KACHHWA BAZAR, India — An attack on a Christian hospital during its program for Dalits in India’s Uttar Pradesh state highlights Hindu extremists’ main objection to Christian work: conversion of people who were once called “untouchables.”
A mob of about 100 people barged into the compound of the Kachhwa Christian Hospital (KCH) in the Kachhwa Bazar area of Mirzapur district Aug. 17 and struck those leading the hospital program that cares for Dalits, as well as the Dalit students and parents, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India. The mob was said to be led by extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The previous day, about 20 extremists had intruded into the hospital compound and warned Dr. Raju Abraham, chief surgeon at KCH, that he would be killed if he continued with the program for Dalits. Dalits were formerly called “untouchables” because they were considered to be outside the confines of caste. Their supposed impurity derived from their traditional, humble occupations.
Because conversion of Dalits in most instances happens en masse, Hindu nationalists are deeply concerned that Christian work could bring a change in religious demographics.
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