Church Building Converted to Hindu Temple

Pastor Bhatti

Pastor's home converted into a Hindu temple
Pictures courtesy of Gospel for Asia
The November 16 Persecution and Prayer Alert reported on sixty Christians in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh who were under death threats if they did not reconvert to Hinduism (click here for more information).  According to a December 12 report from Gospel for Asia, the home of Pastor Ramesh Masih Bhatti, where the church was meeting, has been taken over by area Hindus and converted into a Hindu temple.  A Hindu god has been placed at the doorway and Bhatti has been forced to take his family from the home where they had lived for twenty-five years and move in with relatives.  Local officials appear to have sided with the militants who drove the family from their home.  A militant leader in the area has reportedly announced a campaign to move throughout the area villages forcing Christians to reconvert to Hinduism.

(Source: ASSIST News Service)

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India News

  • Severe Restrictions Accompany Anti-Conversion Legislation
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    A church in India.
    Photo: World Watch Monitor

    In early July, the Maharashtra state government announced plans to introduce stringent anti-conversion legislation. The new laws, which are expected to be the most severe of their kind in the country, are particularly aimed at preventing religious conversions within tribal communities. While the stated intent is to prevent incidents of coercion, legislators have used language demonstrating a broader aim to restrict religious conversions of any sort. During the announcement, the state's revenue minister, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, declared that the law would be so strict "no one will dare to undertake religious conversion."

    Read more...

  • Legislator Issues Bounties on Evangelists' Lives
    Village homes are scattered across a forested hillside.
    A village in Maharashtra
    Photo: Wikimedia / Nikhil More (cc)

    A legislator in India's Maharashtra state has publicly announced the issuance of bounties on the lives of Christians who visit villages for the purpose of proselytization. In a speech that he made on June 17th, Gopichand Padalkar offered rewards ranging from 300,000 rupees (about $4,800 CAD) for assaulting a Gospel worker to over one million rupees (approximately $17,500 CAD) for killing a pastor. The legislator's remarks were made in retaliation, following the suicide of a young woman who had allegedly been pressured by her in-laws to pay a customary dowry and adhere to the family's belief in Christianity.

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  • Christians Hold Peaceful Protests for Equality
    Pastors and leaders are seated together inside a building. Faces are blurred to obsctruct their identity.
    Believers in India.
    Photo: VOMC
     

    Amid escalating violence and discrimination against Christians in India, the need for greater awareness and advocacy has become increasingly urgent. On June 9th, a group called the National Christian Front organized peaceful demonstrations in the state of Odisha to protest against government policies that promote Hindu nationalism. Additionally, the protests drew attention to the many challenges facing religious minorities across the country.

    Read more...

  • Christians Denied Burial Rights
    A cemetery shows graves arranged closely together.
    A cemetery in India.
    Photo: Public Domain

    Since 2022, Christians in the Nabarangpur district of Odisha have faced at least eight separate instances in which they have been denied the right to bury their loved ones. In many of these cases, opposing community members refused to allow the burial of deceased Christians in a cemetery used by Hindus, forcing the families to instead bury their loved ones in the forest or other locations.

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