Afghanistan: Pray for hope and a future for children of tiny Christian minority

US-based think-tank Jamestown reported on the Taliban’s month-long spring campaign on 2 June 2018, describing the Taliban’s strong ability to create havoc and be resilient to all efforts at breaking their power-base. A UNICEFcountry report published in May 2018 shows what this means for civilians, especially for children: 44% of all children in the age between 7 and 17 are not attending school, 60% of which are girls.

A persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: “The Jamestown findings are hardly news for long-term country observers. Nevertheless, the fact that there is ongoing fighting across 12 provinces and that 178 out of 407 provinces are either fully under Taliban control (59) or are contested (119) shows just how war-torn the country is. The UNICEF report shows that the out-of-school rate has increased for the first time since 2002. There are more reasons for this than just the insurgency, but the latter is still a major influence. The ongoing insurgency in so many parts of the country affects the tiny Christian minority as well and Christian children - especially Christian girls – have less future employment prospects than others. They are forced to hide their faith carefully, even if they are lucky enough to be able to attend school.”

India: Pray for the Lord to protect his people in India and bring down the power of the RSS Hindu radicals. 

As reported by UCA News on 31 May 2018, an active member of the ruling BharatiyaJanta Party (BJP) was sworn in as governor of Christian-majority Mizoram State on 29 May 2018. The federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated KummanamRajasekharan while he was serving as president of the party's Kerala State unit.

This move has caused concern for Christian leaders who questioned the fairness of the government slotting an ideologically biased politician into what is supposed to be an apolitical role. Rajasekharan is a known activist who belongs to the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a hardline Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization made up of volunteers. A persecution analyst at World Watch Research, sees this as being a very significant development: “Mizoram, in India’s north-east, is one of the few states with a Christian majority, having an 89.6% Christian population according to World Christian Database. As a result, the state experiences virtually no persecution of Christians.

In the 2013 elections in Mizoram, the BJP won no seats at all. However, the next elections for the state assembly are due to take place in November 2018 and the appointment of a Hindu hardliner as governor is almost sure to lead to increasing levels of radical Hindu activity, especially as the November election-date draws closer. For Christians, the appointment of Governor Rajasekharan is a warning that even in clearly Christian-majority states they are not safe.

Pakistan: Pray for God to erode the influence of Islamist groups

The parliamentary elections in July 2018 will very likely result in a strengthening of Islamist groups, according to a commentary by The Diplomat on 24 May 2018.

A persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: “A strengthening of Islamist groups does not necessarily mean a strengthening of Islamist political parties. On the contrary, these parties have usually fared badly in elections. What it does mean is that, whichever party wins the July elections, it will have to come to terms with the growing influence of Islamist groups in society. An example of this influence was the effective blocking of the capital in November 2017 (see: Reuters, 25 November 2017), when protesters from Islamist Tehreek-e-Labaik Party demanded the strict implementation of blasphemy laws.”

“The post-election situation is therefore likely to be one of more volatility and unpredictability in an already unstable region of the world. However, there is a second development to note, which was reported by the main newspaper Dawn on 28 May 2018: The proportion of minority voters is growing fast compared to the proportion of Muslim voters. Hindus make up the largest group, but proportionally, the number of voters from the Christian community (who make up the second-largest minority group) grew even faster - by almost one third – to 1.64 million. It has to be kept in mind, however, that this growth in numbers does not correspond with a likewise growing political representation. The numbers only show registered voters.”

(Provided by an unnamed source)