January 2008 India

Hindu Extremists Injure Nearly 100 Compass Direct News
On January 16, more than 80 people were injured in an attack on a large Christian meeting in Chhattisgarh state. According to Compass Direct News, the attack was followed by an assault on a missionary camp in Dhamtari district that hurt at least a dozen Christians. "The Hindu attacks come within weeks of unprecedented anti-Christian violence in neighboring Orissa state. In Chhattisgarh's Durg district violence, Christians said it was no coincidence that Hindu nationalist extremists launched the attack as the political arm of the militants, the Bharatiya Janata Party, was holding a public meeting in the area," Compass Direct reported


Christians Killed, Homes and Churches Burned - VOM Sources January 8
Four Christians were killed, many injured and numerous homes and churches destroyed or damaged in Orissa state in violent clashes that began on Christmas Eve. According to The Voice of the Martyrs sources in India, "Hindu extremists used anti-conversion laws to terrorize Christians. More than 18 churches and prayer houses were ransacked and torched in several areas of Kandhamai district in Orissa. Rev. Basant Diggal, reports that he was assaulted and his motorcycle damaged by a group of miscreants in Minia area where vandals went on a rampage causing damage to another church." VOM sources added Hindu extremists in Orissa have been threatening and terrorizing Christians who are marginalized and are in the minority. VOM sources said, "The attacks took place for the sole reason of terrorizing the Christian community and stopping our missionary work. But the church has always grown in persecution and this will happen again in Orissa. The church which grows in love and unity has as its basis a faith marked by suffering and persecution."

Attacks Continue January 22
India (MNN) ― Christians continue to be the focus of attacks in India, and now believers are starting to understand why the attacks are taking place.
Sampson is the Director for Distribution with World Bible Translations Center in India. He says the violence in Orissa is taking its toll. "Nearly 700 houses are destroyed, and thousands of Christians are displaced. They are staying in refugee camps, in dormitories at schools in villages, and in make-shift tents."
Not only have these Christians lost clothing, food, homes and more, they've also lost something even more important. "Many Bibles (have been) burned and destroyed. So many of the new believers don't have Bibles right now. They're missing the Word of God. We need to get Bibles to these village schools. Some are staying in the jungles. So we need to get the Word of God in these places."