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Andrew: Now there's a price to be paid for that. You've paid the price yourself.

You've described the first attack on you when you were 11. But you have been

attacked since then, persecuted for your faith and for sharing your faith – what is it

that keeps you going? Where do you get your strength and your determination?

Kumar: Thank you. Yes, I remember one particular incident around 20 years ago. I

remember going into a particular town which was known as a strong, resistant area

for the gospel by the Hindu fundamentalists.

I remember going there and I was preaching, along with my colleagues. There are

around five or six of them standing there, sharing the gospel. Suddenly a group of

masked young people, around 20 or 30 of them, just came there and started

attacking us, pelting stones at us. With some sticks, they just hit us. I remember, we

literally just ran from that place, bleeding, our shirts soaked with blood.

That was 20 years ago. But today, in that very same place, we have at least 15 or 16

churches planted. So this is what God is doing in India. This is the biggest

encouragement for me as a Christian. I am really blessed and boosted up,

encouraged and empowered as I see people coming to Christ in the midst of

persecution. In the midst of attack, the church is growing. So that's the biggest

encouragement for me, and that's my basic motivation to just press on with Jesus in

the midst of persecution.

Andrew: Why do you love Jesus so much?

Kumar: I love Jesus so much because he loved me first! And he gave his very

precious life, and that's the difference between Jesus and the other gods of other

religions. Hinduism says there are 330 million gods, but none of these gods ever

died for a sinner like me. It was only Jesus. And it is he who gives me the hope; it is

he who created me in his image. I was told I was created less than an animal, but

Jesus says, ‘No, I created you in my image.’ That's why I love Jesus!

Andrew: So if you could meet your Prime Minister, Narendra Modi now, which of

course you actually want to do, what would you say to him?

Kumar: My request would be to assure him that as a Christian community we are

not against him. We want to assure him of our prayers, our support, that we will

stand with him and we will pray for him. But I also will equally give him a plea, a

request that he will ensure the safety of the Christians in this country, because last

regime we have seen how his government can turn a blind eye when the atrocities

and persecution are unleashed against the church.

But this time we have determined to go and enlighten him, present him with the

statistics, request the safety, security, protection for the Christian community in the

country. That's what we are going to do. Please pray that that will happen. So that

will be my desire as I meet Modi.

Andrew: Finally, you're in the UK at the moment as a guest of Release International.