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Indian Christians Experience Record-Breaking Persecution in 2017
CBN News 08-24-2017
Indian Christians experienced almost as many attacks in the first half of the 2017 as they did in the entire year of 2016.
That's according to a new report from the persecution watchdog organization Open Doors. According to the report, there were 410 reported incidents targeting Indian Christians in the first six months of this year. Last year, there were 441 reported incidents total.
Eighty-four of those incidents were violent assaults. Of those 84 violent attacks, 32 would have been deadly if timely medical-aid had not been provided.
One partner told Open Doors the Indian government fails to punish attackers, which emboldens them to target Christians even more.
"When Christians are beaten up by extremists, they are injured mostly on their heads or vital body parts. There was one incident earlier this year when the victim was attacked by a sword to his head. He was bleeding profusely and was critically injured… Attackers do not care if the person dies. They know they will not be punished because the Government (and hence the judiciary) will take their side. In most cases attackers go unpunished," the partner said.
While some Christians may not be physically attacked, they pay a heavy societal toll for following Christ.
According to the report, many Christians become social outcasts or are forced to leave their homes for fear of their safety.
The biggest perpetrators of this persecution are Hindu extremists.
While the Indian government speaks of religious freedom and secularism, the government is run by a Hindu nationalist party called RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).
Leaders are embracing Hinduism more and becoming less tolerant of other religions, especially Christians.
One Christian leader said he was once a Hindu nationalist and persecuted Christians before he made the decision to follow Christ.
"Before I converted to Christianity, I used to be a staunch Hindu. I also joined RSS at that time and started working with them. The party upholds Hindutva ideology and believes that if Christians in India aren't controlled, they would convert all the Hindus in the country and Hindutva would lose its identity," he told Oepn Doors. "Hence RSS wants to do their best to stop Christians from preaching about their faith. They would go to any extremes for that. I myself persecuted many Christians until I came to the Christian faith and realized what I had been doing."
India's Christians are fighting back by lobbying their government officials.
The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), which represents 14 million Protestant and Orthodox Christians, recently wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in hopes he would condemn the persecution.
No such actions have been taken by the Indian government since that letter was written.
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Throughout the seven decades since it declared independence, Israel has waged an ongoing struggle for legitimacy, navigating the global arena to find its place among the nations.
While many factors went into Israeli independence, the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 and subsequent Resolution 181 laid the foundation. As with any contentious vote, there was significant lobbying and horse trading involved. But ultimately, 33 countries voted in favor, securing the necessary two-thirds majority in the U.N. General Assembly for the establishment of a Jewish and Arab state in the former British Mandate of Palestine.
For Israel's 69th Independence Day, JNS.org looks at how four countries actively involved in the historic 1947 vote not only shaped Israeli history, but have robust current relationships with the Jewish state and might play key roles in the country's future.
Guatemala
This small and largely impoverished Central American country—with significant natural resources, rich history and vast biodiversity—represents an important partner for Israel as the latter seeks to build non-traditional allies worldwide.
Late last year, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales made a historic visit to Israel, where Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein noted the key role Guatemala played in the 1947 vote by enlisting 13 Latin American and Caribbean—the most from any regional bloc—to vote in favor of the partition plan.
"It could be that without Guatemala, the resolution on that fateful day would not have passed, and history would be very different," Edelstein said.
During his visit, Morales—a devout evangelical Christian—said he looked forward to bolstering agriculture, science, technology and security ties with Israel.
Liberia
As one of the few independent African states in 1947, Liberia's vote was essential to Zionist supporters. The country—founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century—came under intense lobbying from the U.S. which, at the time, threatened to cut its international aid.
Relations between Israel and Liberia have become increasingly important, especially in areas of international aid, agriculture and technology as the Jewish state aims to build relations with sub-Saharan Africa—a key priority of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel was on the frontline helping Liberia deal with the deadly and widespread Ebola virus as the disease raged in West Africa from 2014-2015, killing thousands. Last June, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited Israel, where she noted the Jewish state's support.
"Throughout my visit with my delegation we wanted to learn about the extraordinary developments which Israel has made, especially in agriculture, which we look at with wonder each time we see it," Sirleaf said. "You have done wonderful things in the field of water. There are a lot of similarities between Liberia and Israel."
Liberia's agriculture minister, along with a dozen high-level African officials, participated in an agricultural conference in Jerusalem last December. Later this year, Netanyahu is scheduled to attend a major African summit in Togo, where Liberia is expected to participate.
India
Unlike the other countries listed here, India voted against the 1947 partition plan, despite Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru famously being lobbied by Albert Einstein to support the resolution. India was in a similar situation as Israel at the time. Both countries were emerging from British colonial rule, and faced nationalist and religious conflict over proposed partitions. Nevertheless, Indian leaders were concerned with maintaining relations with the Muslim world, especially following their own messy partition with Muslim-majority Pakistan.
But the events of 1947 are in the past. In subsequent decades, India and Israel formed a deep bilateral partnership centered on defense and technology. In July, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become the first Indian head of state to visit Israel as the countries mark 25 years of diplomatic relations.
In recent months, India and Israel have signed new defense deals worth billions. In February, Modi approved the $2.5 billion purchase of an advanced anti-aircraft system, and another $1.5 billion in defense deals are set to be completed ahead of Modi's visit.
According to the Hindustan Times, "Though Israel is among the top four military hardware suppliers to India, with more than $1 billion in annual sales to New Delhi, the Modi government is keen to ensure that this visit is not focused on defense ties alone, but encompasses long-term economic and technological cooperation, resulting in a free-trade agreement."
Australia
Australia was one of four British Commonwealth countries voting for the creation of Israel, the others being South Africa, New Zealand and Canada. At the time, Australian External Affairs Minister H.V. Evatt chaired the U.N. committee that recommended acceptance of 1947's partition plan.
In May 1949, when Israel was accepted as a U.N. member, Evatt—who was serving as president of the U.N. General Assembly—welcomed the Israeli delegation, saying, "I look forward to the time when the wounds of the peoples of the Middle East will be healed, when we shall find friendships and, indeed, comradeship among these peoples."
Netanyahu in February embarked on a five-day visit to Australia, the first such trip for an Israeli prime minister, amid a growing focus on building Israel's relations with the Asia-Pacific region.
"Australia and Israel have a strong relationship, which is evident in a number of ways—not least of which has been Australian support for Israel politically, with the economic ties growing dramatically in recent years," Jeremy Jones, director of international affairs for the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, told JNS.org during Netanyahu's visit.
Jones added, "It is not unreasonable to think that the development of Israel's ties with Asia has given Australia—with its geographic, economic and political ties with Asia—a higher significance in Israeli diplomatic thinking."
This article was originally published at JNS.org. Used with permission.
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India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticized for condemning the Palm Sunday attacks on churches in Egypt but failing to condemn attacks in his own country.
Church groups have called for extra security to be provided for churches in the run-up to Easter, and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the Egypt bombings but is not bothered about the blunt intimidation and assaults on Christians under his care," Rev. Roger Gaikwad, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in India, told World Watch Monitor.
"Modi as usual wants to maintain a good international image. Such a statement (condemning attacks in Egypt) also bolsters the stereotype of Muslims as terrorists and Christians as people who are attacked because their proselytizing activities are inviting problems for themselves."
The Evangelical Fellowship of India released a statement today (April 11), in which it criticized the "targeting of Christians on special days of worship, such as Palm Sunday" as "condemnable".
"We urge the respective state governments and the central (federal) government to not only take note of these violations, but also to take action to curtail the non-state actors who function with impunity," the statement read.
"It is important, especially now as we are in the Passion Week, for, going by the trends so far, it seems the incidents may escalate during Good Friday and Easter. It does not reflect well on the world's largest democracy, if incidents like these continue to hound religious minorities.
"We also request that the state machinery be held accountable and responsible for enforcing the rule of law, so that minorities can live in peace and without fear,"
Four of the five states in which the incidents took place are ruled by the Hindu-nationalist BJP—Modi's party. Meanwhile, so-called "anti-conversion laws"—which on the face of it protect against forced conversions but in reality discriminate against minority groups by forbidding them from any evangelism—are in force in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where one attack took place, while they are also soon likely to be introduced in the western state of Rajasthan, where another incident occurred. Such laws also used to be in force in another of the affected states—the southern state of Tamil Nadu—but were repealed after the ruling party lost all its parliamentary seats.
The National Council of Churches in India said the sudden spurt in anti-Christian violence is a "signal" that Hindu nationalist groups like the BJP and RSS "are going to use the communal card in the most blatant way"—by teaching majority-Hindus that minorities like Christians and Muslims present a threat to the Hindu nation.
Activist John Dayal added: "The rash of violence against Christians, disrupting Palm Sunday prayers, speaks of a heightened impunity, and, we suspect, a more direct collusion of police and local authorities."
What Happened?
The information below, detailing five incidents in five different states on Palm Sunday (April 9), was provided by the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
Madhya Pradesh (Sitabedi village, Khandwa district)
Hindu extremists accompanied by police personnel disrupted a church service. Police arrested the pastors and their wives, and other Christians, and took them to the local police station. Three pastors were detained under the under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act ("anti-conversion law"), but others were released that evening.
Haryana (Kaithal)
Hindu extremists disrupted the church service led by a pastor named Yashpal. The group "threatened and manhandled" the Christians and filed an official complaint at the local police station, alleging Christians had been forcing people to convert. Police then took the Christians into custody. The local inspector said it had been "protective custody" and that they were released after the allegations against them were found to be baseless.
Uttar Pradesh (Jahanpur village, Ghazipur district)
A mob beat up Krishna Paul, the leader of Believers Church, and handed him over to the police. He was released after local Christian leaders intervened and spoke to the police.
Rajasthan (Sri Ganganagar)
Hindu extremists disrupted the service at the church of God, and church leader Saji Mathew was arrested and taken into police custody, along with seven other Christians. Local villagers, with the help of a Hindu priest, had complained to the village chief that Christians had been "engaging in conversions." The village chief then signed a complaint and gave it to the local police, who arrested the Christians. After other local Christian leaders pleaded with the police to release the Christians, they were set free later that night.
Tamil Nadu (Keeranur, Dindigul district)
Government officials disrupted private prayers at the house of a man named Gunasekaran. The officials took video clips and pictures of people praying and then told them to stop. They also told them to ask permission from the District Collector before praying again in the house. Gunasekaran's extended family (about 20 people) have gathered in his house every Sunday for the last 24 years, for private prayers. Gunasekaran was forced to sign a piece of paper and told to report to the local government office the following day. The Evangelical Fellowship of India noted that the prayers are attended only by family members and not by other members of the public, and that no loudspeaker system is used during the prayers.
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Here's Why Compassion International Is Being Forced Out of India
CBN News 03-08-2017
+5
Next week, Compassion International will close its doors in India for the first time in decades.
The ministry, which has focused on caring for India's poorest children, is leaving behind 48 years of ministry.
Christianity Today reports the charity has exhausted every effort to stay after the Indian government denied the group the ability to transfer funds into the country.
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Compassion even enlisted the aid of Secretary of State John Kerry last year, who spoke with Indian officials about the situation on behalf of Compassion.
The move will leave more than 145,000 Indian children without aid. It will also shut down the 589 Indian-staffed development centers that care for them.
Compassion International President and CEO Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado told Christianity Today "I feel frustrated."
Mellado says that last February, India's Ministry of Home Affairs put Compassion on a list of organizations needing government approval to transfer funds into the country. The government then denied approval to Compassion.
The move comes as Christians in India face growing hostility and violence from Hindu extremists. Open Doors has moved India to number 15 on its list of countries where it's hardest to be a Christian, up from 31 in 2013.
Compassion says that about 40 percent of the local Indian churches that it has partnered with are still working with children, just without Compassion's financial support.
Compassion partners with more than 7,000 churches in 25 countries to provide child development aid for nearly two million children.
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