Hindu vigilantes carry out wave of anti-Christian violence in India
Christian evangelicals have been stepping up conversions, creating a backlash — and a political opportunity for Hindu nationalists About 200 men mobilized by local Hindu nationalists destroyed a small church in Chimmdi village in India’s Chhattisgarh state on Jan. 12, Christians said. (Gerry Shih/The Washington Post) NARAYANPUR, India — Over two decades of practicing and proselytizing Christianity, Badinath Salam had been kicked out of his home several times and often harassed. But in December, he recalled, the vitriol turned virulent. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Leaders in his Indigenous Indian village beat drums to summon all 100 households to a clearing, he said. There, gathered villagers pummeled their Christian neighbors, who made up one-fifth of their village, and left Salam hospitalized for three days. When the drumbeats began again a week later, on Jan. 9, Salam ran for his life. In this part of central India, he wasn’t the only Christian forced to flee. Since December, Hindu vigilantes in Chhattisgarh state in eastern India, enraged by the spread of Christianity and rallied by local political leaders, have assaulted and displaced hundreds of Christian converts in dozens of villages and left a trail of damaged
Indian govt against transfer of petitions on anti-conversion laws
The laws are enacted by states, no need to transfer petitions challenging them to Supreme Court, attorney general argues The Indian federal government has objected to petitions challenging the anti-conversion laws enacted by states being moved to the Supreme Court for a uniform hearing. Attorney General R. Venkataramani told a bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Jan. 30 that the government has “serious objections” to transferring the 21 petitions pending in the high courts of six states. “These are state legislation. The state high courts must hear these matters,” Venkataramani argued. Eleven Indian states have enacted anti-conversion laws aimed at curbing change of religion by individuals or groups through allurement, force, coercion or any other fraudulent means. Christian and Muslim leaders say these laws target their people and violate the religious freedom guaranteed in the Indian constitution. Critics say these laws violate the freedom guaranteed in the constitution to profess, preach and propagate any religion of choice to all its citizens. Petitioners argued that these laws have a "chilling effect" on the right to profess and propagate one’s religion, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Petitions challenging the constitutional validity of these laws are pending in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Tribal factor at play ahead of crucial elections in India
More lip-service and tall poll promises await the nation’s tribal people Tribal factor at play ahead of crucial elections in India For the first time, tribal people in India are a much sought-after community as nine Indian states face elections this year, ahead of the crucial general election next year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a third term. Tribal people can tilt the balance in seven of the nine states going to the polls this year, including Christian-majority tribal states of Meghalaya and Nagaland. The other tribal heartland states that go to polls this year are Tripura and Mizoram along with Karnataka and Telangana. The term of legislatures in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan--the three other tribal stronghold states--are ending early next January and so elections are expected by the end of this year. Never in the poll history of India have tribal people enjoyed such limelight. Of the 543 seats in the national parliament, 131 seats or close to 25 percent seats have been reserved for tribal and Dalit people since 2008. Tribal people alone get 84 seats. Modi’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominated Droupadi Murmu — a woman from eastern India’s Santal tribe — as president last year, making her India’s
‘We support free press,’ says US on India blocking BBC documentary
The Centre had directed YouTube and Twitter to remove links to the documentary, which revisits Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. ‘We support free press,’ says US on India blocking BBC documentary US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price. | Screengrab via @StateDeptSpox / Twitter The United States Department of State on Wednesday said that it continues to highlight the importance of free press around the world when asked to share its view on the BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. The documentary, India: The Modi Question, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi – then the chief minister of Gujarat – had prevented the police from acting to prevent the violence during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The first part of the documentary, released on January 17, alleges that a team sent by the British government had found that Modi was “directly responsible for a climate of impunity” that led to the violence against Muslims. On January 21, Centre had directed YouTube and Twitter to remove links to the BBC’s documentary by invoking the emergency blocking orders under the Information Technology Rules of 2021. On Wednesday, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked whether banning of the BBC documentary was a
Indian court refuses to scrap panel on Dalit Christian quotas
The petition by a Christian of Dalit origin pointed out that the government has been studying the issue since 1955 India’s top court has dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of a panel to examine if Dalit people who converted to Christianity or Islam are eligible for the government's social welfare programs. The federal government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Oct. 6 last year set up a three-member commission to consider granting converted Dalit people the Scheduled Caste status, making them eligible for the government's affirmative action programs mean to bring Dalit people to the social mainstream. The committee was also asked to study the implications of extending the benefits to Dalit Christians and Muslims, and submit a report within two years. Dalit Christian leaders dismissed the appointment of the panel as a tactic to delay their recognition as SC, which will ensure them a share in the 15 percent reserved quota in parliament and state legislatures, government jobs and education. Currently, Dalit people among Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist religions enjoy these benefits but Christian and Muslim people from Dalit backgrounds are denied the benefits on the ground that their religions are caste-free. The petitioner, Pratap Baburao Pandit, who claims to be
India’s Blocking of BBC Documentary Reflects Broader Crackdown
Program Highlights New Evidence of Government Role in 2002 Gujarat Riots Victims of the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state, which left more than 1,000 dead, gather for a protest The Indian government’s blocking of a BBC documentary on the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state in 2002 is just the latest attempt to prevent criticism of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Last week, the BBC released the first of a two-part series, “The Modi Question,” highlighting findings of a previously unpublished report of the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office that investigated the 2002 riots when Prime Minister Modi was chief minister of Gujarat state. Soon after the documentary’s release, Indian authorities invoked emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules to compel social media platforms to take down the video in India. In February 2002, there was a retaliatory spree of rape and killings across Gujarat after some Muslims attacked a train carrying Hindu pilgrims. More than 1,000 were reportedly killed in the riots, most of them Muslim. Allegations that the state authorities did not act to stop the violence against Muslims, which was often led by leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or affiliates, sparked international condemnation. The UK
Indian Christians demand halt to police survey
Assam state cops have been collecting details about Christians, their churches, institutions, and conversion activities A Christian group in northeast India's Assam state has demanded a halt to a clandestine survey by police to gather details on the community, their churches, other institutions, and so-called religious conversion activities. The United Christian Forum (UCF) in Golaghat district wrote to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Jan. 20 urging him to issue a directive to the district’s police to stop harassing Christians. Police denied undertaking any such survey with Dipak Tamuly, deputy superintendent of police, Golaghat district, telling local media that “no survey of Christians or their churches is underway.” The UCF petition signed by its president, Jiden Aind, and secretary, Leader Toppo, alleged that some police officers were involved in collecting information about churches, their leaders and conversion activities in the district. "This sort of harassment has been reported across the state" The information has been collected since Jan. 2 through personal visits, or through messages sent on cell phones, which has left Christians in Golaghat “confused and disturbed,” they added. “Therefore, we humbly request you to kindly intervene and address our grievances. As a peace-loving and serving community we ask you to abide by the constitutional guarantees,”
Christians not engaged in converting people: Union minister Barla
Kolkata, Jan 21 (PTI) Union Minister John Barla rejected allegations that Christians are engaged in converting people, and asserted that the community has made immense contributions to the progress of India. In spite of contributions in the field of education and philanthropy, he said Christians have not found their due recognition, while addressing a Peace Rally here on Friday. Christian schools can be found everywhere in the country, the BJP leader said asserting that a number of personalities from Mahatma Gandhi to filmstar Shah Rukh Khan had their schooling in such institutions. “(Besides) there are health centres, old-age homes. Yet, after so much contribution, there is no respect. Why will there be allegations that we convert people? No, we don’t convert people,” the union minister of state for Minority Affairs said. BJP leaders in various states accuse Church leaders of converting people to Christianity. “We want nothing but peace … Time has come to be united,” Barla, himself a Christian, said, adding that members of the community should not face injustice as was the case in Chhattisgarh. On January 2, a church was vandalised and six police personnel, including an IPS officer, were attacked and injured during a protest by tribals in connection with an alleged
Hindu mob attacks Catholic NGO staff on Indian train
The youth attackers accused them of being involved in conversion activities and continue to keep a watch on their institution Hindu mob attacks Catholic NGO staff on Indian train Women from a Catholic NGO in Dhule district in the western state of Maharashtra were forced to sit on the platform of a railway station while being questioned by the police after being accused of conversion activities. A Catholic priest sought police protection for his non-governmental organization (NGO) in western India a few days after his staff members were attacked by Hindu nationalists on a running train alleging they were missionaries involved in conversion activities. Seven teachers of a Catholic NGO working in Dhule district in the western state of Maharashtra were assaulted by a mob of around 15 Hindu youth while traveling by an express train. The team was out on an education tour when the attack took place at Sangli railway station on the night of Jan. 16. “I was pulled down from the berth and hit on my head with a steel object until blood began to ooze out from a wound,” says Gunilal Pawara, supervisor of a team of 42 teachers including 14 females who work for the NGO named Shirpur Vishwa Mandal
New BBC documentary puts Narendra Modi back in the dock
It reveals a secret British foreign office report that found him culpable in the 2002 Gujarat riots. That the British government found Narendra Modi culpable in the 2002 Gujarat riots is the most significant takeaway from the first episode of the two-part BBC television investigative documentary, India: The Modi Question, which was broadcast in Britain on January 17. Soon after the riots, the British foreign office had undertaken an investigation. The BBC documentary claims that the probe’s conclusions—hitherto classified—are being disclosed for the first time. According to the show, the inquiry carried out by a United Kingdom diplomat was headlined: “Subject: Gujarat Pogrom”. Its summary read: “Extent of violence much greater than reported. At least 2,000 killed. Widespread systematic rape of Muslim women. 138,000 internal refugees. The targeted destruction of all Muslim businesses in Hindu and mixed Hindu-Muslim areas.” It went on to state: “Violence planned, possibly months in advance, and politically motivated. Aim was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas. Led by VHP (Hindu extremist organisation), under the protection of the state government. Reconciliation impossible while Modi remains Chief Minister.” The report then entered into detail: “Their (the Hindu mobs’) systematic campaign of violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing.” Furthermore: “The VHP
