CHENNAI, India — Officials and police in India’s Tamil Nadu state have ordered 10 churches to discontinue worship services, sources said.
Hindu extremists compelled state officials and police to issue orders to the churches to stop worship unless they obtain permission from the collector’s office, and the extremists intend to target 20 others in the same way, church leaders said.
“It is a well-planned conspiracy against the Christian community, as the Hindu extremists know that it is not easy to approach the collector’s office for such permissions,” said Pastor Johnson Sathyanathan, president of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches of Coimbatore. “The time to get such approvals can stretch from a year and a half to many more years.”
A Christian delegation met the minister of Internal Affairs of Tamil Nadu early last week and expressed concern and fear about the recent notices. The state minister called on the deputy superintendent of police and the local member of the Legislative Assembly of Sulur to look into the matter and take steps to ensure that the worship services can resume, Sathyanathan said.
The hostile tone of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance government against non-Hindus has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians, religious rights advocates say. (MS)
Share with others: