Displaying items by tag: India

Powerful tropical cyclones rarely make it this far north in the Arabian Sea. Gujarat has not had a strong storm make landfall in twenty years. However, the state's additional chief secretary has appealed to those in the path of tropical cyclone Vayu to remain safe and not to venture to coastal areas. ‘Each and every life is valuable for us’, he said. About six million people could be impacted by Vayu; nearly 300,000 people in northwest India have been evacuated to shelters. The cyclone is passing close to the coast, with winds of 145 km/h and gusts of 160 km/h, and a storm surge of two metres has inundated low-lying areas. Fishermen are warned not to venture out to sea. The national disaster response force has deployed 52 teams to deal with the storm’s impact.

Five year plans are centralised and integrated national economic programmes. India launched its first one in 1951 under Jawaharlal Nehru. Although he has no ‘plan’ for the next five years, a bitterly contested election campaign appears poised to give prime minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP party a resounding mandate for the next five years. For thirty years India was governed by a series of broken, temperamental coalitions. Modi’s election in 2014 broke the pattern, and this victory will exceed even the BJP’s expectations. The primary force for Christian persecution in India is Hindu nationalism, which voices the belief that India belongs to the Hindus and that people of other faiths should find somewhere else to live, work and worship. In 2018 more than 12,000 Christians were attacked, but this number is only the tip of the iceberg, researchers say, as increasing numbers of persecution acts go unreported. See

Three Christians stood in disbelief as police clapped them in handcuffs. They went to jail, simply for praying for a sick woman. Surjan, Kolah and Krishna had not been openly sharing the gospel in the streets, which would draw persecution. They had simply prayed for the sick wife of a friend. But the woman died, and the villagers blamed the three Christians who had prayed for her. 27-year-old Krishna had only been a Christian for a month. What would prison do to his young faith? In prison, guards called the three men ‘Hallelujah people’ because they met every morning for prayer and to encourage each other. As months passed, they shared the gospel with fellow prisoners. Thirteen became Christians. After eleven months a lawyer was able to get them released on bail. But they still face a trial. They may yet face a term in in prison for the crime of ‘murder’ by prayer.

Blind pastor Balu Saste's case took three years to be settled in court; his acquittal is being hailed as a triumph by Christian persecution watch groups. The pastor, his wife, and eleven church members were violently attacked by a mob during church services. Police arrested him, his wife, and their six-year-old son, stripped them, beat them, detained them without bail for three days, and falsely charged them with forcing Christian conversions. The story is not unique. Violence against Christians has risen significantly. In three months the United Christian Forum and ADF India have documented over 80 violent mob attacks against Christians in 13 different states across India. The attacks often take a similar shape, and rarely receive police attention. Christians face injustice continually, and the ruling in Balu’s case shows that the fundamental rights of religious minorities can and should be protected in the courtroom and through effective legal advocacy.

Evangelicals believe the ‘evangel’ or Good News brings salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Nearly 10% of the world’s population are now evangelical believers. About 33% of the world’s population identify themselves as Christian. Out of all the regions in the world, India has the fewest Evangelicals or Christians. Unreached peoples and non-believers need missionaries either in their own people group or from abroad to ‘reach them with the message of God’s salvation for them through His Son Jesus Christ’. India is second only to China in having the most isolated peoples, with virtually no Christians of any kind in their own people group. Today almost half of the non-believers are culturally near to significant numbers of believers. The remaining missionary task of reaching these non-believers is smaller than ever before. However, the vast majority of missionaries are still going to the ‘Christian’ areas of the world.

The Indian constitution provides for ‘the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health’, but the latter provisions substantially weaken religious freedom in practice. Many states enforce ‘anti-conversion’ laws, which in some areas require a person to seek permission from their local government 30 days before converting to a new faith. Religious identities are used on official records because some laws that apply differently to different religious groups (for example in tax deductions, bank loans, or marriages) can favour Hindu and Sikh families. Hindu fundamentalists are attacking all places of worship systematically, and extreme complicity is shown by police and authorities. Christians are being attacked, and police are not arresting the attackers. The law provides loopholes to discriminate against religious minorities, enabling newspaper reports to distort news in a way that makes it appear that Christians are not legally permitted to meet in homes and have fellowship. False facts are altering public sentiment.

War would be terrible for India and Pakistan, but for the people of Kashmir peace sounds like the same thing. Shelling has increased along the official Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Indian and Pakistani warplanes occasionally roar overhead, and troops from both sides shoot at each other across the de facto border. Frightened people are praying that it doesn’t escalate into war. Mohammed Shafiq lives on the Pakistani side and built bunkers near his home years ago for just such an occasion. ‘We will use them if there is any attack from India in our area.’ Meanwhile JeM, a Pakistan terrorist group whose primary motive is to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakistan, is accused of aggravating the situation with violent attacks in Kashmir. Although banned, JeM continue to operate there. See

Persecutions of Christians in India rose last year. A report by the Evangelical Fellowship of India recorded 325 incidents where Christians were targeted using violence, intimidation or harassment. However, more disturbing was the sudden spurt of violence in districts of Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous province, and in Tamil Nadu in the extreme south of the subcontinent. The report acknowledged that its data were not exhaustive, as it relied on voluntary reporting and civil society investigations. 'Most cases go unreported either because the victim and witnesses are terrified, or the police just turn a blind eye and refuse to record the mandatory First Information Report of the crime.’ The approaching general election in April/May has contributed to tensions. Politicians’ hate speeches are acting as a catalyst in dividing people. Christians are collateral victims. Also in the lead-up to elections the ‘cold war’ between India and Pakistan is heating up, with military from both sides launching attacks. See

Ever since the 1947 partition when Britain dismantled its Indian empire, India and Pakistan have been arch-rivals. The animosity, rooted in religion, is characterised by conflict over the state of Kashmir. Currently they are on the brink of major confrontation. Pakistan’s president Imran Khan has announced that Islamabad will release IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan, who was captured after an aerial combat that resulted from Indian bombing of alleged ‘terror’ targets inside Pakistan. Mr Khan urged the need for ‘better sense to prevail’, stating the need for the two nuclear-armed countries to remain cool-headed and work together against terrorism in disputed Kashmir. Pray that this latest altercation will prompt the international community to step in and bring the two historically opposing forces into agreement for a more peaceful co-existence.

Recently IJM supported local officials and NGO partners in rescuing two men and nineteen boys from bonded-labour slavery at a factory near Chennai. They had been trapped there since June 2018, making fried Pani Puri snacks popular in north India. These impoverished villagers were recruited with loans of as little as £108, which they were meant to pay off with their labour. Instead, the factory owner charged them impossible interest rates and controlled their every movement so that could never repay the debt. He verbally abused them and beat them viciously if they slowed down during the 18-hour working day - ensuring they were always afraid of him. On 12 January they were successfully rescued. Although the factory owner absconded, a second accused is in custody and has been charged under India’s anti-slavery and child labour laws.