ON THE GROUND IN INDIA advocacy. awareness. assistance. Victim: Bumbariya Family On May 18, a mob of 15 radical Hindu nationalists carrying swords, sickles, and a gun attacked the family of Pastor Ramesh Bumbariya at his home in Bansawra District of Rajasthan. The mob reportedly attacked the family after they refused to renounce their Christian faith. During the assault, Pastor Bumbariya was shot at; however, the gun failed to fire. Later, the assailants pointed the gun at the pastor’s father, Bhima Bumbariya, and fatally shot the 52-year-old Christian. After his father collapsed to the ground, Pastor Bumbariya was knocked unconscious. Pastor Bumbariya and two other members of his family were able to obtain treatment at a nearby hospital. “I believe God has a definite purpose in keeping me alive,” Pastor Bumbariya told ICC from his hospital bed. “I will carry on the ministry God has given to me.” “We gave up so much already for the sake of our faith,” Pastor Bumbariya continued. “They took away our agricultural land, they destroyed our house, now they want our lives. I am worried about my family and children; about what will happen to them when I am not around.” To help Pastor Bumbariya and his family recover from this deadly attack, ICC covered the medical costs the family incurred and provided two months of food aid. “I am sure I cannot attend my father’s funeral now that I am almost on a death bed,” Pastor Bumbariya told ICC. “But I thank God for his mercies during this difficult situation.” Project: Bibles and Bikes In November 2018, ICC launched the Bibles and Bikes initiative in India. This campaign set the ambitious goal of bringing the Gospel to India’s unreached by empowering 1,000 rural evangelists with a bicycle and 100 Bibles each. Each bike doubles or triples the effectiveness of a church planter. In early <strong>2021</strong>, ICC reached the program goal. It was a fantastic moment for all of our field staff! Our staff equipped church planters in 17 of India’s 29 states who have gone on to do some incredible things across the country, including the distribution of 100,000 Bibles in 13 languages. Tens of thousands of Bibles have found their way into previously unreached villages and the evangelists have formed hundreds of new churches that birthed thousands of new believers. Though a successful project, it has also faced its fair share of challenges. Since launching the Bibles and Bikes program in 2018, we have heard many stories of persecution from our evangelists. “<strong>Persecution</strong> is increasing,” said Pastor Roshini. “Converts are being targeted for their new faith. Some people are scared to associate or listen to us because of this.” These stories, however, have done little to dampen the passion the evangelists feel for spreading the Good News or their approval of the Bibles and Bikes initiative. “Evangelism is key for the growth of the Church in India,” explained Pastor Roshini. “The further we are able to reach, the more people will be added to the Church. These bicycles allow us to be forerunners for the Gospel.” Advocacy: Anti-Conversion Laws Indian Christians’ religious freedom rights have been curtailed through the proliferation and abuse of anticonversion laws. Due to growing religious intolerance and the normalization of religiously-motivated violence, many radical Hindu nationalists view all religious conversions to non-Hindu faiths as fraudulent. This assumption of guilt has been the catalyst for many violent attacks on Christians simply exercising their religious freedom rights. Last year, six Christian families were brutally tortured and accused of forced conversions in India’s Jharkhand district. Leading up to the incident, all six families were prohibited from accessing water from the town tap, as a mark of social exclusion due to their faith identity. Electricity was also denied to the Christian homes. Under the leadership of Hindu extremists, community members then held a meeting with Christian families, demanding that they return to Hinduism. When they refused, the men were tied up and severely beaten, while the women were stripped of their clothes and beaten as well. Afterwards, the Christians were taken to the local police, where nine of them were arrested for allegedly violating the country’s anti-conversion laws. When ICC heard of their case, we provided six months of food assistance for the families and covered the cost of traveling expenses for the nine Christians to attend court four times each month. We also paid the lawyer fee to handle the legal case filed against the Christians. “I was worried when me and my family were attacked… and were cut off from the village,” said a survivor of the attack. “We were in [a] dire situation with limited food and resources for our families. ICC provided rations and the expenses for me to travel for the hearings. It was a great help…thank you so much for helping me.” 22 PERSECU ION.ORG SEPTEMBER <strong>2021</strong> INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
INDIA PERSECU ION.ORG INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN 23