Church in Rangareddy opposes road widening, villagers attacked

Hyderabad (Telangana) – This incident took place on 13^th February in Rangareddy District near Hyderabad, where road widening work was underway in the Janwada village.
The expansion project faced opposition from members of the Methodist Church in the area. During the confrontation, stones and bricks were hurled at the villagers from the Church, prompting retaliatory actions from the enraged villagers. This resulted in vandalism of the Church. In all 18 people from both the sides sustained injuries during the confrontation.

The Police have arrested 11 people in connection with the incident. In response to escalating tensions, authorities enforced a curfew in the area for a week. Since this issue is related to the Church, political parties have started taking sides with the Church.

It has been reported that during the attack, the villagers destroyed the crucifix, chairs and the roof of the church. Consequently, based on a complaint lodged by the Church authorities, a case has been filed under Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as well as Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension), and 503 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

(Christians do not alter the caste status of Hindus even after they have converted to Christianity. This indicates that this particular loophole is being exploited to protect converted Christians during such attacks – Editor)

BSP hates the backward class Hindus

Telangana Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Dr RS Praveen Kumar visited the scene of the incident on 14^th February. He said that over 200 people had attacked the Church premises, with those inside beaten with iron rods and sticks. (Despite the fact that the villagers are also from Scheduled Castes and Tribes, BSP is aligning itself with the Christians in this issue. This demonstrates BSP’s favouritism towards Christians and animosity towards Hindus from backward classes. – Editor)

Editorial Perspectives

This incident reveals the true nature of the Church authorities. The world is already aware of what Christians do in the name of social service. Now, it is apparent that churches, like mosques, store stones and attack Hindus.
It should not be surprising if the western media like the BBC, The New York Times, and organisations such as Amnesty International and the European Union question India over this incident.
Taking law into one’s own hands and resorting to violence is wrong; however, Christians who claim that ‘Hindu Deities cannot even protect their temples’ should now be asked, ‘Couldn’t Jesus protect the Church in this incident ?’

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