Prayers Not allowed on Independence Day without permission

Police told a Church congregation and their pastors in Mysore to stop offerring prayers on Independence Day without permission from them after radicals barged in to the prayer hall and distrupted them.

In a humiliating incident on the country’s 60th Independence Day, the Pastors and the congregation of Full Gospel Church at Nanjengode taluk of Mysore District in Karnataka had to face disruption from a gang believed to be from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Around 70 believers had gathered to pray for the country. The prayer had started around 10:30am in the morning, after about an hour these RSS/VHP activists numbering about 20 of them barged into the prayer meeting of the Church and dragged out the Pastors – Vinod Chacko 32, CT Joseph 38 along with Church members Chinnaswamy and Salvino. They also abused the congregation and accused them of anti–national activities. The pastors were taken to Nangengode police station

The police inspector Lakshmikanth Talwar and sub Inspector Prabhakar were considerate but under pressure from radicals, told the pastors that no prayers can be held on Independence day without police permission. The pastors may have to appear before the police on Saturday the 18th August.

Believers had gathered merely to offer prayers for their country in a peaceful manner. Instead of celebrating the Independence which marks freedom for India, these radicals deny the freedom of worship for believers which the right inscribed in the constitution of Independent India granted them.

The incident merely adds statistics to an escalation of attacks on Christians in Karnataka state in recent times.