The Voice of the Martyrs Canada :: Pastor jailed 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

Pastor jailed in Andhra Pradesh

April 15, 2009

Pastor Prabhu Dass was arrested by police while attending a prayer meeting in a local Christian's home in the village of Dharmapuri, Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh on April 6, according to an April 9 report from All India Christian Council. During the prayer meeting, a man asked Pastor Dass for some Christian literature. When Pastor Dass gave it to him, the man left. He later returned with a group of villagers and they threatened the pastor and accused him of forcibly converting people. Pastor Dass was taken to the local police station where a complaint was filed against him. He was then detained in a local jail and remained imprisoned at last report.

Pray for the release of Pastor Dass. Pray that he and other suffering believers will find strength in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

To learn more about India's suffering Christians, click here.