Ethnic and communal violence spreads fear throughout India

Assam violence (File photo courtesy of Gospel For Asia)

India (MNN) ― The beauty of India's Assam state is belied by its bloody history.

Ethnic and religious violence in that region has forced the military to respond and impose a curfew after days of rioting.

At least 50 died and hundreds were injured in the clashes that lasted a week and a half--clashes between Muslim settlers and the Hindu-leaning Bodos. The Bodos are one part of three larger indigenous secessionist movements.  

Although the issues that lead to conflict are complex, Danny Punnose with Gospel For Asia simplifies what's been going on there. "There's always tribal fighting between tribes, or land disputes. This is a very common thing up in the northeast part of India in those areas. But the violence is getting a little more severe where people are actually being killed and there's rioting happening. So the army has been called out to give a sense of security, but also a sense of protection."

Stories of Muslim-Hindu violence spread like wildfire through social media outlets, which also sparked panic that led to days of more rioting. Government officials had been trying to encourage people to ignore the inflammatory stories, to no avail. Punnose goes on to say that "there are rumors that violence is going to break out there because there are lots of Assamese workers and students down in the south." As the trouble had been escalating and spreading, thousands who were from the Northeast fled the southern city of Bangalore last week.

Nearly 400,000 people are in makeshift camps, displaced by the escalating fighting. In the meantime, curfews have been imposed in some areas. "Everything [comes] to a standstill. It's the only way to contain certain elements of the violence," says Punnose, adding that  those who violate curfew risk their lives. "They think that you are part of the underground, or the underground thinks you're part of the army, so you're caught in the crossfire."

In some areas, curfews have been relaxed to certain hours. Although the violence seems to have calmed somewhat, it would take very little to ignite uprisings. Issues are deeply polarizing. Punnose says until the uneasy calm can be trusted, much of their work is also at a standstill.

Solutions won't easily be reached, he goes on to say. "It's very, very deeply ingrained. It's not just the caste system: it's tribal, and it's land. It's so many levels of the dynamics of this, and then you've got violence and you've got strikes."

GFA is asking for prayer. "Pray for the leaders of the nation to have wisdom to know how to handle this. You're not talking about people just being upset with each other. This is thousands of years of ingrained prejudice and animosity and anger."

Although their teams can't get out, Punnose says they are readying themselves for response. "Pray that God would give us opportunities to share the love of Christ, whether it's praying for people or counseling people, or maybe it's relief work to help people get back on their feet."

75 dead from ethnic riots

India (MNN) ― Ethnic rioting between the Bodo tribespeople and Muslims in the Indian state of Assam has left 75 dead and 500 villages in ashes.

The attacks started a month ago on July 6 after a Muslim man in Assam was shot and killed.

Since then, a leader from each group has been killed. Four Bodo people were found brutally murdered by machetes.

The feud between the immigrant Muslims and the Bodo tribespeople runs deep over land disputes in Northeastern India. But such violence from the feud is now at a new level.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) calls the violence in Assam a “major national crisis.”

400,000 villagers in Assam have fled for their lives. 235 relief camps have been set up for displaced people.

Several GFA churches for Bodo Christians have been destroyed. On top of that, rioters have also devastated 15 believers’ homes.

GFA has around 60 congregations in a danger zone where violence is occurring. They also have 70 missionaries in the region.

Compassion Services through GFA are working to bring aid relief to displaced villagers and victims. As they bring the aid, GFA says they are seeking to give people the hope of Christ in this time of trial.

The ethnic rioting piggybacks on flooding that hit the Bodo region earlier. GFA missionaries are still helping many recover from both disasters. They ask for prayer.

Please pray for the safety of Christians and villagers in Assam. Pray for peace to come to the region.

Good news in missionary abduction case

(Images courtesy of Gospel For Asia.
 Cover photo of church, Story photo of Assam map.)

India (GFA/MNN) ―Kidnapping, threats, terror, and ransom demands: all part of a typical action movie.

In this case, it was only too real for Gospel For Asiamissionary Ponnachan George.

Kidnapped at gunpoint on July 23 from the Bible school campus operated by Gospel for Asia, the terrorists released him on Sunday, July 29. GFA founder and president K.P. Yohannan says in Assam, India, "The chance of him coming out alive was actually a very small percentage. It's a real miracle. The local police, the state government, all authorities, and even the Central Government...everyone got involved."

GFA also broke with its usual low-profile policy for the protection of the victim in such cases as the Indian news media begins to report on George's abduction. With concerns that the attention from national press may further endanger his life, believers prayed more urgently. Yohannan explains, "When you go public with it, then they will say, 'If anybody talks about it, then for sure, without the ransom we're looking for,  we'll just kill him."

God answered in a big way, says Yohanna. "Finally, after almost a week, [George] was released. Of course, blindfolded, his hands tied back, left on the roadside" -- and without the huge ransom they demanded!  

There's only one reason this situation ended well. Initially, when word of the kidnapping occurred, GFA sent out an emergency e-mail to its supporters urgently soliciting prayer for the safe release of George. The mission agency maintains a policy of non-negotiation with terrorists for money. Although this was the riskiest case, in other instances GFA has relied solely on prayer and fasting, and God has answered through miraculous releases before.

Interestingly, Yohannan says the entire local police force, army personnel, and high-level officials--both from the state and federal governments and even the Prime Minister--got involved in the case. Not only that, but the main extremist groups, known for employing this method of operation, distanced themselves from the action, too. "Most of these leaders came forward to the media and said, 'None of these groups have done it. It's some splinter group that lives in the deep of the forests that is doing this.' That kind of support, even from the ex-terrorists, was quite a surprise."

Shortly after the release, Yohannan spoke with Pastor Ponnachan and asked him to share his thoughts during captivity. Overcome, he wept for a long time, unable to say much. "Finally he said, 'I thought about Christ suffering on the Cross, and I said to myself, 'I came here as Jesus came from Heaven to suffer and give His life. It's a one-way ticket my leaders gave me to be here to serve God."

George thanked God and the Body of Christ for the massive fasting and prayer that took place on his behalf. Yohannan added that George had surrendered his life to the Lord. "'This is the end of the journey. Fine, Lord.' This kind of statement makes me weep and say, 'Lord, thank You. This is a real life and a real call.'"

The pastor knew his life on hanging on a slender thread. The terrorists blindfolded him and tied his hands behind his back. They forced him to walk for hours deep into the forest to their hideout. Throughout Ponnachan's entire ordeal, his captors repeatedly told him they were going to shoot him and would not spare him.

In the end, God's direct intervention through the collective voices calling for his safe return held sway.  Pastor Ponnachan's work with GFA has done a lot of good for a lot of people: schools, literacy programs, training, water wells, and many other community development projects. 

Yohannan says, "This leader provides us 300 missionaries, 200 parishes or churches, some 4,000 children at our Bridge of Hope centers, and three radio broadcasts."

Could there be another attack coming? It's possible, because the area is volatile. However, Yohannan says, that won't deter their team. The strength behind their team's faith in Christ and love for the needy was stronger than ever on Sunday. "When they released him, all our workers, all our leaders, continued to stay there--they didn't run away. [They spent the night] there and regrouped and declared, 'We are here for life. We're not going anywhere.'"

Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org) is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to serving the needy in word and deed to demonstrate the love of Jesus in developing countries in Asia. 

GFA-supported national missionaries are seeing incredible fruit in the lives of people to whom they are proclaiming the Love of Jesus Christ. Although they often risk persecution, these missionaries boldly carry on, counting it a privilege to suffer for Christ.

Gospel for Asia has 67 Bible colleges throughout South Asia, where thousands of men and women are studying God's Word and undergoing intensive training in preparation for ministry. 

Most of the Bible college graduates will go on to minister in areas where the love of Christ has never been proclaimed.