Christian Faith Is Growing 7 Years After Hindu Radicals Killed 100 Believers, Destroyed 6,000 Churches in India

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Christian Post:

Stoyan Zaimov

September 1, 2015

 

School children listen to a speech by a Christian leader during a protest rally in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata August 29, 2008

 

 

Christians in India marked the seventh anniversary of the Orissa attacks on Monday, praying for close to 100 Christians who were massacred by Hindu extremists who were pressuring them to convert. An Archbishop has said the faith of Orissa's Christians has grown stronger in the face of persecution. The Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, His Exc. Mgr. John Barwa SVD, told Fides News Agency that Christians "gather in prayer for the victims, reiterating, all together, our common commitment to promoting peace, justice and hope. The faith of Christians in Orissa has become stronger in the face of persecution."

 

The major attacks on August 31, 2008, in Orissa also left close to 56,000 Christians homeless after 300 churches and 6,000 homes were raided and looted. The Hindu mob reportedly organized against Christians who they accused of converting Indians to Christianity. Many of the Hindus that had converted to Christianity were from the lowest caste system, known as Dalits, or "Untouchables," who are often treated as less than human in Indian society. The Dalits see Christianity as a way to escape their low status.

 

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Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar agreed that the events seven years ago in Orissa have only strengthened the faith of Christians. "They suffered horrific anti-Christian violence. Yet their faith did not waver; on the contrary, they strengthened their faith and love for Christ," Barwa said, according to Catholic World News.

 

He recalled stories where Christians were asked before their families to give up their faith, but refused despite all threats.

 

"Every day we are called to encounter Christ in the joy of our suffering for His Name. When I went around after taking over, I visited every convent, and I met all my leaders and all my priests. And I heard one voice, 'Archbishop, all our houses have been destroyed, our churches have been destroyed, our beloved ones have been massacred, but one thing the persecutors could not do: they could not separate Jesus from us,'" Barwa added.

 

 

 

 

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Radical Hindus Assault Christians In India

"They were threatened and manhandled.”

Jacob Airey

December 29, 2017

 

Christians living in the Chhattisgarh state in India were assaulted by Hindu extremists while participating in a prayer service. The radicals bullied, threatened, and attacked citizens attending the event, including women.

The Tarra Kopra village prayer service was blocked by Hindu extremists from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). The radicals set-up roadblocks along the roads leading to the venue earlier this month, according to a Morning Star News report.

Pastor Sahu said that a Hindu event called Ram Kathan was taking place in nearby Tarra Kopra. When a citizen would reach the illegal checkpoints, the extremists asked which event the person was attending. They were allowed to pass if they were going to the Hindu event, but accosted if they were heading to the Christian event.

“If they said they were going to the church service, they were shooed away, and if they tried to reason with them, they were threatened and manhandled," Pastor Sahu told the press. “Those who came to attend the Ram Kathan were allowed to enter the village and proceed straight to the Ram Kathan venue.”

He added that the extremists were especially rough with the Christian women. “The people who were not allowed entry into the village later reported to me that the women were caught by their throats, and their clothes were pulled in order to threaten them,” he said.

 

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