A busload of tribal children going to a Christian event in India was stopped by radicals claiming the event was an attempt to convert the youths.
According to the relief group Barnabas Fund, the children from a Christian community were intercepted Oct. 3 on their way to an annual Christian conference in Khandwa in India’s Madhya Pradesh State.
Madhya Pradesh is one of 11 states in India with anti-conversion laws that prohibit the use of force, fraud or allurement to convert an individual to a religion.
The extremists claimed the purpose of the three-day conference was to convert participants to Christianity.
Khandwa police responded and, after taking statements from all 200 children at the event, the conference organizers and teachers, determined the extremists’ claims were unsubstantiated.
The conference, which had received prior permission from authorities, ended up being canceled because of the disruption, states Barnabas Fund.
India is No. 10 on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
