To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE


SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

When This Pastor was Shot to Death Outside His Church; the Christian Response on His Behalf brought Traffic to a Standstill for 5 Hours

Wilson Chowdry/BPCA : Jul 17, 2017  Charisma News

"This unprovoked attack on a Christian pastor before many members of his congregation is an attack on religious freedom. It resonates with the hatred Christians face on a daily basis in a nation that is becoming increasingly polarized under Modi's government..."

(India)—[Charisma News] The pastor of a church in Ludhiana, India, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants outside The Temple of God Church at Salem Tabri locality at around 8:45 PM Saturday night. (Photo: Pastor Sultan Masih/via NDTV)

Witnesses said that two armed youth with their faces covered shot at Pastor Sultan Masih from close range. Pastor Sultan received a bullet wound to his head and two more penetrated his chest. The attack was captured on CCTV cameras installed at the church however the footage was too dark to identify the attackers.

Two local boys who witnessed the crime informed family members of the pastor and other parishioners of the church. Many rushed to help Masih and tried to stem the blood loss. They drove him to the nearest hospital.

Doctors at Dayanand Medical College & Hospital (DMC) in Ludhiana declared the pastor dead on arrival.

Masih is survived by wife Sarbjit, son Ali Shah, 26, and daughter Hanok, 18. The family lives on the first floor of the church's building.

His son Rahul Masih said his father, who was in charge of The Temple of God Church in Salem Tabri locality, had been living there for the last 30 years and had no enmity with anybody.

A police investigation underway however the pastor is not known to have any enemies. Local Christians believe this is a hate attack based on the increasing persecution of Christians in India.

On Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. hundreds of Christians protested and blocked GT Road known as National Highway (NH) 1, in Salem Tabri for over 5 hours, ending at around 3:30 p.m. They refused to release the body of Masih until police agreed to undertake a full police investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice. Their sit-in-protest brought traffic to a standstill and vehicles travelling to Jalandhar side had to be diverted to other routes. (Photo: Christians protest the pastor's murder /Contributed/via Charisma News)

Incidents of persecution of Christians in India has risen over the past year, pushing it up to No .15 on the 2017 Open Doors World Watch List, up from 31 four years ago.

India experienced a huge escalation of attacks on its Christian minority in 2016. Attacks on Christians are led by Hindu nationalists acting largely with impunity a growing concern since the election of President Narendra Modi in 2014. Just over 2 percent of the country's population is Christian, and nearly 80 percent of Indians are Hindu.

Since the election of Modi national and provincial authorities tacitly permit persecution of deprived Christians in India. Religious nationalists feel empowered under Modi, who as a teenager joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh a known Hindu fascist group whose main aim is to turn India into a Hindu superpower and whose most revered alumni is Nathuram Godse the fanatic who assassinated Ghandi.

Mr. Modi's political party, Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), once called a three-day strike after alleging Pakistan' secret services were responsible for the death of 58 Hindu pilgrims in a burning train carriage—a claim that was unsubstantiated. The bloodiest anti-Muslim pogrom in modern history ensued in which Hindu men dragged wives and daughters on to the streets to be raped. It is estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 people were killed and tens of thousands found themselves homeless.

Religious nationalists increasingly attempt to forcibly convert non-Hindus to their dominant faith, willing to use violence at the drop of a hat, when community discrimination and non-violent oppression fail to impose their religious beliefs on minority Christians.

Christians face huge socioeconomic problems, a consequence of decades of uninhibited oppression. Many came from the lowest social class, the Dalits, and as such have always been an easy target for Hindu fundamentalists.

Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Asian Christian Association, said:

"This unprovoked attack on a Christian pastor before many members of his congregation is an attack on religious freedom. It resonates with the hatred Christians face on a daily basis in a nation that is becoming increasingly polarized under Modi's government.

"Pastor Sultan Masih's name is added to a growing list of Christian martyrs across the globe, and I will be praying for succor for his family and friends.

"Increasing attacks on Christians in India are a cause for international concern, yet since ending the 10-year diplomatic boycott of Narendra Mohdi in 2012, Britain has forged strong diplomatic ties with him, fermenting an unwillingness to condemn the known human rights atrocities under his regime.

"With nations in the West increasingly basing international diplomacy with India on financial grounds, little will be done to stem increasing non-Hindu hatred. Ominously this means assassinations of innocent Christian pastors in India are set to rise."







SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News

Give Him 15: Prayer Strategies after the 2024 Election; Going Forward

'Beautiful, Symbolic': The Bells of Notre Dame Cathedral Ring Out for First Time Since 2019 Fire

California Family Council Issues Dire Warning Over Passage of Proposition 3

Media Elites Fume Over Their Inability to Force-Feed Narratives to the American People

Putin and CCP's Xi Jinping Ready to Restore Relations with the US Under Trump's Administration

Wow! Trump Shares His Plan to Dismantle the Deep State

President-Elect Donald Trump Appoints the First Female White House Chief of Staff in History

Court Rules in Favor of CA Firefighters Who Refused COVID Shot Due to Religious Beliefs

RFK Jr. Talks Fluoride, Vaccines With MSNBC the Day after Trump's Victory

How Republicans Tackled Election Integrity Threats and Swept 9 Ballot Integrity Measures

Foreign Leaders React to Trump's Imminent Return to Presidency

Arizona and Nevada Finally Called for Trump, Giving Him 312 Electoral Votes and a CLEAN SWEEP of ALL Battleground States, Plus the Popular Vote

What Will Happen to Those Indictments Now That Trump Is President-Elect?

'Numbers are Shocking': Christian Voters Played Key Role in Defeating Kamala and Her Abortion Agenda

Abortion On the Ballot: Where Voters Protected Preborn Children, and Where They Didn't

Donald Trump Wins the 47th Presidency in Historic Landslide Victory

Reactions to President Trump's Historic Victory, from the Right and the Left

Soros-backed L.A. District Attorney Gascón Loses in Landslide

Netanyahu Congratulates Trump on 'Huge' Victory, Fires Defense Minister Gallant

Huge Blow to Gavin Newsom: Prop 36 Passes in 71-21 Landslide, as California Votes to Increase Penalties for Theft and Drug Trafficking



Search the Articles Archives

Keyword:  
Author:  
Words Posted On:  
Day Month Year



BCN Plus

Follow BCN on Twitter
Are You Praying for Our Government Leaders?
BCN Staff

Steve Shultz
Steve Shultz, Managing Editor
Founder and Owner


Aimee Herd
Aimee Herd, Editor


BCN Plus
Are You Praying for President Trump?
 
 

All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.


Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved


Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.

editor@breakingchristiannews.com