Orissa, East India: Twelve people have been arrested by the Indian Authorities for attacking a church last Thursday. The attack came on ‘Our Lady of Charity Catholic Church’, and those arrested consisted of Christians as well as Hindus, although official reports of the detainees has not been released yet.

On Thursday 2nd September Hindu militants attacked homes of church members as well as the church itself. The offenders smashed the door of the church down and vandalised church instruments, furniture, fixtures and literature. The attack on the homes left many windows shattered and many innocent people scared as several homes.

Thomas Thiruthalil, the Bishop of Balasore and Chairman of the Orissa Bishops’ Regional Council said, “They barged into the church by force, brought down the tabernacle, burnt the Holy Bible and Vestments, and destroyed the pews and the paintings.”

Multiple platoons of armed police were called out to protect the church property, and it was reported that as many as 300 people were involved in the mob attacks.

Police released a report that indicated that the attacks came in retaliation to violence which took place a few days before by some Christians who set on fire a motor truck and attacked local merchants with stones.

Thiruthalil, however, disagreed and said, “It was another planned attack against the Church by Hindu fundamentalists and not an act of revenge against some prior offence.”

The bishop has now sent a petition to the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, which calls for an immediate reaction and investigation from the government.

“Catholics in Orissa are very worried,” the bishop said. “Unfortunately, attacks against the Church and Christian activities are not isolated episodes.”

The problem of attacks is considered so serious in the area now that the district is now under a curfew, and it is a major fear that the violence may spread to other neighbouring districts.

Orissa is prominently a Hindu fundamentalist stronghold, and the recent history of the area has seen incidents of violence committed against Christians and other religious minorities in attempts to reconvert them to Hinduism.

These problems were supposed to have been eased in 2003 when denominational church leaders and members of the All India Christian Council called on the National Commission for Minorities to put a stop to ongoing forced re-conversion campaigns, and to look into incidences when people were put under pressure or intimidation to convert to Hinduism.

Christian members are often cast out of their families if they convert to Christianity and the subtle persecution of forcing them into poverty and exclusion is a much used tactic in the area. According to the Voice of the Martyrs, the introduction of anti-conversion laws in the states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Arubachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu has given support to militant groups, resulting in increasing violence against Christians.