My thanks to Ashok Matthu and Indian Christian Concern for yesterdays meeting. Here is some of their history and it is wonderful to see how Ashok gelled the Indian Community together in the wake India's Orissa Disaster. I pray the BPCA will become a similar beacon for Pakistani Christians as time progresses as we have been born out of similar circumstances. Here is some of the ICC's history and a link to their website. I hope Ashok would be willing to write an article about yesterday's event and have invited him to do so. I was not their during the whole event so cannot be to prescriptive and want to do justice to a very good event. This is a peoples blog and I would ask that any of you who wish to write any article just send an email:
Indian Christian Concern was established in January 1999.On 23rd December 1998, Christians in the Indian state Orissa of were indiscriminately attacked, in homes and churches. While the world was celebrating Christmas, the Christians of Orissa were burying their dead.
Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, Timothy and Phillip, were burned alive in Manoharpur village, Orissa India early on the morning of 23rd of January 1999. After seeing all the news reports on the violence against the Orissa Christians, Ashok Mattu, now chairperson of ICC, was deeply appalled.
Ashok called a meeting of the church leaders, at which point there were no existing collective voice or organisation to take concerns to the Indian Government. So an organisation called “Indian Christian Concern” was formed. On 6th March 1999, a protest march was taken to the Indian High Commission in London.
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