JALALABAD, India — Villagers in India’s Uttar Pradesh state beat Christians, forced them to participate in Hindu rituals and have refused to provide them water, sources are reporting. Four couples who were attacked in Jalalabad village in the Ghazipur District rely on the water to irrigate their fields.
The couples were among about 25 Christians accused of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity.
“The mob, supported by the village president, forced us to drink gangajal (water from the Ganges River, considered holy), eat tulsi leaves (basil considered holy) and declare that we deny Christ,” said one of the adults, Pushpa Kumari. “When we resisted, the men and women of the village beat us even more severely.”
The four couples along with four other Christians refused to participate in the ritual or deny Christ, but 13 younger Christians involved felt compelled to participate in the Hindu ritual and deny Christ, they said.
“The police asked the villagers to let anyone follow their own Dharma (religious teaching) peacefully, and that nobody shall disturb the prayer services in the village’s house church,” Pushpa Kumari’s husband, Manoj Kumar, said.
In the presence of the village head, the Hindu villagers said they would abide by the police request and neither side filed a formal complaint. However, the agreement made no mention of water service and the villagers have refused to sell it to the Christians. Village President Santosh Kumar Gupta said he cannot prevent the Hindus from cutting off the Christians’ water.
India ranks 15th on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of the countries where Christians experience the most persecution. (MS)
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