On the morning of May 10th, members of a Hindu nationalist organization travelled to disrupt several worship services in the city of Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, where they verbally confronted the churches' pastors and demanded to see their identification papers. In some cases, police were also present to monitor the situation.
The aggressors, who are members of the Hindu Jagran Manch organization, accused the congregations of holding "healing meetings" as a cover-up for conversion activities. They called on authorities to strictly enforce the state's new law against forcible conversions, which came into effect in early April. (See here for more details.)
Anti-conversion legislation in India has commonly been used to intimidate and harass Christians across the country. In a separate incident within the same state, a Christian family in the village of Madgaon was violently attacked on May 9th by two men who confronted the believers while they were harvesting mangoes. As a result of the confrontation, the five family members sustained serious injuries and required medical treatment at a local hospital.
The targeted believers were told by their attackers that they had no right to live in the village due to their conversions to Christianity. Prior to this, the Christians regularly encountered various forms of intimidation and threat over recent months, including demands that they renounce their faith or face expulsion.
Pastor Simon Digbal Tandi from the Progressive Christian Alliance has noted a significant increase in attacks against fellow followers of Christ in Chhattisgarh since the new law was enacted. "Almost every other day, we hear [of] such incidents in the state, raising concern for our people living in the villages," he reported. These escalating attacks are occurring in a state that already ranks second in the country for violence against Christians. To access additional reports addressing religious persecution in India, visit our country profile.
- Prayerfully lift up the injured family in Madgaon, asking the Lord to minister needed healing, comfort and wisdom as they now consider their next steps.
- In fact, may God's loving guidance, protection and peace preside over all Christians throughout Chhattisgarh whose lives are being affected by the increased opposition.
- Pray that India's governing leaders would acquire a better understanding of the many challenges faced by religious minorities and, therefore, be moved to establish policies that will support the freedoms and rights of all citizens.
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