National

Radical Hindu Attacks Shatter Lives in India

Published

3 years ago

March 22, 2022

The normalization of social hostility against religious minorities is a critical factor in India’s decline of religious freedom.

Violent attacks on Indian Christians have more than doubled in recent years, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). In 2014, the year the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rose to political power, EFI recorded 147 violent attacks on Indian Christians. In 2019, after five years of BJP rule, EFI recorded 366 violent attacks.

EFI’s data is backed by a report released by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India. ADF reported at least 328 incidents of targeted violence against Christians in 2019. Similar to EFI, ADF’s 2019 data represented an increase in violence when compared to recent years. And similarly, United Christian Forum reported 486 incidents of violence against Christians in 2021, a 300% increase since 2014.

However, the incidents reported by EFI and ADF likely only represent a portion of the violence India’s Christian community experiences. Most incidents go unreported due to a fear of reprisal and lack of confidence in India’s justice system.

The data collected by EFI and ADF shows a clear pattern of increasing social hostility facing Indian Christians. However, what the data doesn’t show is how genuinely terrifying it is to endure these incidents of violence.

“They came prepared to burn us.”

“They came prepared to burn us,” Pastor Hanok Steven recently told ICC in an interview. “I saw someone from the group taking petrol out of the fuel tank of [a] motorbike and heard others shouting for the petrol to be used to burn us.”

On Nov. 4, 2020, five Christians were brutally attacked by radical Hindu nationalists in the Meerpet neighborhood of Hyderabad, India. The attack resulted in the Christian victims sustaining multiple serious injuries.

According to Pastor Hanok, a Christian woman named Sadhya invited several church members to a prayer meeting. Before the meeting, Sadhya received permission from her Hindu landlord to hold the meeting in her home.

Around noon, only five minutes after the Christians gathered at Sadhya’s home, 15 nationalists broke into the house and attacked the Christians with wooden clubs and sticks. The landlord joined the nationalists and helped drag Pastor Hanok out of the house, where he was further assaulted and threatened with being set on fire.

“I was panicked as all of this was going on,” Pastor Hanok recalled. “For 30 minutes, the attack continued, but we eventually managed to run in different directions and reached the police station.”

As a result of the attack, three Christians were seriously injured, and Pastor Hanok’s car was damaged. A Christian man named Janaiah had his eardrum completely shattered, and a Christian woman named Annamma lost six teeth.

“We are completely cut off.”

In another incident, this time in India’s Jharkhand state, six Christian families had the electricity cut from their homes and were banned from accessing the village’s well for more than five months. All of this happened after the Christians refused to publicly recant their faith at a village meeting.

On July 5, 2020, the village council of Petrudu, located in the Latehar district, demanded that the six Christian families recant their faith. When they refused, they were attacked and brutally beaten.

After the attack, the devastating social boycott was instigated against the Christian families.

“We walked for miles to fetch water for almost six months,” Joginder, one of the victims, told ICC. “Most of the time, our phones don’t work as we do not have electricity. We have to walk to neighboring villages to charge our phones.”

“We are completely cut off,” Joginder

continued. “No one gives us daily wage working in the village, and we are not allowed to have any association with the other villagers. This has been a painful experience.”

Joginder and his fellow Christians have taken legal action against the people who attacked them on July 5. They are also fighting for the court to declare that they are legally allowed to practice the faith of their choosing in the village without social consequence.

Protecting Religious Freedom

Across India, similar reports of social hostility against Christians are being reported on almost a daily basis. Unchecked inflammatory rhetoric used by political leaders and widespread impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators are among the leading reasons why social hostility against Christians continues to rise across India.

If Indian Christians are to fully realize the religious freedom promised to them in the constitution, authorities must protect Christians and punish those responsible for attacks. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the direction India is currently heading. Instead, India’s leaders are allowing the constitution’s promise of religious freedom to slowly fade from reality for hundreds of millions of religious minorities.
Sources:persecution

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Related Topics:ADF BJP EFI Featured ICC Indian Christian Religious Minorities

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National

New Anti-Conversion Law Takes Effect in Rajasthan

Published

17 hours ago

February 22, 2025

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India — As of this week, a newly enacted anti-conversion law requires people in India’s Rajasthan state to give two months’ notice to the government if they plan to change their religion voluntarily.

Further, the “converter,” or the person performing the conversion ceremony, must also give the government a month’s notice of his intention to perform the ceremony.

The Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, has made the procedures for conversions exhaustive and lengthy to stop unlawful conversions. Failure to involve government authorities in voluntary religious conversions could lead to up to three years in jail and a minimum fine of 10,000 rupees ($115).

The new law states that a prescribed declaration form should be submitted to the District Magistrate (DM) or the relevant authority 60 days before the person wants to convert voluntarily.

If the converter violates the law, it could lead to up to five years imprisonment and a minimum fine of 25,000 rupees ($289).
An officer not below the rank of Additional DM will “get an inquiry conducted through police with regard to real intention, purpose, and cause of the proposed religious conversion.”

Then, within 60 days of conversion, the converted person must send a declaration in a prescribed form to the DM. A copy of this declaration must be displayed on the notice board of the DM’s office until the date of confirmation.

Finally, the convert must appear before the DM within 21 days of filing the declaration to establish their identity and confirm the declaration’s contents.

According to lawmakers, unlawful religious conversions through coercion, force, allurement, or fraud, with allurement including cash, material benefits, employment, free education, and even inter-religious marriages, are taking place. This law aims to curb these so-called malpractices.

The anti-conversion law states that the burden of proof lies on the person who has “caused” the conversion. This is a reversal of the principle of assumption of innocence, which normally applies to the accused person in a criminal case.

Rajasthan joins 11 other Indian states that have passed anti-conversion laws. These include Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

Various offenses under the law are cognizable and non-bailable, which could result in harassment of innocent individuals, says Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), which has long acted as a safeguarding organization for the human rights of Indian citizens.
Sources:persecution

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National

Chrysalis: Preparing for Marriage Workshop

Published

2 days ago

February 21, 2025

theendtimenews

Bangalore – All Peoples Church (APC) is excited to announce the Chrysalis: Preparing for Marriage Workshop, scheduled for February 22, 2025. This workshop is designed to help couples build a strong foundation for their future together.

The workshop will cover various aspects of marriage, including communication, conflict resolution, financial planning, and spiritual growth. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from experienced speakers and engage in interactive sessions that provide practical tools and insights for a successful marriage.
Sources:christiansworldnews

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National

എപിസി വനിതാ സമ്മേളനം 2025

Published

3 days ago

February 20, 2025

theendtimenews

ബാംഗ്ലൂർ, ഫെബ്രുവരി 2025 : ഓൾ പീപ്പിൾസ് ചർച്ച് (എപിസി) 2025 മാർച്ച് 29 ന് നടക്കാനിരിക്കുന്ന ഒരു വനിതാ സമ്മേളനം 2025 സംഘടിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ഓരോ സ്ത്രീയുടെയും പോരാട്ടങ്ങൾ എന്നതാണ് ഈ വർഷത്തെ പ്രമേയം, ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ എല്ലാ തുറകളിൽ നിന്നുമുള്ള സ്ത്രീകളെ പ്രചോദിപ്പിക്കുക, ശാക്തീകരിക്കുക, ഉയർത്തുക എന്നിവയാണ് ഈ സമ്മേളനത്തിന്റെ ലക്ഷ്യം.

ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ എല്ലാ തുറകളിൽ നിന്നുമുള്ള സ്ത്രീകളെ പ്രചോദിപ്പിക്കുക, ശാക്തീകരിക്കുക, ഉയർത്തുക എന്നിവയാണ് ലക്ഷ്യം.

സഭയിൽ ഇന്ന് സ്ത്രീകൾ നേരിടുന്ന അതുല്യമായ വെല്ലുവിളികളെയും അവസരങ്ങളെയും അഭിസംബോധന ചെയ്യുന്നതിനായി രൂപകൽപ്പന ചെയ്‌തിരിക്കുന്ന സെമിനാറിൽ നിരവധി പ്രഭാഷകർ, ആരാധനാ സെഷനുകൾ, സംവേദനാത്മക വർക്ക്‌ഷോപ്പുകൾ എന്നിവ സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ ഉണ്ടായിരിക്കും.

സമാന ചിന്താഗതിക്കാരായ വ്യക്തികളുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെടാനും അവരുടെ അനുഭവങ്ങൾ പങ്കിടാനും അവരുടെ ആത്മീയ യാത്രയിൽ വളരാനും പങ്കെടുക്കുന്നവർക്ക് അവസരം ലഭിക്കും.

വ്യക്തിഗത വളർച്ച, ആത്മീയ വികസനം, പ്രായോഗിക ജീവിത നൈപുണ്യം എന്നിവയുൾപ്പെടെ വിവിധ വിഷയങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള സെഷനുകൾ പങ്കെടുക്കുന്നവർക്ക് പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കാം. സമൂഹത്തിനുള്ളിൽ നെറ്റ്‌വർക്കിംഗിനും ശാശ്വത ബന്ധങ്ങൾ കെട്ടിപ്പടുക്കുന്നതിനുമുള്ള അവസരങ്ങളും സമ്മേളനം നൽകും.

കൂടുതൽ വിവരങ്ങൾക്കും രജിസ്റ്റർ ചെയ്യുന്നതിനും, ദയവായി എപിസി വനിതാ കോൺഫറൻസ് പേജ് സന്ദർശിക്കുക.

ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ സമൂഹത്തിലെ സ്ത്രീകളുടെ ശക്തിയും പ്രതിരോധശേഷിയും ആഘോഷിക്കുന്ന ഒരു പരിവർത്തന പരിപാടിയുടെ ഭാഗമാകാനുള്ള ഈ അവസരം നഷ്ടപ്പെടുത്തരുത്.
Sources:christiansworldnews

http://theendtimeradio.com

All Peoples Church (APC) is excited to announce the upcoming Women’s Conference 2025, scheduled to take place on March 29th, 2025. This year’s theme, “Every Woman’s Battles,” aims to inspire, empower, and uplift women from all walks of life.

The conference will feature a series of dynamic speakers, worship sessions, and interactive workshops designed to address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by women today. Participants will have the chance to connect with like-minded individuals, share their experiences, and grow in their spiritual journey.

Attendees can look forward to sessions on various topics, including personal growth, spiritual development, and practical life skills. The conference will also provide opportunities for networking and building lasting relationships within the community.

For more details and to register, please visit the APC Women’s Conference page.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of a transformative event that celebrates the strength and resilience of women in the Christian community.

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