Subscribe<\/a>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\n\n\n\u201cYou are changing these people\u2019s religion,\u201d the militant said. \u201cWe should finish [you].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hadi clutched his Bible to his chest, but they ripped it out of his hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou will not see tomorrow\u2019s sun,\u201d another member of the group told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The militants began beating him in the chest and kicking him in the groin. Hadi\u2019s friend, Sahib, tried to stop the attack, and they asked him if he was a Christian, too. When he told them he was, they hit Sahib in the head with a club and beat him on the chest with a large piece of wood. Another attacker pulled a knife and slashed Hadi on the cheek, shoulder and back. Two of his ribs were fractured in the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fearing Hadi would be killed, Sahib begged the attackers to stop beating him. Eventually, Hadi fell unconscious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attackers finally left, thinking Hadi was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Death of a Friend<\/h3>\n\n\n\n A man at the birthday party took Hadi and Sahib to his house, where they received first aid and recovered briefly before going to a doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When they returned to the Hindu doctor for follow-up care, he refused to treat Hadi because he had learned why he was attacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both men\u2019s conditions slowly worsened. Hadi underwent two kidney operations, and Sahib eventually died after undergoing liver and lung surgeries. VOM helped pay medical expenses for both Hadi and Sahib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sahib, who was about 60 years old when he died, became a Christian in late 2014 and was baptized the following spring. Before his death, he had begun to join Hadi on ministry trips to nearby villages. Although Sahib\u2019s wife is a Christian, their son is not a believer and harbors anger toward Hadi for his father\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou and your Jesus killed my father,\u201d he told Hadi. He slapped Hadi at Sahib\u2019s funeral, and the vengeance didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Hadi returned home, he was summoned to the police station. Sahib\u2019s son had filed a complaint against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you Hadi?\u201d a police officer asked. \u201cAre you preaching about Jesus?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling people about the truth,\u201d Hadi replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPolice officials immediately began to beat Hadi, re-injuring his ribs. They held him in jail for two days. Although Sahib\u2019s wife did not want to pursue charges against Hadi, one of her family members saw it as a way of providing for her after her husband\u2019s death. The family member asked Hadi to give her 250,000 Indian rupees, roughly $3,800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On July 11, Hadi met with Sahib\u2019s wife and son, along with two of their village leaders. He decided to bless the family by giving them the money, which VOM provided, and everyone signed as witnesses to the payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hadi hopes to continue his ministry in his home city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mention Hell, Go to Prison<\/h3>\n\n\n\n In a country of 1.28 billion people, only 2.2 percent (just over 28 million) are professing Christians, and reports indicate that persecution of Christians in India is increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAttacks on Christians and churches in India have definitely increased, and the number is likely even higher than we think because so many incidents go unreported,\u201d a VOM worker said. \u201cChristians and churches are feeling the strain of persecution through false accusations, imprisonments, churches being burned and beatings. The reports are coming from all over India, including places that have not seen this type of persecution before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pastors are beaten, abducted and charged with \u201cforced conversions,\u201d and Christians are often evicted from their villages and even killed. In one instance, a family was denied the right to bury an elderly Christian woman because she didn\u2019t contribute money for Hindu festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In November 2019, a ninth Indian state implemented an anti-conversion law. Himachal Pradesh state joins Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha states in enacting a Freedom of Religion Act that discourages Christian evangelism. Under the law, Hindu nationalists can push for the arrest of Christian workers by merely making a complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The laws prohibit causing a person\u2019s conversion from one religion to another through force, allurement or fraudulent means. Because of the law\u2019s vagueness, even a mention of hell can be considered a forceful means of conversion. The law also requires people to inform authorities about their conversion, seeking permission before they convert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of VOM\u2019s primary purposes is to provide immediate assistance to our brothers and sisters in Christ when they experience persecution. In Hadi\u2019s case, VOM provided medical treatment and, as the need arose, legal assistance. In India and elsewhere, hiring a lawyer to file the proper paperwork is often all that is needed to help an evangelist avoid prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our response to incidents of persecution is always directed by specific need. In 2015, VOM\u2019s responses to incidents of persecution affected 60,000 families in more than 60 countries. VOM assists persecuted Christians with food, shelter, clothing, education for children of martyrs, job training, microbusiness tools, legal assistance, support for families of imprisoned Christians, and safe houses. VOM also helped provide medical assistance to 700 believers who had suffered significant injuries during persecution incidents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Just before Hadi was beaten for sharing the gospel in India, he witnessed God working in the hearts of his friends. While at a birthday party on April 19, 2015, he began talking to others about Jesus. About 30 people at the party \u2014 including the man celebrating his birthday \u2014 were eager to learn more about Christ. But 20 minutes into the discussion, a group of Hindu militants showed up at the party and interrupted Hadi. \u201cAre you a Christian?\u201d one asked. \u201cYes,\u201d Hadi replied. \u201cYou are changing these people\u2019s religion,\u201d the militant said. \u201cWe should finish [you].\u201d Hadi clutched his Bible to his chest, but they ripped it out of his hands. \u201cYou will not see tomorrow\u2019s sun,\u201d another member of the group told him. The militants began beating him in the chest and kicking him in the groin. Hadi\u2019s friend, Sahib, tried to stop the attack, and they asked him if he was a Christian, too. When he told them he was, they hit Sahib in the head with a club and beat him on the chest with a large piece of wood. Another attacker pulled a knife and slashed Hadi on the cheek, shoulder and back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-1281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-stories","tag-india","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\n
Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Just before Hadi was beaten for sharing the gospel in India, he witnessed God working in the hearts of his friends.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants - Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just before Hadi was beaten for sharing the gospel in India, he witnessed God working in the hearts of his friends.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-23T19:00:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-03T20:38:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"898\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"898\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Megan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Megan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Megan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a\"},\"headline\":\"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-23T19:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-03T20:38:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/\"},\"wordCount\":941,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"India\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories from the Field\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/\",\"name\":\"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants - Stories\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-23T19:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-03T20:38:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a\"},\"description\":\"Just before Hadi was beaten for sharing the gospel in India, he witnessed God working in the hearts of his friends.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg\",\"width\":898,\"height\":898,\"caption\":\"Two men sitting together smiling and one has a black box over his eyes and is holding a bible\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Stories\",\"description\":\"VOM\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a\",\"name\":\"Megan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Megan\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants - Stories","description":"Just before Hadi was beaten for sharing the gospel in India, he witnessed God working in the hearts of his friends.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants - Stories","og_description":"Just before Hadi was beaten for sharing the gospel in India, he witnessed God working in the hearts of his friends.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/","og_site_name":"Stories","article_published_time":"2021-06-23T19:00:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-03T20:38:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":898,"height":898,"url":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Megan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Megan","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/"},"author":{"name":"Megan","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a"},"headline":"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants","datePublished":"2021-06-23T19:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-03T20:38:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/"},"wordCount":941,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg","keywords":["India"],"articleSection":["Stories from the Field"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/","url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/","name":"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants - Stories","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-23T19:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-03T20:38:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a"},"description":"Just before Hadi was beaten for sharing the gospel in India, he witnessed God working in the hearts of his friends.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/photo1_pub_Hadi.jpg","width":898,"height":898,"caption":"Two men sitting together smiling and one has a black box over his eyes and is holding a bible"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/indian-christians-beaten-by-hindu-militants\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Indian Christians Beaten by Hindu Militants"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/","name":"Stories","description":"VOM","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/ea63eedbbbed48d27a0f5da18832377a","name":"Megan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3a90350e5bc57191a502794c311240907fffa912111a78187004d24109bf7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Megan"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1281"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4412,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281\/revisions\/4412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/plugins\/vom-custom-block-subscribe-ad\/assets\/magazine-cover.jpg\")
\r\n\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\t![\"an](\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/elders-Teaching-in-local-church_pub_Hadi-1024x725.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n