The Week of Nightmares in Kandhamal Orissa (December 2007) Death – 6, Houses burnt & looted – 500, Shops, commercial properties – 126 Destruction: Parish churches – 5, Village Churches – 48, Convents – 5, Hostels – 7, Leprosy centre -1, Vocational Training Centre – 1 Vehicles – not surveyed, Animals killed – not surveyed
Still Counting…. (violence 2008) in Kandhamal Orissa Death confirmed: 45, priests/ pastors/ nuns seriously .injured: 10, Priests kidnapped : 2, Houses demolished in 160 villages : 4300, Institutions/ schools destroyed : 7, Churches/Chapels : 101, Convents and hostels: 14, Residences of priests : 5, Dispensaries : 2, Vocational Training Centres : 3, Shops : 126, Vehicles burnt / destroyed: 43 Forest was the only refuge….. to the people of Kandhamal About 50,000 people fled to the forests, Shops & Houses Owned by Christians are destroyed completely What is happening today? 12,000 persons in the refugees camps, Little medical care, No rehabilitation taking place, 40,000 people still hiding in forests, On return, people are forced to forsake faith, No Christian Leader is allowed to visit. Note: The actual figures are much more than the above as of now the confirmed death is gone up to 52. Christian Organizations are not allowed to do relief works of Christians ………. WHEREAS……In the Super Cyclone & other natural calamities Christian NGOs and church groups were first to set up relief and rehabilitation works in Orissa Orissa is not alone…. Hate Crimes against Christians in several states Prominent are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu On Sep. 14th 2008 in Karnataka, 14 churches attacked, Blessed Sacrament desecrated, statues broken, even cloistered nuns were not spared. Total churches, institutions attacked in Karnataka are 36. Organised Crime Statistics In the year 1998 50 cases In the year 2000 100 cases In the year 2007 1000 cases In the year 2008 4000 cases The Allegation For Hate is Missionaries convert the masses to Christianity. Christians receive foreign funds for conversion Here are the facts about these allegations Year Christian Population in Percentage 1971 2.59 % 1981 2.43 % 1991 2.32 % 2001 2.04 % More facts……. In India, every year, over 15 million students go through the portals of Christian Institutions. Can any one prove that even one out a million of these students is converted as the result of missionary activities? Most leaders of the organizations who spread hatred against Christians send their children and grand children to church-run schools Still More Facts ……... The constitution of India provides ample safeguards against fraudulent conversions Several states have passed laws aiming at "preventing conversion through force, fraud and inducement" STILL IN THE PAST SIX DECADES OF INDEPENDENT INDIA'S HISTORY NOT A SINGLE CASE OF FORCED OR FRAUDULENT CONVERSION WAS PROVED/PROSECUTED Is spreading faith a crime? History Says NO! - From India, the Hinduism spread to Malay Peninsula, Cambodia, Annam, Sumatra, Java, Bali and Borneo besides the Indian Sub-continent - From India, the Buddhism spread to China, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam - From Israel Christianity spread to Europe and America - From Arabia, the Islam spread to Asia and Africa What do the religions teach? "Go into all lands and preach this gospel. Tell them that the poor and the lowly, the rich and the high are one". - The Buddha "May the active be Glorifying God, arianising all" (Rig Veda 9.63.5) "May I speak these blissful words to my own people and the foreigner" (Yajur Veda 26.1-2) "Go and proclaim the good news to all creations". - Jesus Christ You must go out to preach your religion, preach it to every nation under the sun". - Swami Vivekananda "For this purpose was I born, and to spread this religion God appointed me". - Guru Govind Singh Missionaries from India Swami Vivekananda - "Up India, rise and conquer the world with Your spirituality" There are thousands of Hindu monks running ashrams and temples in Europe & America Who receives the foreign funds? - The funds received by the Christian organizations are reported to the Home Ministry under FCRA - Not a single case of misuse of foreign funds is found till date - The funds received by the Christians are visible in 25 % of the social sector in India. - The largest recipient of foreign funds in India are RSS affiliated organizations. Where is that money going? - Christians demand a white paper by the home ministry on the receipts of foreign funds in India. Christian Contribution to the Nation Building Over 24% of the social services in the country are run by the Christian groups Christians run more than 40,000 educational institutions Christians proved to be the most peaceful and law abiding community even under tremendous provocations Their works are visible in Schools, Colleges, Hospitals, Orphanages, Destitute homes, Leprosy rehabilitation, Counseling centres, HIV/AIDS rehabilitation, Nursing Schools, Vocational Services Christian Response to Persecution – "Father, Forgive them" "My husband and our children have sacrificed their lives for the nation of India. India is my home" - Gladis Stains "I praise God that my father and my brothers are found worthy to die for Christ" - Esther Stains Christians Demand Justice too Christians demands protection of their fundamental rights Christians seek support from all right-thinking citizens of this country irrespective of caste and religion The Truth Will Prevail… After every death, There is Resurrection… The persecuted church in India awaits the day of Resurrection!!!