Police in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh arrested 30 seminary students and two priests as they were singing Christmas carols in a village. The Christians were also roughed up by Hindu nationalists, who also burned down a car belonging to the priests while police allegedly looked on.
The carol singers, who are from St. Ephrem’s Theological College in Satna district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, were arrested from Dara Kalan village Thursday night “as they were conducting a routine Christmas carol singing programme which has been the practice during the Christmas season for the last 30 years,” according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.