Christian institutions in Nepal are getting regular threats from Hindu extremist groups since the May bomb attack against a Roman Catholic church, which killed three people and severely wounded 15 others, reports Eglises d’Asie (Sept. 1).
This represents a case of non-Muslim terrorist activities claiming a religious background. A number of prominent Hindu leaders, including representatives of the Hindu World Federation, had strongly condemned the attack, but this does not prevent extremist groups from continuing their campaign against Communists, Muslims and Christians (both Catholics and Protestants), in the hope of restoring a Hindu state in Nepal (where the monarchy was abolished in 2008, following the electoral victory of the Communist Party).
They have been warning pastors, priests and nuns that they should leave the country and are threatening more attacks. But in early September, the leader of the Nepal Defense Army, allegedly responsible for several of the bomb attacks, was arrested. Estimates of Christians in Nepal range from several hundreds of thousands up to more than a million or even 1.5 million. Catholics form a small minority in the nation (at around 8,000).
