The family of a professor in southern India whose hand was cut off by Islamic extremists have said they forgive his attackers

Professor TJ Joseph was attacked by eight people as he was returning home from church with his mother and his sister, who is a nun. Police believe that Prof Joseph was attacked because he was accused of insulting Islam in an exam paper. Two activists of the predominantly Muslim Popular Front of India (PFI) have been arrested in connection with the attack. At the time of the assault, Prof Joseph had been suspended from his position in the Roman Catholic-run Newman college in the town of Thodupuzha and was facing possible criminal charges for blasphemy. That was because in March 2010 he was alleged to have insulted the Prophet Muhammad in an exam paper, an accusation strongly denied by his family. Prof Joseph has lost his right arm below the elbow. His sister, Mary Stella - who is a Roman Catholic nun - was with him when the assailants launched their attack with an axe, knives and a petrol bomb. They also attacked his 83-year-old mother before fleeing. She said that her brother had been threatened three times following the question paper row. There were angry protests in Thodupuzha by various Muslim organizations in March 2010 when the question paper outcry first broke and several people were injured in clashes with police. Prof Joseph was arrested and granted bail in April 2010.