At least four cases of Christian persecution in India were reported in the average week this year, according to statistics recently revealed by the president of the All India Catholic Union and others actively monitoring the situation.
AICU leader Dr. John Dayal, who is also a renowned journalist and member of the National Integration Council, said the statistics gathered from Jan. 1 to Nov. 16 show that the number of atrocities against Christians this year, 190, has surpassed the marks of recent years.
The victims include members of almost every church denomination in the country - Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals. They include priests, nuns, pastors, wives of pastors, believers, seminarians and Bible school students, and lay persons.
Violence includes attempted murder, armed assault, sexual molestation, illegal confinement and grievous injury.
Dayal noted, however, that the figures “do not include cases that have not come to the notice of the All India Christian Council, the All India Catholic Union, the GCIC, the Evangelical Fellowship of India and the Christian Legal Association.”
