Hindu nationalists set up checkpoints to prevent Christians from attending prayer event in India

Hindu nationalists in India's Chhattisgarh state have reportedly set up checkpoints earlier this month in an effort to prevent Christians from attending a large-scale prayer event.

Pastor Lachhan Ram Sahu of Blessing Prayer Hall said that about 2,000 people were expected to attend a prayer service in Tarra Kopra village in Raipur district on Dec. 6, but only 300 Christians made it past the checkpoints set up by Hindu extremists.

Hindu nationalists had positioned men at village entry points to ask passersby where they are headed, according to the pastor. On the day of the prayer service, a Hindu event known as a Ram Kathan was also scheduled in the area.

"If they said they were going to the church service, they were shooed away, and if they tried to reason with them, they were threatened and manhandled," Sahu told Morning Star News.

"Those who came to attend the Ram Kathan were allowed to enter the village and proceed straight to the Ram Kathan venue," he added.

The pastor further noted that Christian women who raised their objections at the check-points were treated harshly.

"The people who were not allowed entry into the village later reported to me that the women were caught by their throats, and their clothes were pulled in order to threaten them," he recounted.

When the worship service began, a mob of 700 hard-line Hindus reportedly arrived and disrupted the event. The mob, led by members of the Hindu extremist Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, Bajrang Dal, had set up a sound system at the entrance of the prayer hall, shouting insults and threats, and accusing Sahu of conducting forced conversions.

The pastor said that the extremists destroyed some equipment, including the chairs, windows and a refrigerator. Outside the prayer hall, the extremists reportedly destroyed two cars, one van, one auto-rickshaw and 100 motorbikes.

Sahu noted that he had obtained permission for the prayer service and he submitted a written application on Nov. 11 requesting police protection for the event.

The pastor was able to conduct the service in spite of the turmoil outside the prayer hall. About a dozen policemen arrived at the venue two hours after the service began. Around 200 policemen arrived later when the first group of officers was unable to disperse the Hindu mob.

He recounted that he had heard from villagers that the extremists held a meeting five days prior to the event with plans to disrupt it.

"They discussed that I was the one carrying out most conversions in Chhattisgarh. But I was determined to obey the leading [of God], despite strong opposition, and I praise God that my meeting was a success," he said.

Hindu nationalists have also disrupted another Christian event in Chhattisgarh state in November. A three-day Gospel meeting was supposed to be held at the Railway Grounds in Charoda, Durg District on Nov. 16, but a group of hard-line Hindus arrived and beat pastor Vijay Jogi and pastor Santosh Rao just minutes before the event began.

When the extremists asked the pastors about a permit for the event, Jogi showed them the railways and Grounds Railway Police permission letter, but the Hindu group said that the Christians also needed permission from the sub-judicial magistrate.

Jogi said that the church leaders will be conducting the Gospel meetings again in May with permissions from the proper authorities.

Due to the increasing attacks against Christians in India, the country has been ranked by Open Doors in the 2017 World Watch List as the 15th worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution.