Post by Michael on Feb 24, 2004 10:15:17 GMT -5
Christian women in Orissa State were attacked and humiliated earlier this month by Hindus for refusing to give up their faith. On Feb. 6, Hindu extremists dragged eight women, including two 15-year-old girls, out of their homes while their husbands were at work and tried to persuade them to renounce Christianity, Compass Direct reported.
When the women refused, the group beat, stripped them naked and forced them to walk through their villages before shaving their heads. The act of "tonsuring," or shaving the crown of the head, is a religious ritual normally reserved for priests and monks.
When the mob of about 45 villagers made further threats against them, the women and their families fled the two villages of Kilipala and Kanimul in Jagatsinghpur District of Orissa. About 20 people, including two infants, took shelter in a church in the capital city of Bhubaneshwar.
Dayal Gangwar, the district superintendent of police, said the women had converted to Christianity from Hinduism only recently after contact with a village resident who had been a Christian for nine years. Gangwar noted that there was no attempt to forcibly convert the families.
Christian workers from Bhubaneshwar told Compass that Hindu extremists are actively working in the area to "create awareness about the evils of Christianity" among the villagers. Representatives of Hindu organizations have been appointed in each village to report any signs of missionary or evangelistic activity.
Orissa is already notorious for its violence against Christians. In January 1999, Hindu extremists in the state murdered Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons.
When the women refused, the group beat, stripped them naked and forced them to walk through their villages before shaving their heads. The act of "tonsuring," or shaving the crown of the head, is a religious ritual normally reserved for priests and monks.
When the mob of about 45 villagers made further threats against them, the women and their families fled the two villages of Kilipala and Kanimul in Jagatsinghpur District of Orissa. About 20 people, including two infants, took shelter in a church in the capital city of Bhubaneshwar.
Dayal Gangwar, the district superintendent of police, said the women had converted to Christianity from Hinduism only recently after contact with a village resident who had been a Christian for nine years. Gangwar noted that there was no attempt to forcibly convert the families.
Christian workers from Bhubaneshwar told Compass that Hindu extremists are actively working in the area to "create awareness about the evils of Christianity" among the villagers. Representatives of Hindu organizations have been appointed in each village to report any signs of missionary or evangelistic activity.
Orissa is already notorious for its violence against Christians. In January 1999, Hindu extremists in the state murdered Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons.