Christians in the state of Maharashtra have accused local Hindu nationalists of waging a campaign of resistance against Christians, denying them basic necessities like water and firewood.
The mainly tribal Christian community in the small town of Manor has been told not to draw water from the wells and traders have refused to sell them firewood for cooking.
"A social and economic boycott of Christians is being organized in the city by Hindutva [right-wing Hindu] people," says Joseph Dias, an advocate for Christians in the area. "Both political and social groups are involved."
The village council recently convened a meeting to impose economic sanctions and restrictions on worship for all Christians in the area, Dias says. These measures come after an attack by Hindus on a house church on December 30.
A crowd of up to 500 Hindutva fundamentalists forced their way into the church and asked the congregation to stop the Sunday service. They beat members of the congregation, including women and children, desecrated several copies of the Bible and destroyed musical instruments, witnesses said.
Brother Ravindra Jadhav, who preaches in the village, says that tribal people no longer have the opportunity to worship freely in church, but instead have to travel 20 kilometers away to attend church.
Hindutva supporters have warned them that there will be further violence if Sunday services are held in Palghar again, says Jadhav.
Dias says he suspects that the hard line being taken by right-wing Hindus in the village is a precursor to local elections in Maharashtra next year.
Hindutva is based on nationalist ideology and consists of a number of loosely affiliated groups, including the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). There are reports that people from the lower levels of Hindutva say they have received orders from senior members to prevent the practice of the Christian faith in the state.
"The fundamentalists want to secure votes from Hindutva supporters," says Dias. "That may be the motive behind this move against the Christians."
In early December, there was another attack on a church in the city of Malvan in the same state. Before that, another attack took place in the same city in October. In Palghar, Dias says police have refused help to Christians and in some cases have demanded up to 2,000 rupees per policeman as payment for providing protection.
"We have directly approached the Home Minister of the state, R. R. Patil, and we expect that something will be done about the Hindutva people," says Dias.
Source: ucanews
