The Voice of the Martyrs Canada :: Four Christians arrested in Madhya 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

Four Christians arrested in Madhya Pradesh

January 07, 2009

Police arrested four Christians on false charges of forcible conversion in the village of Kushalpura, Madhya Pradesh, India on January 5. At approximately 10:00 a.m., Pastor Kantilal Bhuria (35) went to the home of a local Christian where 25 believers were gathered for prayer. During the service, a mob of Hindu militants barged into the house and accused Pastor Bhuria of forcibly converting Hindus. The militants verbally abused those present and beat a Christian woman. The police arrived on scene after receiving a phone call from the attackers and arrested four believers. At last report, these Christians remained in detention.

Pray for the release of these Christians. Ask God to give them and other suffering believers in India grace, wisdom and endurance as they serve Him (1 Peter 5:10).

To learn more about those suffering for Christ's sake in India, go to the India Country Report.