Militants from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bajrang Dal beat and robbed a group of 280 Christian students on their way to a graduation ceremony in Kota, India. The graduation ceremonies at Emmanuel Mission take place each February, with students coming from 98 mission centres around India.
The attackers were waiting as the train from Andhra Pradesh arrived with the students in the early morning of February 19. According to a February 22 report from Compass Direct, the Deputy Mayor, Ravindra Singh Nirbhay, led the group which met the students as they left their train. They beat and robbed the students, as well as those coming to take the students to the mission. A Catholic nun traveling on the train was also beaten. Local police rounded up the students and took them to the police station. They were held in custody until the following evening and were then forced to return to their homes. The head of Emmanuel Mission, Dr. M.A. Thomas, was not allowed to meet with the students. The attackers told police that Emmanuel Mission had lured them to Kota with promises of a bicycle and 250 rupees ($14.00 CDN), in exchange for converting to Christianity. The next day another group of 22 students was beaten and forced by police to return home. None of the attackers have been detained by police. Despites threats, Emmanuel Mission plans to continue with graduation as planned.
Pray for safety for the students and staff of Emmanuel Mission. Pray for the continued ministry of Dr. Thomas and other Christian leaders reaching out to people throughout India with the Gospel of Christ. Pray that the students who were mistreated will forgive and then reach out to others with the message of the forgiveness of Christ.
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.
In an affidavit filed earlier this month before India's Supreme Court, officials from the Indian state of Rajasthan announced their plans to introduce legislation that would ban so-called forced religious conversions. The proposal comes after the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took control of the state following elections in late November, unseating the more centrist Indian National Congress.
A Christian woman was beaten to death with a hammer and other weapons on June 24th because of her conversion to Christianity. The murder took place in Toylanka, a village in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Kosa Kawasi's wife, Jime. Photo: Morning Star News
On May 4th, 22-year-old Kosa Kawasi was killed during a violent mob attack while at his home in the village of Kapanar, Chhattisgarh state. The mob, believed to have been led by the young man's uncle and cousin, was angered that Kosa and his wife Jime had converted to Christianity. As a result, the opposing villagers had unsuccessfully tried to force the Christian couple from their home. Following this incident, the angry community members physically confronted the believer – ultimately inflicting a lethal stab wound.
Pastor Ramesh Ahirwar and his wife Sakshi. Photo: Morning Star News
A Christian couple was recently sentenced to prison after accusations were made that they had been involved in pressuring others to convert to Christianity. Pastor Ramesh Ahirwar and his wife Sakshi are from the village of Vivek Nagar in Madhya Pradesh. A man had accused the couple of abducting his estranged wife Sapna (who also happens to be Pastor Ramesh's niece) before allegedly pressuring her to convert, holding the woman against her will, and not allowing her to return home to be with him. He also purported that the Christian couple offered to build Sapna a home and give her money each month. The complainant, Abhishek, further claimed that the Christians attempted to convert him as well, offering him a job in return.
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