By Nikita Jain
A Kerala-based Christian family living in Chhattisgarh has alleged constant harassment at the hands of Hindu right-wing groups Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), forcing the members to go into hiding in order to save their lives.
Jose Thomas, a pastor in Chhattisgarh’s Kawardha, was beaten by members of these Hindu right-wing groups and dragged to the police station. His family alleges that instead of helping them, the police sided with the assailants.
Joshua’s family — his father Jose Thomas (56), mother Liji Thomas (46), and two younger brothers Joel Thomas (18) and Joseph Thomas (17) — are Malayali Christians who moved from Kerala to Kawardha in Kabirdham district around 35 years ago. Joshua and his siblings were born and raised there.
Speaking to Maktoob, Joshua Jose Thomas, son of Jose Thomas, said that although the family is originally from Kerala, they have been living in Chhattisgarh for the past 35 years.
“This place, where we live, has always been politically sensitive, but the issue here is regarding an English school that is run in the vicinity by our family,” Thomas explained.
Pastor Jose Thomas has been working in Kawardha for the past 35 years.
He established the Holy Kingdom English Higher Secondary School in 1999 — the district’s first English-medium CBSE school. The school currently has around 600 students enrolled.
According to Joshua, due to the political sensitivity of the area, whenever a student who hadn’t paid the fees was asked to do so, local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders would arrive and issue threats.
“They used to threaten us that they would shut the school,” he added.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.