The Christian man, Mr. Raneshwar serves at Mccluskieganj in Jharkhand a church, GEMS Vananchal 2 Zone.\u00a0 On the evening of October 25, 2022, while he was on his bike, a group of 45 people came charging at him.\u00a0 They attacked him and stole his motorcycle and mobile phone. They also copied all the contents of his cell phone.<\/p>\n
They then went on to make a complaint of conversion against him.\u00a0 While no action was taken on the assaulters,\u00a0 Mr. Raneshwar has been called to the police station at 9:00 a.m. the next day, 26th October.<\/p>\n
These attacks on Christians in Jharkhand are continuous and Christians are facing continuous opposition and attacks.\u00a0 Just a simple church gathering, a prayer meeting, or a church event is often met with violence.<\/p>\n
There have been terrible attacks on Christians over the last few years but 2021 was particularly horrific during Christmas<\/a> time when churches were invaded and anti-Christian “Hindutva” groups entered to disrupt services.\u00a0 There were over 300 attacks on Christians<\/a> between 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n Speaking on the attacks, Bishop Oswald Lewis of Jaipur noted that India is a country where every religion is respected and their followers have been living together with peace and harmony for centuries. \u201c<\/p>\n But in the past few years, minority groups have been targeted especially Christians and Muslims. It is being done by some fringe groups to destabilize the unity of the country,\u201d the Catholic prelate lamented.<\/p>\n Bishop Lewis also said, \u201cIt is sad to see that a community that has been offering its service to everyone in the country especially the poor and marginalized, has become the target. Such attacks are on increase. Besides, the inaction of the government encourages such groups who go unpunished. The government must take stern actions against them to preserve the unity and democracy of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rajasthan state president of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Advocate Saiyad Saadat Ali said, \u201cOur country is a secular country where everyone has the right to profess and propagate their faith. But there are some people who want to snatch away their rights. For some days there have been continuous attacks on Christians which must be condemned. The peace-loving people of the country must come forward to stop such atrocities.\u201d<\/p>\n State President of Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Mohammad Nazimuddin said, \u201cAfter Independence, some groups were not happy with Mahatma Gandhi and some of the freedom fighters because they stressed secularism and equal rights of all the citizens. Since then India has suffered many riots that claimed thousands of lives. Attacks on Christians are also part of it. Some communal groups are spreading hatred. The killing of Graham Staines and his sons is a tragic example of this.\u201d<\/p>\n State president of Buddhist Mahasabha T. C. Rahul said, \u201cOur country is multireligious and all the religions have been living here with peace and harmony for centuries. But now the hatred is spread against each other which is dangerous for the unity of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n It is unfortunate that the police seem to be in connivance with the local anti-Christian groups in Jharkhand.\u00a0 Instead of arresting the group for taking Mr. Raneshwar’s bike and mobile, the victim instead got arrested!<\/p>\n