In 2010, a professor of language at the Catholic Newman College in Thodupuzha, India was arrested, suspended from his job, and subjected to a vigilante attack. T. J. Joseph, a Christian, had prepared a question on an examination paper that several religious organizations argued defamed the Prophet Muhammad. The incident sparked local protests, and in the ensuing investigation, T. J. was ultimately charged with hurting religious sentiments. His son was also apparently abused by police to the extent that he needed treatment in the hospital.

The most horrific part of this case is not the legal consequences T. J. faced but the attack he suffered. On a Sunday in July, returning home from church, T. J. was taken from his car and accosted by eight assailants while his mother and sister looked on in horror. The attackers cut off T. J.’s right hand as retribution for his “crimes,” assaulted his 83-year-old mother, and then they fled. An investigation concluded they were affiliated with the Popular Front of India, a group with suspected links to the Islamic State.

"Islamic fanatics attacked me once. The Christian denomination to which I belong ruined my life by excommunicating me and terminating me from my job without giving any valid reason. Unable to withstand the isolation and financial crisis caused by the loss of my job, my wife died by suicide." - T. J. Joseph

In an extremely fortunate turn of events, T. J.'s hand was surgically reattached to his arm a few hours after the attack. But this stroke of luck was to be overturned. Shortly after the assault, T. J.'s church severed ties with him so as to avoid incurring the wrath of the Popular Front and Islamists. He lost his job and livelihood, and his wife, Salomi, fell into a depression and committed suicide four years after the attack.

Only in 2014, years after the initial incident, was T. J. reinstated to his teaching position. He has recently written a memoir about the attack and its aftermath, Attupokatha Ormakal -- "Un-severed Memories."