The Voice of the Martyrs Canada :: Church leaders attacked in Andhra Pradesh :: Providing Information and Support for Persecuted Christians

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

Church leaders attacked in Andhra Pradesh

December 31, 2008

^{Photo from}^GCIC

Although Christians were relieved to celebrate Christmas in relative peace and stability in Kandhamal district, Orissa, VOMC received reports of other Indian Christians who were targeted around the Christmas season. At approximately 10:30 p.m. on December 23, several pastors and prayer group leaders were attacked and severely beaten by Hindu militants while returning home from a Christmas prayer meeting near the suburb of Ramnagar in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. At the time of the report, three Hindus had been arrested for their involvement in the attack.

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.