Concerns for Freedom of Religion Continue

A series of recent events in India have intensified concerns for the Christian Church in India. Please take these concerns to the Lord as you pray for the India.

(a) Police joined with local Hindu activists to drive a Christian evangelist from a village in northern India. According to a report from Christian Aid on February 27, Hindu militants threatened him if he didn’t leave and then took him to a local police station, saying he was trying to convert Hindus. The police sided with the militants and he was forced to leave the village.

(b) In the days leading up to elections in four Indian states, the ruling BJP party used Hindu nationalism in an effort to sway the vote, disregarding the concerns of religious minorities. Four measures in particular have raised concerns of Christians in India:

(1) The BJP has struck a deal renewing its relationship with the RSS, an organization dedicated to spreading the Hindu culture and the establishment of India as a Hindu nation and who have often used violence as a means to that end.

(2) A commitment by the BJP to building a Hindu temple on disputed land in Ayodhya. The 16th-century Babri Mosque stood on the site until RSS militants destroyed it in 1992. According to an article in today's Hindustan Times, the Allahabad High Court has ordered excavation to verify if a Ram temple formerly stood on the site in order to determine the rightful owner of the land. The BJP has asked the Muslims to 'gift' the disputed piece of land in the interest of national integration and brotherhood in order that a Hindu temple could be built.

(3) A nationwide ban on the slaughter of cattle, which are considered holy by Hindus.

(4) A national ban on religious conversions, similar to that in Tamil Nadu and other Indian states.

(c) On February 25, Gujarat state government leader Sunder Singh Bhandari introduced the Freedom of Religion Bill to the legislature with a final form of the bill to be decided imminently at a government meeting. Similar bills banning conversions introduced in other states have brought protests by many religious and human rights organizations.

Pray for the Church in India during this time of uncertainty and pressure by governments. Pray that Christians will be free to worship and practice their religion in this country where Christianity has been active for 2000 years.

India Information

  • Current Ministry Projects

    VOMC assists persecuted Christians with legal support and rehabilitation assistance, and cares for children of martyrs by providing them with a safe place to be nurtured physical and spiritually. VOMC also partners to equip Christians in India with Biblical training and works to strengthen and support marginalized and persecuted Christian women. Additionally, VOMC helps to provide medical assistance to believers who have faced injuries after being attacked.”

    Project Funds: Families of Martyrs, Equipping the Saints, Legal Defense, Relief and Development, Women’s Ministry, Medical Fund

  • Country Information

    Population
    1,399,179,585 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Indo-Aryan (72), Dravidian (25), other (3)

    Religion (%)
    Hinduism (79.8), Muslim (14.2), Christianity (2.3), Sikh (1.7), other (2)

    Leader
    President Droupadi Murmu (2022)

    Government type
    Federal parliamentary republic

    Legal system
    Based on English common law; separate personal law codes apply to Christians, Hindus and Muslims.

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for India

    Despite the intimidation and violence that have taken place in many of India's states, may Christians wisely yet unashamedly preach the Gospel. Pray that indigenous Christians and foreign missionaries will minister in ways that do not hint at fraudulent conversions, unmasking the intentions behind the anti-conversion legislation. Intercede for India's leaders, that they may reign with justice and righteousness.

India News

  • Supreme Court to Review Anti-Conversion Laws
    The India Supreme Court building is surrounded by trees.
    The Supreme Court of India.
    Photo: Wikimedia / Subhashish Panigrahi (cc)

    The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear a series of petitions challenging the constitutionality of anti-conversion laws enacted by several of the country's states. On September 16th, the court issued notices to the respective state governments, requesting their formal responses within four weeks. The case is scheduled to be heard in six weeks, and the judges have indicated that they may consider ordering the states to pause the enforcement of their existing laws until a decision is made.

  • New Policies Further Restrict Religious Freedom
    A brightly lit church building is filled with people.
    A church in India.
    Photo: Flickr / Ashish Kumar Milap (cc)

    Recent developments in two Indian states have raised serious concerns for Christians, particularly in relation to the newly heightened restrictions on religious conversions. In the first incident, police in Chhattisgarh notified more than 200 house churches around the state capital city of Raipur that worship gatherings within private homes are no longer permitted.

  • Pastors Arrested and Assaulted
    A crowd is gathered around a church building.
    A screenshot of people disrupting the service in Bhilai.
    Photo: Morning Star News

    On July 20th, six pastors were arrested after a mob disrupted a church service in Bhilai, a city located within the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The assailants chanted Hindu slogans and accused the pastors of engaging in forcible conversions. As the mob grew increasingly vocal, shouting obscenities and threatening violence, Pastor Baksh locked the church doors to protect his congregation members.