India has gone to the polls to elect a new government amid growing concerns about the rising persecution of Christians.
There is growing Intolerance towards other faiths as Hindu nationalism gains ground. This report from Andrew Boyd of Release International.
Source: www.releaseinternational.org
SCRIPT:
India has gone to the polls to elect a new government amid growing concerns about the rising persecution of Christians.
There is growing Intolerance towards other faiths as Hindu nationalism gains ground. This report from Andrew Boyd of Release International…
In: ‘Two new reports…’
Out: ‘…Global News Alliance.’
Dur: 2m 29s
Two new reports record a dramatic increase in acts of violence against Christians in India. The Evangelical Fellowship of India document a record 601 cases of persecution against Christians in 2023. That’s a rise of 45 per cent.
And the United Christian Forum say the violence has continued into 2024. Their latest report lists more than 160 attacks in the first quarter of this year.
India’s six week-long elections began in April and run through to early June. Almost a billion voters will determine the future of the world’s largest democracy.
UK-based Release International, which supports persecuted Christian worldwide, warns that unless India’s government takes action to calm the violence and change the culture of intolerance, further bloodshed will result.
Its partners in India say pastors are being beaten, churches attacked and prayer meetings disrupted at the hands of ultra-right wing Hindu militants.
At the same time, state after state is passing anti-conversion laws to try to prevent Christians and others from sharing their faith with Hindus. These laws fly in the face of India’s constitution, which guarantees religious freedom.
In Uttar Pradesh alone more than 130 church leaders are now facing trial, many having been refused bail. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reports 440 pastors were arrested over the course of 2023.
A Release International team conducted a recent fact-finding visit to India. They spoke to pastors who’d been attacked and arrested, simply for worshipping God, often at home or in churches.
One pastor, ‘Motilal’, was brutally beaten along with his wife in their home in Rajasthan. The pastor was arrested and fined by the police under the anti-conversion laws. Yet, Motilal told Release International: ‘Even if I die, I will not stop serving the Lord and doing the ministry he’s has given me in this village.’
Release International says India’s anti-conversion laws are fuelling intolerance and encouraging militants to attack Christians. As India goes to the polls, Release warns the violence will increase unless these divisive anti-conversion laws are repealed.
This is Andrew Boyd for the Global News Alliance.
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