In the last two months, radical Hindu nationalist mobs have rioted and attacked Christians in a number of Indian states, claiming that lower-caste Hindus and tribal peoples are being forcibly converted to Christianity. More than 30 people have been killed, and thousands have taken shelter in government camps or in forests. Churches, prayer halls and Christian institutions have been vandalised, and nuns and priests have been attacked and beaten; one nun was stripped naked and gang-raped. It has been described as the most serious violence against the Christian community in India in the last 50 years. There are approximately 24 million Christians in India, 2.3% of the population, belonging to diverse denominations. Indian Christians include Roman Catholics (approximately 70% of the total Christian community), Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and today, a growing number of evangelicals. Christianity has a long history in India (it is supposed to have been introduced by St Thomas the Apostle), and is visible because of numerous Christian educational institutions, social services, and hospitals. Nevertheless, in recent times it has come to be viewed by hard-line Hindu nationalists as a foreign influence and a threat to the Hindu nature of India. The recent attacks on Christians began in the eastern state of Orissa, after a Hindu religious leader, Swami Laxamananda Saraswati, was murdered. He was associated with the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Hindu nationalists accused Christians of killing him, even though a Maoist rebel faction (whose members include Christian tribal people) claimed responsibility for his death; they say they killed Saraswati because he was forcing tribal people to convert to Hinduism. Right-wing Hindu groups, such as the VHP, its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) accuse Christian groups of converting Hindus, particularly from lower castes and tribal groups. It is alleged that Hindu activists in Orissa have tried to intimidate Christians to reconvert to Hinduism. Blogger Raj in Chennai is disgusted by recent events: In recent months, there is a new plague spreading like wildfire in different parts of India. This vile disease threatens to destroy the very spirit of India, its soul of tolerance. […] The greatest threat that India faces today is the curse of religious fascism. First, it was savage violence unleashed on thousands of Christians in Orissa by mobs of disgusting thugs. […] Then the violence spread to other states in India like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. All these states have governments run by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). […] The government in Orissa is a coalition government in which the BJP is the junior partner. The scum […] are emboldened to carry out attacks on Christians in states ruled by the BJP because they believe the administration will be deliberately slow to respond in containing the violence. In some places in Mangalore, the police even beat up Christians who were protesting against the violent attacks with lathis (long wooden batons). Christian leaders accuse Hindu nationalist groups of engineering the attacks to increase support for the BJP, the main opposition party, in next year’s national elections. The BJP became a major party through pro-Hindu policies and exacerbating communal divisions, and analysts expect anti-Christian violence to increase. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the violence a ‘national shame’, but has not suspended state governments for failing to stop the violence. The radical Hindu groups accuse Christians of bribing tribal peoples and low-caste Hindus to convert, while Christians argue that if people convert, they do so willingly, and wish to escape the Hindu caste system. Catholics deny attempting to convert Hindus, but evangelical Protestant groups such as the New Life Church are doing so openly, and there are television evangelists who attack other religions and present converts from Hinduism. Kim, writing at Desicritics, can't believe what is going on: What the hell is wrong with our country and its people? […] Today morning between 9am and 10am, Bajrang Dal activists attacked and destroyed 4 churches in Mangalore City. Why? Because New Life members distributed pamphlets which said “Do not Worship Hindu Gods”. While I admit that this could be an incendiary statement, does this justify attacking people and churches who do not even agree with the methods used by the New Life preachers? Then she protests official apathy: Why are Christians being given the short end of the stick? Religious Christian institutions have a large role to play in education, medicine, caring for the orphans, abandoned, old and dying in India.