The Indian Supreme Court turned its attention to the rampant persecution of Christians in Orissa this week. The court ordered four additional federal police battalions to be deployed to the area specifically to protect Christians in the worst- affected area, the Kandhamal district.
The court also ordered the Orissa state government to do more to protect Christians in the state where 16 people have died and thousands of others have been displaced since the attacks began August 22.
Christians--including Gospel for Asia missionaries and their families--continue to endure intense attacks. And it looks as if the anti-Christian extremists' rampage may be spreading to nearby states. A high- ranking government official toured the affected areas of Orissa on Wednesday, and even while he was visiting, a church and 50 homes belonging to Christians were burned.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ordered the government of Orissa to submit a report on what steps, if any, it has taken to protect the lives of innocent Christians as Hindu extremists continue their attacks.
The violent riots against believers began when a popular, anti-Christian Hindu leader, Swami Laxamanananda Saraswat, was murdered. His followers blamed his death on Christians, sending Hindu extremists on a deadly rampage. Many people in the state say Orissa's government has mostly turned a blind eye to the violence and offered little aid to those who are suffering.
No one expects that the extremists will stop the merciless tormenting and killing of Christians.
"Persecution has become a way of life; it is the norm in Orissa," GFA President K.P. Yohannan said. "But the Lord is not abandoning His people in this state or anywhere else. He will always show up on time--His time."
Yohannan says the events in Orissa have gone well beyond typical persecution against Christians, and it is fast becoming an orchestrated genocide against Christians.
While trying to minister to the believers who have been attacked, GFA missionaries and their families are carrying the burden of being persecuted severely themselves.
Members of one GFA missionary family in the Khandhamal district of Orissa recently had to run for their lives when Hindu extremists came to their homes to attack them. The family fled to the jungle but was unable to bring any of their personal belongings. When they returned the next day, the homes and everything in them were completely destroyed. Now they have nothing, not even food or clothing.
The church the family attends was also destroyed, and the extremists are still ravaging the area. With no other choice, the family ran back into the jungle. Today, they are enduring the harsh seasonal rains without shelter or a change of clothes.
Hundreds of other missionaries, believers and their families continue to suffer persecution as well. More than 800 of their homes have been looted, ransacked and burned to the ground. Twenty-seven churches where GFA missionaries serve as pastors have also been recently destroyed.
In some places, smoldering ashes are all that is left where entire villages once stood.
Although there are a few relief camps, the believers and missionaries have been forced to flee to the jungle because the roads to the camps are not safe. So, until the persecution subsides, the Christians in Orissa will continue living in extreme conditions.
Gospel for Asia missionaries are also trying to do whatever they can to aid the victims of the Orissa persecution.
"On September 7, our churches will be fasting and praying, and they will be collecting an offering for the victims," shared Simon John, a GFA regional leader in India.
Simon represented GFA at a protest rally Aug. 29 in India's capital city of Delhi.
"The rally was very successful. What we wanted to tell the community was that Christians will stand together in this nation, in love and to lift up the people, even if persecution or death comes. We will not stop doing good for the people," he said.
While Christian leaders work with federal and state officials to quell the violence in Orissa, there are reports coming in from nearby states of violence against Christians, leaving many to speculate if the severe anti-Christian sentiment in Orissa is bleeding over state lines.
In Jharkhand, Orissa's neighbor to the north, four believers were badly beaten on September 2. The local anti-Christian extremists surrounded them and harshly questioned them about why they had chosen to follow Christ. Then the mob attacked the believers, leaving one in the hospital with a broken rib.
GFA leaders in Orissa and the surrounding states ask for prayer that the government will intervene and stop the violent persecution. They also request prayer for the Hindu extremists, that they will see the love of Christ in the people they are harming.
Gospel for Asia is an evangelical mission organization based in Carrollton involved in sharing the love of Jesus across South Asia.
Dr. K P Yohannan is available for interviews. Please call 972-300-3379 to schedule.
