A pastor in India and former carpenter who built his own house church nine years ago has seen his flock all but scattered after villagers, instigated by a local Brahmin with high political connections, dug a trench to prevent people from entering and harassed believers through the month of January.
A pastor in India and his family were held hostage for several hours by Hindu radicals who accused him of carrying out forced conversions and defacing Hindu idols, police blaming and arresting the pastor afterwards.
At least 328 incidents of persecution against Christians occurred in India in 2019, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India, though Christian leaders there are expecting more to come in 2020.
Christian children in southern India were beaten by Hindu extremists and the congregation of which their families are a part framed for forced conversions on Jan. 19, as radical groups continue to pressure police to prosecute believers.
A mob of Hindu nationalists attacked a church prayer meeting in West Bengal, India on Dec. 27, destroying the pastor’s car, smashing church windows and sound equipment, and forcing believers to flee the scene.
Hindu extremists attacked a house church pastor at the beginning of January who had been working as a day-laborer to provide for his wife and small children, but now he can barely walk, sustaining not only crippling injuries from the beatings, but also false accusations of bribing people to convert.
An American Pastor arrested in India at the beginning of October may be released, though attorneys representing him say the Indian government has committed an ‘injustice’ against the leader of IHOP in Shelbyville, TN.
A church was virtually demolished and three cars destroyed in India’s Tamil Nadu state on New Year’s eve, leaving a pastor uncertain of his flock’s future but determined to continue his ministry.
Christians in central India accused of illegally practicing medicine spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in jail, later discovering that the charges against them applied to prayers for healing in which they had engaged.
Three Bharatiya Janata Party-affiliated people led an attack on a new prayer hall dedicated to Jesus in India’s West Bengal state Saturday, as a mob of 800 people, mostly non-Christians, surrounded the building’s inauguration ceremony.
A Christian community in Karnataka state, India was prevented from building a church on December 4 and later deprived of drinking water when they went to police, with members now fearing to celebrate Christmas in their town.
Christians in a tribal village in India had their bamboo hut church burned down by animists on December 1st, 5 days after their Bibles were confiscated and set to a bonfire.
In the past 7 days, 8 Christians were attacked in India and charged with forced religious conversions, radicals landing them in prison under an oft-misused law against religious coercion.
New legislation passed in India’s parliament grants citizenship to beleaguered Christian foreigners, among others, but the US Commission on International Religious Freedom says it is a dangerous move.
A Christian pastor in India called to minister to one of the country’s unreached people groups was beaten along with his congregation in November by a Hindu mob.
A group of Indian Christians who suffered in prison for 11 years under false charges were finally released on bail, as advocates claimed they had been scapegoated by Hindu nationalists.
A house church pastor in eastern India was accosted in his home by Hindu extremists while praying, leading to severe injuries for his whole family and accusations of witchcraft.
India’s Jammu and Kashmir state is now shrouded in a 105 day-long internet and communications blackout that has prevented Christians from assembling together without extreme harassment.
International Christian Concern (ICC) learned that Pastor Bryan Nerren, a Christian pastor from Tennessee, has been arrested and detained in India after being accused of violating the country’s Foreign Exchange Management Act. According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Pastor Nerren and two other pastors from Tennessee arrived in India on October 5 to attend two conferences in India and Nepal. The ACLJ reported that Pastor Nerren was then targeted and arrested by Indian customs agents after he told them he was a Christian.
Human rights groups and groups that monitor persecution worldwide presented statistics to congress Wednesday testifying to the deterioration of the situation for Christians in India.