Displaying items by tag: India

Thursday, 16 April 2020 22:10

India: children struggling to survive

On 24 March India shut its £2.3 trillion economy, closing businesses and issuing strict stay-at-home orders to over a billion people. The lockdown, due to end on 14 April, has been extended as the virus spreads through dense communities and new clusters of infection are being reported daily. The sudden lockdown threw the lives of millions of children into chaos. Tens of thousands are calling helplines daily, and thousands are going to bed hungry. India has the largest child population in the world (472 million). The lockdown has impacted 40 million children from poor families. Everyone must stay home - but what about the street children? Where do they go? Officially Delhi has over 70,000 street children, but the real number is much higher. Pray for the millions of homeless children on streets, under flyovers, or narrow lanes and bylanes. See

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 02 April 2020 21:49

India: lockdown improves air quality

Lockdown has reduced vehicle traffic across India, leading to a drop in air pollution in over 90 cities, including Delhi. Welcoming the reduced pollution, environmentalists are now urging the government to treat it as a ‘wake-up call’ and stop its ‘obsession’ with development at the cost of the environment. Shutting down of industries, construction and traffic have contributed in improving the air quality. Rain is also helping, but the curbs on local emissions are playing a significant role in recording air quality in the range of good in 51 cities and satisfactory in 51 cities.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 19 March 2020 23:27

India: police implicated in Hindu riots

As the Hindu mob descended, Delhi market stalls were reduced to ashes, just 100 metres away from two police stations. The mobs came three times; desperate stallholders repeatedly ran to the police stations crying out for help, but the gates were locked from the inside. No help came. ‘How could they set fire to our market in such a horrific way, while it is so close to two police stations, and not be stopped?’ said a shopkeeper. ‘If I complain against the police I will face very serious trouble.’ The worst religious conflict to engulf Delhi in decades raises questions about the role that the police played. 75% of the 51 dead were Muslim, and many Muslims are still missing. The catalyst for the riots is widely acknowledged to be a BJP leader declaring that if the police did not clear the streets of objectors to the new citizenship law, his supporters would be ‘forced to hit the streets’.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 05 March 2020 23:16

More slaves freed

Last week Prayer Alert intercessors praised God for 115 people rescued from bonded-labour slavery in India. This week we can celebrate the release of 204 people, including 41 children, from two large Indian brick kilns in one of their largest ever joint rescue operations. Click the ‘More’ button for the heart-warming story of recovery.

Published in Praise Reports

NEW DELHI: Tensions remained high in India's capital on Thursday (Feb 27), as thousands of riot police and paramilitaries patrolled streets littered with the debris from days of sectarian riots that have killed 38 people.

An uneasy calm has descended over the affected northeast fringes of the Indian capital, punctuated by sporadic outbreaks of violence overnight.

The unrest was the latest bout of violence over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's citizenship law, which triggered months of demonstrations that turned deadly in December.

India's parliament has passed a bill which offers amnesty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from three neighbouring countries.  The bill provides citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), says this will give sanctuary to people fleeing religious persecution.  Critics say the bill is part of a BJP agenda to marginalise Muslims.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) passed the upper house of parliament, where the BJP lacks a majority, by 125 votes to 105 on 11 December. It had cleared the lower house two days earlier.

The bill has already prompted widespread protests in the north-east of the country which borders Bangladesh, as many people there say they will be "overrun" by immigrants from across the border.

Sunil Kumar, director of the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, said on Thursday it had registered 34 deaths, adding that "all of them had gunshot injuries".

Many of India's 200 million Muslims fear the citizenship law - combined with a mooted citizens' register - will leave them stateless or even sent to detention camps.  They and critics see Modi's right-wing ruling party, which is linked to once-banned militaristic Hindu group RSS, as wanting to turn officially secular India into a Hindu nation.

His party has denied the allegations but in recent weeks BJP politicians, including in an ugly recent campaign for Delhi elections, have called the demonstrators "anti-nationals" and "jihadists".

The Evangelical Fellowship of India in a statement said:  'The Christian community in India, and especially in the Delhi region, is deeply shocked and pained at the bloodshed, carnage and mayhem let loose on the streets, homes and mosques of the national capital.  The Evangelical Fellowship of India condemns this reprehensible violence that has so far resulted in 23 deaths, as the work of vested political interests and forces of hate.

'We appeal to the people of Delhi to maintain peace, and not to give in to vicious vitriolic fed by rumors and spread through social media. We must not let hate win.

'EFI calls the Church at large to uphold the people of Delhi in our prayers. This Ash Wednesday, as we begin the season of Lent, let us pray for peace and harmony to prevail in our land, and for violence to cease.

More at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/tensions-high-in-new-delhi-as-death-toll-from-sectarian-riots-12478078  More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-50670393 
More at: http://efionline.org/articles/350/20200226/efi-statement-on-the-violence-in-delhi.htm

Friday, 28 February 2020 03:34

India: Organised religious violence in Delhi

Unrelenting violence consumes northeast Delhi as roving mobs with iron rods, sledgehammers and guns rampaged through the streets, committing arson, vandalism and terrifying residents since 22 February. On 27 February police said that WhatsApp was used by the gangs who indiscriminately injured children and the elderly. They vandalised and burnt schools, homes, cars and businesses leaving 35+ dead and 200+ injured because a new citizenship law allows 'persecuted minorities’ (Muslims Christians, Parsees, Sikhs, Buddhist etc.) citizenship status after six years of residency. From the start Hindus were considered ‘natural citizens’ of India and reject the new law. Police seized 50 mobile phones used by rioters to organise themselves by directing hired thugs from Uttar Pradesh and whipping up frenzied violence. Delhi Police and the Home Ministry said that the situation is under control, but the violence has not abated and the death toll has climbed steadily since the first day.

Published in Worldwide

Police are investigating an attack on a bus carrying seventy Christians home from the national congress of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches in Tamil Nadu. Three men on motorcycles threatened passengers, smashed the bus windscreen, and injured the driver and passengers, including children and the elderly. Religious intolerance and violence is festering and taking root in the world’s largest democracy. Religious minorities in India should feel safe and free to practise and profess their religion or belief without any fear of reproach, and Christian Solidarity Worldwide called on authorities to put an end to institutional propaganda that incites hatred towards religious minorities. ‘The police must follow up with a thorough investigation of this incident and not allow themselves to be influenced by hard-line religious nationalists as they seek to hold those responsible to account.’ The congress saw Christian leaders call for prayers for peace at a time when churches are being closed, prayer meetings disrupted, and individuals targeted.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 19 December 2019 22:11

Vulnerable churches at Christmas

Here are a few of the many incidents of Christmas attacks on Christians in 2018. Two days before Egypt’s Christian celebrations, a specialist in mine clearance died defusing a bomb hidden next to a church in Cairo. On 24 December a Methodist church in Bury offering night shelter to homeless refugees was attacked by arsonists who also stole their laptop and projector equipment. In Indonesia over 90,000 police and soldiers helped guard 50,000 churches across the country, including those previously attacked by terrorists. In India on 23 December a mob attacked forty people worshipping at a church in Kowad, injuring ten people. Militants increase their attacks on Nigerian churches at this time, and in Pakistan a planned attack was foiled in Karachi. See

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 12 December 2019 23:26

India: intolerance increasing

Across India, there is a rising intolerance towards missionaries, pastors and priests. Violence against Christians has resulted in loss of lives, livelihoods and property. Rights-based organisations have documented over 250 incidents of violence and hate crimes against Christians between January and November. Open Doors states, ‘India continues its violence against Christians; Hindu radicals believe they can attack Christians with no consequences. The view of the nationalists is that to be Indian is to be Hindu, so Christianity is “non-Indian”. Additionally, in some regions of the country, converts to Christianity from Hinduism experience extreme persecution, discrimination and violence. Pray for Christian converts from Hinduism who are pressured forcefully to return to their national religion. Pray for Christians in India to know God’s provision and protection as they preach the gospel in places with anti-conversion laws.’ See also

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 29 November 2019 12:22

WORLD WATCH LIST - Global trends in 2019

Open Doors latest report brings much sobering reading, but also a few positive glimmers.

In Brief:

North Korea (1) tops the World Watch List for the 18th year in a row. Despite its ranking in the top slot it did free three Korean-American Christians from a North Korean prison.

Persecution of Christians is getting worse. Five years ago only one country – North Korea – was ranked in the ‘extreme’ category for its level of persecution of Christians. This year, 11 countries score enough to fit that category.

China (27) has risen 16 places in the list after new Regulations for Religious Affairs came into force in February 2018.

In Myanmar (18) tens of thousands of members of the Karen tribe – a majority-Christian ethnic tribe – have been killed and least 120,000 displaced.

India (10) has entered the top ten for the first time. The BJP-led government continues to promote an extremist militant Hindu agenda.

In Turkey (26) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been stirring up ultra-nationalistic sentiment for some time and this has caused added difficulties for Christians in Turkey, especially Evangelicals.

As radical Islam has been forced out of the Middle East, it has spread into sub-Saharan Africa. Almost 30 violent Islamic extremist groups are known to be active in the region.

Islamic militants also have also gained strength in failed states like Somalia (3), Libya (4) and Yemen (8), where they continue to recruit, and capture pockets of territory.

The two places where Christians suffer the most violence are Nigeria (12) and Pakistan (5).

THE WORLD WATCH LIST: THREE MAIN TRENDS

Three major trends have shaped persecution against Christians this year:

Authoritarian states are clamping down and using legal regulations to control religion.

Ultra-nationalists are depicting Christians as ‘alien’ or ‘western’ and trying to drive them out.

Radical Islam has moved from the Middle East to sub-Saharan Africa.

GOOD NEWS

It’s not all bad news! There is light in the darkness, and the courageous faith of Christians is evident, even in the harshest conditions.

Worldwide: Above all, the World Watch List shows that the church is active and alive. Persecution is rising – but that only happens where the church is actively sharing the gospel and living it out.

Read the full report and download resources from the Open Doors Website Here: https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/trends/

Pray: Lets continue to be in prayer for the estimated 245 million people worldwide who are persecuted for their Christian faith.
Pray: For those who are in prison, detention or separation from their families, due to their faith.
Pray: For the estimated 11 people a day who are martyred for being a Christian – and for their families and loved ones. (Rev 2:10)
Pray: For strength and encouragement for the Church of Christ – that it will continue to grow and flourish despite the persecution.