Key points
- Hindutva mob stormed into a Christian school in India
- Assaults staff, women and children
- Victims say attack is a continuation of years of harassment and extortion
- Police refuse to register report against attackers
ISLAMABAD: A Christian family in Kawardha city of Chhattisgarh in India that runs a Christian school has been forced into hiding following enduring a violent attack by a Hindutva mob on May 18 during a Sunday church service, according to an Indian news website, The Wire.
Videos of the attack circulating online were verified and they show Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) extremists storming into the Holy Kingdom English Higher Secondary School, assaulting the staff, the news outlet reported.
The poor victims, however, said that the entire episode is a continuation of years of harassment and extortion, now escalated with police inaction and political complicity.
Hindutva mob beats women
On May 18, around 11:40 am, about 80-100 Bajrang Dal and VHP extremists barged into the school compound, where a Sunday church service was in progress. Shouting “Jai Shri Ram“, the mob broke into prayer rooms, beat members of the congregation, including women and children, and “terrorised teenage girls hiding in washrooms”.
The principle of the school, Pastor Jose Thomas, has served in Kawardha for over 35 years. His son, Joshua Jose Thomas, tells, “Our family has been running this school with the aim to provide education to all communities. But this time, extremists beat my mother and younger brother. My father was arrested. Now we are in hiding. And police won’t register our complaint.”
Not only did police reportedly fail to prevent the violence, but they tried to coerce members of the congregation into changing their statements to support the forced conversion charge. The police also confiscated the CCTV footage of the attack, but it has not been made public.
Extortion attempt
Joshua says that the real trigger for the violence was a fee dispute. BJP leader Rajendra Chandravanshi had called the school asking for a transfer certificate for a BJP supporter’s child, despite two years of unpaid fees and no formal application. When the school refused, pressure intensified. The family says they were then targeted by a campaign of threats, ransom demands – including Rs 1 lakh to suppress media harassment.
By May 6, Bajrang Dal and VHP extremists, along with a local online channel, started staging protests at the collectorate, calling for the school’s shutdown. Ultimately, the school issued the certificate under duress, but the attacks did not stop there.
A pattern of harassment
According to India media, this is not the first time that the Thomas family has been targeted. In 2010–11, Pastor Jose was jailed under false charges, before being acquitted by the courts. In 2022, a mob demolished parts of the school’s residential area. The family says that agencies like the Income Tax department froze their bank accounts without due process, all as part of a “broader political effort to drive them out”. Even now, mobs reportedly gather daily outside the court, police station and school.
Authorities remain silent
Despite mounting evidence, including videos, eyewitness testimonies and Joshua’s detailed written complaint, the police have not filed an FIR against the attackers, local media reported. This past Sunday, several churches across Kawardha remained closed.
