India: you can't join a church

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November 13 (Compass Direct News) – Hindu extremists in the southern state of Karnataka who yesterday slapped a convert suffering from blood cancer today threatened to keep area converts from joining churches.

An alleged supporter of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) identified only as Nagesh today went to the house of Pastor C. Samuel John in Lakkavalli village, Chickmagalur district, and issued a threat that converts would not be allowed to join any church in the area. They accused John, the owner of a Christian orphanage, of forcibly converting Dalits.

John is a rights activist of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).

“The ringleader [Nagesh] also threatened Lakshmi, the mother of Pastor John’s neighbor Prashant, that her son would be attacked soon because he converted to Christianity,” Dr. Sajan K. George, GCIC national president, told Compass. “This is despite the fact that Pastor John greeted Nagesh in a friendly manner.”......

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