Evangelist Attacked by 50 Hindu Extremists in India, 20 Others Injured

Reports coming from Orissa, India indicate that an evangelist was targeted, attacked and left severely beaten in the street because he was meeting with other Christians in the area and preaching the word of God.

The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) stated that an evangelist, who goes by the name of Baidhar, was accosted by armed Hindu extremist back on June 15 in the Mitrapur village, of the Balasore district.

According to local reports, the Hindu vigilantes began relentlessly attacking Baidhar as he was on his way home from a prayer meeting at another Christian's home in the same village.

Baidhar was reportedly bleeding profusely from several lacerations received as a result of the attack, according to reports from the GCIC.

Local Christians in the village retrieved Baidhar from the street and took him to a nearby hospital. Unfortunately, when word of the rescue made its way back to the Hindu radicals, a mob, described as having roughly 50 people, descended on the village and attacked about a dozen Christian families, ransacking their homes and assaulting some of the young women. 20 people were reported injured.

Violence aimed at Christians has been increasing in recent weeks with many fearful to report the attacks because they do not want to incite more violence.

The violence also follows the recent announcement by the Indigenous Peoples Forum of reintroducing the country's "Religious Freedom Law" which is also known as the anti-conversion law.

"These anti conversion laws engineered and executed by anti-Christian Hindutav elements, whether in India, Nepal or Sri Lanka … is a ploy by Hindutva forces to divide the masses in their bias in favor or against it. The Hindutva forces with medieval mindset wanted to perpetuate graded degradation in society, the caste system and communal divide," Sajan K. George, president of the GCIC, said.