GFA Bible college attacked by Hindu mob in Orissa

A furious mob comprising of 500 Hindu radicals attacked and ransacked a Gospel for Asia (GFA) Bible college in in Brajarajnagar city, Jharsuguda district of Orissa, February 28, destroying furniture and equipment and assaulting the 300–odd students and staff members who were present in the campus.

According to information obtained by Christian Today, five students and the women's dormitory director were seriously injured in the attack. All have been hospitalized and one student is in critical condition.

According to witnesses, the mob also damaged the roofs of several school buildings.

Even as the local and reserve police arrived at the scene to control the situation, the unruly mob remained uncontrollable and the situation remained tense with most students and staff members locking themselves up inside the dormitories out of fear.

"The magnitude of this attack is unlike anything we've ever seen," said GFA founder–president K.P. Yohannan. "This is one of the most severe situations we've dealt with, but our students and leaders are not discouraged."

Instead, they are asking God to bless their enemies, he said.

"Please pray that this will become an opportunity for us to share the love of Jesus to the people who are persecuting us," one GFA leader from Orissa requested.

The attackers have been identified as members of the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu militant group.

The extremists who attacked the college demanded that GFA close the school and discontinue all work in the state. Gospel for Asia has been serving the Lord in Orissa since 1993, and their ministry has included relief and rehabilitation programs following the devastating cyclone of 1999.

The attack on the Orissa GFA Bible college came just days after another group of Hindu extremists attacked five Gospel for Asia Bible college students in Maharashtra. Two of those students were critically injured in that attack.

Gospel for Asia leaders in the area have reported that the attack was spearheaded by a handful of anti–Christian extremists who took advantage of a land–use issue involving the Bible college and the village.

However, March 7, tension in the region dissipated after a meeting of Bible college administrators, about 20 representatives from the village and B.K. Luke, who oversees GFA's work in Orissa, was convened.

According to Luke, the small Bible college is located next to a river, and wedged between a large rice paddy and a gated brick factory. Before the Bible college was built, villagers routinely walked across the undeveloped land to access the river. Once the Bible college was constructed, villagers simply carved out a path through the campus to access the river. They even drove tractors and other motorized vehicles through the college campus. The noise from these vehicles disturbed students and their teachers as they tried to concentrate on God's Word.

"Bible college officials petitioned the local court for permission to close the unofficial trail to outside traffic, and the court ruled in favor of the college. Villagers could still access the river, but they had to go around the college and the brick factory," Luke said, suggesting that this could have been the main cause of grievance of the irate mob.

At the conclusion of Wednesday's meeting, the college agreed to designate a pathway near the perimeter of the campus that would allow people to access the river. The villagers also agreed to limit the pathway to foot traffic only and not drive motorized vehicles through the campus.

"We are asking Christians around the world to pray for complete restoration of all these injured students and their campus," said Dr. Yohannan.

"And let us also pray for these attackers. In all religions there are extremists, and this case is one example of that," he remarked. "They, too need to know the love of God in a real and personal way."

"Please pray for the amicable settlement of this situation and that this will be an opportunity for these Christians to share the love Christ with their persecutors," Rev. Richard Howell, general secretary, Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) said.