Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro 17:19 The spirit which loves quarrel and  sin

Worshipping at a distance

“The LORD told Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance.  Only Moses is to approach the LORD, but the others are not to approach; the people are not to come up with him." Ex 24:1,2

Our Hindu brothers still practise “Worshipping at a distance”. Roman Catholics worship through mediators even of dead persons.  But the living God Jehovah has sent His Son among us so that He can live inside of us. Jn 14:23, Jn 15:7

We, the children of God who have accepted Jesus as our Saviour and Lord should not worship the Lord ‘at a distance’.  This is what those who do not have the true knowledge of God and His Son know Jesus practise.  

In the Old Testament the privilege given to Moses alone, is given to all of us in New Testament. Approaching Him closer, touching Him, tasting Him, (Tree of life) through Jesus Christ. Eph 3:11-12

Worshipping Jehovah standing at a distance, or worshipping Him through mediators like Gurus, priests, Fathers, Pastors, whether dead or living, is not acceptable  because  He lives in us.

……….. "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him”. Jn 14:23 

Duty of the soldiers of AOJ

"Tell the Israelis that when they have crossed the Jordan River to the land of Canaan, 

they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places,  take possession of the land, and live in it, because I've given you the land to inherit. ‘You are to divide the land among yourselves by lot according to your families. The larger the families are in number, the larger their inheritance is to be. The lesser the families are in number, the lesser their inheritance is to be. To whomever the lot falls, that inheritance goes to him. Divide it according to your ancestral tribes. (Num 33:51-54)

Num 33:55  "But if you fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, their survivors will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, to prick your sides and afflict you in the very land in which you'll be living. 

Num 33:56  Then, what I had planned to do to them, I'll start to do to you." 

Time given to them to drive out the enemies 

 

Sl No

Verse

Interpretation

 

-      23	I'll start to do to you."	All the above said punishments in the Bible were meant for His enemies. But when His children refuse to obey His commands  to  possess the nation, all the punishments  he has proposed  to His enemies, in turn will come upon His people. Today we see most of the believers suffering from the above. They go from place to place, person to person , to lawyers, doctors, and other professionals seeking a solution for their problems but with no result as indicated by this verse.  This is a perfect diagnosis for all the problems of believers today! What are the punishments? Some of them are given below.
24	1.Lev 18:28  Vomiting:	So you are not to let the land vomit you up because of your uncleanness as it is vomiting the nations that were here before you. On Dec. 1st, the land of  Kanyakumari  vomited more than 2000 of its inhabitants into the ocean. From 2004, the Lord was giving warning to Indian Churches in many ways. The tsunami that blew across the Bay of Bengal in 2004 made the land vomit a good number (about10,000 of its citizens all along the coastland of South India – which is mostly Christian) into the ocean in the most pathetic way!
25	2.Detest Lev 20:23	You are not to live by the customs of the nations, whom I've cast away right in front of you. Because they did all of these things, I detested them.  These days the Lord shows His detest towards His children (Christians), by punishing  them in all possible ways. Isa 30:13-14  therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. And He shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces. He shall have no pity, so that there shall not be found in the breaking of it a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water out of the pit.  All the reputed institutions, Ryans International School, Karunya University, CMC Vellore, Allahabad University, which were centres of evangelization and which were the pride of the Indian Church, are now under serious  threat. The enemy is trying to bring all this under his control.  All those who were  engaged in effective evangelism, are affected in such a way that their testimony is challenged and the survival itself is threatened.
26	3.Delighted to destroy, exterminate & banish: Deu 28:63	Just as the LORD delighted to prosper and increase you, so now the LORD will delight to destroy, exterminate, and banish you from the land that you are about to enter to possess." Deu 28:63  2 Kings 17: 23-26 (Papers were distributed among the believers  in 2010) The Lord has promised His people that India will be turned into the land of Canaan and His children will enjoy it. He has given a fantastic strategy for this.
	4.Deport to another land: Deu 29:28	The LORD uprooted them from the land in his anger, wrath, and great fury, deporting them (Israelites) to another land, and that's the way things are today.' The best example is Kerala. In the period between  2008-2010 the Lord gave severe warnings to Kerala Church to repent. The Lord made us print a warning to them that if the Church does not repent, the Lord will make the people lose their land. (2 Ki 17:23-26). Other people will come and settle down in the land. It has literally happened now. Since in  Kerala,  agriculture, the main source of income for the people have failed, all the people including women are migrating to other countries in search of jobs. Houses are empty. One pastor in Kottayam said, he is in charge of 14 houses. He is having the key with him. People when they go to other countries in search of job and livelihood, they have sentimental attachment towards their homeland. So  unwilling to sell the land, they leave it with some trustworthy people and find pastors for that.
28	5.Threats of Destruction: Jos 23:15	However, just as all of the good things have come about that the LORD your God promised, so also the LORD will bring upon you all of the threats until he has destroyed you from possessing this good land that he has given you.  Aug 8 2014 Newspaper Hindu had a frontline news of Hindu fanatics challenging Christianity and continuously threatening them to leave this nation if they refuse to change their religion into Hinduism. RSS, Vishwahindu Parishat and other fanatic  leaders are continuously threatening Christians. They have even made statements that they will make India a Hindu country before 2021. No other religion will exist in India after 2020...etc. Hence Christians, all the Institutional Church leaders are under constant threats. They have already killed so many Christians, burnt number of  church buildings, have attacked many people while worshipping, closed many Church buildings, even 30 in one day in Coimbatore district of TN.
29	6.Jos 23:16  Perish quickly.	Perish quickly: Jos 23:16  When you break the covenant of the LORD your God that he commanded you to obey by going to serve other gods and worship them, then the anger of the LORD will blaze against you, and you will perish quickly from this good land that he gave you."  How many ways Christians and believers are perishing today. The killer of his own mother and child raper Dhashwant had two friends in jail: newspaper stated.  David and James. No more examples needed for Christianity suffering serious damage! Ganapathi’s statue taken to Christian Church and priest blessing it, priests and nuns worshipping and taking aarathy to Ganapathy statue in the temple was viral in whatsapp! Enough examples for Institutional Churches perishing!
30	7.Make them serve the enemy: 2 Ch 36:17	2 Ch 36:17  And He caused the king of the Chaldeans to go up against them. And he killed their choice ones by the sword in the house of their holy place, and had no pity on the young man and the virgin, the old man and the very aged; He gave all into his hand.  This is happening in India now. The Lord had given 2017 years for the Indian Church to evangelize this nation.  Since we have neglected this duty, the punishment for  Christians - serving the enemy - has come upon us. Since they find no other refuge, Bishops are making agreement with BJP. Pastors are joining BJP and promising to serve them. Bishop of Thamarassery, Kerala has made a public statement that BJP is the best party to rule  India. As slaves in captivity hold their bosses in high esteem and honour, the leaders of the Institutional Churches are compromising with the BJP  and making covenants with them. Even though the Party is bringing may plans and projects against the children of God and even killing them in their own Church premises, these Church  leaders have been blindfolded and become hypocrites for their livelihood and survival. The  Marthomite Bishop in Kerala went to Amrinthanandamai’s place, garlanded her and even participated in washing her feet. The worst picture of serving the enemy!

Sis. Angelica AJ

Sacrificing Children to Trans Ideology: An Unscientific Federal Study

BY JOHN

Don't be fooled by the scientific-sounding jargon. Transgender ideology is just that: an ideology--and it's one that's endangering lives. 

What do you do, as a Christian, when someone cites a "scientific study" allegedly proving that transgender kids do well with hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery? Well, you've got to ask questions.

That's certainly the right strategy for a  new $5.7 million study just commissioned by the National Institutes of Health.

Writing at Public Discourse, Jane Robbins and Erin Tuttle predict that this study, once completed, will become the go-to evidence for supporters of so-called "affirmation therapy." In other words, it will be used to support chemically and surgically altering the developing and healthy bodies of children, to make them look like those of the opposite sex. The study's methodology, authors, and stated purpose all make it clear that it's crafted to produce a predetermined conclusion: that "transgender affirmation therapy is safe and effective for gender-dysphoric youngsters." 

The study's authors all but admit this, writing in their abstract that their goal is "to use cross-sex hormones in order to induce development of desired secondary sexual characteristics that bring the body into closer alignment with the youth's internal sense of gender." Notice the appropriateness of altering a child's body to harmonize with his or her preferred gender is just assumed; it's not evaluated. And this assumption is destructive, even sometimes deadly. Let's be clear about what "affirmation therapy" really means: Children are given high doses of puberty-suppressing drugs. Doctors then flood their systems with testosterone or estrogen to induce the formation of opposite-sex characteristics like breasts in males and facial hair in females. Some patients, partway through this process, will undergo "sex-reassignment surgery" in which their internal and even external genitals are removed or remodeled.

This so-called "treatment" will render them infertile for life and can create a host of side-effects, like cancer, infections, gallbladder diseases, and spikes in blood pressure. There is also no long-term research on how these high doses of hormones affect bodies in the long run--bodies that weren't designed to handle them in the first place. There is, however, abundant data on the psychological damage of medically "transitioning." One study from Great Britain found that 20 percent of patients who'd undergone this procedure regretted it. Walt Heyer, a man who formerly lived as a transgender woman and now identifies with his biological sex once again, thinks that's a serious underestimation. He cites research showing that 41 percent of post-operative patients attempt suicide, 90 percent have a "significant form of psychopathology," and half have depressive symptoms. The NIH is apparently ignoring all this, and it's clear even at this early stage that they've got a conclusion in search of an argument. All four of the doctors and clinics selected to conduct the research are deeply invested in transgender ideology. 

Two already conduct irreversible hormonal transitions, sometimes on children as young as 14 years old. And one calls therapies aimed at reconciling kids with their biological sex "dangerous." But what's truly dangerous is that this deeply unscientific project will not only harm the children involved, it's largely unnecessary. Robbins and Tuttle cite research showing that 80 to 90 percent of gender dysphoric children will accept their biological sex by late adolescence. In other words, they often grow out of it. Yet the NIH is paying for research--with our tax dollars--to engrave these feelings irreversibly on children's bodies--all at a time when they're too young to fully understand the consequences.

Like almost everything, this comes down to worldview. Transgender activists believe that feelings define people. And if our feelings are out-of-sync with our bodies, then our bodies must change--through any chemical or surgical means necessary. But beginning with this conclusion and then crafting a study to prove it isn't science. In fact, it's more like a religion that's demanding child sacrifice.

-By PNW Staff

Christian Students Knifed, Beaten in High School Clash in Kenya

Muslim students at a high school in Nairobi on Tuesdaynight (Jan. 23) beat and stabbed Christians who refused to convert to Islam, a local source said.

Tensions had been growing for weeks at Jamhuri High School in northern Nairobi, with Muslims primarily of Somali, Boran and Oromo descent complaining of discrimination. Due to increasing hostilities, the boarding school had designated separate bathrooms and separate sections in the library for Christians and Muslims, a source told Morning Star News.

 “Some Muslim students forcefully tried to induct Christian students into their Islam faith, and those who refused were knifed, while others were physically beaten,” the source told Morning Star News by phone. “The knives and machetes used are alleged to have come from outside the school.”

At least 35 of the school’s 1,500 students were injured, including some Muslims when the Christian students tried to defend themselves, the source said. Some Christian students received hospital treatment for stab wounds and dislocated bones in their hands and joints, he said.

Police were investigating the cause of the attack at this writing. The school has been closed indefinitely.

School Principal Fred Awuor was reportedly injured in the attack and had received hospital treatment.

Overlap on Persecution Lists Reveals Danger for Christians

The week after the U.S. State Department redesignated 10 nations as countries of particular concern (CPCs) over “systemic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations,” the Christian group Open Doors USA released its annual World Watch List of the 50 most dangerous countries for Christians.

Both lists include Myanmar (also known as Burma), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, with Open Doors noting all 10 countries had extreme, very high, or high levels of persecution against Christians.

Totalitarian North Korea created the most danger, followed closely by Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Pakistan, according to Open Doors’ analysis. India jumped from 15 to 11 on the list due to Hindu nationalists’ increased persecution and the growing power of the nationalist political party.

Overall, 215 million Christians around the world face threats due to their faith. Open Doors called Islamic extremism the “dominant” driver of persecution against Christians in 35 of the 50 countries listed. That included attacks by Islamic extremist groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan, al-Shabaab in Somalia, and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Open Doors CEO David Curry said his team found a “shocking” escalation in attacks against Christian women. Researchers documented 2,260 separate cases of sexual harassment, rape, or forced marriage of Christian women in 2017—six women per day. Because of underreporting, Open Doors suspects many more cases likely happened.

Pakistan did not make the State Department’s list, but it was the fifth most dangerous country for Christians according to Open Doors, with the most recorded violence.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an advisory body to the State Department, also monitors religious freedom in dozens of countries and publishes findings and recommendations each April.

For many years, it urged the State Department to put Pakistan on the list of CPCs. Although State Department officials didn’t heed that advice, they took a new step in 2018 by placing Pakistan on a “Special Watch List” for severe violations of religious freedom.

USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark applauded the latest State Department redesignations on Jan. 4, but added that they don’t go far enough.

“Secretary [Rex] Tillerson should have also designated the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam,” Mark said. He also called Pakistan’s absence a “surprise and disappointment.”

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, appreciated the State Department’s inclusion of Myanmar, but wanted Vietnam added to the list, VOA News reported.

“The Vietnamese people continue to have their religious freedom and other human rights violated. The United States should never shrink from calling out countries for such abuses,” he said.

In its 2017 report, USCIRF also recommended Tier 2 CPC designations for Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and Turkey. Tier 2 status indicates systemic, ongoing, or egregious violations of religious freedom, rather than all three, as covered by a Tier 1 designation.

For the first time, USCIRF named “entities of particular concern” (EPCs) for non-government perpetrators of violations if they exerted a certain level of territorial control. It recommended terror groups Islamic State, the Taliban, and al-Shabaab be named EPCs. So far, the State Department has not followed suit.

USCIRF looks broadly at religious freedom violations for citizens of all religions, including atheists, while Open Doors specifically documents Christian persecution. But their findings are very similar.

All but two countries USCIRF named in 2017 also ranked on the 2018 World Watch List: Russia and Cuba. Curry said Open Doors will watch Russia closely due to the potential negative effects of recent religious laws banning evangelism, among other things.

“As yet, it does not rise to the level of the other countries on the list,” he said. “Likewise, Cuba is a country to watch, but currently is not on the list.”

Harassment at Messianic Jews' Center in Israel Begins Anew

After opposition shut down a meeting center for Messianic Jews in southern Israel last May, ultra-Orthodox Jews are harassing it again since it re-opened this month, sources said.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews protested the presence of the center in Dimona, Israel on Tuesday (Jan. 23) and threatened some of the Messianic Jews, followers of Jesus, according to advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC).
 
“Protests have taken place the last two weeks after the reopening of the center at the beginning of January,” according to a MEC press statement.

The center, where Messianic Jews meet for conversation, coffee and tea, had been temporarily closed last year due to protests by ultra-Orthodox Jews on May 4, 2017, after which they damaged Messianic Jewish leaders’ homes, breaking windows and traumatizing two children inside one home, one of the leaders told Messianic news outlet Kehila News Israel.

“Because we bent down at the right moment, we were not hit by stones thrown at us,” Albert Knoester, elder at a Messianic congregation in Beersheba, said of last year’s attacks in an interview published by Kehila News Israel. “Apart from this damage, there was also psychological trauma to one of the families in Dimona, due to the demonstrations and also because their house was damaged by stones. But also through bullying, etc., their two young daughters were traumatized by what had happened, and they needed psychological help.” 
Those incidents, however, led to townsfolk on the street inviting them for drinks to talk, he told Kehila News.
 
“Quite a number of ‘ordinary people’ are feeling ashamed of what is being done to us,” he told Kehila News. “We receive invitations from people to come over and have a coffee with them. We had at least six times an opportunity to explain to a rabbi why we believe that Jesus is the Messiah – as a result of the question to us, ‘Why do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah?’”

Local media have misrepresented the center as a “mission post,” and false reports including accusations of bribery for conversion to Christianity have also led Jews to talk with them, he told the news outlet. A group of rabbis showed up to interrogate them, he said, and when his wife Esther responded with verses from Psalm 23, they agreed to temporarily close the center while continuing to discuss what place the “Open House” should have in the community.

“One day later,” he told Kehila News, “one of the rabbis wrote in a local newspaper: ‘We went to that house in order to silence them by force, but that woman would not stop talking! She should know about that other verse of Psalm 23: about the valley of the shadow of death. Let her go through it, together with her husband.’”
 
In the following days local media began a slander campaign, he said. Besides the bribery accusation – that they would offer a car in exchange for converting to Christianity – they were accused of putting a powder in people’s coffee “to change Jews into Christians,” and of coercing Jews to convert by force, he told the news outlet.
 
“Because they are unable to charge us, and unable to find anything against us, another weapon is used instead: lies, gossip, changing facts and blackmail,” he told Kehila News. “There are pictures of us in the city center with severe warnings. Also, big posters on billboards with nasty texts have been put up. The people are warned to watch out and protect their children against us.”

Bible Society Threatened

In Tel Aviv, a Bible Society bookshop is under threat of being shut down.

The owner of the bookshop’s building alleges that the Bible Society is violating its commercial license by selling Christian literature other than Bibles and therefore should not have protected tenant status, according to MEC. The shop has been in the same location for 55 years.

Palestinian Territories

In Bethlehem, where two nuns and their convent in the Palestinian Territories were attacked last year, a policeman appeared to be altering the facts in his testimony at a hearing on the case on Monday (Jan. 22), according to MEC

On April 30, 2017, a woman identified as a member of the Mahatna family, which has taken over part of St. Mary’s Coptic Convent, broke into its storeroom and physically assaulted a nun identified only as Sister Maria, besides damaging the property. While the nuns were on the way to a police station to file a complaint, the alleged assailant’s brother, Rami, and a friend stopped their car and struck it with an iron bar, unaware that a police officer was inside the car, MEC reported

“According to Sister Maria, the police officer who had been in the car failed to give a true account of what happened” in testimony this week, MEC reported. “It is believed that the Mahatna family have close links to influential members of the Palestinian Authority and that, as a result, the course of justice is being obstructed.”
 
A lawyer representing the nuns has asked for damages to the car to be examined by an expert and presented as evidence. The next hearing is scheduled for April 9.

The Mahatna family has illegally taken up residence in part of the convent building, according to MEC.
 
At a prior hearing on Monday (Jan. 22) regarding the alleged assault on Sister Maria by the Mahatna family member, identified only as Rania, a judge appeared sympathetic to medical reports on the nun's injuries, according to MEC. A final hearing is scheduled for March 23.

“Prayer is requested that the judges will examine the cases fairly, and that justice will be seen to be promptly done; and that the Mahatna family members will stop harassing the nuns and move out of the convent premises,” MEC said in a statement.

Government, Police in India Thwart Threatened Attacks on Christians

The Rev. Shaju Devassy was quietly attending to his work as director of a Catholic graduate college in central India on Dec. 30 when police showed up and told him a mob of angry Hindu protestors was on its way. Police in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh state held the 70-strong mob outside the gate of St. Mary’s Post Graduate College as long as they could, but the protestors managed to jump a boundary wall, and soon they surrounded Devassy at his church presbytery.

Threatening and reviling him, they accused him of being anti-national for refusing to let them worship the Mother India goddess (Aarti of Bharat Mata) at the Catholic institution.

“In menacing tones, they warned him that should he refuse to do the Aarti, they would garland him with the ‘garland of shoes [juthe ki mala],’” Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, told Morning Star News.

Another protestor questioned Devassy as to whether he knew Indian culture, the bishop said. “He asked the director, ‘Who is the goddess of education? Why is Saraswati Vandana [worship of goddess Saraswati] not being done in the college?’”

The mob told him that the worship of the Mother India goddess was to be performed as a sign of patriotism, the bishop said.

“As Indians, the activists claimed that they did not require permission from anyone and would perform it anywhere without anybody’s permission,” Mascarenhas said. “The leaders of the mob made it clear that many more would come again to the college campus on Jan. 4 and would not only perform Aarti but would force the director, Father Shaju, to do the same. Having imparted this ominous warning, the mob left the compound.”
 
‘Anti-National’ Accusation

As might be expected at an institution for which worship of anything but the Holy Trinity is idolatrous, the  posters and the worship of the Mother India goddess are against school regulations.

This incident and the two large-scale, attempted attacks that followed came about after members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s student union wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (All Indian Student Council, or ABVP), captured all the posts on the student council last November, the bishop said. The ABVP is affiliated with the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Soon Devassy, who as director of the college for the past three years has not otherwise had such conflicts, found the hard-line Hindu students displaying a poster on campus with photos of the student council members around a picture of the goddess Bharat Mata. The ABVP put up two posters with photos of council members and a picture that they called Bharat Mata.

Devassy pointed out that this was done without permission and was against university regulations, and he gently requested they take the two posters down, Mascarenhas said. The students promised to remove the posters within three days, but when they failed to do so, the college administration had them removed.

On Dec. 29 Devassy received a phone call informing him that the ABVP members were running a Facebook campaign under the tag “Bharat Mata Ki Aarti” (Worship of Mother India goddess) describing college officials as anti-national.

“In the social media campaign, hatred was being promoted against the college with regard to Bharat Mata ki Aarti, describing the college authorities as anti-national,” Bishop Mascarenhas said. “The demand was that the Aarti of Bharat Mata be allowed in the college as an expression of nationalism.”

After the mob verbally attacked him the next day, Devassy reported it to the college chairman, diocese authorities and the Madhya Pradesh Regional Bishops’ Council. With their suggestions, he drafted a letter about the incident, and he and other representatives met with the Inspector General (IG) of Law and Order and other security officials in Bhopal and submitted a memorandum to them.

First Attack

On Jan. 4, more than 800 protestors gathered at the gate of the college and began to pressure police stationed there, trying to break through the barricades and enter the campus.

More than 300 officers were deployed at three Catholic institutions on the campus – the college, St. Mary’s Senior Secondary School and Senior Secondary Trinity Convent School, Vidisha. The protestors shouted slogans, threw stones and broke the barricades before performing the worship of the Mother India goddess in a temple opposite the college gate on a national highway, sources said.

At the same time, another group broke a side boundary wall onto the college campus, and police rushed to the area and stopped them from entering. Officers reportedly were forced to resort to baton charges and tear gas. At least three policemen were reported injured.

Tensions remained high for two hours at the main gate, and the mob slowly moved away after about 2:30 p.m. Police security remained till late at night.

“A copy of the letter issued by the SDM [Sub-Divisional Magistrate] to the college council secretary denying the permission to perform the Aarti was also received by the college management on Jan. 4, thus confirming that Fr. Shaju’s decision in refusing permission to do the Aarti on the 30th of December was correct,” Mascarenhas said.
 
Second Attack

After Hindu nationalists, including members of the Vishwa Sanatan Sangh, issued more threats of a massive attack, however, the protestors returned on Jan. 16 with an even larger crowd.

When the threats grew a few days beforehand, Mascarenhas immediately got in touch with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and appraised him of the highly volatile situation. The Madhya Pradesh Catholic Diocesan School’s Association filed a writ petition at the Jabalpur High Court seeking protection for their institutes in Vidisha.
 
With the federal home minister’s intervention and the state government’s action with the high court, the Madhya Pradesh government provided heavy security. A huge police force was deployed in and around the college, and several Hindu nationalist leaders were arrested as a precautionary measure on Jan. 15-16.

The Additional Attorney General of Madhya Pradesh on Jan. 15 gave assurance at the Jabalpur High Court that complete protection would be given to the college against the threatened Jan. 16 attack.

“It must be said that they kept their word,” Mascarenhas told Morning Star News. “More than 500 fully equipped police personnel were deployed for the protection of the college.”

The Superintendent of Police reportedly said 30 Hindu nationalists, including Updesh Rana, leader of Vishwa Sanatan Sangh, were arrested as they were heading for the college to perform the Hindu worship.

“With no leaders to coordinate, the action fizzled out and the situation went on peacefully,” said Mascarenhas, who was also grateful to the Union Home Minister and the Madhya Pradesh administration for intervening.
 
The security was a rare instance of federal and state help in a country increasingly marked by local officials colluding with Hindu extremists to persecute Christians. The 1,800-student college, where most students are Hindus, falls in the Assembly constituency of Vidisha, which was once represented by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The Parliamentary representative is the current Union Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj. Thus Vidisha is considered a place of political significance, with events there deemed to have serious state and national level significance.

“I think the college has sent a signal to the whole of India that with the good will of the government and our political leaders, this country can maintain its tradition of peace and harmony and protect and strengthen its secular fabric,” Mascarenhas said.

The government intervention came in striking contrast to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, against non-Hindus, which has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 11^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution, up from 15^th the previous year, and ahead of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt.