Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bhubaneswar (Agenzia Fides) - A Hindu man attacked, with shouts and death threats, the house of a Protestant Pastor in Kandhamal district, the scene of anti-Christian violence that occurred in the state of Orissa (eastern India) in 2008. The incident, which occurred yesterday afternoon in the village of Adiga, reported fear among Christians, Fides sources say, "they feel insecure". Pastor Pabita Mohan Kota’s family was taken by surprise when a Hindu man, identified as Jaleshwar Pradhan, a resident of the same village, began throwing stones and bricks at the house, pushed the Pastor’s daughters, shouting: "You Christians must not live here, this is not your land. The massacre in Kandhamal was not enough: this is for you your grave". The throwing of stone continued for tens minutes. The Pastor's wife, afraid, went away with her daughters. Pastor Kota’s house had already been destroyed during the attacks in 2008 and many bricks were near their home, still under reconstruction. At the time of the attack, the Pastor was away from home. The Christians reported the incident to the local police, saying that the assailant was drunk.
Although the damage to the house is not serious, "there is a kind of psychological torture, the pressure on Christians is very strong", says to Fides Brother K.J. Markose, a Monfortan missionary and lawyer who lives in Kandhamal. "In the context of Kandhamal, this incident cannot be taken lightly or minimized. They happen too often and are the result of the hate campaign by Hindu fundamentalists", he says, recalling the murders of three Christian leaders in 2011.
Pastor Kota was tortured physically several times, his health is very weak, his sight and his hearing are partially lost because of the beatings in 2008 by Hindu fanatics. The Pastor, helped by the "Global Council of Indian Christians", was also sued by some Hindu radicals, with false allegations of conversion. (SD-PA) (Agenzia Fides 26/01/2012)
