A Christian family in Karnataka is facing severe consequences for refusing to bow down to Hindu deity and converting to Hinduism.
Pastor Vasu Nayak and his family were attacked by a mob of 60 Hindu religious fanatics on October 20. They threatened Nayak and told him to worship Hindu god.
When Nayak refused, he was dragged out of his house and manhandled by the mob. They accused him of committing blasphemy and attempting to destroy Hindu deity.
The assault, however, did not end there. The next day, Nayak was called to a village meeting where he was once again ridiculed and beaten.
“The leaders of the meeting announced that my family and I were cut off from the village and that we should have no association with other villagers,” Nayak told International Christian Concern (ICC).
A social boycott was instituted against the Christian family and villagers were told not to talk to Nayak or his family under any given circumstances. Villagers were not even allowed to buy groceries from Nayak’s shop.
In fact, the fanatics told the villagers that if they violated the boycott and tried to associate with the Nayak’s, they would have to pay 10,000 rupees as a penalty.
According to local Pastor Devedrappa, the Hindu radicals “registered an FIR against Pastor Nayak falsely alleging he insulted the Hindu religion by destroying the Hindu deity on October 20.”
When Nayak tried to file a complaint about the attack, the police refused to take the complaint. Instead, they threatened to send him to jail.
“We are not safe in the village and do not know when the trouble is going to come upon us,” Nayak told ICC. “However, we trust in God for his protection.”
