India (MNN) — October 25, 2005 was supposed to have been an unprecedented day for low caste Christians in India. This was supposed to be the day when the Supreme Court decided on granting basic human rights to Dalit believers. However, that didn’t happen as the court delayed yet again their decision until late November.
President and Founder of Gospel for Asia, KP Yohannan, believes India’s upper caste society is putting pressure on the court. “The extreme fundamentalist upper caste are trying with all their abilities to stop it and I imagine they have found some politicians or even some in the judiciary to stall it. And now, my thinking is, we need to pray, whoever that individual or individuals the Lord will change their heart.”
The upper caste are fearful that they will lose the 165 million child laborers, which could affect their economy. Yohannan says, “These are the Dalits. Just like the years of slavery in the United States they will fight to the death. They don’t want this. This is the base of their power and their economy.”
However, this delay does give GFA and others more time to train Christian workers in preparation for a ground swell of conversions once the court gives rights to Dalit Christians.
Yohannan says they have 10,000 in training, but more are needed and your help is needed. “Every year we turn away hundreds of students because we simply don’t have the resources or the facilities to accommodate them. That is a huge challenge. We are committed to sending out 100,000 workers to the field. We’re looking for people to prayerfully sponsor 1, or 2 or a number of students.” If this training doesn’t happen, cults can immerge, causing even more problems.
$30 a month is all it takes to sponsor a student for three years of Bible college. Pray that they receive even more money to help train even more missionaries.
