On September 25, a Hindu mob led by right-wing Bajrang Dal activists stormed into a prayer meeting in Maloud, Mukhtsar district, Punjab, and began threatening and verbally abusing the 50-odd Christians who had gathered there for prayer.
The mob soon turned violent and began beating up the Christians and police forces had to be summoned to rescue them. But, instead of pacifying the mob, the police took four believers into custody (including a pastor).
At the police-station, Hukum Chand Sharma, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Maloud Police station was in an inebriated condition and had thrown the Christians behind bars, Compass Direct reported.
Besides thrashing them profusely, Sharma had reportedly instructed his subordinates to arrest Pastor Swarnjit Singh who was also present at the prayer meeting. However, unable to trace him, the police team arrested his friend, Pastor Sukhdev Singh instead and hauled him to the police-station.
At the police-station, the 60-year old pastor, along with other Christians, were reportedly beaten up by ASI Sharma who taunted them by saying, “Call your Jesus now, and let me see how he saves you from the wrath of Hukum Chand Sharma.”
The following evening, the Christians were released from custody in accordance with the law and had to be hospitalized and treated for the serious wounds sustained.
Angered at the humiliation and injustice meted out by the local police, a delegation of local Christian leaders reported the incident to the senior superintendent of police (SP), who promised action only after he was furnished with facts and evidence of custodial abuse.
However, Christian Today has confirmed that, till date, neither any action has been taken against the erring police officer nor against the Hindu extremists.
In another incident, on September 26, in Jalandhar, an ugly clash took place between activists of the Hindu Yuva Manch (Youth Wing of Hindu fundamentalist outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS) and Punjab Christian Movement (PCM) demonstrators, who were demanding a ban on the RSS chief, K.S. Sudarshan’s presence in the state. In the ensuing clash, two RSS activists and five Christians were grievously wounded.
Controversy began when Mr. Sudarshan irked the Christian, Muslim and the Sikh communities, by making inflammatory speeches and suggesting that they stop considering themselves as members of the minority community.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Sudarshan, stated that 95 to 98 per cent of Muslims and Christians were of Indian origin and wondered “how an individual or a community with roots in this country could consider itself a minority class.”
Elaborating that only the Jews and Persians belonged to the minority community in this country as their ancestors were from outside India, he said Muslims and Christians of this country should stop treating themselves as “members of the minority community.”
The RSS supremo also criticized the Church, saying that it should change its mindset and “feel Indian and act as Indian.”
Following the RSS chief’s visit, Chhavi Bhaskar Bhardwaj, convener of the Punjab unit of the Hindu right-wing outfit, Bajrang Dal, reportedly had remarked that his organization "will be forced to take the extreme step of announcing an economic boycott of Christians" if "a stern action" was not taken against the Christian group by local authorities.
According to news reports, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr. Ishwar Singh has filed criminal charges against five PCM members including its president Hamid Masih, and activists Surinder Gill, Anil Kumar, Freddy Joseph and Lal Chand.
Meanwhile, the Christian community in Punjab appeared divided over the controversial visit of the RSS chief as the Roman Catholic Church issued remarks against the Punjab Christian Movement stating that the Church neither had any association with the Punjab Christian Movement nor did it support any of its activities.
In a press conference, Fr. Emmanuel Y. Diwan, spokesman for Catholic Church, Jalandhar, affirmed that the Catholic Church did not oppose the visit of Mr. Sudarshan to the city and wholly disapproved the PCM demonstration.
Presently, police securities have been beefed up in the sensitive regions for fear of attacks against the churches in both urban and rural areas.
In Punjab, Christians comprise about 3 per cent of the 24 million-odd population. Generally, the two religious communities have lived in harmony in this north-western state.
Surojit Chatterjee
Christian Today Correspondent