Millions of Indians believe the country belongs to Hindus and that all other religions, including Christianity and Islam, must be eliminated from society.
Human rights groups have accused India’s Prime Minister and his government of supporting the extremist view. It’s led to a surge in violence against Christians often with tacit approval from the central government.
At 16 years old, “Paul” was instructed to target Christians by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or R.S.S., a radical Hindu paramilitary organization.
“Since I was a Hindu and part of the R.S.S., I became a staunch follower of their Hindu principles, and because of that, killing Christians and pastors became my goal,” Paul told CBN News.
We’ve concealed Paul’s real identity for safety.
He says the R.S.S. singles out Christians because so many Hindus in India are abandoning their faith to follow Jesus Christ. One of the group’s early founders said Christians are “anti-national” and “hostile” and should be treated as such.
R.S.S. members often combine religious Hindu education with self-defense classes and exercises.
“They told us Christianity doesn’t belong to our country because they are converting people; therefore we have to attack pastors and demolish their churches so that our country will remain a Hindu country,” said Paul.
Hindus make up just under 80% of India’s population. Muslims are at 14%. Christianity is India’s third-largest religion with about 26 million followers, or about 2.3% of the population and their numbers are steadily growing.
Determined to stop the growth, Paul thought he had his chance when a pastor visited his hostel. Instead, the encounter changed his life when the pastor shared the gospel with him.
“My heart was breaking when I heard that Jesus Christ’s blood was sacrificed for me, that Jesus Christ loved me, and He gave His blood for my sins. I dedicated myself to Christ right there and then,” Paul said.
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