Christians attacked by mob in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh

A Christian meeting was attacked by a violent mob comprising of Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena people in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh on February 8, 2013.

The India Christian Assembly Church of God which is based at Rajnandgaon for the last 20 years was observing a three day revival meeting.

The ministry was also having a graduation ceremony for around 14 students who had completed a six months theological course from the Church institute.

According to reports, around 300 people were in attendance at the time of the attack which was aroubnd 3 pm.

The attackers were carrying weapons and used them to strike the crowds which dispersed as soon as the attack started.

Women and children too were not spared but were beaten up mercilessly. According to reports the attackers kicked the children and stomped on them. They also tore bibles, abused Christian gods and shouted slogans against the Christian community.

The police were called as soon as the attack started but they did nothing and remained mute spectators while the Hindutva organizations wreaked mayhem on the people left for nearly three hours. 

Christians were stranded in bus stations and train stations for hours after the incident, many in injured conditions and needed help.

Some of the injured who had been admitted in the hospital have disappeared from there.

Bible school attacked in Karnataka

Hindu Jagarna Vedike & VHP- hinduvta extremists on 24th May assaulted staff and students of 'Timothy Theological School' in Sathanarayapettai, Bellary district of Karnataka.

Around 12.30 p.m. around 20 extremists led by Mr. Anil Naidu and Siddesh barged into house-church as lectures were going on and attacked Rev. Jayaprakash and the 15 students in the classroom. The radicals then physically assaulted Rev. Dr. Isaac Namadevu, chairperson of the theological school and also Pastor of "Assembly of God Ministry church.

The radicals have beaten up Rev. Isaac and Rev. Jayaprakash. Fifteen students were also injured in the attack. Rev. Jayaprakash has sustained head injury during the attack. The attackers were alleging forceful conversion. The radicals tore the bibles, broke the window glasses and destroyed all the furniture.

Dr. Rev. Isaac Namadevu has filed complaint against the radicals. Mr. Nayak is the Circle Inspector Gandhinagar Police Station apprehended anad detained eleven radicals for enquiry.

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“We will burn you like Graham Staines”

by Gospel for Asia

Two young women from a Gospel for Asia Bible college were chased and threatened by 70 anti-Christian extremists after conducting a worship service in Orissa, India. Chunile Wyn and Preeja Sushan are student missionaries serving their internship in Orissa.

On Sunday, the extremists entered the building where the women were worshipping with 15 other believers. The radicals carried sticks and stones, but all the Christians escaped the church unharmed.

However, Chunile and Preeja were still in the building, and the anti-Christians surrounded them and shouted threats.

“We will burn you alive like Graham Staines and his children!” they shouted at the women. Graham Staines, an Austrailian missionary in Orissa, was burned to death in 1999. Religious extremists set fire to the vehicle Staines and his two young sons were sleeping in, killing them all.

The extremists eventually let the women out of the church, but then chased them through the streets until the girls found a phone booth. Chunile and Preeja called their Bible college, and a pastor came to protect them. By the time he arrived, the extremist crowd had dispersed, leaving only threats that the women must never come back to their village.

Chunile and Preeja request prayer that they can continue their internship without fear. They also ask for prayer that the anti-Christians will realize Christ’s love for them and stop hindering the Gospel. Also lift up the district pastor in this area, that he will be able to stand strong and encourage the local believers.

© Assist News Service

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Peace Returns To Bible College In India, 5 Still Hospitalized

Source: Assist News Service

Calm has returned to a Gospel for Asia (GFA) Bible college in Orissa, India, a week after students were assaulted and the buildings ransacked in an attack led by anti-Christian extremists.

The peaceful resolution to the volatile situation came Wednesday, March 7, after a meeting of Bible college administrators, about 20 representatives from the village and B.K. Luke, who oversees GFA's work in Orissa.

"One week ago they were hitting us and now they are shaking our hands and hugging us," Luke said. GFA leaders in the area report the attack was spearheaded by a handful of anti-Christian extremists who took advantage of a land-use issue involving the Bible college and the village. Dozens of students were injured in the Feb. 28 attack, and several of the buildings on the campus were ransacked.

The extremists demanded that the school be closed and that all GFA work in Orissa be stopped. Five people from the school -- four male students and one female staff member -- remain hospitalized as a result of their injuries.

Bible School Students beaten in Himachal Pradesh

Three Bible school students in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh were beaten on the morning of Saturday, January 27, and their Bible school vandalized by a group of Hindu extremists who oppose the growth of Christianity in their nation.

The students had divided into groups and were witnessing in nearby villages when they were confronted and beaten by members of an extremist group. The group then took the students to the police station.

Shortly after the attack, a mob of about 60 members of this same group came to the home Bible school and vandalized the facility.

"They caused a lot of damage," reported a field correspondent, "breaking the windows and shelves and tearing apart the books before they left."

The extremist group is a branch of the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or "World Hindu Council"), an organization dedicated to promoting an ultra-nationalistic philosophy that “to be Indian is to be Hindu." Groups such as these often oppose Christian work with violence.

Local police responded to the attack, locking up the Bible school and taking everyone—staff, students and a women's ministry team—into custody.

"It was first thought that the police were against us," said the correspondent.

"But then we came to know that the police took them in order to protect them."

By Saturday evening, police released the group and posted four officers to guard the Bible school overnight.

"It is not sure whether or not the fanatics will return," our correspondent stated.

Gospel for Asia currently trains thousands of students in Bible colleges throughout Asia. First-year students typically attend home Bible schools, which offer a more personal mentoring environment, and which then feed into the larger Bible colleges for the students' final two years of missionary training.

Gospel for Asia leaders are asking Christians to pray for this situation to be resolved, for the safety of everyone involved and for continued freedom to preach the Gospel in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal Pradesh recently became the eighth state in India to pass anti-conversion legislation. If the bill is signed into law by the governor, it would impose fines and prison time on both those who embrace Christianity and those who introduce them to Christ.