During the Summer of 2008, Prakash Nayak was warned by relatives that his home was about to be attacked by mob of Hindu nationalists. At the time, Nayak, a Christian, was housing children whose parents had been killed in the Kandhamal Riots against Christians shortly before. Always in view through the windows of his newly rebuilt home, the mob that burned his home to the ground ended up being his neighbors, which he still lives by to this day.
Kandhamal, India. 2018
Walls of a Baptist church in Kandhamal, India, still bare scars of destruction when it was destroyed by Hindu nationalists during the summer of 2008. Though the building is completely inoperable, members of the Church continue to hold their services elsewhere.
Kandhamal, India. 2018
A young orphan in Kandhamal India stands in front of the schoolhouse where he learns and sleeps in. During the Summer of 2008, his parents were killed by Hindu nationalists because of their Christian faith. He and many other orphaned children have been taken under the care of a Christian pastor and his wife.
A group of Christians meet together near their rebuilt church in Kandhamal. During the Summer of 2008, almost every church in the Kandhamal area was destroyed by Hindu nationalists aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party, along with a local government mandate that made Christianity illegal during that time. Local Christian leaders report that here are now twice as many churches in the area since 2008.
Kandhamal, India. 2018
In Srinagar, Pastor Aaron has morning tea with friends visiting from New Delhi. In the 99.5% Muslim state of Kashmir, minority Christians often face death, arrest, and destruction of property for their faith. (Real name and identity has been withheld for the subject’s safety)
Srinagar, Kashmir, India. 2018.
Abel, a Christian taxi driver from Srinagar, displays a photograph of his taxi that was destroyed by a group of Kashmiri Muslims after his faith was made public. He must now rent taxi’s, which limits his income to provide for is family. (Real name and identity has been withheld for the subject’s safety)
Srinagar, Kashmir, India. 2018.
A widow in Kandhamal, India, folds her hands in prayer. During the Summer of 2008 a mob of Hindu nationalists aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party, murdered her husband before her eyes for their Christian faith. After 10 years, she along with other widows who faced the same fate, still gather together to encourage each other, and worship Jesus Christ together.
Kandhamal, India. 2018
A teenaged Christian boy in Srinagar, India folds his hands in prayer in the afternoon Sun. In the 99.5% Muslim state of Kashmir, he stated that all of his friends were devout Muslims, and that Christians in the area must meet in secret to avoid death and arrest by the religious police. (Name and identity has been withheld for the subject’s safety)
Srinagar, Kashmir, India. 2018.
A group of Christian widows whose husbands were murdered for their faith during the Summer of 2008, meet together often in Kandhamal, India. Together they mourn, pray, and encourage each other to move forward in their relationships with Jesus Christ.
Kandhamal, India. 2018
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photograph appears on many billboards throughout the Kandhamal area of India’s Odisha state. During the Summer of 2008, men and women of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group, participated in three months of murder, rape, destruction, and torture against Christians in the Kandhamal and surrounding areas. Modi’s election to office was largely due to the influence the RSS has in the majority Hindu India, and is now financially back by the Prime Minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party, the largest political party in India.
Kandhamal, India. 2018
A destroyed jeep still sits where it was last parked in the courtyard of a Catholic compound in Kandhamal, India. During the Summer of 2008, and violent mob of Hindu nationalists forcibly entered the property where they proceeded to rape the nuns and destroy the building, and set fire to the jeep. The compound has since been rebuilt, and remains active in ministry.
Kandhamal, India. 2018
A child exits a former Compassion International school site in New Delhi, India. In 2017, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party declared that Christian Non-Governmental Organizations operating within India could no longer receive funding outside the country. Compassion International, a major provider in education and orphan care, was forced to cease its operations, leaving thousands of children without the provisions they needed to survive. Non-Profit organization Genesis of Hope has managed to maintain several former C.I. school sites, but must fight constant heavy financial challenges to move forward for the children.
New Delhi, India. 2018
In the Summer of 2008, the hallways of this Catholic compound in Kandhamal, India were overrun with Hindu nationalists seeking to destroy the building, and rape the nuns that resided there. In a period of 2-3 months, hundreds of Christians were killed and over 300 villages were destroyed as the local Hindu government declared Christianity an illegal practice. To date, there are now twice as many churches in the Kandhamal area since 2008.
Kandhamal, India. 2018