Volume 8 Issue 15

Message for reflection – Sr. Angelica AJ

A remnant in it that will be carried out

Eze 14:22-23  Yet, behold, there will be left a remnant in it that will be carried out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they will come out to you, and you will see their way and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought on it.   They will comfort you, when you see their way and their doings; then you will know that I have not done all that I have done in it without cause,” says the Lord Yahweh. 

The whole world is asking why the Lord has allowed this pestilence. The Godless country and once upon a time 100% Christian countries are made equally – victims of Covid-19.

These days the Lord reminded me of a particular portion of the vision about Model Church.

Message to Western countries

Why carnalism in the Church today ?

Gay Marriages in the church!

Western countries – Flesh reigns

Why church has not overcome these people ?

Why the world is controlling the church today ?

Church in U.S.A.and Europe God’s promise to minister forever - withdrawn due to faithlessness

1 Sam 2:30-31

  • Why the Church keeps dumb?
  • No prophet to rebuke such vulgarism?
  • Why don’t you condemn such disasters?
  • Why do you keep silent ?Why no protest ?

Church in India

To send condolence message to dead churches when such things are heard (spiritual death)

Many of the western churches  - -  to be declared dead - To be removed from the list! (not alive in Christ)

You Express sympathy for Natural disasters

Messages  should  be sent when you hear about the  death of a Church!

Condolence Message from Individuals, From Churches - From nation as a whole.

As a RESULT OF YOUR SILENCE, my flock is perishing!

Where is my Elijah?

Be a Moses- Moses saw Aaron allow the   people go without restraint –11 tribes weak!  Ex 32:25

Committed Moses – asked the zealous Levites to take the sword!

Arise Indian Church!

They went against their sons and brothers

Asked Levi to consecrate themselves to the LORD

“ I will make you a blessing”  (Ex 32:29)

The Lord’s Command to AOJ in 2006

  • Take the Sword-the Word
  • Go to the neighbouring church
  • Go to the Church in other countries
  • Clean up the Churches –make it Jehovah’s dwelling place!
  • No abomination should be seen inside!
  • Today India has to clean up the church!
  • You are my ambassadors
  • Stand up against the compromising church leaders
  • Stand up against the world leaders ( 1 Kgs 17:1)
  • Put my words in your mouth (Hos 8)
  • Exercise your authority!

Call to the Church in India

  • To correct the Churches in USA, Europe, Australia
  • From Flesh domination and Materialism.

Call to the Church in India

Go to the White House! A trumpet to your lips!

If not, enemy will pursue them! In distress they will seek me! I will not be seen!

Warnings to the Pastors in India

  • What is the motive of going abroad ? Hos 4:8 ?
  • If you must go, would you be a John the Baptist ?
  • If you must go, accept only the travel expenses
  • Get my consent if you need to receive extra funds

Church in India, You should have a burden for the west.

  • We are indebted to the church in the West
  • Your duty to correct them. Don’t be concerned only about ‘your’ church! they have sent missionaries to you!

Yes! There will be left a remnant in it that will be carried out.

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pr  26:21 The spirit which makes one a contentious man to kindle strife

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The Lord wants the Church to be transformed according to Eph 5:26,27, to  make her holy, (cleansing her by the washing with water through the word), and to present her as a radiant Church. By  BFF training , the Church awakes and arises to shine in the world. So far 529 batches have been conducted  across India in various languages. The students were from almost all the States of India & abroad.

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Prophecy NEWS Update

Coronavirus: The European Union Unravels

As the coronavirus pandemic rages through Europe -- where more than 250,000 people have now been diagnosed with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 15,000 have died -- the foundational pillars of the European Union are crumbling one by one. Faced with an existential threat, EU member states, far from joining together to confront the pandemic as a unified bloc, instinctively are returning to pursuing the national interest. After years of criticizing U.S. President Donald J. Trump for pushing an "America First" policy, European leaders are reverting to the very nationalism they have publicly claimed to despise.

Ever since the threat posed by coronavirus came into focus, Europeans have displayed precious little of the high-minded multilateral solidarity that for decades has been sold to the rest of the world as a bedrock of European unity. The EU's unique brand of soft power, said to be a model for a post-national world order, has been shown to be an empty fiction.

In recent weeks, EU member states have closed their borders, banned exports of critical supplies and withheld humanitarian aid. The European Central Bank, the guarantor of the European single currency, has treated with unparalleled disdain the eurozone's third-largest economy, Italy, in its singular hour of need. The member states worst affected by the pandemic -- Italy and Spain -- have been left by the other member states to fend for themselves. The seeds of the European Union were planted in the ashes of the Second World War. In May 1949, Robert Schuman, one of the EU's founding fathers, boldly announced the creation of new world system:

"We are carrying out a great experiment, the fulfillment of the same recurrent dream that for ten centuries has revisited the peoples of Europe: creating between them an organization putting an end to war and guaranteeing an eternal peace." The European Union, seven decades in the making, is now unravelling in real time -- in weeks. After the dust of the coronavirus pandemic settles, the EU's institutions will almost certainly continue to operate as before. Too much political and economic capital has been invested in the European project for European elites to do otherwise. However, the EU's attraction as a post-national model for its own citizens, much less for the rest of the world, will have passed.

Recent examples of the unilateral pursuit of the national interest by European leaders, many of whom publicly espouse globalism but in times of desperation embrace nationalism, include:

France. On March 3, France confiscated all protective masks made in the country. "We will distribute them to healthcare professionals and to French people affected by the coronavirus," French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter. On March 6, the French government forced Valmy SAS, a face mask manufacturer near Lyon, to cancel an order for millions of masks placed by the UK's National Health Service.

Germany, March 4. Germany banned the export of medical protective equipment such as safety glasses, respiratory masks, protective coats, protective suits and gloves. On March 7, the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported that German customs authorities were preventing a Swiss truck carrying 240,000 protective masks from returning to Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU. 

The Swiss government summoned the German ambassador to protest against the export ban. "In these contacts, the German authorities were urged immediately to release the blocked products," a Swiss government spokesperson was quoted as saying. After facing a backlash from other EU member states, Germany on March 19 reversed course and lifted the export ban.

Austria, March 10. Austria became the first EU country to close its borders to another EU country. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced controls along the border with Italy and a ban on the entry of most travelers from there. "The utmost priority," Kurz said, "is to prevent the spread and thus importing the illness into our society.  There is therefore a ban on entry for people from Italy into Austria, with the exception of people who have a doctor's note certifying that they are healthy." The government also announced a ban on all air or rail travel to Italy. Austria's decision threatened to undo the so-called Schengen Area, which entered into effect in 1995 and abolishes the need for passports and other types of control at the mutual borders of 26 European countries. Slovenia, March 11. The government closed some border crossings with Italy and at those remaining open, had started making health checks to combat the spread of the virus.

Czech Republic, March 12. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš closed the country's borders with Germany and Austria and also banned the entry of foreigners coming from other risky countries. On March 22, the government said that the border restrictions may last for up to two years.

Switzerland, March 13. The Swiss government imposed border controls with other European countries. Switzerland, although not a member of the European Union, is part of the Schengen zone.

Italy, March 13. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde dismissed calls by Italy for financial assistance to help it cope with the pandemic. After her comments rattled financial markets, Lagarde said that the ECB was "fully committed to avoid any fragmentation in a difficult moment for the euro area." Italian President Sergio Mattarella replied that Italy had a right to expect solidarity rather than obstacles from beyond its borders.

Denmark, March 14. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen imposed border controls on all traffic by land, sea and air until at least April 13.

Poland, March 15. The government closed the country's borders to everyone except Polish citizens or people with a Polish residence permit.

Germany, March 16. Germany, the largest and most powerful country in the European Union, introduced controls on its borders with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The move came after Germany registered 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 in just one day.

Hungary, March 16. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán halted all passenger traffic into Hungary would be halted and only Hungarian citizens allowed to enter the country.

Spain, March 16. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska decreed the establishment of controls at all land borders.

Serbia, March 16. President Aleksandar Vučić declared a state of emergency due to coronavirus. He condemned the EU for restricting exports of medical equipment and appealed for help from his "friend and brother," Chinese leader Xi Jinping. "European solidarity does not exist," Vučić said. "That was a fairy tale on paper. I have sent a special letter to the only ones who can help, and that is China." Serbia applied to become a member of the EU in 2009. Accession talks began in January 2014.

Czech Republic, March 17. Czech authorities seized 110,000 face masks that China had sent to Italy. On March 23, the Czech Republic delivered the confiscated material to Italy. "There are 110,000 masks on board the bus as a gift to Italy, which is supposed to replace the material that was probably a Chinese gift for Italian compatriots," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Stichova.

Germany, March 18. Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a rare televised speech, urged all Germans to obey rules aimed at reducing direct social contact and avoiding as many new infections as possible. "It is serious," she said. "Take it seriously. Since German reunification, actually, since World War Two, there has never been a challenge for our country in which acting in solidarity was so very crucial." 

Merkel's address to the nation was the first time in nearly 15 years in office that she had spoken to the country other than in her annual New Year's address. She did not mention the European Union or other EU member states.

Belgium, March 22. The coronavirus has fueled tensions between Belgium, which is on lockdown, and the Netherlands, which is not. "In the Netherlands, shops are still open and meetings of 100 people are still allowed -- these are breeding grounds for the virus," said Marino Keulen, mayor of the Belgian border town Lanaken. 

Belgian authorities have set up barricades along the border and are ordering cars with Dutch license plates to turn around and return home. Keulen called the border checks a "signal to The Hague" to "quickly scale-up" its response and align with neighboring countries. "The Dutch government is incompetent and ridiculous in its response to the coronavirus crisis," said Leopold Lippens, the mayor of Belgian seacoast town Knokke-Heist. "The Netherlands is doing nothing, so we have to protect ourselves."

Spain, March 25. After failing to obtain assistance from the European Union, the Spanish government asked NATO for help in acquiring 1.5 million face masks and 450,000 respirators. NATO lacks this material and is limited to passing the Spanish request on to the remaining 29 allies, many of which are also members of the EU.

Poland, March 25. Polish authorities prevented hundreds of thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer from being exported to Norway, which is not a member of the EU. The Norwegian company Norenco manufactures and packages hand sanitizer for the Scandinavian market at a factory it owns in Poland. Norenco's chief executive, Arne Haukland, said that after he applied for an export license, five men arrived at the factory, and demanded to be shown its stock of hand sanitizer. He said the company then received a letter ordering it to sell any hand sanitizer it had produced to the local city authorities in Lubin at a fixed price, under emergency coronavirus laws passed in Poland at the start of March. The seizure will exacerbate the supply problem faced by Norwegian hospitals.

France, March 25. President Emmanuel Macron, in an address to the nation at a military hospital in the eastern city of Mulhouse, which has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, called for national, as opposed to European, unity: "When we engage in war, we engage fully, we mobilize united. I see in our country factors of division, doubts, all those who want to fracture the country when it is necessary to have only one obsession: to be united to fight against the virus. I call for this unity and this commitment."

Meanwhile, in Italy, a nationwide survey published on March 18 found that 88% of Italians believe that the EU is not helping their country. Only 4% thought the opposite while 8% did not have an opinion. More than two-thirds (67%) of Italians said that they believe that being part of the European Union is a disadvantage for their country.

In an article titled, "Coronavirus Threatens European Unity," Bill Wirtz, a political commentator based in Luxembourg, observed:

"As the coronavirus unfolds, Schengen countries are shutting their own borders. Whether or not they do so because they believe that a coordinated European response would be inefficient, or whether they believe that their own voters wouldn't buy it -- at this stage it's irrelevant. The mere fact that borders have resurfaced in Europe is a failure for the integrity of the Schengen open borders agreement....

"A coordinated EU response to this crisis does not exist, and as the recommendations fall on deaf ears, Brussels is dealing with a crisis of confidence. There is no union-wide crisis response, coordinated testing or research.  Worse than that, the EU institutions are bystanders to a war between countries, which are trying to limit exports of medical supplies in order to keep them for themselves. In times of crisis, the true influence and capacity of the EU has shown, and it is very little.

"As it stands, countries are dealing with a crisis of missing hospital beds, medical equipment, and overall resources. If the virus ever happens to lay lower than it does now, and the conclusion is drawn that the European Union was a powerless bystander in the eye of the storm (which it is), then the Schengen Agreement and open borders in Europe could be dealing with a difficult recovery."

Darren McCaffrey, the political editor of the France-based news channel Euronews, wrote:

"In the past couple of weeks, solidarity has collapsed in the bloc. Countries have started imposing border controls on neighboring EU countries, and even Germany has taken steps to manage the flow of people entering and leaving its territory.

"On Tuesday, a 35-kilometer-long queue formed at the Polish-German border, where hundreds of Europeans -- Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians -- were stuck in trucks, cars and buses.

"As the EU must take measures to prevent the spread of the disease, many are worrying about the essence of the European Union and its four freedoms [the free movement of goods, services, capital and people].

"What is the EU if its own citizens can't move freely? What is the single market if goods can't cross Europe's borders without hindrance?"

In an article titled, "Nations First: The EU Struggles for Relevance in the Fight against Coronavirus," the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel noted:

"As the pandemic takes hold in Europe, the decades-old union is showing its weaknesses. While the EU managed to survive Brexit and the euro crisis, the corona crisis may yet prove to be an insurmountable challenge. "Instead of trying to come up with joint solutions, the Continent is becoming balkanized and is reverting to national solutions. Instead of helping each other out, EU countries are hoarding face masks like panicked Europeans are hoarding toilet paper. The early decisions made by some EU member states to refrain from exporting medical equipment to Italy -- the EU country that has thus far been hit hardest by the pandemic -- has even overshadowed the lack of European solidarity displayed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the refugee crisis.

"Europeans are even divided on the question as to how to combat the virus. Whereas Germany is eager to prevent as many people as possible from encountering the virus and becoming infected, the Netherlands wants to see as many healthy people as possible fight off COVID-19, thus becoming immune. The signal is clear: When things get serious, every member state still looks out for itself first -- even 60 years after the founding of the community."

Christian News

God's Answer to Your Fear, Worry and Anxiety

Worry and anxiety. They're everywhere right now, and many of you have felt them. I know I have.

Certain words and phrases trigger fear, such as “pandemic,” “shelter in place” and “quarantine.” We begin to play the “what if” game. We panic, asking, “What if THIS happens?” or “What if THAT happens?”

We have to be concerned and we have to be diligent – the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a real and serious virus – but we don’t have to panic.

Did you know that the word “worry” comes from the Old English root word, “wyrgan,” which meant “to strangle” or “to choke”?  Worry squeezes the life out of us.

Jesus said, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? … Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:27, 34 ESV).

One of my personal heroes, Corrie ten Boom, put it this way, “Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

So, how should we respond to this global health crisis?

REPLACE WORRY WITH FAITH

We must “... fix [our] thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” as the apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8 (NLT). These are eight different kinds of things we can fill our minds with!

We can also pray for others. Pray for those who are sick, pray for those who are at risk, pray for the doctors, nurses and researchers who are treating patients and are working to stymie the virus. Pray for the government officials who have to make difficult decisions, and pray for your friends, family members and neighbors. Thinking about others takes the focus off of ourselves and actually helps to reduce our worry and anxiety!

WHEN FEELING AFRAID, WORRIED OR ANXIOUS, TURN TO THE PRESENCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

When a child is afraid of the dark, the best thing to do is to turn on the lights. Then the child needs the presence of an adult, preferably mom or dad, to comfort and reassure them. The same is true for us.

Instead of listening to or reading the news as soon as we open our eyes in the morning or before we go to sleep at night, we can start or end our day with prayer or Bible reading. We can meditate on the hopeful words that God himself gives us in Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

TURN OUR WORRY INTO WORSHIP

When anxious thoughts come sweeping into our minds, uninvited and unwelcome, we can sweep them back out with praise. We can listen to worship music, sing songs, dance, play instruments and create works of art — or do whatever we do when we express our love for and awe of God.

There will always be something that will frighten us in this life. But in these uncertain days, we can take the time to count our blessings and thank God for his divine provision and protection. We don’t have to be filled with fear, anxiety and worry.

Christians Suffer Police Brutality, Illegal Arrests in Uttar Pradesh, India

HYDERABADIndia, March 23, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Forcing them to pose like Christ on the cross, police last week beat Christians in custody on baseless charges in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, sources said.

On March 15 a church of 200 people was immersed in a Sunday service when 30 Hindu extremists brandishing hockey sticks and steel rods arrived with police at the worship hall built on the premises of the pastor’s home in the Kunda area of Pratapgarh District, sources said.

“Once I saw them armed with hockey sticks and steel rods, I understood that they had come to attack us,” Pastor Indresh Kumar Gautam, 24, told Morning Star News. “I got down from the pulpit and decided to face them before they cause nuisance or attack any of the members of the congregation.”

He could see they were young men of the Hindu extremist Bajrang Dal from his and neighboring villages, he said. The pastor said they accused the church of increasing conversions to Christianity in the area.

“I told them clearly that we do not convert anyone, and that we had only accepted Christian faith and would be only praying for everyone,” he said. “If anybody chooses to follow Jesus after attending prayers, they are free to do so as the Indian constitution has granted the right to practice one’s faith freely.”

The intruders shouted at the worshippers to disperse immediately or they would be beaten brutally, he said.

“They had already started attacking us, and the police kept looking on,” Pastor Gautam said. “They seized the Bibles and the sound instruments, but the officers both male and female did not stop them.”

Instead, police forced five worshippers into police vehicles and took them to the Kunda police station, he said.

Along with the pastor, Vishesh Gautam, Mohit Gautam and Akash Gautam were arrested. Another person who had only recently begun attending services also was taken into custody, but when he told police he was not a Christian, they immediately made arrangements to release him on bail, Pastor Gautam said.

The four Christians remained in custody for six hours until the Sub-Divisional Magistrate agreed to release them on bail after forcing them to sign an affidavit stating that they would never again be involved in Christian conversion activities in the area, he said.

TORTURE IN POLICE STATION

A tall, well-built officer in plainclothes walked into the police station with a bodyguard at his side, the pastor said.

“All the policemen at the police station were saluting him; we did not know who he was,” Pastor Gautam said.

The officer entered their cell and began questioning them.

“When our turn came, he came closer and first enquired what our caste was,” Pastor Gautam said. “Then he asked, ‘Are you the religious conversions people?’ [‘Aap Dharm Parivartan waaley ho?’ loosely translated.] The stink of alcohol from his mouth was very strong and unbearable.”

Before they could reply, he began beating them with the cane, Pastor Gautam said.

“I was howling in pain, crying out to the Lord – ‘Lord, if I have to take this torture for sharing the gospel, I accept it, Lord. I accept it. Give me the strength,”’ he told Morning Star News. “My voice was growing feeble. I kept repeating, ‘Father, give me the strength. I need your strength. I can’t take this pain.’”

Striking the pastor’s legs, the officer disparaged his caste and economic status in obscenities, the pastor said.

“I could hear him speak ill about me, my identity and faith, but I did not say a word,” Pastor Gautam said. “He had beaten me to a point I collapsed on the floor. I was lying there almost dead watching my friends also undergo the same degree of torture one after the other.”

The officer forced the other Christians to pose like Jesus on the cross, he said.

“He said that he wanted to get that feeling that he is torturing Jesus,” Pastor Gautam told Morning Star News. “‘Let’s see if your Jesus would come here to save you,’ he laughed, as he continued mocking us, calling us names, casteist slurs, but none of us protested.”

One of the Christians, Akash Gautam, is in severe pain and is unable to walk, Pastor Gautam said.

“He is unable to sleep because of the pain and bruises,” he said. 

The torture continued for three hours, he said, adding that there were no CCTV cameras inside the cell to capture the violence.

“There is no evidence of it. Unless we show our scars, no one would believe us,” Pastor Gautam said. “There is severe pain in my wrist, so that I am unable to do any chores.”

One of the assailants who led the attack is close with the local politicians, he said. Not wanting any other church members to suffer as he did, the church has split into smaller groups meeting in various homes.

“I have received phone calls from pastors in the surrounding areas expressing their fears that they also might come under attack,” the pastor said. “I have assured them that I will pursue this legally to get justice, so that there will not be opposition to Christian worship in the area.”

Advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom-India’s Uttar Pradesh Legal Aid Cell is providing assistance.

“The Christian youths were beaten badly by the drunk officer,” Christian rights activist Dinanath Jaiswar told Morning Star News.

Low-caste people who put their faith in Christ are often the targets of upper-caste Thakurs, Jaiswar said. Kunda is an area where local politicians from the Thakur community have police, administration and revenue under their control, he added.

“The Uttar Pradesh police force has time and again unleashed their anger against minorities,” Jaiswar said. “It appears the Hindu extremist groups are closely working with the police officers to target Christian worship.”

Superintendent of Police Pramod Pathak told Morning Star News that he was not aware of any attacks on Christian worship services, and that if any such activity comes to his notice, he would definitely look into the matter.

Pathak referred Morning Star News to the Circle Officer of Kunda. The unidentified officer only shouted to this reporter, “If you want Christian prayers, sit inside your home and pray with your family. Why should they invite others? Do it inside your homes. Don’t bring crowds inside your homes.”

ILLEGAL ARRESTS

Illegal arrests on baseless charges are among the police harassment that Christians have continued to bear this year in the notoriously anti-Christian, eastern region of Uttar Pradesh state, sources said.

Police on Feb. 23 accompanied a mob of Hindu extremists that attacked Shanti Dham village church in Lathudih, Ghazipur District. Pastor Shiv Shankar Ram was leading worship service at a home dedicated for Sunday worship when 20 extremists accompanied by police intruded and disrupted the service, he said.

“The police inspector had asked the congregation of over 100 Christians present at the home church to disperse, and if not there will be cases booked against them,” Pastor Ram told Morning Star News.

When he asked the inspector why he was threatening them, the officer only told him to shut up and forced him and pastor Shravan Kuman into a police vehicle, Pastor Ram said.

At the police station, the inspector locked them in a cell and disparaged them in foul language, he said. Church members reached the Karimuddinpur, Ghazipur Police Station and asked officers to conduct a fair and unbiased investigation, but police only took eight more Christians, including women, into custody, he said.

With 10 Christians behind bars, the police said that if anyone else came with pleas to release them, they too would be locked up, he said.

The pastor denied the inspector’s allegations of forcible conversion, he said.

The Station House Officer (SHO) later told him to go to his own village, and that if he came to the area again he would file such serious charges against him that “you will never be able to come out of jail,”’ Pastor Ram told Morning Star News.

After Hindu extremist leaders and the police began falsely accusing him of forced conversions, the inspector and other officers said they were getting calls in English from across India and foreign countries about him, he said.

Pastor Ram said some were saying, “He is the main culprit behind the conversion racket.”

Interrogation continued until late in the evening, and the Christians were booked under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code for unlawful assembly, he said.

After ADF-India’s allied lawyers and legal aid team in Uttar Pradesh intervened, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Ghazipur released three Christians on bail. Seven other Christians were sent to judicial custody, said the ADF-India Uttar Pradesh Legal Aid Centre coordinator, identified only as Pastor David.

“The magistrate assured that the matter would be taken up the next morning (Feb. 24), but it came before him only on Feb. 27, and the rest of the seven Christians also were released on bail on the same day [Feb. 27],” Pastor David said.

A total of 15 cases of hostilities against Christians was registered in February, according to MapViolence.in, which is managed by the United Christian Forum.

“The sun would not go down without recording at least one case of attack on Christians from Uttar Pradesh on a typical Sunday,” Jaiswar said. “Neighbors in the area are influenced by the media coverage of hate-speech by local politicians, and such news spreads faster on social media applications like Whatsapp. The news articles spread false information that Christians forcefully convert Hindus by offering money or by intimidation.”

"CONVERSION RACKET"

Arrests on baseless charges in the state’s Azamgarh District led to media reports that jailed Christians were involved in a “conversion racket,” sources said.

After a church with Sunday attendance of 5,000 to 8,000 split into 300 house churches due to attacks by Hindu extremists and police, on Feb. 24 pastor Ajay Chauhan and Anita Gautam were leading a worship service at a home in Katauli village when Hindu nationalists stormed in and dragged the Christians out to the road, pastor Rajender Chauhan told Morning Star News.

“On that day, [Ajay] Chauhan and [Anita] Gautam were beaten by the Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] mob and were taken into police custody at Didarganj police station,” said Pastor Rajender Chauhan, who is Pastor Ajay Chauhan’s uncle.

They were in custody for more than 24 hours, said Christian rights activist Ravi Kant Dubey.

“It was published in all the local Hindu newspapers, mentioning the names of Hindutva youth leaders, that they had burst a conversion racket,” Dubey told Morning Star News. “My friend, activist Dinanath Chauhan, and I took up the matter before the Station House Officer at Didarganj police station, but he kept repeating the false narrative that Christians were involved in forced conversions.”

The Station House Officer (SHO) refused to free them despite not finding any evidence of forced conversions, he said, adding that the SHO confiscated his mobile phone when they continued advocating for their release.

“The SHO remained adamant until late in the evening, but we did not give up,” Dubey said. “We kept reminding him of the religious freedom and constitutional values and, by God’s grace, he finally released them at 9:30 p.m. without any charges.”

Pastor Rajender Chauhan leads a congregation of thousands of Christians in Jaunpur area and has come under attack several times. The Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in January 2019 held that the superintendent of police in Jaunpur should ensure that there be no interference in Christian worship, Dubey said.

“The order from the High Court upholds the Christians’ right to religious freedom, and we had hoped that the police officials would ensure that church attacks do not take place, but it continues even until today,” Dubey said. “We hear of an attack every next day.”

India is ranked 10th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country was 31st in 2013, but its position has worsened since Narendra Modi of the BJP came to power in 2014.

Posted in Volume 8 Issue 15.