Posted on Sep 15, 2008 | by Staff
BHUBANESWAR, India (BP)--A Christian woman told of her husband being cut to pieces before her eyes.
A man described his brother being burned alive in his home after refusing to deny Christ.
These are two of the hundreds of stories emerging from India, where anti-Christian attacks carried out by mobs of extremist Hindus in the eastern state of Orissa have yet to be quelled.
"On a nightly basis, Hindu mobs stormed into villages and ransacked the homes of professed believers, taking all their possessions," a Christian worker reported. "After that, they would often beat or kill Christians who refused to deny their faith. In many terrifying cases, family members were forced to watch their loved ones being murdered in the hopes that [the families] would be convinced to return to Hinduism."
An Indian Christian worker recently visited one of the many camps set up to house Christians who have fled the terror. He recorded video interviews with two believers who were told to deny their faith or watch family members be martyred. See excerpts from the interviews here and here.
"The believers [in Orissa] desperately want your prayers and asked that we share their stories with believers around the world," the worker said. "Please share these videos with others in the Christian community. The Indian believers of Orissa desperately need our prayers."
Indian news services reported Sept. 15, however, that anti-Christian violence was continuing in Orissa and had spread to neighboring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states.
The anti-Christian violence began after the Aug. 23 assassination of a Hindu swami sparked mob attacks on Christian villages, churches and homes. The number of victims beaten, hacked or burned to death since the start of the attacks reportedly has topped 100. Tens of thousands of Christian villagers terrorized by Hindu extremists continue to hide in forests -- without adequate food and water -- or huddle in camps guarded by police.
Reports of forced "reconversions" of tribal Christians to Hinduism have emerged from several areas of the state.
A Maoist insurgent group active in Orissa has publicly claimed responsibility for murdering the swami and four of his followers, but Hindu extremists continue to blame the killings on Christians. Hindu mobs have attacked and burned hundreds of homes, churches, schools and orphanages, primarily in tribal districts where many Christians live. Christians, including up to 500,000 Baptists, reportedly comprise about 2.4 percent of Orissa's population of 36.7 million people.
Some Indian political and religious leaders have called for imposing federal rule and sending troops to Orissa, where the ruling Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition government has been unable to stop the violence.
Christian representatives have met with India's president, the federal interior minister, Orissa's chief minister and other political leaders to ask for protection of Christians in Orissa.
The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has called on President George W. Bush and U.S. congressional leaders to intervene to bring an end to anti-Christian violence in Orissa.
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Compiled from Baptist Press international sources.
