by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Christian children in southern India were beaten by Hindu extremists and the congregation of which their families are a part framed for forced conversions on Jan. 19, as radical groups continue to pressure police to prosecute believers.
A worship meeting on the terrace of a home in Malasumudra village, Karnataka state, which is notable for ancient Hindu and Jain temples, was disrupted when a gang of 20 Hindu nationalists stormed in and began videotaping and whipping the congregation's 12 children.
“If we hear that you stepped out of your homes and told anybody about this, we will set your homes on fire and will burn you alive,’” the nationalists threatened.
Mary Bellary, a member of the congregation whose family was ostracized by their village and relegated to sub-Dalit status for believing in Jesus in 2017, said police subsequently filed a complaint against the believers at the behest of the Hindu Nationalists.
“The police officer told us that we had attacked some people during Christian prayers that morning, and that they were injured and hospitalized,” she said. “After attacking us on Jan. 19 morning, the Hindu extremists got themselves admitted in a hospital and filed a false complaint against us.”
India has moved to the number 10 spot on Open Doors USA's World Watch List since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014, whose Hindu nationalist ideology is rapidly making India an unwelcome place for Christians.