India

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Pastors and other Christians in a volatile area of India's western state Maharashtra fear for their lives after Hindu militants reportedly attacked worship services, encouraged by police and local authorities.

By BosNewsLife News Center WASHINGTON DC, USA (BosNewsLife)-- An influential United States-based Christian rights groups has warned of increased persecution of Christians in "many Islamic countries" and said that even in India, often described as the world's "largest democracy", believers faced the worst violence in recent years.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Persecution of minority Christians in India is escalating ahead of Christmas with attacks reported in several areas including in southern regions and the capital New Delhi. In one of the latest known incidents Saturday, December 13, evangelical Christians were attacked and beaten by Hindu militants for singing Christmas carols in India's southern city of Hyderabad, seriously injuring a pastor and four others, rights activists told BosNewsLife.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) -- Police investigations continued Monday, June 11, into the reasons behind the murder of a Protestant pastor in southern India and the destruction of a church in the north where hundreds of Christians have reportedly fled their homes, BosNewsLife monitored.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Eleven tribal Christians in India's southern state of Karnataka were freeon bail Wednesday, February 17, after Indian police detained them for several days for allegedly "forcefullyconverting" Hindus to Christianity, rights investigators and Christian leaders said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MUMBAI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Impoverished Christian villagers in India's western state of Maharashtra were refused water and firewood Tuesday, January 8, after a Hindu attack on their house church injured some 30 believers, a chief investigator told BosNewsLife.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife AVARAIKULAM, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- A young pastor and his wife are recovering of injuries after a Hindu mob attacked them and reportedly torched their church building in southern India.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Twenty Baptist pastors have been attacked by suspected Hindu militants in southeastern India and several church leaders required hospital treatment for severe injuries, representatives said Friday, June 7.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos MURSHIDABAD, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- A devoted Christian family in India's eastern state of West Bengal said Friday, June 1, they fear for their lives after Muslim "extremists" raided their house church meeting, injured believers and threatened to kill them.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD (BosNewsLife)-- Indian police detained several Christians in Andra Pradesh state Tuesday, January 14, as they tried to besiege the chief minister's office to protest the killing of an evangelical pastor by suspected Hindu militants, Indian media reported. Christian leaders said some 3,000 people attended the rally, a day after 48-year-old Pastor Sanjeeva died of his injuries.