India (MNN) — India’s Constitution allows Christians to practice their faith. But for many, reality is shaped by persecution.
India’s Constitution protects religious freedom in Articles 25 to 28. It gives every person the right to believe, practice, and share their faith, and it defines India as a secular country. However, there has been a rise in persecution against believers.
John Pudaite with Bibles For The World shares a recent story of a pastor attacked during a worship service. “They dragged him outside, and they forced him to chant Hindu chants, praising one of their gods, and then they forced him to eat cow dung,” he says.
Preamble to the Constitution of India (picture courtesy of Beohar Rammanohar Sinha\Prem Behari Narain Raizada via Wikimedia Commons)
Christians report similar incidents from different regions. It is happening across the entire country, adds Pudaite, especially in the 12 states that have passed anti-conversion laws. These laws are one reason many of these attacks go unpunished.
Still, Christians believe a higher law, the Constitution, is on their side.
The National Council of Churches, representing approximately 14 million Christians through its network of 32 member churches in India, has backed a petition. The goal is to challenge whether these laws are constitutional.
“There is what they call a public interest litigation in India that has taken the case all the way up to the Supreme Court,” explains Pudaite.
Now, the responsibility falls on the states to prove their laws follow the Constitution. But the process keeps getting delayed. In the meantime, pressure continues.
“They [Christians] get arrested. They have to pay bail. They have to go to court,” says Pudaite. And on top of that, many attackers feel unpunished.
While waiting for a decision, Christians are finding other ways to speak out. Thousands of Christians marched with torches on March 22 in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, to protest the state’s new anti-conversion law.
Believers in West Bengal, India (courtesy of Pexels)
Even so, Pudaite says the deeper battle is spiritual: “Along the way the enemy is just going to make it difficult for those who follow Jesus to continue to follow Him.”
Pray for a legal breakthrough in India, and for the protection of Christians’ rights.
Visit Bibles For The World to learn more about the work they do helping communities worldwide have access to Scripture.
Header photo: Central Wing of the Supreme Court of India (photo courtesy of Subhashish Panigrahi via Wikimedia Commons).
