Hindu nationalists try to close Christian schools, hospitals and orphanages
March 6, 2006

Rajasthan (MNN) -- Christians continue to be the targets of violence in India's Rajasthan State. This time it's with the approval of the state government. It's hitting the ministry of Hopegivers International especially hard.

Hopegivers Bill Bray tells Mission Network News Hindu nationals are upset with a book of comparative religions that takes a negative view of Hinduism. Bray says it's not even published by Hopegivers, but the Hindu government is reacting like they did. "In Cota, where our headquarters is located of Hopegivers, they have revoked all of the licenses of all of our institutions en masse. So, the police are going around, putting up cease and desist orders on the schools, on the hospital, on the orphanage."

Hopegivers health care workers and orphanage workers aren't giving in, though. "The doctors and the nurses said, 'well, you can take us and the patients to jail if you want, people will die. We can not close the hospital.' So, they just stood against them. Then, the orphanage with the 2,500 kids, all of our people are standing their ground," says Bray. Story