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Persecution News - India

India Profile

Total Area:
3,287,590 sq. km

Population:
1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est.)

Ethnicity:
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and Other 3% (2000)

Language:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language.

Religion:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, Other 1.8% (2001)

Government Type:
Federal Republic

Capital:
New Delhi

Population Below Poverty Line:
25% (2007 est.)

Country Reports

Christians Beaten, Accused of Forcible Conversion in India

There were at least three incidents of attacks against Christians in India in recent weeks.

At approximately 1:00 p.m on July 5, four Hindu militants attacked an evangelist, Shyam Kumar (22), while he was distributing Gospel tracts to the poor in the village of Baswapur, Andhra Pradesh. The militants falsely accused him of forcibly converting people and severely beat him, rendering him unconscious. He was later found by a friend and hospitalized for his injuries.

On July 10, Pastor A. Jayrag was assaulted by Hindu militants who opposed local authorities' decision to grant him permission to build a church in the village of Dandu Mylavaram, Andhra Pradesh. At approximately 9:00 p.m., the assailants barged into the house of the pastor and dragged him outside. He was beaten, kicked, accused of forcibly converting people and warned of dire consequences if he continued to preach the Gospel in the village.

_{^{Ms. Prabhavati (27) and Ms. D. Malleswary
Photo from}}_^GCIC

Two Christian women, Ms. Prabhavati (27) and Ms. D. Malleswary (24), were arrested on false charges of forcible conversion in the town of Vivek Nagar, Bangalore on July 12. At approximately 2:00 p.m., Hindu militants came to the women's church and asked them for Christian tracts. As soon as they received the tracts, however, the militants accused the two believers of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. Police arrested the women and detained them at a local jail where they were ordered to remain for 13 days.

Pray for healing for those who were injured in these attacks. Pray for the release of imprisoned believers. Ask God to strengthen the Body of Christ in India to stand in His grace as it faces continual pressure from Hindu militants (1 Peter 5:10-12).

For more information on the persecution facing Christians in India, click here.