Dudwe was confined for two weeks in the hospital while a warrant of arrest was released in his name. He learned about the warrant when he was discharged from the hospital. The pastor then surrendered on February 1 to the Kukshi police who sent him to the Alirajpur jail. He was imprisoned for three days and three nights before he got bail on the fourth day.
Since the attack, Dudwe's church services have stopped. Local officials have also given orders to stop worship in the churches nearby. This is despite India's Constitution allowing religious liberty.
The Indian High Court last March ruled against a Hindu extremist's petition to monitor Christian missionaries since it was filed out of "publicity interest." The petition was filed by the Hindu Dharma Parishad who alleged that Christian missionaries were forcefully converting people. But the court dismissed the petition for "disturbing harmony" instead of strengthening the country's unity.
Persecution watchdog Release International reported last December that India was among the top five countries with a growing concern in persecution. India's anti-conversion laws have increased persecution against Christians in 2021 through the aid of Right-wing Hindu Nationalists.
Last year is said to be the most violent year for Christians in India based on a report by the United Christian Forum. The report identified 486 incidents of Christian persecution in India in 2021 alone. Hindi extremists would often threaten, physically assault, and harrass Christians on false accusations filed with the police. A total of 34 complaints were filed formally with the police out of the 486 cases of Christian persecution last year.
"Often communal sloganeering is witnessed outside police stations, where the police stand as mute spectator," the United Christian Forum report said.
This report was echoed by an Open Doors Fact Sheet that said the extremists target new converts with the use of "extensive violence to achieve" the goal of getting rid of Christians in India. The goal comes from the belief that the country's citizens should all be Hindus. Often, "Christians are accused of following a 'foreign faith' and blamed for bad luck in their communities," the fact sheet said.
