AsiaNews: Karnataka boys beaten and arrested for having converted to Christianity

Two young Indian men faced beatings and police harassment following their conversion to Christianity, AsiaNews reports. The two, Bhasker Naik and Hemanth Naik, converted while working in the town of Udupi. When they turned to their home village on September 7, members of the youth wing of a Hindu radical group learned of their conversion and began a campaign of intimidation and beatings against them, aiming to force their reversion to Hinduism. When the two refused to abandon Christ, Hindu extremists reported them to police on the charge of themselves carrying out forced conversions. The two men are currently in jail.

"From May 2008 - accuses Sajan George - when the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party, one of the two main political parties in India] came to power in Karnataka, freedom of worship for the Christian community is under threat, even in private homes. Our places of worship are under constant control of fundamentalist forces, who systematically stop prayer services and beat pastors and faithful. While the police are increasingly available and hasty in arresting and imprisoning Christians," Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, tells AsiaNews. The political survival of Karnataka state's BJP government depends on the Hindu nationalists, says Mr. George, causing them to turn a blind eye to crimes against Christians.

Vidhana Soudha, the seat of Karnataka's Legislative assembly