Gospel for Asia on Christian Persecution In India

Violence against Christians in India continues to increase -- and Hindu fundamentalists are behind it, says the president of Gospel for Asia (GFA). A Christian pastor in India recently was ambushed by a Hindu mob as he was on his way to a prayer service. The 48-year-old pastor was targeted, says K.P. Yohannan, because of his missionary work in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, another pastor was dragged from a bus stop and beaten last month. According to Yohannon, while Hinduism as a while is a peaceful religion, there are fundamentalists and extremists. "[W]e have never experienced this kind of frequency in being beaten up, abused, and all kind of things for the sake of Christ," the GFA leader says. "One of the main reasons, really, is the number of untouchables, or Dalits, turning to Christ." He says police are investigating the attacks. Yohannon insists those attacks are motivated by a hostility toward Christianity. "In Matthew 10, Jesus said, 'I am sending you as sheep among wolves,' and don't care for anything else except what the Lord called us to do. That's going on," he says. "And what a joy it is, just to hear continually of people turning to the Lord, and that's a miracle." Through GFA's training of native Christians to plant churches and share the gospel, thousands of Dalits -- the lowest in the Indian culture's caste system -- have come to know Christ as their Savior.