Under siege

India | Hindu extremists lash out at a Christian ministry that challenges caste system | Jill Nelson

Eight-year-old Taranum Mohammed has traveled the road of hardship. She was born to parents suffering from leprosy, and as a result their family of five was ostracized to one of India's many leper colonies. Each day was a battle to survive until her parents discovered an orphanage that would feed, clothe, and raise their children. Taranum now lives in one of the many orphanages operated by Emmanuel Ministries—an indigenous church movement in India—and enjoys going to school and playing with her friends.

But Hindu extremists in the northern state of Rajasthan would rather see Taranum and her fellow orphans return to the poverty-stricken streets. Angered by the message of hope the ministry brings to Hinduism's lowest members of the caste system—the Dalits—and other outcasts, extremists are sending death threats, arresting ministry officials, even burning down facilities in an orchestrated wave of terror.