On February 28, approximately 500 Hindu militants attacked a Gospel for Asia (GFA) Bible school in Brajarajnagar, Orissa state. According to a March 6 report from Compass Direct, the mob of Barjang Dal group members armed with sticks, axes and swords forcibly entered the campus of the Believers Church Bible College and started to beat the 240 students and staff members present. The women's dorm director and five of the students were seriously injured. One student is reported to be in critical condition. The attackers also ransacked the campus, destroying many school building roofs and disconnecting the electricity. They demanded that the school be closed and that GFA cease all their work in the state. At last report, no one had been arrested for the attack.
Pray that God will give healing to all those who have been injured. Pray for Christians throughout India who are facing opposition from Hindu groups determined to stop the spread of Christianity.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, click here.
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.”
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.
A village in India. Photo: Flickr / Rakshit Pandey (CC)
A Christian family residing in a tribal village of Chhattisgarh state has been denied permission to bury a relative who passed away, unless they first convert to Hinduism. Local villagers claim that allowing a Christian burial would defile their land and anger their deities.
A prayer meeting in the home of the deceased. Photo: Morning Star News
In a tribal region of Odisha State, three members of a Christian family were recently killed by close relatives, leaving three children orphaned and now in hiding. The incident took place in the village of Nialijharan on January 25th, claiming the lives of Jitendra Soren and his wife Malati, along with their 15-year-old daughter Sasmita.
Pastor Bipin Bihari Naik being paraded in the street. Photo: Morning Star News
Pastor Bipin Bihari Naik had just gathered with other believers for prayer in the village of Kandarsinga, Odisha State, on January 4th when a group of men burst into the home where the meeting was taking place. The men dragged the pastor outside and began to violently assault him. When Pastor Bipin's wife attempted to intervene, she was threatened with similar treatment.
A small bus in India. Photo: Wikimedia / Karthikndr (CC)
A Christian evangelistic team was brutally attacked in early January near the village of Korrakudu in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Not only were several believers injured during the ambush, the minibus they had been travelling in was also destroyed.