[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E96-E97]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CHRISTIANS CONTINUE TO SUFFER IN INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 12, 2007

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, just before the new Congress convened, many 
of us celebrated Christmas with families and friends. I hope that every 
one of my colleagues, old and new, had a very happy Christmas and 
holiday season. But Christmas is another anniversary also for the 
Christians of India. Since Christmas 1998, 8 years now, India has been 
focusing its persecution in large measure on Christians.
  In September, the convent and school of Loreto were violently 
attacked by the violent Hindu organization the Bharatiya Janata Yuva, a 
youth arm of the BJP, which is the political arm of the RSS, a Fascist 
organization that published a book on how to get minorities, including 
Christians, falsely implicated in criminal cases. A BJP spokesman 
demanded a high-level inquiry into the school, according to the Tribune 
newspaper of Chandigarh, saying it engaged in ``irrational behavior.'' 
As I noted at the time of the attack, apparently, being a Catholic is 
irrational behavior and ``unscientific activity'' in the world of Hindu 
militants.
  Over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland have been murdered in India. Nuns 
have been raped, priests have been murdered, Christian schools and 
prayer halls have been attacked. Laws have been passed requiring the 
permission of the Hindu regime before one may be baptized. Christians 
have faced jail time, as well as threats and physical violence, just 
for sharing their faith.
  Missionary Graham Staines was sleeping in his jeep with his two young 
sons when they were surrounded by a mob chanting ``Victory to 
Hannuman,'' a Hindu god. The mob then burned Staines and his sons to 
death. Missionary Joseph Cooper of Pennsylvania was beaten so severely 
that he had to spend a week in an Indian hospital. Then the Indian 
government threw him out of the country. Police gunfire broke up a 
Christian religious festival on the theme ``Jesus is the answer.'' Is 
this the secularism that India is so proud of?
  It would be bad enough if Christians were the only ones suffering. 
But they are not. Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, and others have also felt the 
lash of Indian repression. The time has come for freedom in the 
subcontinent. The time has come for the persecution to end.
  Madam Speaker, there is a way to help bring freedom and secularism to 
the people of south Asia. We should end all U.S. aid and trade with 
India until everyone within its jurisdiction enjoys full human rights 
there. And now that we have a new Congress, we should go on record in 
support of freedom everywhere in South Asia. There is no better time

[[Page E97]]

than now. If we can help to stop the persecution we have a duty to do 
so.
  I would like to place an article from the website of the Bible League 
into the Record at this time, Madame Speaker. It has further details 
about the persecution of Christians.

                   ``He Heard Our Fears and Prayers''

       Nearly two years after the establishment of anti-conversion 
     laws, Indian Christians are celebrating the effects of their 
     repeal. Only time will tell the long-term blessings of this 
     legal change, but several resulting miracles have already 
     taken place. In the first month alone, a group of 50 Indian 
     church planters reports having baptized over 1,200 new 
     Christians!
       Christians throughout India were stunned when the pro-Hindu 
     government was overturned in the Spring 2004 national 
     election, and several state governments annulled local anti-
     conversion laws.
       Said one local Bible League-trained Christian, ``I praise 
     God for enabling us to spread the Gospel in our country. He 
     heard our fears and prayers regarding the election. God gave 
     us an extra bonus when He made our state government remove 
     the anti-conversion law which was in force until now. 
     Hallelujah!''


                           undeterred by fear

       Indian Christians have faced many hardships in sharing the 
     Gospel. Bible League-trained Christians in India report that 
     they or fellow believers have faced threats, physical 
     attacks, and jail time for sharing their faith.
       Baptisms, in particular, became a significant challenge for 
     local churches. Under the anti-conversion laws, anyone who 
     chose to become baptized was legally obligated to seek 
     permission from the government, as well as provide them with 
     the name of the person performing the baptism. Fearing 
     repercussions, many new Christians did not make this outward 
     profession of faith until after the laws were repealed.
       Still, thousands of Indians were undeterred in their faith. 
     A local Bible League-trained Christian, while under the anti-
     conversion law, wrote, ``We continue to encourage Christians 
     through the Word of God. We remind them of the promises 
     (Matthew 28:20) and the testimonies of the great martyrs. We 
     are encouraged to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ, 
     regardless of what happens to us. We are prepared for 
     imprisonment, punishment, and even death for the sake of 
     Christ.''


                     relying on God's faithfulness

       Continue to pray for the Church in India. The repeal of 
     state anti-conversion laws has been a tremendous miracle--but 
     challenges still remain. One state continues to uphold anti-
     conversion laws, and persecution persists throughout the 
     country.
       Yet God has been faithful to His children in India, and 
     they are recognizing Him as their Savior by the thousands. 
     Praise God for increasing opportunities to share His Word 
     with the lost.


                 the great commission--Matthew 28:19-20

       19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 
     baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and 
     of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I 
     have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the 
     very end of the age.

                          ____________________