The Rising Persecution of Christians in India: To suppress, slander, and slaughter others to “save” a particular religion is the biggest deception of all!
Anant and Sukbati had been married for fourteen years, had four daughters and a son. They became Christians through their personal choice and in February 2019, one day, the wife, Sukbati, and daughters had gone to visit a relative in a nearby village when terror struck their home.
Purno, Anant’s Ram’s son, recalls that night, he woke up to a loud knock on the door. Purno and his father were alone at their home. His father opened the door, wondering who it could be at that unearthly hour. They saw three men standing there, looking very fierce. They called Anant to come out and then grabbed him by his neck and pulled him out.
Purno, the son, said, “I was terrified when I saw my father caught by his neck” and pulled out and to his horror, he saw them tie his hands to his back to a pole nearby. Purno says, “I want to do something, but was scared. I followed my father, but they pushed me away. I then ran away to my Uncle’s house not knowing what was going to happen. I had a horrible fear that my father would be killed.”
The next morning, February 11, 2019, Nabarangapur District, Odisha was shocked to hear the gruesome murder of Brother. Anant Ram Gand for his faith in Jesus Christ by the Hindu extremists. His beheaded body and mortal remains were found on a narrow road in full public view. Later Purno and his family got to know the gruesome truth: The perpetrators of this heinous crime first shot Brother Anant Ram in the head then crushed his head with a large stone, and then decapitated him. His body was thrown on the road. When his wife, Sukbati returned to their village and was informed of the terrible crime, she was in shock and stuttered,“Seeing him this way was horrible – my husband was beheaded with a crushed head. He was just lying there, gone to heaven like he had sensed would happen to him one day.”
This event drew Purno and his family closer to God in their sorrow. Pastor Chandan recalls that on most days, Purno fasted and prayed”.
The hatred of the villagers to Sukbati and her family increased because they were Christians. Living in the village became a nightmare. First, they were still grieving from losing Anant, and found no comfort from anyone. Then, they had to deal with the villagers who were extremely hostile towards Sukbati, and the family, depriving them of basic amenities. Water from the public well was denied them, taunted about their newfound faith in Christ, in public. Despite the incredible pressure and intimidation of physical harm this lone Christian family faced at the hands of the villagers, it only fanned their faith for Christ.
In the village, false stories were circulated that Anant Ram was a police informer against the Naxalites.
Sukbati and four daughters and a son will have to continue their lives without their beloved husband and father. It’s difficult for Sukbati to continue her story. Sukbati sees it as a sacrifice for Christ, but not once did she have to face this alone. “Despite everything, God has put comfort, peace, and great grace in my heart.” This documented article was shared by https://persecutionrelief.org.
Attacks on Christians in India are not new, however, this is the first time in India that the attacks are reaching metropolitans across the states, especially after the No Conversion Bill was passed. To go back in time, Odhisa Kandhamal 2008 horror saw one of the worst massacres with a reported five hundred deaths, evidence sourced from the charred bodies and decaying dead in jungles where they were forced to flee and hide, many died from poisonous snakebites in the forest.
Christians were being killed all over in this violent spree executed by Hindu extremist parties, VHP, the Bajrang Dal, and other Sangh. While the official government record was 30 plus was killed, a representative of the local government in Orissa estimated that more than 500 people died as a consequence of the anti-Christian pogrom launched by Hindu radicals. He said he has personally authorized the cremation of at least 200 bodies and at least 500 Christians or more were killed. (Government authorities do not want to accept this testament to squash evidence that the massacre was badly managed and could not contain it for days). Several Christians were forced to flee their villages after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs. The VHP, the Bajrang Dal, and other Sangh reportedly burned 730 houses and 95 churches. Hundreds of displaced Christians took shelter in various relief camps set up by the state government.
In 2021, there were over 500 attacks on Christians and this is carried on to 2022, not sparing Christmas 2021 and January 2022.
Persecution Relief wrote on Facebook that on January 14, 2022, “Kailash Dudwe was very badly beaten up during a house meeting in Kukshi city of Dhar District in Madhya Pradesh. He is still unconscious. Church Call 1800-1234-461 for immediate help when persecuted.”
In September 2021, in another religious hate crime, fanatics linked to allegedly activist Hindutva groups threw acid over a 16-year-old Christian boy, Nitish Kumar, in Gaya, Bihar, India because he had converted to Christianity, once again, his personal choice. He and his family had repeatedly been warned to turn back to Hinduism, but were not willing to convert back and due to this, they poured acid on him, which ultimately killed him. The victim’s sister, told ICC (International Christian Concern) that the incident occurred at 6:30 am, when he left the house to go to market and instantly after leaving, he was ferociously attacked, and while screaming in agony, was carried back into their home by multiple people, with around 60% acid burns all over his body.
With the help of the local Pastor, the boy was rushed to the nearby clinic where he received first aid treatment before being sent to a specialized burn unit in Patna, India. Nitish was horribly disfigured and burned beyond recognition, and died after a week of struggling for his life.
Shockingly, the police refused to file a complaint or to register a case against the killers and stated in their report he died by suicide!
On January 14, 2022, another act of violence occurred in Uttar Pradesh where the Khaga Kotwali police took a Christian Ram Kishan into custody after religious extremists called them up, falsely accusing him of forced conversions. He was only praying with a few gathered inside a house.
The Twitter thread of the incident is shared below:
Khaga Kotwali police took a Christian Ram Kishan into custody after religious extremists called them up, falsely accusing him of forced conversions. He was only praying with a few gathered inside a house. @fatehpurpolice @dgpup @PMOIndia @USCIRF @UN_HRC @Uppolice @FoRB_EuroParl — अधिवक्ता😷 (@advocate_tee) January 14, 2022
It was shared, “Video circulating on social media’s enough evidence to show Ram Kishan was praying with some people. Praying God is not a crime. Kindly look into the matter urgently. Local sources say, it’s been 26 hrs since Ram Kishan’s taken into custody. His fam is under pressure from Khaga PS to pay lump sum amount. He’s not produced before court nor a case filed. Khaga PS officers refuse to release him.
Recent update from a local source, Ram Kishan has not been offered food. He’s been starving in custody at Khaga PS since yday evening. Kindly look into the matter urgently.”
In Madhya Pradesh, in January 2022, a Christian man was beaten so severely that he fell unconscience:
Here is a link of the attack, the same as shared by Persecution Relief on Facebook.
@persecutionnews @ACMichael1 @HindutvaWatchIn @Fiacona_us @OpenDoors @morningstarnewz @CBNNews @UCANews @HateSpeechBeda @zoo_bear @Minaksh82255102 @NMinorities @NikhilaHenry @nikita_jain15 @SreenivasanJain @boomlive_in @varshasuman @Minaksh82255102 @dhanyarajendran @SomT53102810 pic.twitter.com/6Kis16THYr — Daniel Gogee (@DGogee) January 14, 2022
Propogandarists Dismissing and Downplaying the Virulent Attacks
A recent article was written on December 27, 2021, by Savio Rodrigues in First Post strangely after the noxious attacks on Christians during Christmas and he stressed, “I am an Indian Christian and I do not feel persecuted in my motherland” and he goes on to add “A few, isolated cases of Christian persecution cannot be generalized to be the plight of all Christians in India. It is the conversion that is the real trigger to the disharmony between Christians and Hindus”.
However, in all the cases where Christians were attacked, there is no instance of conversion. Most Christians were celebrating Christmas, or in prayer meetings, even ravaged in the safe vicinity of their homes, nothing do do with conversion. It appears Savio Rodrigues trying to underplay the attacks on Christians attacked daily in villages is doing greater damage. If he could do nothing, he could at least stand in solidarity for a 2%. He may be a privileged Christian and has never faced the fire of a Christian living in a rural area or under blazing guns for being a pastor interacting with others for reaching out socially with food, medicine, and help. Somehow, all this is seen today as means of conversion. Most Christians in villages are excommunicated and boycotted if they are not attacked physically.
I came across a malicious article last night on January 14, 2022, proclaiming that Christians are spreading lies about their persecution to malign Mr. Modi and even went on to say that Christians in India are pampered! Most of the Hindutva propagandists who live in the West are Sanatan followers and many are Western people. I am not sure what they hope to gain out of this, whether political or spiritual, but it is surmised that they want to silence and suppress Christians in India and criminalize anyone embracing Christianity as a religion. This is becoming evident by the number of arrests made, in synch with the police of India and the perpetrators, a bit shocking. Meantime, Indian Media and politicians are quiet about the horrors.
Attacks are Real, Documented and Are Rising
Pieter Friedrich American Journalist found so much evidence of documented violence and the situation turned so turbulent that he went on a hunger strike for the persecuted Christians of India! He shares in detail about it in an interview with a Catholic Priest, Father Joshua Licker. In a stunning way, it turns out that many Americans are blissfully unaware of the violence because they rarely follow world events, engrossed in their lives in the United States, and it comes to them as a shock that these atrocities done on Christians are from a democratic nation – India, and incidentally, a close ally of the United States.
Pieter Friedrick also held an interview with John Dayal Indian Human rights activist and author and in this conversation, we get to hear snippets of chilling facts about how the perpetrators in synch with the police land up in the victims’ homes, eventually arrest them on false charges of conversion, with absolutely no proof and many of them are still languishing in prison.
On day 4 of 7-day #HungerStrike to protest #Christian_persecution_in_India, I interviewed Dr. @JohnDayal, who explains why 2021 was a year of fear for Indian Christians. Full 45-minute interview here: https://t.co/NUd5rJqkih#StopPersecutingIndianChristians https://t.co/fgfBB6U4T4 pic.twitter.com/eLwk7YAoYO — Pieter Friedrich (@FriedrichPieter) January 8, 2022
Of note, there are 2% Christians in India, around 16% Muslims, and others are Dalits, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians, Jews, atheists, amid the Hindu majoritarian country of 80% Hindus. Thus to feel so insecure if a Hindu converts to Christianity is unwarranted when at the same breath, the same people feel elated when Americans, Russians, and others convert to Hinduism. Religious freedom is enshrined in the Constitution of India.
USA, UK, and European nations give their people the freedom to believe in their faith and many even propagate their different religions. The ISKCON movement is very evangelical in its spread throughout the world. Americans, Russians, and other European nations have embraced Hinduism, and they sure are not persecuted for it.
Today, in India when Christians gather on Sunday mornings to worship God, their church doors are rammed open, pastors and even congregation in the church are beaten, sometimes so badly that they break their legs, smash their churches and the Hindu radicals make reports to the police that these Christians are converting the people to Christ. Sometimes, a neighbor asks a Christian for a Bible and when they give it, they call the cops to report that the Christians are “trying to convert” them. Several Christians have been arrested on false FIRs such as these and it appears the police are in sync with the local religious fanatics.
While there are certain Christians who feel safe in the periphery of their luxurious comfort zones, there are millions who live in vulnerable territories, especially in villages, and pastors, preachers, NGOs helping society are targeted under the accusations of “conversion.”
Regarding the word “evangelism” it is in the Bible. The word evangelism comes from a Greek word meaning “to proclaim the good news.” If an evangelist shares with anyone about Christ, they are not trying to force you to become a Christian, they are to share the “good news” and move on. The Bible says “Shake the dust off your feet and move on if they don’t want to listen.” Also, people are not trying to “convert” anyone because they want Christians to be a majority force in the world. Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.”
The only people who become Christians have come through a spiritual moving of the soul, which transforms the soul. In the Bible it is written John 3:8: The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
In USA and UK and other places in Europe, Hindus have the freedom to worship and even propagate Hinduism and no one attacks them for that. Hinduism is growing fast in Europe and Russia. Yogic centers are all over USA with Krishna Centers and ashrams, temples etc and Sanatana Dharma Hinduism/Sanatana Dharma is growing the fastest in Russia, Europe and other countries. Westerners have embraced Hinduism, and they sure are not persecuted by their governments for it.
However it is unfortunate that propogators of Hindutva accuse the 2% to 3% of Christians of conversion and abuse them. In the same breath, Hinduism has expanded and grown in India.
There is a new Hindutva religious force surging in India with a plan to “Eradicate Christians and Muslims out of India speaking of ethnic cleansing”and political powers are doing nothing to dissuade these genocidal comments and plans. Genocide always starts with hate speech and not in the gas chambers.
Comments such as “Islam is a fast poison and Christianity is a slow poison” and calls for genocide of 20 million Muslims were made at the Haridwar Conference after which were Muslims were once again attacked and villainized. The last few years have seen dreadful crimes on Muslims increasing with fake news being spread around of their “terrorism”. Indian Muslims are the most gentle and pliable Muslims who follow the path of peace. Of course, there will be radical elements, as in the case in every religion, and this does not give one the freedom to generalize everyone in a box.
Hindutva DJS leader in 2021 shocked everyone when he vowed to free India of Muslims and Christians by 2021:however American Indian Hindutva supporters enjoy minority rights in USA but advocate fascism and minority suppression back in India. I am learning that they are even financing minority suppression back here in India!
Christians are 2% plus, so where is this theory that Muslims and especially Christians forced conversions on Hindus? Does it hold water? The British East India Company (colonial rule) never encouraged “conversions”and the foreign missionaries were servers, and not actively “evangelistic.” Good works were never to coerce conversations, but part of the philosophy of Christianity.
Most of the English-speaking people in India studied in Christian missionary schools and there were hundreds of these missionary schools scattered over India! Did anyone force them to believe in Christ? If that was so, then all would be Christians today, which is not the case. In the 2000s, Christian missions ran 16,500 schools and 6,500 hospitals in India. L. K. Advani ji, late Arun Jaitley, and many others studied in missionary schools, and we cannot say that people are converting all over because of these schools or hospitals. Christianity immerses itself in good works as an expression of love for others and God.
Please know that people are Christian in India are by choice and not “converted”. It is their spiritual quest with Christ. Meet them and talk to them, you will find out and if ever there were cases of Christian converting others by force, it can be prosecuted by law. Again, not all humans are perfect and there will be some bad apples in the basket even among Christians but to generalize a whole community because of that or ridicule them is wrong.
In the villages, most of the pastors are poor, and there is no outside funding. Many raise self sufficient methods, some hold two jobs, but reports of Christians flourishing because of western funds keep floating around. To take the call of a missionary to serve others calls for sacrifice and even danger, so unless someone is called by God, they cannot do it. It is not easy. And tell me why Hindus would “convert” to Christianity for benefit? It is far easier being a Hindu in India. It is only because of a spiritual breakthrough in their lives that Hindus and others turn to Christ. Listen to their testimonies, talk to them and you will know! It was not a “rice bag” movement. In fact, these men and women had no money! Nothing!
A lot of Hindus are supportive, wonderful, and kind and do not spew this hatred, or “castism” and do not support this violent movement.
Ultimately, we don’t have to protect God, dharma…Dharma and God Almighty will protect us. To think we can suppress, slander, and slaugher to save our religion is the biggest deception of all. Think again!
Rita
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