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<strong>the</strong>m as he knew that he would not get fair treatment from <strong>the</strong>m, but that only God<br />

could change <strong>the</strong>ir minds. 109 Pastor Chandu from Udaipur district said that <strong>the</strong><br />

police were not ready to charge an FIR (First Information Report) against <strong>the</strong><br />

people who attacked Christians without cause. 110<br />

Pentecostal leaders in Rajasthan strongly feel that <strong>the</strong> freedom to pr<strong>of</strong>ess and<br />

practise <strong>the</strong>ir religion has been affected ever since <strong>the</strong> BJP came to power.<br />

Thomas Ma<strong>the</strong>ws firmly states that ‘since 1962, for twenty five years I had not<br />

much problem,’ but today ‘we can not conduct a free public meeting in<br />

Udaipur.’ 111 All <strong>the</strong> Pentecostal leaders who were interviewed expressed <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

concern that <strong>the</strong> freedom to pr<strong>of</strong>ess and practise <strong>the</strong>ir religion is being seriously<br />

affected in contemporary Rajasthan. All stories <strong>of</strong> persecution narrated in <strong>the</strong><br />

pastors’ meeting in Jaipur contained incidents that had taken place since <strong>the</strong> early<br />

half <strong>of</strong> 1990s. Meera bhai, a local pastor from Udaipur district who was brutally<br />

attacked by Hindu extremists, was asked why <strong>the</strong> severe attack was not reported<br />

to <strong>the</strong> police. He stated:<br />

What is <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> reporting to <strong>the</strong> police? Do you think that <strong>the</strong>y will help? They<br />

are all ardent supporters <strong>of</strong> Hindutva and its allied organizations. They don’t<br />

mind us, but on <strong>the</strong> contrary <strong>the</strong>y may file a false charge against us, saying we are<br />

converting people and destroying peace in <strong>the</strong> community. What an irony it is!<br />

When we are attacked we will be charged with a fraud case saying we have<br />

109 Veeru (pseudonym), interview by author, Jaipur, 8 May 2006.<br />

110 Chandu (pseudonym), interview by author, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 16 May 2006.<br />

111 For more details see, W. Abraham, ‘Pauline Concept,’ 12.<br />

208

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