India is the world’s second most populous country.
1.1 billion people – predominantly Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. No more than two percent Christians
These Christians face many dangers.
Their churches are torched. Families are forced to flee from villages into the forests and jungles.
Last week I heard gripping accounts of Christians facing this choice – become a Hindu or be killed.
Here are the names of four Indian states which legally restrict Christians. Local law-enforcement in these areas is believed to be complicit in persecution.
Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh
In Orissa a police superintendent named Nikhil Kumar Kanodia announced that Hindu attacks on Christians in his district of Kandhamal would be prosecuted. He was simply instructing his police force to protect Christian citizens and prosecute those who commit violent acts against them. Immediately following this announcement, Kanodia was transferred out of the district. Soon afterward, massive anti-Christian violence crashed through the district of Kandhamal.
Can you imagine hearing the shattering of glass and smelling the stench of smoke? This stench, not from some common house-hold fire but from a mob torching your house because you claim Christ?
Can you imagine looking to the police for protection, only to find them join hands with your persecutors?
Let’s pray for India.