KOCHI: Three back-to-back explosions at a 2,000-strong prayer congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination, at Kalamassery in Kerala's Kochi on Sunday killed two women and wounded 58 other members. The blasts were initially suspected to be a terror attack but were later declared to be the alleged handiwork of a disgruntled former member.KOCHI: Three back-to-back explosions at a 2,000-strong prayer congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination, at Kalamassery in Kerala's Kochi on Sunday killed two women and wounded 58 other members. The blasts were initially suspected to be a terror attack but were later declared to be the alleged handiwork of a disgruntled former member. The improvised explosive devices (IEDs) allegedly planted at the Zamra International Convention and Exhibition Centre by the suspect, identified as Dominic Martinof Thammanam in Kochi, went off in the middle of prayers at 9.35am, police said. The centre was the venue of a three-day Jehovah's Witnesses event since Friday. Survivors said they heard three explosions within seconds, with the first one being powerful, followed by two smaller ones. "I found a woman in flames lying face down on the floor. I grabbed a hose from the fire-safety system and sprayed water over her to douse the flames,

AIZAWL: Mizoram chief minister and president of the governing Mizo National Front (MNF) Zoramthanga on Tuesday said his party will not work together with BJP in the coming election to the 40-member state legislature to be held on November 7, reports HC Vanlalruata. Talking to TOI, Zoramthanga blamed the majority Meitei community for the alleged attacks on churches in Manipur, which is governed by the saffron party, and said: "This is not the time to be close to BJP." He said the people of Mizoram being Christians, it will have a negative impact on the go what has happened in Manipur. ning party in view of what has happened in Manipur. The CM said he will not share stage with PM Modi when he comes to Mizoram for election campaign. Modi is scheduled to visit Mamit district on the Mizoram-Tripura- Bangladesh border for election campaign on October 30.Zoramthanga said MNF had joined the BJP-ledNDA and Neda (North-East Democratic Alliance) because of the fact that the party is strongly against the Congress-led UPA, now INDIA. "I told the central government that we are just following in their footsteps as the Centre helped and armed refugees from the erstwhile East Pakistan. We do not arm the

The resistance to Christian expansion and its evangelical forces on the streets and social media is the new shift the society is witnessing in Andhra Pradesh in the last decade. Despite encountering formidable opposition from Hindus since the colonial period, the Church has always adeptly navigated, allowing itself to regroup and devise novel strategies. In the last few decades, the Church has shifted its focus from service activities like educational institutions and hospitals to gospel preaching. A new breed of churches based on an aggressive evangelist model, similar to the USA-based evangelists, have sprung up across the state of Andhra Pradesh. With core missionary activity shifting to street gospel preaching, criticism of Biblical scriptures and their teachings has started coming in from different sections of the society i.e. common people, ex-Christians, knowledge seekers and freethinkers.A steady and deep study of Christian scriptures has started taking shape amongst non-Christians. The escalating encounters between Christians and non-Christians have started changing the dynamics, posing a threat to the foundations of the Church. The reasons for this resistance are multifaceted, involving philosophical, theological, cultural and historical influences. One of the dominating factors contributing to this resistance is the account of personal experiences of non-Christians and Christians. STREET EVANGELISM In

The religious freedom charity Release International says a rise in attacks against Christians in India is ‘deeply alarming’ and it fears there is a denial in India about the increase in anti-Christian violence. It says the attacks have been fuelled by right-wing nationalism, while growing numbers of Christians are being arrested under anti-conversion laws. The United Christian Forum (UCF) has recorded 525 violent attacks to the end of August, more than for the entire previous year in which there were 505 recorded incidents. The UCF says attacks are rising ‘not just year-on-year, but month-on-month’. UCF says the growing violence follows the passing of sweeping anti-conversion laws in almost 40 per cent of India's 28 states. Most of those states are governed by the ruling nationalist BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anti-conversion laws supposedly target conversion by force or allurement. But their loose wording means any kind of charitable work could be considered a form of bribery. Congregations accused of forced conversion have had their buildings ransacked and property destroyed. Human Rights Watch (HRW) claim these laws are often misused by police to target Christians, particularly from the Dalit or Adivasi communities. The United Christian Forum says 520 Christians have now been arrested and

TWO inquiries into attacks on Christians and other minority faith communities in India have reported growing violence, and increasing numbers arrested under anti-conversion laws introduced in states governed by the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The United Christian Forum (UCF) has recorded 525 violent incidents in India this year, in the eight months to August: a rise of 45 per cent since 2022. It also recorded 520 Christians arrested and accused of forced conversions, including a couple arrested at their wedding, along with the pastor, after it was alleged that the wedding was a “conversion event”. The UCF is a coalition of Christian organisations which advocates on behalf of religious minorities. The UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes, told the US Commission on Religious Freedom, which is carrying out one of the inquiries: “India risks becoming one of the world’s main generators of instability, atrocities, and violence, because of the massive scale and gravity of the violations and abuses targeting mainly religious and other minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs. . . It is systematic and a reflection of religious nationalism.” The Washington-based Indian American Muslim Council said in its latest report that Muslims and Christians were facing targeted attacks and hate crimes in India, including demolition

New Delhi, Separate parliamentary and legislative seats, land for cemeteries and scholarships are among 20 demands Christian groups in Telangana have put forward to political parties in the southern Indian state. The Telangana State Federation of Churches, Telangana Council of Churches and Synod of Telangana, representing the entire Christian community in the state, had met in the state capital of Hyderabad early October and decided to ask the parties to include their demands in their manifestos as the state gets ready for the November 30 assembly elections. The demands are important enough to be added in the manifestos of political parties, said Montfort Brother Varghese Theckanath, who was in a delegation that met Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal in New Delhi on October 12 to hand over the Telangana Christians declarations for political parties. “We are presenting this to all political leaders,” the brother told Matters India October 14. Father Raju Alex, deputy secretary of Telugu Catholic Bishops’ Council, told the Deccan Chronicle daily that the Christian community has always lacked the government’s encouragement and support. “The Christian community has a good chunk of voters in Telangana. We will support the parties which stand for us,” he added. The community wants political parties to give two

Purnomoy Chakma and Tarun Chakma, who were excommunicated after converting along with their families, moved the court accusing the two Buddhist organisations of persecuting them The Tripura high court has ordered police and the administration to intervene and make arrests if required over the persecution of two Buddhist families for converting to Christianity in November last year. Purnomoy Chakma and Tarun Chakma, who were excommunicated after converting along with their families in Unakoti, moved the court accusing the two Chakma organisations of persecuting, threatening, putting their livelihood at risk, and confining them to their homes. Purnomoy Chakma, a daily wager, said he was being denied work and that he earlier worked under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Tarun Chakma, an auto-rickshaw driver, said Chakma organisations issued a diktat for his boycott and threatened up to 40,000 as a fine if anybody hired his auto. He said he had taken a loan to buy the auto-rickshaw and also a personal loan to meet his expenses. The petitioners said they were prevented from attending prayers at a church and that Buddhist Chakmas have asked people not to interact with them or else they would be fined and punished according to their customary law. The

Attacks against Christians are rising, fuelled by right-wing nationalism, while growing numbers of Christians are being arrested under anti-conversion laws.  Two investigations are underway into the alarming rise in attacks against Christians and other religious minorities in India. The United Christian Forum (UCF) has recorded 525 violent attacks to the end of August, more than for the entire previous year. The UCF say attacks are rising ‘not just year-on-year, but month-on-month’. Investigations are being carried out by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the Indian government’s Minorities Commission. UCF has recorded 525 violent incidents across 23 Indian states to August this year. This is a sharp increase on the figure of 505 attacks for the whole of 2022, suggesting an annualised rise of more than 45 per cent. Anti-conversion laws UCF says the growing violence follows the passing of sweeping anti-conversion laws in almost 40 per cent of India’s 28 states. Most of those states are governed by the ruling nationalist BJP. And UCF say the number of attacks against Christians has risen significantly since Premier Narendra Modi’s BJP took power in 2014. Anti-conversion laws supposedly target conversion by force or allurement. But the loose wording means any kind of charitable work could be

 India (International Christian Concern) — Pro-Hindu political leaders in Uttar Pradesh, India have been emboldened by upcoming state elections, resulting in increased attacks and imprisonments against Christians.  Anti-conversion laws fuel the incidents. Believers are charged with forcing their neighbors to reject Hinduism and turn to Jesus — charges that often lead to years in prison.  Since these laws were put into place at the end of 2020, nearly 400 believers have been charged and jailed. Each month, this number exponentially increases, with 50 added in September. The Indian government calls it the ‘Freedom of Religion Act,’ yet it is anything but free.   Not surprising the morale of the Indian church is at an all-time low. Pastors have halted large gatherings, choosing instead to meet in smaller groups in member homes. Even then, Christians do not feel safe.   Earlier this month, one of these home gatherings was invaded by radical Hindus. The home was looted and destroyed, leaving the believers wondering when they would be next in line for prison time.   Please continue to pray for India, especially the states that are approaching elections. The climate is increasingly dangerous for followers of Christ, and it shows no signs of improvement.    This article is originally published on  https://www.persecution.org/2023/10/13/number-of-christians-jailed-in-india-rises-as-local-elections-near/

The son of a pastor, who was harassed and detained the previous week at the complaint of Hindu extremists on allegations of carrying out forced conversions in a village in Uttar Pradesh, was beaten at an open food joint on September 29 by the food joint owner and a staff member. Bipin Kumar, 25, accompanied a friend to Gagan Dhaba (a food joint) around 2 in the afternoon, in Semrahana village in Mihinpurwa block of Bahraich district. The friend, who belonged to a priestly caste according to the Hindu caste system, ordered his food first and then Kumar proceeded to order tea at the counter. The food joint owner asked Kumar about his caste. Though shocked at his question, Kumar answered him. “I told him that I am a lower caste (in Hindi – Chamar – which is one of the lowest castes under the Hindu caste system),” Kumar told Christian Today. The owner further asked, “’Whom do you worship?’ To which I said that I am a Christian and I worship the Lord Jesus Christ,” Kumar added. The owner began to argue with Kumar about the preaching techniques of pastors and how Christians allegedly allure people to convert. Kumar asked the owner, "How does my