Baptist leaders in the southern state of Karnataka in India have informed the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) that persecution is on the rise in that state.
A Baptist leader informed the BWA by telephone Nov. 21 of the attacks and requested prayer for those facing persecution. In an e-mail dated Oct. 31, another Baptist leader stated, “We are busy visiting churches that were attacked in recent times in our state,” and “we strongly feel that God’s people are uniting in prayers for peace and protection.”
Anti-Christian violence has increased significantly in India. The latest wave of violence began after the murder of a charismatic Hindu leader Aug. 23 in Orissa state in eastern India. Radical Hindus blame Christians for the killing, even though a militant Maoist group claimed responsibility. The violence, which sparked several persecutory actions in Orissa, has since spread to other Indian states, including Karnataka.
More than 60 Christians in India have been killed and another 50,000 have fled their homes.
An Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) story Nov. 18 reported that a Baptist ministerial student was arrested after being beaten by Hindu extremists in Karnataka. The principal of the Baptist Bible College that the student attends had also been arrested.
EFI reported Nov. 17 about the arrest of another pastor in Karnataka who was beaten up Nov. 9. The same report stated that another Christian in Karnataka was arrested Nov. 4 on charges of forced conversion.
Anti-Christian violence has also been experienced in Maharashtra, a state on the western coast of India, where, Nov. 15, a mob of 20 Hindu radicals vandalized a church, stripped and beat the pastor, and left him unconscious.
Christians at the church were accused of distributing gospel tracts, but EFI reported that they were handing out flyers for a peace conference instead.
Other areas of India where anti-Christian violence has been reported include Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand states, as well as Delhi. (BWA)
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