India: 154 reported cases of Christian persecution in first half of 2021

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Christian rights groups have recorded 154 incidents of persecution against believers in India for the first half of 2021 alone, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Persecution against Indian Christians has intensified since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.

In a July 10 press statement about the 154 incidents of persecution it recorded this year, the United Christian Forum said: “January witnessed the highest number of incidents with 34 followed by 28 in June, 27 in March, 26 in April, 21 in February, and 16 in May.”

The more commonly reported types of incidents involved mob violence at houses of worship, disruption to church services, and false accusations and arrests under newly enacted anti-conversion laws, ICC said in its report. These laws have been used to prevent the spread of the Gospel.

In particular, religious intolerance and violence in India have more than doubled under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, ICC noted. “Much of the increased intolerance and violence can be blamed on the impunity perpetrators of anti-Christian violence enjoy,” ICC said.

“Coupled with the anti-Christian rhetoric often espoused by BJP politicians, many radical Hindu nationalists feel they have the tacit approval of the BJP government when attacking Christians and their places of worship,” ICC said. India now ranks 10 on the US Open Doors Watch List of top 50 countries which persecute believers.

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