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Orissa Attacks Described

The following is a list of reported attacks on Christians in Orissa since the murder of Swami Laxamanananda Saraswati on Saturday. Continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Orissa as they are literally running for their lives.

   1. Four Christians were stabbed to death in Tiangia village as they tried to stop the extremists who were trying to set their church on fire. Those killed include 38-year-old Bikram Naik; 38-year-old Dasaratha Pradham; 40-year-old Surendra Naik and a fourth man, whose name has not yet been released.

   2. A Gospel for Asia-related prayer house was burned in Raikia.

   3. Extremists bombed a Christian settlement in Mandakia, completely destroying it. In Raikia, four homes belonging to Christians are bombed and destroyed.

   4. Many villages without police guard are suffering attacks as the mobs move from place to place, destroying property owned by Christians. Affected villages include Bodimunda, Gadhaguda, Telingia, Sukananda, Gracingia, Nuasahi, Kurmingia, Mallickpadi, and G. Udayagiri.

   5. A Gospel for Asia missionary in Raikia was severely attacked and all the houses of the people in his congregation were damaged.

   6. More than 1,000 Christians in Phiringia have fled to the forest for protection. They have no food and water in the place they are hiding.

   7. There have been several reports of attacks on Christians in Koraput. All the Christian homes in Narayanapatna were destroyed. A Christian orphanage that houses 150 children in Baipariguda village was attacked and the missionary in charge was severely beaten. Two GFA-related churches were burned in the village of Jeypur.

   8. A GFA missionary and his wife from Dharmashala were kidnapped, tortured and beaten.

   9. One Christian was burned alive when his colony was set on fire in the Papadhandi village.

  10. A Christian school was attacked and damaged in Chandrasekharpur.

  11. 29-year-old Rajani Majhi, a cook in an orphanage, was burned alive in Khuntapalli.

  12. A Catholic nun was publicly gang-raped and a priest was seriously beaten, stripped and doused with gasoline in Balliguda. Rain prevented the matches from lighting as the mob tried to set the priest on fire. Police arrived and rescued the priest and the nun.

  13. An orphanage in Khuntipalli was ransacked and set on fire. At least 10 of the 22 orphans living there fled to the nearby forest to save their lives. The cook was burned to death inside the kitchen of the orphanage. 12 of the students also sustained serious injuries.

  14. Two Christians were killed in the Budamaha village in the Raikia district. The bodies of the murdered Christians, 35-year-old Jaka Naik and 42-year-old Gapana Nayak, were left near a road. About 400 Christians from the same village have fled to the forest for protection.

  15. A Catholic worker in an orphanage in Kalhandi was seriously injured in an attack.

  16. Three houses and a church were set on fire in Baliguda.

  17. Seven homes were destroyed in Bhagamunda.

  18. A nun was burned alive and a priest was badly burned in an orphanage in Bargarh.

  19. A Catholic nun was gang raped in a social service center where she worked. The extremists also destroyed the building itself.

  20. A Catholic nun and a priest were injured in the attack on the social services center.

  21. A convent, a hostel and 300 other properties were destroyed in the Baliguda. More than 300 Christian properties were destroyed and more than 1,500 Christians fled to the forest for safety. This is the same area that came under heavy attack in December, 2007.

  22. Attackers shaved the heads of two boys from a Catholic hostel in Baliguda.

  23. A Catholic church in Phulbani was damaged.

  24. Mobs attacked the former residence of Mother Teresa and a hospital in Srasanda. They also attacked priests and Christians in Pobingia.

  25. Violent mobs made several attempts to enter a Catholic church compound and the archbishop's house in Bhubaneswar, Orissa's capital city.

      Police prevented the mobs from entering, but they damaged a guesthouse in the compound.

  26. Attackers destroyed buildings owned by the Catholic church in Duburi. Two priests from that parish are missing after the attack.

  27. A Christian leader was attacked and his property and vehicle were looted and burned in Gramya Pragati.

  28. A Baptist church in Bhubaneswar was damaged.

  29. Several Christian institutions in Kalinga were damaged.

  30. A Catholic church and associated property were destroyed in Boudh. The Christians were forced to flee.

  31. A Catholic residence for nuns and priests was destroyed in Muniguda.

  32. A Christian women's residence was destroyed in Sambalpur.

  33. A priest is attacked in Padanpur.

  34. A Catholic church is attacked in Madhupur.

  35. Small churches were attacked in at least 19 villages in the Kandhamal District.

  36. Attacks on the homes of Christians in five forest hamlets were reported.

  37. Homes were burned in the Kalahandi District, even though it is more than 180 miles from where the murder took place.

  38. A Pentecostal missionary was beaten and his house was burned in Bhawanipatna.

  39. Three shops owned by Christians were looted and burned and two pastors were beaten up in Kharihar.

  40. Four pastors were beaten up in Aampani. They fled their villages with their families.

  41. A mob surrounded a village in Naktikani so they could attack Christians. The government reportedly intervened in the situation.

  42. Extremists in Nuagaon nabbed two Christians, outfitted them with clothing generally worn by a terrorist group and then turned them over to police.

  43. A car carrying several nuns to mass was stopped by protestors who broke the windows. They were able to escape the mob and return safely to their convent in Dharmgard.

  44. Ten Christian-owned shops were ransacked and destroyed in Raikia.

  45. Twenty five homes of Christians were burned in Rupagaon. The residents were forced to flee to the forests.

  46. Christian-owned shops in Paburia were burned.

  47. Churches were razed in Adaskupa and Sulesaru.

  48. There are widespread reports of armed radicals roaming village roads and women and children living without food and water as they hide out in the forests.

  49. A church in Benagaberi and the homes of local believers were burned.

  50. In Phulbani, the radicals destroyed Christian homes and a missionary's home and motorcycle.

  51. A church and homes were destroyed in Danguli village.

  52. A church and day care center were burned in Lahabadi.

  53. A church in Rashimundi was burned.

  54. Christian's homes were completely destroyed in Keredi.

  55. A church and the pastor's home were destroyed in Kambaguda.

  56. A village church and Christian homes were destroyed in the middle of the night in Kambaguda.

  57. A church and two prayer houses were burned in Dumerguda. This occurred within a few hours of the swami's murder.

  58. A pastor in Sambalpur was severely beaten. The radicals also set his motorbike on fire.

  59. Mission churches in a slum area were attacked.

  60. A handicapped believer named Rasananda Pradhan was burned alive in Kandhamal. He was unable to run into the forest and save himself when the radicals set fire to his village. A total of 25 homes were destroyed in this village as well.

  61. Two Christian churches were burned in Narayanapatna.

  62. The radicals are creating havoc in Koraput.

  63. A 76-year-old pastor was attacked and held captive in a locked room in Narayanapatna. They also burned all the property belonging to the local Christians.

  64. Two Christian brothers had their homes demolished in Narayanapatna.

  65. Three churches were burned and the homes of believers were ransacked in three villages in Koraput.

  66. A mission school was ransacked in Bramhani Gaon.

  67. The homes of two pastors and 11 Christians were burned in Phulbani.

  68. All the homes of Christians and the churches in Baliguda were ransacked and destroyed. The children in Christian families are scared. They are unable to attend school or to even have anything to eat since they are in hiding.

  69. Every Christian family's home was damaged in the Mandakia village in Raikia.

  70. The church and homes of Christians are being ransacked and destroyed in Baiballi village. The Christians, including one woman who is about to give birth, are looking for any way to be rescued from their situation. They fled their homes with only the clothes on their backs.

  71. There are reports that the extremists are sending people whose sole job is to start massive riots to completely destroy and kill any Christians remaining in Kandhamal.

  72. In remote villages that do not have police protection in G. Udayagiri, the radicals are freely destroying and burning Christian properties.

  73. The pastor of a church in Sambalpur was attacked and his motorcycle was burned. The next day, they destroyed his church.

  74. The village church at Deorgarh was burned.

For those that are not aware of where Orissa is. It is a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal.

We are seeing much more of this sort of thing all throughout the world. It is indeed a time to be praying for our brothers and sisters everywhere as such persecution is rapidly growing and spreading.

Court orders troops to fight anti-Christian violence
Dozens dead, thousands left homeless in attacks from radical Hindus

Violence by Hindus against Christians in India, especially in Orissa state, has been rocking the stability of the region, and now the Indian Supreme Court has ordered four more police battalions to protect the believers in the worst region, the Kandhamal district, according to a report.

The high court also ordered state government officials in Orissa to do more to protect Christians, after several dozen deaths have been reported and thousands have been displaced since the attacks started Aug. 22, according to the Assist News report.

The riots and attacks on Christians began about the time an anti-Christian Hindu leader, Swami Laxamanananda Saraswat, was murdered, sources in India report.

"His followers blamed his death on Christians, sending Hindu extremists on a deadly rampage," the report said.

"Persecution has become a way of life; it is the norm in Orissa," K.P. Yohannan, chief of the Gospel for Asia Christian ministry, said. "But the Lord is not abandoning His people in this state or anywhere else. He will always show up on time – His time."

Reports indicate there are some 50,000 Christians hiding in the jungles of Orissa because they fear the systematic Hindu attacks in which members of Christianity are attacked, raped, burned and killed. There were reports that Maoist sympathizers issued a statement claiming credit for the murder of Saraswat, but Hindus continue to blame Christians, reports from the region said.

So far Hindu extremists have burned an estimated 300 villages where Christians were in the majority, and they have destroyed more than 4,000 homes. Additionally, about 100 churches have been demolished.

According to the Assist report, members of one Gospel For Asia missionary family in the Khandhamal district of Orissa were among those who had to run for their lives.

"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 report said.

Gospel For Asia said 27 of the churches served by its missionaries have been destroyed.

The group also said some 10,000 Christians left homeless in the rioting have taken refuge in government relief camps, and the newest demands by Hindus have been that Christians abandon their faith and "agree to be 'reconverted' to Hinduism."

"Those who agree to become Hindu are then asked to join in destroying the church buildings and the houses of Christians," said a GFA leader in Orissa.

According to the All India Christian Council, the violence even has begun spilling over to neighboring regions, including Madhya Pradesh.

A delegation of citizens from the region met this week with the Indian president to talk about ways to protect the innocent. The group cited a series of attacks last Christmas that left four Christians dead and 105 churches and 730 Christian homes destroyed.

While additional police should help, the root cause needs to be addressed, the organization told the president.

"Your Excellency," they wrote. "The violence in Orissa continues without adequate police forces to stop mobs which break curfew and harm innocent civilians, chasing our fellow countrymen and women like animals in the forests where they have taken refuge since August 24. Today the irresponsible leaders of hardliner Hindu nationalist groups are damaging our great democracy and secularism of the nation.

"This is to request you to use your powers as president of India, and the tremendous force of your good offices, to impress on the central government to rush adequate union forces, including contingents of the armed forces if required, to restore law and order and governance in the Kandhamal region.

"The consequences of any further delay, we the secular civil society fear, may be catastrophic for the small Christian community in the state in particular, for peace in Orissa in general, and for the fair name of India as a secular country," the group wrote.