Indian converts forced out of homes

Compass Direct News tells of nine families that were attacked and forced from their homes in the northeast region of India because they had converted to Christianity.

Their ordeal began when Christians attended a Pentecostal meeting held in Haldibari village last Monday (November 13).

“This meeting infuriated the Bodo tribals, who organized their own religious gathering the next day,” a source told Compass.

At 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning (November 14), the tribal people of Haldibari gathered for their own meeting at the village council hall, said the Rev. Madhu Chandra, Delhi regional secretary of the All India Christian Council.

“Some of them were sympathizers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS, a Hindu extremist group],” Rev. Chandra said. “Under their influence, the group resolved to evacuate Christian families from the village.”

At around 2:30 p.m. that day, 25 Bodo villagers went to the homes of three Christian families in Haldibari and attacked their houses. The violence soon spread to the neighboring villages of Moflabari, Jamduguri and Basdari.

Sadly, on 16 May, Compass reported that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom failed to include India on it's recommended list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for 2006. Contact the Commission here to urge them to include India in its list for recommended CPCs for 2007.