India: New Karnataka state government is actively helping Christians, “there is evident change”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – While the first half of 2023 saw a surge in violence against Christians in India, believers in the southern state of Karnataka are rejoicing as a newly elected state government has vowed to repeal harsh anti-conversion legislation and invest in projects that will benefit them and other religious minorities, Christianity Today (CT) reports. 

Karnataka recently had a record voter turnout in state elections which saw the India National Congress (INC) sweep to victory with 135 seats, well over the 113 threshold needed to win a majority and form a government, CT reports.

In an astounding change from how Christians in India have been treated in recent years, the INC allocated approximately $12 million last week to establish the Karnataka State Christian Development Corporation (KSCDC), CT reports.

The KSCDC will be made up of Christian leaders who will have the power to decide which projects to fund, including church maintenance, educational programs, old-age homes, and orphanages, CT said.

“There is evident change in the approach of the government,” Atul Aghamkar, the national director of the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s National Center for Urban Transformation, said in a statement. “That will make a big difference.”

Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, India ranks 11th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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