India (MNN) — The election fallout continues in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP party were predicting a majority win going into the spring elections.
“That [would have given] them the ability to completely change the constitution, to rewrite it,” John Pudaite with Bibles For The World says.
“They were going to take action against Christians and other minorities; they talked about removing the clause [that] allows for minority religions to have their institutions of education. All of a sudden, all Christian schools, seminaries, and things like that would be one of their targets.”
Thankfully, Modi’s prediction fell flat. “We all breathed a huge sigh of relief as the election results were announced,” Pudaite says.
“Even in my home state of Manipur, the BJP and its allies lost both seats. That was huge because it meant they [would] lose some of their support from the central government.”
(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)
The change in leadership buys minorities some time, but Christians are still in danger. “Right after the election results were announced, there was a new outbreak of violence,” Pudaite says.
“One of our churches was attacked, [another church] was burned, and quite a number of homes [were] set on fire. These were all from the Christian tribal communities.”
Additionally, “one of the first things that the new coalition led by the Congress Party was able to do is to repeal the anti-conversion law,” Pudaite says.
“That was a bright spot, but at the same time, other states have been preparing their anti-conversion laws. We’re now at 11 of the 28 states [in India] with anti-conversion laws.”
Keep praying that God will strengthen believers and improve the situation for Christians in India.
“Lift up those Christians who are every day at risk [and] suffering for their faith. Pray that they will continue to be strong in their faith,” Pudaite requests.
Header image depicts India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. (Wikimedia Commons)
