Several incidents in recent days exemplify the severe oppression facing Christians throughout India. As the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh tighten their anti-conversion legislation, Christians in areas throughout the country face charges and violence because of their faith and testimony for Christ.
In late July, Pastor Venketesh was forced to flee his village of Soulanga in the Indian state of Karnataka after he was attacked by Hindu militants and threatened by the police inspector. Venketesh was forced to flee without his wife and fifteen-day-old child. When he filed a police report on the incident, as many as three hundred protestors retaliated by going to his home on August 6 and threatening to kill his wife Manjula and the baby if they did not leave the village within four days.
According to a report on http://www.konkaniworld.com/, Father Thomas P.T. from St. Michael's Church in Jhapadra, Madhya Pradesh was arrested on July 21 on charges related to the state's anti-conversion legislation. The charges relate to false accusations that the Catholic school in the area was giving free tuition to students who convert to Christianity. Similar accusations have been made in the past and dismissed as false.
On July 24, two Catholic priests, Soby Thomas and Vinod Kanat, were ambushed by a gang of youths wielding sticks and cricket bats. Both men were taken to hospital because of their injuries. Father Thomas required stitches for a head wound. There have been five arrests.
On July 29, four young women from the Good Shepherd Community Church were abused and then taken to the police station for showing a film on Christ in the village of Chinnamalpuram in Tamil Nadu. No police report was filed against the four.
Pray for protection for Pastor Venketesh and his family. Pray that they will stand firm in the midst of their suffering (Psalm 40:1-2). Pray for all those facing legal troubles because of their testimony for Christ. Pray that they will have the words needed to answer their accusers (Luke 12:11-12).
For more information on the persecution facing Christians in India, click here. A recent video report on the persecution in India can be viewed on VOMC's multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.
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