Displaying items by tag: India

‘See, as your Jesus was beaten and killed, so have we killed your pastor now. His body is in a ditch in the forest. Find him and bury him!’ Militants had tied up the Christian pastor and beaten him until he had bloody wounds all over his body. They made him crawl up a mountain, still beating him with their sticks to force him forwards. When Tilak took his last breath, they sent for the village doctor to confirm his death and then threw his body in a ditch. There was no way he could have survived. The Christians from Tilak’s village found his body and brought it home. Laying him in a hut and paying their last respects they did not expect him to start to move and open his eyes. Tilak was alive! Some of his attackers were present when he came back to life. They must have been the most shocked of all.

Four Christians in the eastern state of Jharkhand, in prison since May on charges of forced conversion, have been released. Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) said their troubles began when the father of one of the believers said they had attempted to physically force him to convert to Christianity. Police had said that Somaru Manjhi's daughter, Sumanti, was to be married on 30 May. The 65-year-old man said he was beaten with a bamboo stick by Sumanti, her fiancé Rupash, and two Christian missionaries after he opposed his daughter's desire for a Christian wedding. VOMC said, ‘We are pleased to report that after investigation, the four falsely accused Christians have been released from police custody. However, while praising God for their release, we remain mindful of their need for God's help and protection as they return to their communities and families.’

Monsoon flood waters have receded in Kerala after the worst monsoon rains in a century, allowing authorities to retrieve the bodies of victims and enabling residents to start assessing the damage to their homes. But it is feared that thousands of people are still trapped in the worst-hit areas. Pray for regular supplies of clean drinking water and electricity to be distributed quickly and fairly to the state’s 33 million residents. Pray for the thousands of army, navy and air force personnel still searching for survivors and delivering food, medicine and water to those stranded in remote, hilly areas cut off by damaged roads and bridges. Pray for the 1,028,000 people sheltering in 3,274 relief camps. Disinfectants in adequate quantities are needed to prevent water-borne diseases. Pray for more paramedics to be available to advise and give medical aid. The government said it needs hundreds of thousands of electricians, plumbers and carpenters to bring Kerala back to normality. See

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to provide healthcare and insurance to half a billion Indians, a people-mass larger than the entire population of South America, is facing serious hurdles.  Almost five months after announcing the programme they are still working to lock in hospitals and insurance companies in time for the planned 15 August launch (India’s Independence Day). The healthcare scheme aims to cover the poorest 40% in a country where a 2017 World Health Organisation report found personal spending on health pushed over 52 million people below the poverty line. Although beneficiaries are identified and IT infrastructure is in place, the involvement of hospitals still needs to be finalised. It is the government's second major welfare push this year. It recently presented a draft bill on a social security programme designed to cover the country’s 500 million poorest workers, including those in informal employment.

India's capital Delhi is battling high pollution levels and extreme temperatures due to an unusual dust haze covering the city. Many people have breathing problems and say the city has become an unliveable place. The state government has banned all construction, and the fire brigade is sprinkling water across the city. People are advised to stay indoors as much as possible. Fourteen Indian cities are among the world's most polluted, according to World Health Organisation. The dust is a carrier of PM2.5 - tiny but deadly air particles, which can increase the likelihood of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Delhi's air pollution is triggering a health crisis. Many residents are saying, ‘Right to clean air should be a part of right to life as enshrined in the constitution’, and ‘It's high time to bring in electric vehicles’. Others assert that Delhi needs a forest buffer zone, which would not be very expensive to implement.

Nestled in the Himalayas in north-eastern India, Sikkim has been leading a green revolution. Despite being small and isolated, with its people living in extremely tough mountainous terrain, it became the first Indian state to ban disposable plastic bags (1998) and is among the first to target single-use plastic bottles. In 2016 Sikkim banned packaged drinking water in government offices and events, and banned the use of disposable plates and cutlery to cut down toxic plastic and refuse problems. Pray for more governments to be active in promoting environmental programmes that end the global use of single-use plastic. Pray for more research and development into alternative materials to be used to manufacture food packaging, carrier bags, plastic pipes, electrical cable insulation, and artificial limbs. Pray for more innovative recycling and composting programmes, and thank God for the work of Christian environmental organisations such as A Rocha.

With a rising death toll (15) and the deaths of a nurse and a soldier in Kolkata, panic about Nipah virus is spreading in Kerala. Half-informed WhatsApp messages about Nipah are making it hard for people to distinguish fact from fiction, but what is known is that it is fatal in 70% of cases and there is no vaccine. On 29 May health experts flew to Kerala to help contain the virus that the WHO lists alongside Ebola and Zika as a disease that could cause a global epidemic. Emergency measures have been imposed to curb its spread; dozens of patients have been quarantined since the outbreak was detected two weeks ago. Nipah spreads from bats or pigs to humans, with many strains capable of spreading from person to person. This increases the chances of a strain emerging that spreads rapidly among the densely populated communities and beyond. See

In India, a dust storm affecting three districts in Rajasthan state and Uttar Pradesh has killed 111 and injured hundreds more, with numbers still rising and more storms forecast. Electricity is disrupted, hundreds of trees uprooted, hundreds of houses damaged or destroyed, and livestock killed. Many of the dead were sleeping when their houses collapsed after being struck by intense bursts of lightning. Dust storms are common in this part of India during summer, but loss of life on this scale is rare. Pray for hospitals and emergency services without electricity. In Kenya, over 100 people died and 200,000+ have been displaced by four weeks of floods, landslides and heavy rains. The Red Cross described it as a humanitarian disaster. Severe weather hit central USA on 2 and 3 May, with unusually violent thunderstorms, tornadoes and tennis-ball-sized hailstones taking down trees and power lines. See

Impoverished families trafficked from central Indian states are forced to make thousands of clay bricks daily in appalling conditions. Victims don’t speak out due to intimidation. Officials can’t ascertain the truth. Fortunately, one 13-year-old boy told officials how he worked nine hours a day. His courage emboldened others. Teenage girls described carrying heavy stacks of bricks on their heads. A single mother shared the agony of not getting medical care for her sick child. Soon the local authorities had enough information to complete a rescue operation and bring the victims to safety. On 23 March, IJM reported, ‘nearly 150 children, women and men were rescued from bonded labour slavery in a single Indian brick kiln. Years ago, local leaders would not admit slavery still existed, let alone help families in need. Today the families are receiving medical care, food, ID cards, police protection and release certificates that break any bonds to former owners.’

A power struggle in the Maldives is taking centre stage in a battle for regional influence between India and China. Maldives President Yameen declared a state of emergency after the supreme court ordered him to free political prisoners and opposition politicians he jailed. Security forces then stormed the court and arrested two judges and a former leader. The remaining judges annulled a previous ruling. It is being called an assault on democracy. The political drama sparked concern in India, which issued a strong statement saying it is imperative for the government to adhere to a free trade agreement it made with the Maldives. India views China as a geopolitical foe in Asia and is pushing to maintain geo-strategic supremacy in the Indian Ocean, with backing from the US and Japan. Meanwhile, it has expanded its influence by building ports in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Djibouti (now home to its first overseas military base). See also