ICC Note:
Since 2014, Christian persecution in India has skyrocketed. Many experts attribute this trend to the election of the Hindu nationalist BJP to India’s federal government and the state of impunity enjoyed by Hindu extremists since that election. Recently, Christians in India’s Punjab state have faced a series of persecutions, including a Christian rickshaw driver being beaten, a land grab of Christian lands, and a young Christian girl being banished by her family. As persecution continues to escalate for Christians in India, what can be done to turn back this tide?
6/21/2016 India (Christian Times) – Christian persecution in Punjab continues to increase amid rising Hindu extremists under the governance of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On May 25, a group of eight Hindu extremists beat up 47-year-old Anoop Masih, a Christian auto-rickshaw driver, after Masih disputed earlier that morning with several Hindu men throwing waste on an area designated as graveyard for Christians. According to Barnabas Fund, the complaint filed on that day only registered Monday, June 13.
Masih charges the Hindus of trying to possess the entire graveyard for the Hindu community by carrying out amendments to the Christian properties without the Christians’ consent. He said he is eager to deal with this matter through the court.
“The Hindu extremists intended to spread fear and teach Masih a lesson for speaking for the Christian community,” pastor of Ludhiana, Vishnu Dev, told Barnabas Fund.
Meanwhile, a Hindu father of a seven-year-old girl in Pakhowal village, Ludhiana who chose to convert to Christianity after observing her Christian grandmother, banished his daughter and the grandmother from their home.
Dev reported that the grandmother is struggling to provide for their daily needs and to send the girl to school.
“Amidst all the trials and hardships this elderly lady is going through, she is not ready to forsake Christ and return back to her family faith,” he said.
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