India
(MNN) — A strike has halted the work of the evangelistic film
teams with Gospel for Asia in Manipur, India as students protest what they say is unnecessary
violence by police.
Violence
in Manipur has been escalating since July, when two people were killed by the
police. The police claim to be
responding to potential terrorist threats, but the students aren't
satisfied. On December 9, they organized
a bandh, which is an illegal
strike.
The
bandh includes a ban on all
entertainment, festivals, and the showing of movies. The students will enforce it with
violence. The film showings run by GFA
teams have faced disruption from related violence since August, but now they
must stop entirely. The bandh causes other difficulties, as well,
shutting down schools, stores, and public transportation.
The
state of Manipur has been rocked by ethnic conflict between two tribes since
the 1990s.
Pray
for resolution for this situation, so the residents of Manipur can live in
peace and have the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
"Life in Manipur is like a
lottery," said one person who was interviewed for a local news outlet.
"You are alive because you are lucky."
Many in Manipur have come to know
the Lord through Baptist missionaries over the last several decades, and today
34 percent of the people are Christians. Pray that a resolution to this situation will bring peace and security
to the region, and allow many to hear and respond to the Gospel. Pray that the showing of films would be allowed to
resume, and that trials would cause people to seek the true God.
