Upcoming political change triggers a rise in persecution

Image courtesy Mission India)

India (MNN) ― Christians are becoming scapegoats in the run-up to India's national elections.

According to ASSIST News, Hindus are trying to secure votes in the run-up to next spring's national elections. India's politics have two major players: the secular Congress Party, which has ruled India for the past decade, and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The BJP official party platform is that India is a country that's only for Hindus," says Dave Stravers of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India. "Hindus have the rights, and any other person of any other religious persuasion should leave the country."

As a result, Christians are coming under fire.

Sajan George, president of the Global Council of India Christians (GCIC), told Morning Star News that persecution in Karnataka state increased from 4 attacks between the months of January and May to 21 attacks from June to mid-September.

"The Hindu extremists want to show their existence by attacking the Christians, and sadly the present Congress government is not serious about these attacks launched against the Christians," Senior Advocate S. Nova Bethania of Christian Legal Association told Morning Star.

"Christians are targeted because of the very fast growth of the Christian Church," states Evans. "We actually have seen presentations by Hindu leaders saying, 'The growth of Christians is so fast in our region, within a generation we'll be majority Christian if we don't put a stop to this.'

"That fear of losing political power when your party is based on religion, because so many people are turning to Christ: that's really the basis of the persecution."

In mid-September, a mob of Hindu extremists beat a 50-year-old believer and dragged her around the streets, Morning Star reports. They also tried to re-convert the woman to Hinduism, pouring water on her to symbolize religious cleansing and applying a red dot to her forehead.

The attack lasted a total of six hours. The woman was eventually rescued by her sister-in-law and taken to a hospital where she was treated for internal injuries and multiple contusions.

"What I am suffering is nothing compared to what my Lord Jesus has suffered," she told Morning Star. "I will love Him forever for giving me a new life."

Mission India workers face the same dangers.

"Our workers are threatened every day," says Stravers. They are "beaten up, attacked, forced out of locations."

Despite daily persecution, the Gospel is spreading and the Church continues to grow.

Mission India's Adult Literacy program and Children's Bible Clubs are widely accepted by Muslim and Hindu populations alike. Click on each program name to learn more.

"Without literacy, [people] cannot participate in the economic growth of India," explains Stravers.

India is one of five developing world economies known as BRICS: Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa compose the rest of the acronym. These countries have experienced an economic boom over the past decade.

Rapid growth isn't limited to the economy.

"I'm just so impressed and overwhelmed, in fact, by the response to the Gospel," says Stravers.

"Everywhere we go, people are open to the message of Christ. People seem so eager to get out from under the burden of Islam, or the burden of Hinduism."

Pray that more people will turn to Christ from these religions. Please ask the Lord to protect Gospel workers in India.

Freedom for all?

India (MNN) ― Kite flying, flag raising and vivid displays of orange, green and white could be seen yesterday as India celebrated 65 years of freedom from British oppression.

On August 15, 1947, India celebrated its first National Independence Day with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru officially unfurling their national flag. Its colors represented hope, courage and peace within their nation.

While these ideals are praised by the country of India, many Christians within its borders still wait for the same type of peace and freedom for themselves in this overwhelmingly-Hindu population.

Lee DeYoung with Words of Hope states, "In the past couple of years, there has been some noteworthy opposition to Christianity, increases in some places in persecution, [and] violent incidents which have prompted many Christians to adopt a lower profile."

The independence gained in India changed the face of Christian missions there. "Conversion" took on a whole new political meaning, and upper caste Hindus felt threatened by the large amount of lower caste Hindus converting to Christianity.

Hindus felt the conversions were politically motivated in the wake of a newly-birthed government, and they set out to stop the "invasion" of more missionaries. Various forms of persecution range from anti-conversion laws oppressing ministry, to harassment and imprisonment of Christian workers.

But with evidence of increased oppression, there is also an increase of Christian believers in India. According to Operation World, 26 million evangelicals currently make up 2.2 percent of India's population.

In advancing the Gospel, Words of Hope ministers to Christians in some of the most oppressed regions of northern India through radio broadcast programs. DeYoung says, "We've been encouraged that in every place we've been, there seems to be an increased listenership to the programs that we sponsor."

Over 500 million people are potentially reached with Words of Hope's Hindi Gospel broadcast program. Please pray that Christians in India would start to gain political recognition and the same religious freedoms enjoyed by others in their country.