Pastor attacked and arrested in Karnataka


Pastor Singaram Prakash
Photo from GCIC

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on October 4, Hindu militants attacked Pastor Singaram Prakash (60) after he attended a prayer meeting in Kaiwara village, Karnataka. The militants beat the pastor and accused him of "cheating" people. Police detained the pastor and questioned him for hours about his Christian activities. Twenty-five local people have reportedly presented evidence in support of Pastor Prakash, emphasizing that he had not conducted illegal activities and had only entered people's houses for prayer at their request. At last report, he was still in custody. Pastor Prakash has been leading a church in the nearby village of Tharabanhalli for 10 years.

Pray for Pastor Prakash's release. Pray for safety for his wife and two daughters, who are also involved in ministry in the area.

To learn more about Indian Christians under fire for their faith, visit the India Country Report.

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India Profile

Location
Asia

Population
1,189,172,906 (July 2011 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Indo-Aryan (72), Dravidian (25), Mongoloid and other (3)

Religion (%)
Hindu (74.33), Muslim (14.20), Christian* (5.84), Sikh (1.86), Other (3.27)
*For many reasons, the most recent census (2001) significantly underenumerated Christians at 2.34%.
Christian researchers in India indicate much higher results, even up to 9%. New 2011 census results are expected before 2013.

Leader
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Government type
Federal republic

Legal system
Based on English common law; separate personal law codes apply to Christians, Hindus and Muslims.

Statistics provided by CIA World Factbook and Operation World.