GOKULPUR, India — Hindu extremists in India’s Orissa state abducted a Christian youth Oct. 4 from his house and tortured and tonsured him, allegedly to punish him for accepting Christianity. Ranjan Dangua of Gokulpur village of Orissa’s Bhadrak district remained missing at press time. “The radicals stormed into Dangua’s house and abducted him,” said Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians. “Later they beat him very badly and then tonsured him.”
A report released Oct. 4 highlights the growing activity of Hindu extremist organizations in Orissa, including persecution of Christian and Muslim minority communities. The Indian People’s Tribunal on Communalism released the 80-page report, which shows that the Sangh Parivar (family of organizations linked to the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS) is active in 25 of the 30 districts of Orissa with “several million” members.
Share with others: