This Nov 1 update has just been posted at ACCTV :

religious leaders renew calls for end to orissa violence

1 Nov 2008 - Source: Episcopal News Service

Attacks by Hindu extremists on minority Christians in the Orissa district of eastern India have entered their third month, amid renewed calls from religious leaders for an end to the cycle of violence that has claimed around 60 lives, left more than 18,000 injured and rendered 50,000 homeless.

“As followers of the One who taught ‘blessed are the peacemakers,’ Anglicans around the world decry the violence in Orissa and reiterate our passionate commitment to religious freedom and tolerance and to the principle that no one in this world should be persecuted because of their faith,” Bishop C. Christopher Epting, the Presiding Bishop’s deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations, told ENS October 29.

Pope Benedict XVI, addressing pilgrims gathered October 26 in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, called on political and religious leaders to help end such acts of “cruel violence” against minority Christians in some parts of the world, especially in Iraq and India.

He asked authorities to do everything possible to restore the rule of law and peaceful coexistence so that “honest and legal citizens may know they can count on adequate protection from the state,” according to the Catholic News Service.

The Pope’s plea came just two days before a Roman Catholic priest, Bernard Digal, died in hospital after suffering for two months from injuries inflicted during anti-Christian violence in the Kandhamal district of Orissa in August.

Digal was allegedly attacked by a mob on the night of August 25 and found lying naked in a forest the following morning.

The Pope said he wanted to draw the world’s attention to “the tragedy that is engulfing some countries in the East where Christians are victims of intolerance and cruel violence, killed, threatened and forced to abandon their homes and wander in search of refuge.”

The violence in Orissa broke out when Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, the senior leader of an extreme Hindu nationalist group, was shot and killed on August 23 along with five junior monks. A Maoist leader is reported to have claimed responsibility for the killing but some Hindu groups have called it a Christian conspiracy.

According to the All India Christian Council—a coalition of Indian denominations, organisations, and lay leaders—several Christian homes were burned on October 14 and “thousands of Christians in relief camps are unable to return home due to threats by extremists. Some Christians were forced to convert to Hinduism upon returning to their villages.”

The council reports that at least six Protestant pastors have been killed in the riots.

“One of the greatest problems facing the world today is religious extremism,” the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, said during a recent visit to the national headquarters of the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) in New Delhi.

1 Nov 2008

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From today’s breaking news is this quite disturbing update :

Hindu militants bribing supporters to kill, say campaigners
Wednesday, 19th November 2008. 4:08pm

By: Judy West.

Hindu militants in India are offering rewards of money, food and liquor to mobs to kill Christians and destroy their homes, according to partners of human rights organisation, Release International.

“People are being offered rewards to kill, and to destroy churches and Christian properties,” a spokesman for the All India Christian Council (AICC) told Release International.

“Different tasks have different rewards,” he added. “They are being offered foreign liquor, chicken, mutton, and weapons. They are being given petrol and kerosene.”

The head of a string of orphanages in Orissa, who has just returned from there, believes Christian leaders are the militants’ key targets: “The going price to kill a pastor is US$250,” said Dr Faiz Rahman, the chairman of Good News India (GNI).................

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Time to continue in prayer indeed.

The latest news update :

Friday, December 19, 2008

In Orissa, fears of more anti-Christian violence over Christmas Extremist Hindu groups plan a bandh on Christmas Day International community closely watching Orissa situation

From All India Christian Council
For more information, contact:
Dr. Joseph D’souza, aicc President
dsouzajds@swissmail.org

NEW DELHI. INDIA (ANS)—Right wing Hindu organizations in Orissa confirmed they will hold a bandh (strike) on Christmas Day triggering fears of further anti-Christian violence. Separately, politicians held hearings in Washington, D.C. and London about extremism and violence in India. And a European Union delegation conducted a fact finding trip to Orissa from Dec. 9-12, 2008

On Dec. 17, 2008, ultra-nationalist Hindutva groups said they will observe a state-wide shut-down for 12 hours on Christmas Day, reported The Hindu newspaper. The protest is due to the failure of authorities to arrest the killers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati who was assassinated on Aug. 23, 2008.

The Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, opposes the bandh, and the newly appointed Minister of Home Affairs in New Delhi, P. Chidambaram, publicly assured Christians they’ll be safe. Aicc leaders remain concerned it will have the same results as an August 25th bandh which saw anti-Christian violence spread across the eastern state of Orissa. Last Christmas, a bandh called by a tribal organisation, Kui Samaj, resulted in unprecedented anti-Christian attacks throughout one district.

“The bandh is provocative. Combined with a continuing hate campaign against Christians, there is potential for violence over Christmas. We appeal to police, politicians, local language media, and civil society in Orissa – and across India – to seek peace instead of hostility,” said John Dayal, aicc Secretary General. “Specific actions like positioning adequate Central Reserve Police Forces and banning the entry of VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders from the sensitive Kandhamal District are essential.”

Dr. Joseph D’souza, aicc President, said, “The climate of intimidation and fear among Christians continues in Orissa. Although we hope the state and central authorities act to protect thousands of innocent victims and prevent future mob violence, we’re deeply worried. We are appealing for preventative action through all legal avenues.”

Yesterday, Dec. 18, 2008, the British House of Lords held a two and a half hour debate about recent developments in India. Baroness Caroline Cox, whom aicc hosted during a fact finding trip in early November, initiated the debate and several peers spoke. John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, said, “Patnaik, is a personal friend of mine from Delhi in the 1960s…But I have to tell Naveen that, from what I have read, neither his Government nor the Union Government in Delhi have taken sufficient action to find the perpetrators of this massacre or to protect its victims still in camps.” Excerpts of the debate are available at: http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/2660/47/.

On Dec. 10, 2008, the United States Congressional Task Force on International Religious Freedom held a briefing titled, “The Threat Religious Extremism Poses to Democracy and Security in India: Focus on Orissa.” ......

From Dec. 9-12, 2008, aicc coordinated briefings for a delegation of European Union representatives by Orissa’s non-governmental organizations, advocates, and both Christian and non-Christian community leaders. The delegation included officers from the embassies of Finland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom. Despite public assurances by Indian authorities that the rule of law has returned to Orissa, both the central and state government advised the delegation not to visit the two most affected districts: Kandhamal and Gajapati. The reason given was “the prevailing law and order situation”. This meant the delegation was effectively prevented from observing the current condition of government-run relief camps and victims.

D’souza said, “We are hopeful that our great democracy can resolve these issues by itself, but at the same time we welcome the interest of nations friendly to India and citizens of goodwill from across the world who believe in human rights and religious freedom.”

According to aicc leaders and Indian media reports, there are still 8,000+ in government-run relief camps and victims don’t have adequate food and medical care. On Dec. 1, Chief Minister Patnaik told the Orissa state assembly that 4,215 houses and 252 churches or prayer halls were destroyed. The state government issued compensation checks to a few of the families who lost loved ones or houses. Fast track courts have not been started. The aicc has reliable reports that 118 people died in the violence. In October, India’s Supreme Court ordered the state government to compensate for burned churches, but no progress is reported yet. Two state-appointed investigations are ongoing. Justice (retired) Basudev Panigrahi continues to investigate the Dec. 2007 violence, and Justice (retired) Sarat Chandra Mohapatra started an inquiry into the killing of swami Saraswati and subsequent communal violence.

The All India Christian Council (www.aiccindia.org), birthed in 1998, exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, and the oppressed castes. The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indian denominations, organizations, and lay leaders.

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Thank you for the updates, Kevin.

May our brothers and sisters in Orissa stand firm in such horrendous circumstances. May God’s grace and promises sustain them during this dark time. May God and their faithful witness soften the hearts of the militant Hindus and cause them to repent and believe.

And may we be prayerful especially during the upcoming festivities when it is so easy to become complacent as we unwrap gifts, share delicious food and freely enjoy singing our Lord’s praises with one another.

Just bumping this because it would be a good time to be continuing to pray for our brothers and sisters in Orissa, and elsewhere, who are suffering persecution because of their trust in the Lord Jesus.