The Voice of the Martyrs Canada :: Christian killed in Orissa :: 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

Christian killed in Orissa

April 08, 2009

A 23-year-old Christian man, Gunjan Digal, was run over by a tractor and killed in Gungibadi village, Kandhamal district, Orissa, according to an April 1 report from AsiaNews. Police have claimed that the incident was an "accident." According to eyewitnesses, however, the driver of the tractor intentionally drove into Digal as he was walking on the side of the road. Digal's faith was well-known in the Hindu-majority area.

Pray that those in mourning will find strength, comfort and peace in Christ. Pray that God will continue to raise up cross-bearing disciples in Orissa who are willing to remain faithful to Him at all cost (1 Corinthians 4:9-14, 16).

To find out more about the persecution of Christians in India, click here.