May 15, 2020. Washington DC. Within twenty-four hours of sending the letter to the World Bank expressing concerns over the way in which COVID 19 related funds, including the nature and functioning of a newly created “PM CARES FUND” in India are handled, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) went into a damage control mode and made a U-Turn by making few details public. A few weeks ago, the PMO refused to divulge any information on this mysterious “Prime Minister Cares” fund created in a hurry while there is “Prime Minister’s Relief Fund” already available for the same purposes. On Monday, May 11, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA)  and Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC) sent a multifaith letter to the World Bank expressing concerns over how COVID 19 related funds are handled by the Indian government. Thirty-four different organizations signed it. The letter suggested the Bank to consider setting up an independent committee of eminent people in India to monitor the $ 1 Billion COVID 19 related relief package approved by the World Bank. On May 12, Tuesday night, the PMO reversed its position and issued a statement, saying the PM Cares Fund will spend $4.1 Billion (31,000 Crores Rupees) on COVID

When the Indian government announced the nationwide lockdown on March 24, millions of laborers across the country were left with no job, money or food to eat. Though the government arranged transportation for poor migrants stranded in different cities to go home, the number was few compared to the need. Therefore, thousands of migrant workers chose to walk hundreds of miles to reach their villages. For Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, it is "heart-breaking" to watch poor migrants with no wages, food or shelter trying to reach home on foot. It is a source of "immense sorrow," the Christian leader said. "Migrant workers, my people are without jobs, without food, without livelihood and security, without a roof over their heads, without hope, and they do not know what the future holds for them. This lockdown has pushed them into further deprivation and exclusion and poverty." Archbishop Gracias feels though the government, churches, NGOs and public are helping the laborers at the local level, the authorities fail to understand the helplessness of the migrant workers. He appealed to the people to have sympathy and work with better planning and coordination. "I'm praying to God to touch the hearts of all concerned to understand their plight, to

Officers pressured to accuse pastor, others of worship amid lockdown. A pastor and seven others putting relief packets together for the poor were assaulted by police who arrested them on a baseless allegation of gathering too many for worship amid the coronavirus lockdown in India, sources said. Pastor Ramesh Kumar, 32, along with Christians Shri Chand, Rakesh Kumar and Mohit Kumar, were preparing aid packets on April 25 for distribution to the poor in Kakrahia village, near Kotiya, Kaushambi District, Uttar Pradesh state, when police stormed in and detained them and four others helping them, the pastor said. “Before they detained us, the policemen used vulgar language and beat me, Rajendra and Rakesh with clubs,” Pastor Kumar told Morning Star News. “Rakesh sustained an injury on his hand and developed swelling because of the beating.” Police accused them of violating the lockdown with a worship meeting, and officers ignored the pastor’s plea to speak with the village head, who could explain that it was not a worship service, he said. India’s prime minister recently called on people to help feed poor families during the coronavirus lockdown, and the pastor told officers they were trying to answer that call. Police were reportedly

In December 2019, the UK-US based monitoring group Open Doors that publishes an annual World Watch List of 50 countries, ranked India 10th in the world where it is most dangerous to live as a Christian. The report states that political rhetoric and ambiguous interpretations of the Freedom of Religion Acts (or “anti-conversion” laws) are responsible for the high rate of Christian persecution in India. It is mentioned that the persecution of Christians has worsened steadily from 2014 onwards. These are also the times when more and more incidents of persecution of Christians are coming to the foreground of hate crimes in India. However, somehow these issues are not getting the required attention in the media, among the wider secular section as well as among the Christians themselves. In order to fill this gap Persecution Relief has been consistently documenting cases of hate crimes on the Christians in India, trying to build more awareness on the issue persecution of the Christians and to generate support for the survivors and the necessary advocacy on this issue. Persecution Relief is an interdenominational organization covering all denominations of the church and tries to build relations with likeminded individuals and organizations to find effective solutions for the increasing

The Federation of Indian American Christians (FIACONA) is pleased to learn that Pastor Bryan Nerren, of Shebyville, TN was allowed to return to the US by Modi government after confiscating his passport over 8 months ago.Washington DC, May 19, 2020. Pastor Nerren's passport was confiscated by Modi government citing minor customs related misunderstanding upon landing in NE India via Delhi. Though he cleared his customs formalities in Delhi, the immigration officials arrested him in Badogra, NE India on Oct 5, 2019.FIACONA had written to the President before he went to India in February 2020. Though the White House promised to work on the case, it took three additional months before the Modi government agreed to return Pastor Nerren's passport.Pastor Nerren is expected to arrive in Nashville TN around 9:30 PM

Hindu nationalist government intended to forbid him to leave for at least five years. Stranded in India for seven months and two weeks on a minor charge of failing to declare money, U.S. pastor Bryan Kevin Nerren was cleared of all allegations and allowed to return home this week, he said. “I am back with family and friends at home,” Pastor Nerren told Morning Star News from Shelbyville, Tennessee, on Wednesday (May 20), having requested that word of his departure from India on Monday (May 18) not be published until he was safely out. “It is a wonderful time.” The 59-year-old pastor had been arrested at Bagdogra airport on Oct. 5 for failing to report money he was carrying for his trip. Bagdogra is the closest airport to Sikkiim state in northeast India, where he had planned to attend a Sunday school conference along with two other U.S. pastors. “I found my strength in God, and He kept me going,” Pastor Nerren told Morning Star News, mentioning his 29-year-old daughter Laura, who suffers from cerebral palsy. “Laura is doing good, and she was all smiles.” Nerren received a warm welcome from family and friends at Nashville International Airport. His overjoyed wife Rhonda, children

On the night of the 20th of May 2020, a group of religious fanatics broke into the homes of 2 Christian families who live in Kokkar Pal Panchayat in Sukma District, Chhattisgarh. The group wielded lathis (wooden clubs) and bows and arrows. At roughly 9pm, the families woke up to a nightmare. A total of 10 people including 5 children were brutally attacked and warned not to return to the village. Petrified and in a state of shock, the women clung to their children for dear life, while their husbands led them through a nearby jungle, as they ran for their lives under the cover of darkness. With great difficulty and in terrible pain, the Christians headed towards the home of *Raju, the Pastor of their Church. One couple reached Pastor Raju’s home at 2 am with a severe gash to his head from which he was bleeding profusely, while the rest of them began to gradually gather thereafter, all with serious wounds from the attack. Seeing the extent of their injuries, Raju immediately rushed them to the local government hospital which is 20 kms away. Two couples are currently recuperating at the government district Hospital. Speaking to Persecution Relief, Pastor Raju

‘Does the writer who feels bad for his inaction also feel shame or guilt?’ The dismal material condition of India’s poor has been laid bare in our current times of the Covid-19 pandemic that has led to the most stringent lockdown of the world during this disease in our country. Many among our woke, liberal middle-class have felt what they claim is “guilt” during this crisis and a few have written about it too, as many people have died during this lockdown. Some critics claimed that at the time of writing, about two hundred had died already owing to the lockdown apart from those dying of the disease, though we may never know the actual numbers. Migrant labourers have perished from hunger, fatigue, and other health complications while sometimes walking for several hundreds of kilometres to their rural homes, away from the big cities where they usually sell their labour. Others are starving, stranded in their cities of work. This catastrophe has highlighted the class disparity prevalent in India. Many of us live safely in gated communities in cities or suburbia, and are served by help and labour that lead precarious lives which are at the mercy of a few days’

The archbishop of Bombay speaks about the tragedy of migrant workers killed by a train, as they slept exhausted on the tracks. Hundreds of millions of jobless day labourers are without wages, food or shelter. Better government planning and coordination are needed. The Archdiocesan Centre for Social Action is involved in relief work. The situation of migrant workers in India since the country was locked down on 24 March putting more than 120 million people out of work, with no wages, food or shelter, “is heart-breaking to watch,” said Card Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay. For him, seeing “my people walking home,” some dying “trying to reach home” on foot, because the transportation system was also locked down, is a source of “immense sorrow”. Three days ago , a group of migrants was hit by a freight train as they rested on the tracks. They had walked nearly 40 km and had to travel 800 more to reach their villages in Madhya Pradesh. “My heart wept at the train tragedy, which snuffed out the lives of 15 of our people who were exhausted, from trying to walk home,” said the Archbishop, who heads the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India. Taking a broader picture, Card Gracias looked at

For many westerners, India is an exotic travel destination, offering colorful cultural sites and warm-hearted hospitable people. However, thanks to the new Hindu nationalist leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), today’s India is increasingly marred by religious conflict and Christian persecution. The Purty family’s double tragedy serves as a sad example of this. And for some Indian Christians, their story is not so unusual. Chamu Hassa Purty was a Christian pastor from Sandih village in Jharkhand State. Late one night in October 2015, he was asked to pray for a sick child. He rushed to the family’s home, prayed for the boy and helped the parents admit him to a local hospital. Shortly after Pastor Purty returned to his own home, eight armed men forced their way into his house. He and his wife urgently warned their daughters, Sharon and Neelam, to immediately leave the house through a back entrance. In an interview with Morning Star News, Sharon recalled, “As we were about to move, two of them held us and brought us back to the front room. They fired at my father many times…” Pastor Purty died of gunshot wounds that night. After the murder, the Purty family left their village and rarely returned. But recently, because of