Even in a state with no anti-conversion law, Hindu extremists in Andhra Pradesh in June levelled the accusation of forceful conversion at pastors as they belted the Christian leaders with iron bars.
At their monthly prayer gathering in Thukkugudu, Hyderabad, on June 4, about 20 pastors from various denominations were stunned when a mob of Hindu extremists approached with clubs and iron rods and accused the ethnic Telegu clergy of forceful conversion. Vaguely worded laws in other states banning forceful, fraudulent or coercive conversions provide a ready excuse for false accusations against Christians, leading to numerous false arrests.
Lack of such a law in Andhra Pradesh did not stop Hindu nationalists from shouting the accusation as they attacked. The assault was notable for its scope and intensity. Members of the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh struck with fury, uttering obscenities as they denigrated the pastors’ faith and low-caste status. Hindu nationalists assert that people in India are Hindu by birth, and that conversion to another faith amounts to national betrayal.
