Christian persecution increasing amid Hindu extremism under India Prime Minister Modi

Chiqui Guyjoco Monday, June 20, 2016

Christian persecution in Punjab continues to increase amid rising Hindu extremists under the governance of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Demonstrators shout slogans as they hold placards during a protest outside a church in New Delhi February 5, 2015. | REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee

On May 25, a group of eight Hindu extremists beat up 47-year-old Anoop Masih, a Christian auto-rickshaw driver, after Masih disputed earlier that morning with several Hindu men throwing waste on an area designated as graveyard for Christians. According to Barnabas Fund, the complaint filed on that day only registered Monday, June 13.

Masih charges the Hindus of trying to possess the entire graveyard for the Hindu community by carrying out amendments to the Christian properties without the Christians' consent. He said he is eager to deal with this matter through the court.

"The Hindu extremists intended to spread fear and teach Masih a lesson for speaking for the Christian community," pastor of Ludhiana, Vishnu Dev, told Barnabas Fund.

Meanwhile, a Hindu father of a seven-year-old girl in Pakhowal village, Ludhiana who chose to convert to Christianity after observing her Christian grandmother, banished his daughter and the grandmother from their home.

Dev reported that the grandmother is struggling to provide for their daily needs and to send the girl to school.

"Amidst all the trials and hardships this elderly lady is going through, she is not ready to forsake Christ and return back to her family faith," he said.

Four masked men also attacked 29-year-old Arif Chouhan with sickles May 31, four days before the schedule of a Christian rally he organized.

"In my 16 years of ministry as a Christian leader, I have not faced such opposition before," he said.

Earlier this year, humanitarian groups recorded increasing incidences of Christian persecution by Hindu radicals. They blame Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party or the Indian People's Party, known to have strong Hindu nationalist ties, as emboldening these radical extremists.

"They are wolves in sheep's clothing," president of the International Christian Concern, Jeff King, told FoxNews.com. "His silence is tacit approval."