A man we’ll call Paul is a pastoral coach supporting work in India. He explains that India’s majority-Hindu government has a vision for India to become a Hindu Rashtra, or state. 

“For that, they have to plug every hole — that means anything which is going to be a hindrance to that vision of establishing a Hindu Rashtra,” says Paul. 

To Hindu leaders, Indians who follow a religion other than Hinduism have betrayed India’s heritage and given allegiance to foreign nations, says Paul. By extension, that means evangelical Christian ministries are not viewed favorably. 

As one strategy to combat foreign influence, India created the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in 1976. It has put red tape on non-profit organizations that receive foreign funding. In recent years, the government has effectively canceled the FCRA licenses of more than 20,000 organizations. Many were Christian-led. Without that license, these ministries are effectively blocked from receiving foreign funding. 

But here’s where the uncomfortable problem comes in: when Christian orgs dodge the system, they put not only themselves but others at risk. 

“The problem I see is many Christian agencies were not following, or they were not being compliant, in that sense,” says Paul of the FCRA licensure.

(Photo courtesy of Mahmut Yılmaz via Pexels)

He gives a hypothetical scenario in which one FCRA license holder allows other groups or individuals to route money through their account. 

“Now, with the current realities, you’re going to be in deep trouble, because they are really monitoring every penny you spend,” he says. “[If] they even see a slightest error or discrepancy, they are canceling your FCRA account.”

Recently, an evangelical Christian NGO was exposed as part of a network that was using United States–based debit cards in India. It was not even registered under the FCRA. It is now under investigation by India’s Enforcement Directorate. 

“[The government is] going to weaponize that to further say ‘This is what we have been telling over the years, how Christian organizations, Christians in India — and there is collaboration with the Western world — are trying to convert us Hindus in India,’” says Paul. “This is what they have been [saying]. Propaganda is going on. Massive, big-scale now, all over India.”

The situation is complicated. Please pray for wisdom for Christians to respond to these circumstances. Pray that the Church, both within India and outside of it, spreads the gospel in a way that honors God. 

India is around 80% Hindu, with an estimated 1.15 billion adherents according to Joshua Project (Photo courtesy of Wevlog Vijay via Pexels)

Header photo: Believers in West Bengal, India (Photo Courtesy of Ranit Das via Pexels.)

Elections this week in four of India’s states and one territory have returned the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to dominance. 

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP leads a coalition of parties called the National Democratic Alliance. With the BJP’s landslide victory in West Bengal State this week, it now leads 18 of India’s 28 states. That’s nearly 80 percent of India’s population, according to a poll analysis by the TV network India Today.

Add to that the fact that the NDA coalition (including the BJP) governs 21 of India’s 28 states, and you have a major political force. 

A man we’ll call Paul serves as a pastoral coach in support of work in India. According to Paul as well as other reports, the BJP’s campaigning in West Bengal was less than honorable. It involved the presence of many soldiers.

“My friend who lives there [said], ‘It looks like there’s a war taking place in West Bengal,’” says Paul. “They went ‘all out’ and did every unethical, immoral way to defeat [the incumbent chief minister]. And they won — a massive victory, 200-plus seats.”

Irregularities included a voter list overhaul that removed some 2.7 million voters. A disproportionate number of those voters were Muslims. That’s according to an analysis from independent research organization SABAR Institute, based in Kolkata.

What’s next for India? 

Several concerning realities may come from the BJP’s expanded reach.

Sonajhuri Haat Bolpur, West Bengal, India (Photo courtesy of Ratul Pal via Unsplash)

The first thing to expect comes from the party’s record, says Paul. “Every state they [the BJP] captured, they immediately brought in this anti-conversion law,” he says. 

Anti-conversion laws can be framed as protections for religious freedom. But in practice, they are anything but. Such laws are currently present in at least 12 of India’s states. 

Then, on a national level, Paul believes the BJP will push to change India from a secular republic to a Hindu republic.

“They were short one state, and now they won West Bengal. So we can expect that a constitutional amendment will be happening very soon,” he says.

If these predictions come true, Christians and Muslims in India have testing times ahead.

“Especially in terms of missions,” says Paul. “We’ll have to relook at how we do missions completely — probably have to go underground. It’s already happening. Many churches are shut down in the states where these [leaders] have passed this anti-conversion law. Many churches have closed down.”

These changes and challenges are no surprise to God. Please pray!

“Pray that the Church will stay strong, united,” says Paul. Pray for wisdom for churches about complying with government regulations. 

“Pray for us [that] as a church and leadership will come together and come up with some more concrete plans and strategies to live out our faith in the midst of this context,” says Paul. 

Header photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at the joint SCO-CSTO Outreach Summit on Afghanistan, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on September 17, 2021. (Wikimedia Commons)

May 3, 2026, marks three years since ethnic violence erupted between the Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki-Zo tribal people. In the first few days, dozens of people were killed, and hundreds of homes and houses of worship were destroyed. Today, it is estimated that 260 people have died and over 60,000 have been displaced in the conflict. (More on the reasons behind the conflict here.)

For three years, Manipur has remained divided, with ongoing unrest.

“This is something that we’ve been right in the thick of, as we have a large mission base in the southern part of Manipur state,” says John Pudaite with Bibles For The World.

Manipur church, c. 2023 (Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

Buffer zones between villages and even a year of tight central government control (called President’s Rule) have not brought lasting peace.

“They have installed sort of a caretaker government right now, and they’re trying to continue to police these areas,” says Pudaite, “but we’re seeing already some attacks, incidents of violence, against the tribals happening at some of these flashpoints at these buffer zone areas.” 

Attacks happen on both sides. A bombing on April 7, 2026, killed two Meitei children. Kuki-Zo militants deny responsibility, but the incident sparked new protests and clashes with police. 

Despite the long instability, Pudaite says, “God is good, and His people are extremely resilient. We have not seen any of the churches in the area whose faith is shaken. Rather, it’s been strengthened.” 

Pudaite also shares the incredible news that the southern part of Manipur is “completely evangelized.” Ask God to help believers in Manipur State spread the gospel and build true peace in this conflict. 

Header photo: Aid distribution in Manipur villages in late 2023. (Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

Starting in the early hours of Saturday, January 31, fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) killed nearly 50 people in coordinated attacks across the province.

Pakistani security forces intervened swiftly, killing 145 fighters from the BLA. The provincial chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, says this number of fighters killed was the highest in decades.

(Stock photo courtesy of Beebagar Baloch via Unsplash)

Balochistan was annexed by Pakistan in 1948. It has seen multiple separatist movements since then. (More on that here.)

Unrest in Balochistan happens for several reasons, says Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations. “It happens to be an area that’s very rich in minerals and resources, and the people of Balochistan have forever been frustrated, feeling like the government — the capital of Pakistan, [Islamabad] — are the main benefactors of their wealth,” he explains. 

Of Pakistan’s ten poorest districts, seven are in Balochistan. Kelley describes it as “lack of infrastructure, lack of education, lack of medical opportunities.” As local people see their homeland’s resources being exploited, “there are these sort of ‘freedom fighters’ that have emerged over the years that have gone toe-to-toe with the Pakistani military in opposition,” he says of the BLA. 

Is there any good in unrest? 

“Any time that there’s instability and chaos in majority Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim environments, it creates an opportunity for the gospel,” Kelley says, “because the people are suffering. You begin to question and look at your worldview and say, ‘Is this really all that life has for me? Is this the hope?’”

In a world full of political and national conflicts, it’s tempting to shrug off news that isn’t in our own backyards. But God calls His people to look at the world with the Great Commission in mind.

Quetta, Pakistan (Stock photo courtesy of Syed Aoun Abbas via Unsplash)

“They say about 100% of the population is considered unreached. These are exclusively Muslim areas,” says Kelley about Balochistan Province. “The main people groups there are the Pashtun and Baloch people.”

Frontiers like this are exactly where the church needs to engage, he says. “We need to mobilize the Christian church in Pakistan into this area more strategically and intentionally. I believe that there’s going to be a gospel movement in Balochistan.”

You can be part of that push by praying for more gospel workers and partnering with Unknown Nations to help them support local believers on mission.

“Pray that the Lord raises up harvesters, laborers that will go into these areas — Pakistani nationals who can go into Balochistan and speak the languages,” says Kelley. 

Header photo: Ras Koh Hills, Kharan District, Balochistan Province, Pakistan (Stock photo courtesy of Muhammad Irfan Baloch)

An estimated 40,000 Rohingya live in India. They fled Myanmar’s civil war, but face persecution in India too.

Philip is a pastor who used to serve with A3. He says the suffering of the Rohingya in India is “even worse than in Myanmar.”

The trouble for Rohingyas in India started in 2017. That’s when militants with the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in Myanmar killed more than 100 Hindus in Arakan State.

“Immediately after the killing, [the] Indian government treated the Rohingya refugees as illegal migrants,” Philip said.  “Since then, the Rohingyas faced certain difficulties, such as [a] lack of legal recognition, poor living conditions, inadequate healthcare, and so on.”

Portrait of a Rohingya woman in Teknaf Camp (Photo courtesy of Mehdi Khoshnejad via Pexels)

Indian landlords and shopkeepers have faced pressure not to rent or sell to Rohingya. Companies are forbidden to hire them. 

“Under the Immigration Act, the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) and police can arrest anyone at any time and send them to jail or detention centers. Even UNHCR cannot do anything to save them,” Pastor Philip said. 

“Since they are not allowed to rent houses or apartments, many Rohingyas sleep at railway stations and roadsides at night, and search [for] their daily food in the daytime.” 

The terrorist attack in India-administered Kashmir this April made things even worse. Pastor Philip says Indian authorities suspected Rohingya Muslims of being involved with Pakistani terrorists. Since then, reports of arbitrary detentions and deportations of Rohingya have surged. 

For example, 40 Rohingya in India were allegedly rounded up in May and flown to the Andaman and Nicobar islands off the coast of Myanmar. They were then forced off an Indian naval ship to swim to the mainland. 

“Out of 40, 15 of them were Christians. This is how they are suffering now,” says Pastor Philip.

International outcry on behalf of the Rohingya has been present for years and is growing. Please ask God not only for justice on their behalf but also for their salvation. Pastor Philip says only around 350-400 Rohingya Christians live in India.

But the fact that there are any Christians among the Rohingya is an answer to prayer. Years ago in Myanmar, A3 (formerly Asian Access) was involved in training leaders among the Rohingya and other peoples.

(Image courtesy of English: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

“It would not be wrong if we say the Rohingya Christians of Myanmar were the [result] of Asian Access Myanmar. The Rohingya believers increased rapidly [from] the year 2008 to 2012,” said Pastor Philip.

But then, the civil war dispersed the Rohingya church, and the work in Myanmar ended. Today, Rohingya live all over Southeast Asia.

“Pray for all the Rohingya in India, including Christians who are suffering from severe persecution and expulsion from the government and the neighbouring Hindus. Let’s pray for them that they may get their daily food, shelter and other help needs,” Pastor Philip said.

“Pray for the Rohingya Christians in New Delhi. In number, they are 34 families. They want to move to Bangalore to escape from persecution. Let’s pray that they may get the needed money [to] move to Bangalore to escape all the persecution and  expulsions.”

Header photo: Noor is a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. (Photo by DFID – UK Department for International Development – via Flickr and Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.)

In a public speech last week, Gopichand Padalkar from the ruling Hindu nationalist party put out a “rate card” for harassing Christian leaders. Padalkar offered 300,000 rupees (US$3,500) to anyone who beat up a Gospel worker, while murdering a pastor would earn 1.1 million rupees (US$13,000).

“There has been a lot of pushback from the Christian community in India, who are saying, ‘Look, this is a government leader who is offering a bounty on killing Christians,’” Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says.

“Thankfully, there has also been some pushback from within his own party, saying, ‘That was irresponsible. He shouldn’t have said that. That is not our party’s position.’”

Protestors want more than an apology. “They are pressing the government to file charges against him (Padalkar) because of that illegal act,” Nettleton says.

“It’s illegal for him to stand up and say, ‘You should kill Christians, and here’s how much I will pay you for doing so.’”

(Graphic courtesy VOM USA)

Current laws pave the way for persecution. More about that here. State officials in Maharashtra announced plans to pursue a statewide anti-conversion law last Wednesday.

“A lot of this goes back to the anti-conversion laws that make it illegal to talk to someone about changing their religion. It is designed to close down avenues for Christians, in particular, to share the Gospel and tell other people about Jesus,” Nettleton says.

“While the constitution is secular, the government of Prime Minister Modi, the BJP Hindu nationalist party, really does advocate for every Indian to be a Hindu. Anyone who is talking to Indians about not being Hindu is considered an enemy.”

Pray for boldness and courage for the Christian community in India to continue sharing the Gospel, despite the increasing pressure and threat of persecution.

“Pray for the families of pastors in jail [or] who’ve been arrested. It’s a great challenge, and it’s easy to grow discouraged,” Nettleton says.

Header image courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs USA. 

Public schools aren’t the only ones gaining attention these days. Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach says parents in Sri Lanka are increasingly drawn to their after-school tutoring program. 

At first, “parents are a little leery that we’re trying to just convert their children, but then they learn that that’s not what we’re doing,” Yoder says. “They’ve grown to love what we do and [are] open to hearing that Jesus loves them, and wants nothing more than [for] them to love Him.” 

Run by volunteers, the program offers tutoring in math and English. “They use Bible stories and songs to share Christ, as well as giving them education,” says Yoder.

Ministry in Sri Lanka. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

However, not everyone in the community wants to hear the Good News. 

“There is some resistance to the Gospel [due to] Sri Lanka being mostly Hindu and Buddhist.” 

CWO works with dedicated local leaders in Sri Lanka who live out the Gospel while meeting educational and physical needs. Pray for one CWO partner facing persecution. 

“The Buddhist priest is trying to force this homeowner to stop renting to one of our leaders [who] has a house church,” says Yoder. “We’re working to help him find another place, if he does get kicked out.”

Yoder asks that you also pray for wisdom for CWO as they connect with local gospel workers. 

“Word is being spread that we’re coming alongside ministry leaders,” he says. “They’re coming to us and saying, ‘Hey, can we partner with you?’ So that’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity.”

CWO’s vision for gospel-centered ministry goes beyond mere financial partnership.

“We are encouraging them to find funds in-country. Some of them are doing that,” says Yoder. “They’re looking to their churches and saying, ‘Hey, we need to step up. If we want to share the gospel with our community, we need to invest in that.’”

CWO partners with ministry leaders who want to share the gospel, whether they’re doing a church plant, house church, or any kind of evangelism in their communities. Learn more about their mission and how you can be part of it here.

Header photo from Galle, Sri Lanka courtesy of Fredrik Öhlander via Unsplash. Cropped from original version. 

“The thing about India is that in the constitution, you do have freedom of religion: to share your faith, live your faith, and even have people join your faith,” says Greg Musselman with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada.

But in many regions, that freedom is subject to anti-conversion laws that often open the door for mob rule.

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

“It’s like they said, ‘You know, we’ve had enough of this, and it’s time to stand up together, and it’s time to band together,’” Musselman says of the Christians protesting today. Other minorities and organizations also feel the brunt of these laws and support the call for true religious freedom in India.

A report states that after the protests, a memorandum will be sent to India’s president to emphasize the issue further. 

“As the violence has increased against our brothers and sisters and minority communities, they said, ‘We want to draw attention to it and to put pressure on the BJP,’ which is a radical Hindu government that states that if you are Indian, you are Hindu,” Musselman says.

“That’s going to bring a profile, and it’s going to put pressure, we pray, on the Indian government, that they will start to do more to protect their citizens.”

If you want to find out how to help, start with prayer!

“Let’s pray that the church in India would be unified,” Musselman says, “that the persecution, the opposition that they’re facing would actually —and it does in many cases — [bring] the believers of all different denominations and styles of worship together.”

Pray for respect and peace in the protests, that onlookers will recognize the difference Jesus makes. 

“Ultimately, that is what we want to see happen, is that the gospel of Jesus Christ will go forward in India, even through something like a protest saying that ‘we have the right to be able to share the message,'” Musselman says.

Header image is a representative stock photo of a church in Hyderabad, India. (Photo courtesy of Paul Silvan via Unsplash)

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs, USA explains the potential ramifications. 

“So if you are sharing your religion and it’s making people of another religion angry, well, then you’re upsetting public order, and public order is a higher value than religious freedom, which has been guaranteed in the constitution,” he says.

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs)

“I would love to know the discussions behind the scenes between the various attorneys and how he (the judge) came to this decision. But it does show what the Hindu nationalists believe: that ‘if we let the Christians propagate their religion, if we let the Muslims grow in influence, that is going to upset the public order, that’s going to bring about hassles and upset and upheaval that we don’t want. So we need to stop those. Therefore, we need these anti-conversion laws that we have, even though clearly they violate the constitution that promises the freedom to freely propagate your religion.”

Anti-conversion laws are used with relative impunity to justify attacks on Christians and other minority religions. One India-based monitor verified 640 violent or discriminatory acts against Christians in 2024. That’s likely only a fraction of what really happened. 

“It’s the government that’s driving this persecution, and as I say, the trend is unfortunately much more persecution today than there was even five or 10 years ago,” says Nettleton.

In 2024, Voice of the Martyrs changed how it classifies India, moving it from a hostile area to a restricted nation. (More on that here.) The ministry comes alongside Christians in India with legal assistance, help for families of imprisoned Christians, audio Bible distribution, and more.

Lawyers are frequently needed these days. Nettleton explains that Christians accused of coercing someone to change their religion can spend months, even years in prison — before a court ruling. 

“Sometimes the challenge is just enduring while you wait for the process to go forward,” he says. 

Find your place in the story with your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

“We want to pray for them. We want to stand with them where we can,” says Nettleton, “and I hope that we’re inspired to be bold. If a pastor or an evangelist is willing to go to jail to share the gospel, am I willing to walk across the street to my neighbor? Am I willing to strike [up] a conversation with someone?”

Header photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs.

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says their indigenous partners in both nations are feeling the effects of uncertainty and travel restrictions. Regions of northern India outside of Kashmir — Jammu and Delhi, Kelley says — are also impacted. 

“Then you add in the fact that you’ve got nuclear powers — so you’ve got people with historical hatred towards each other, and the ability to wipe out thousands and thousands of people. [It] is a very precarious situation,” Kelley adds.

“For so many different reasons, a ceasefire couldn’t have come quick enough, because this is a tinder box just ready to explode.”

(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

But Kelley says that as Christians, we must look through the spiritual lens, not merely the physical.

Hindu-majority India has the world’s highest concentration of unreached people groups. Meanwhile, Pakistan is the second largest Muslim-majority nation in the world. 

“As with any issue that’s country to country where hatred is so deep, it’s a matter of the heart, which means the only answer is the gospel,” says Kelley. 

So, how can the Body of Christ position itself for spreading the gospel? Unknown Nations’ partners are already on the ground in this border conflict. “These people are deployed on a daily basis. They’re distributing our solar-powered audio Bible[s]. We do water projects. We train these leaders, and then second-generation leaders,” Kelley says.

“When we’re talking about countries like India and Pakistan, we have to build a ground game where there [are] leaders on the ground that are properly equipped to share the gospel and multiply. That’s where a lot of our efforts are at.”

Kelley recognizes that people who have lost everything will quickly begin to question their worldview.

“This (situation in Kashmir) is beginning to get to the place of an insecurity among the people where they are questioning,” he says. “Both of those worldviews (Islam, Hinduism) — that’s the second and third largest religions in the world — are going to be open to the gospel now.”

As a member of the global church, consider how you might deploy your resources to hotspot areas like the India-Pakistan border, starting with your prayers.

“We need to pray intentionally, but with the right kind of vocabulary: not country-oriented, but people-group oriented,” Kelley says.

(Image courtesy of congerdesign via Pixabay)

Don’t know where to start? Visit Joshua Project’s webpages for India and Pakistan, and choose one of the unreached people groups on their lists. You can start with the Yadav people in India, or the massive Pashtun people in Pakistan. 

Learn more about Unknown Nations here.

Photo from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, India (Courtesy of Jannes Jacobs via Unsplash).