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Ask God to grant healing and strength for those injured. Pray that the perpetrators will turn to faith in Christ and become a demonstration of God's love and mercy to others (1 Tim 1:16).
Learn more about how Christians suffer for Christ in India at the India Country Report. The feature article in the January edition of VOMC's monthly newsletter focuses on the persecution of Christians in Orissa, India. Click here to subscribe.
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
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
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.
More than 25 Christians – including children and elderly believers – were injured when a worship service was violently disrupted by Hindu nationalists on May 31st. The attack occurred in the village of Sadrapal, which is located within Chhattisgarh State, as more than 60 Christians gathered for worship. Among those injured were Pastor Hunga Mandavi and his pregnant wife. During the assault, the attackers demanded that the congregants renounce their faith in Christ.
More than 180 Christian families from 32 villages in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh have reportedly been denied access to communal water supplies and livelihood opportunities for refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus.
On the morning of May 10th, members of a Hindu nationalist organization travelled to disrupt several worship services in the city of Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, where they verbally confronted the churches' pastors and demanded to see their identification papers. In some cases, police were also present to monitor the situation.
While many Indian states have instituted laws aimed at preventing coerced or forced religious conversions, the newly passed legislation in Chhattisgarh is notably more severe. Signed into effect by the governor on April 7th, the recently implemented law replaces a 1968 statute that Christian leaders say was frequently used as a weapon against minority communities.
