More than 25,000 Christians in the northeast Indian state of Assam assembled for a prayer service after being denied permission to hold a public rally against a spate of anti-Christian incidents, say leaders.
“Obviously when you are denied justice you turn to God to seek divine power and guidance,” Allen Brooks, spokesperson for the Assam Christian Forum (ACF) told UCA News March. 15.
He explained that Christians felt their grievances were not being heard by the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) so they decided to have a peaceful prayer service.
Christian Coordination Committee organized the event on March 14 at Nalbari playground in Udalguri district. Christians belonging to various denominations attended it.
Reverend Susil Daimari, secretary of the Church Growth Department at the Boro Baptist Convention, in his message, stressed the need for fostering peace and harmony in the state, the organizers said.
An organizer who asked not to name him said the prayer meeting was organized after the local administration denied them permission to hold the rally.
Brooks said that Christians in the state were uniting “against the backdrop of the passing of the controversial Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, and the targeting of Christian institutions by certain elements in society.”
Christians feel that the new legislation will be used to target Christian prayer services by misinterpreting them as “magic healing” sessions.
“The prayer service attended by Catholics, Baptists, and members of the Church of North India will compel the government to hear our grievances,” Brooks said.
Hindu groups on Feb. 7 set a 15-day deadline for missionary schools to remove Christian symbols from their premises. When the deadline ended, they threatened legal action against schools.
The group also asked priests and nuns to come to schools in civil dress rather than in their religious attire.
On Feb. 17, a catholic nun was forced out of a passenger bus by the conductor after she was mocked for her Christian faith and religious dress in the state, bordering Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Christians groups had written to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the pro-Hindu BJP seeking help. But his government did not respond.
However, the lay groups believe it will be difficult for the BJP to keep ignoring them because of the general election due in April-May.
The organizers of the prayer service said the spontaneous participation of Christians reflected the concern and anxiety within the community.
Organizers said the event brought together Christians from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds such as Boro, Adivasi (commonly known as the tea tribes), Santhal, Garos, Rabhas, Nepalis and the Assamese.
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