Christians in India fined for worshiping Jesus in public

Authorities in a village in Jharkhand, India told Christians to stop worshiping Jesus publicly or they would be fined and face other consequences.

Area Christian leaders were forced to sign an agreement that they would worship Jesus only inside their homes, and that if they are caught worshiping publicly, they would pay a fine of 10,000 rupees.

"We were forced to sign the bond, we have no other choice as we have nowhere else to stay except in the village," Pastor Sanjay Kumar Ravi told Morning Star News.

The fine was imposed after a conflict ensued between Hindu extremists and Christians in the village.

A large group of Hindus called for a meeting with 25 Christians representing six families on May 8. The Christians were taken to a school far from the village center where about 100 Hindu extremists were waiting.

The Hindu extremists ordered the Christians to stop worshiping Jesus. They also told them to perform rituals to their gods.

The Christians refused to do both. Instead, Pastor Ravi shared a testimony of how God healed him in 2007.

"The pastor's testimony enraged the crowd more," said another area Christian leader, the Rev. Akash Nandi.

The extremists began to beat six of the Christians and threatened to burn them. They ordered them to renounce their faith and start worshiping the idols.

Refusing to give in to their demands, the Christians said they would not leave Christ whatever happens.

At this point, the Hindu extremists tied up the six men, beat them with sticks and kicked them until they bled from the mouth and had cuts all over their bodies. They ordered the six men and their families to leave the village or else they and their houses will be burned.

The Christians reported the attack to the local police, but the police did not file the case.

A few days later, police officials told three Christian leaders who were among those attacked to go to the station. When they got there, they were surprised to find that around 50 of the Hindu extremists who beat them were also there.

In the presence of their attackers, police officials forced the Christians to sign the document stipulating the fines for the public worship of Jesus.

The rising impunity for the persecution of Hindi extremists against Christians in India has been criticized by various organizations, who say that the present government's silence on the issue has encouraged it to worsen.

"There has been an increase in attacks because these nationalists feel emboldened with [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi in power," International Christian Concern President Jeff King told Fox News in March.

Open Doors USA President David Curry also noted an increase in attacks against Christians.

"The government, which came into power with the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has strong Hindu nationalist ties," Curry said in the same report. "As a result, radical Hinduism, which was already present under the previous government, has increased steadily."