They were ordered to get on their knees and bow before the portrait of a Hindu preacher. They were told to turn over their Bibles, hymnals and the two brightly colored calendar images of Christ that hung on their wall. Then, Mr. Digal, 45, a Christian since childhood, was forced to watch his Hindu neighbors set the items on fire.
A couple of weeks ago when I was in kerala, there was a church that was vandalized by the same forces. As the elections approach, the same communal forces reappear feeding to the insecurity of the millions. Brutal killings (remember the australian missionaries killed with two young children a couple of years ago), raping of nuns and vandalizing of churches continue with no real consequences to those who commit those crimes. Meanwhile, Narendra Modi celebrates his own commission's findings that he was not guilty in the pogrom against muslims in Gujrat. All in all, the news from our sub-continent is pretty abysmal.
