New Delhi – The Christian community of Maraman, Kerala, got a rude awakening when a group of Hindu fundamentalists attacked and thrashed eight students of the Beersheba Bible College, a school affiliated with the Indian Pentecostal Church of God in May.

The Bible college students were on their way to attend the funeral of a former church member and were waiting in a bus-stop when the local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists, riding motor-cycles and a jeep and crying anti-Christian slogans, surrounded them and attacked them with knives and other sharp weapons. Local media have quoted the police authorities as saying that the assault came without provocation.

The police have registered a criminal case against 15 of the assailants though the college students have, reportedly, forgiven the attackers.

The victims - Blessen Abraham, George Abraham, Binu Babu, R. Ravindran, Rajesh, B. Rony, T.E. Varghese and Vinod - were treated at a district hospital in nearby Kozhencherry for injuries sustained in the attack. Of them, Blessen Abraham, Babu and T.E. Verghese had to be admitted at the hospital for a few days because of the severity of the wounds.

Police authorities have confirmed that the attackers were all under 25 years of age and were led by a man named Sunil who goes by the alias "Visham" (poison). The students tried to take refuge in a bus that had come to fetch them but the RSS activists, reportedly, followed them onto the bus and continued beating them until local villagers arrived at the scene and came to their rescue.

According to Compass Direct, the incident has struck fear in the students. The threats against them are also on the rise. On May 14, a group of RSS activists gathered outside the college shouting anti-Christian slogans and issuing threats against the student body.
The Rev. Shibu Nalweli, principal of the college and pastor of the local church, has requested the police to provide protection to the students.

The Beersheba Bible College has been in existence for 12 years and currently has nearly 40 students enrolled. The Pentecostal Church of God has ministered in the Maraman area since 1983.







Surojit Chatterjee
Christian Today Correspondent