NEW DELHI — Not even a judge’s reprimand of police spared an impoverished pastor in India from being jailed on baseless claims of fraudulent conversion, one of the latest examples of how Hindu extremists misuse “anti-conversion” laws. Pastor Bajarang Rawat, a 47-year-old convert from Hinduism in Mohanlalganj, Lucknow District in Uttar Pradesh state, faces charges of converting people by “allurement” even though police could find no witnesses against him, and the only evidence they presented was his Bible, the pastor said. “Reprimanding the policemen, the magistrate told them that it was not a crime to possess a Bible and that he himself has a Bible at home,” Pastor Rawat told Morning Star News. “The policemen stood silent, but even after this conversation, I was sent to jail.” Released on bail on Aug. 7, Pastor Rawat was arrested on July 16 and charged at the Loni Katra police station under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 for “attempt to convert … by use of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by fraudulent means.” The next day police drove him to the District and Sessions Court, Barabanki, where the judge asked the reason for his arrest and was told they

Christians are facing increasing persecution and violence in the world’s most populous nation – India – and we’re taking direct action to defend them from this rapidly deteriorating human rights situation. Through our affiliate office in Strasbourg, France, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), the ACLJ is again before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). We have filed several reports with the UNHRC detailing serious human rights violations in several countries. While these countries are from different continents, one thing is sadly common among all of them – the persecution of Christians. One of the countries where the persecution of Christians is daily increasing is India. India recently made headlines “again” for its unwillingness to stop violent attacks by Hindu mobs against Christian minorities. We wrote about the shocking video made available on social media in which a mob of men from the Meitei tribe (predominantly Hindus) armed with sticks, saws, and other weapons humiliatingly paraded through the streets two women from the Kuki tribe (predominantly Christian) after the mob had attacked their village in the state of Manipur. This mob attack resulted in over 140 deaths, the destruction of hundreds of homes and churches, and the displacement of over 60,000 people. Even

Christian leaders in India said that a Sept. 21 meeting with the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) did little to reassure them that the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is serious about addressing the ongoing persecution of Christians in the country. “While the positive is that there is some conversation, I do not set hopes very high,” said John Dayal, an outspoken Catholic activist and spokesperson for the United Christian Forum (UCF), a human rights organization that runs a toll-free service to record atrocities against Christians and extend support to the victims. Iqbal Singh Lalpura, chairman of the NCM, met last week with Dayal and a delegation that included UCF president Michael Williams, coordinator A C Michael, Tehmina Arora of Alliance Defending Freedom, and Siju Thomas, a lawyer. The commission, which acts as the watchdog of minority rights in the country, “has asked us to submit more details of the issues we have raised in the letter to the prime minister,” the UCF said in a press release following the meeting. The UCF press statement also noted that commission chairman Lalpura, a former leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), assured the delegation that the commission will work to address cases of

The National Commission of Minorities assured the Christian community that they shared the same rights as the majority community in India A delegation representing Christian community met the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Iqbal Singh Lalpura, on Thursday and shared their grievance pertaining to false accusations of forced religious conversion, as well as attack on churches in Manipur along with other relevant concerns of the community. The delegation from the Christian community included A.C. Michael, President of Federation of Catholic Associations of Archdiocese of Delhi and National Coordinator, United Christian Forum, Michael Williams, Siju Thomas, John Dayal and Tehmina Arora. Among their major concerns, the community representatives pointed about attacks on churches in Manipur. They also expressed displeasure about police in various states slapping charges of forced conversion on members of the community. They also pointed out recent and frequent attacks on Christian institutions and shutting down of churches. “There is very less data available on communal attacks against Christians in India,” the delegation added. Responding to their grievances, Mr. Lalpura said that citizens of minority communities of India have all the rights that are available to the majority community, including the right to practice their religion. “We have to be vigilant of

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) hosted the event on the sidelines of the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday New Delhi:  A panel discussion organised in Geneva by an evangelical alliance on the Manipur violence has been widely condemned on social media over alleged "interference" in India's internal matters. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) hosted the event on the sidelines of the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday. Wissam al-Saliby, the director of WEA's Geneva office, moderated the discussion titled "The crisis in Manipur and implications for human rights in India." A massive controversy broke out after the evangelical alliance's officer in his closing remarks said the Indian government should work towards turning the country "into a more democratic, inclusive society and community," a comment that was seen as throwing a shade at India. Lieutenant General L Nishikanta Singh (retired), who has been closely monitoring the Manipur situation, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the "break India gang is at it again". "Break India gang is at it again. Exploiting Manipur's communal fault line, taken it to so-called UN expert panel to help migrants, who also approached Germany, besides the US, Israel, UN, EU, etc for a separate

LONDON: The violence in Manipur was raised during a backbench business debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday, with one British MP describing it as a "silent attack on Christians in India". Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon repeatedly asked UK minister for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan during the debate on freedom of religion and belief in Westminster Hall whether UK prime minister Rishi Sunak had raised the violence in Manipur in any formal discussions with the Indian government during his trip to New Delhi for the G20 summit. He also wanted to know whether Trevelyan would raise with her Indian counterparts the issue of access to Manipur for journalists and human rights monitors. "There are big issues in India,and if our prime minister does not ask those questions when he is in India, there is something seriously wrong," Shannon said. "The events in Manipur might be classed as originating in tribal or ethnic tensions, but the Manipur violence has silently been an attack on Christians in India. It is striking that local police and state government sat by as arson destroyed the properties, homes and lives of minority and religious groups. The perpetrators of the violence are understood to be from Hindu extremist

Since January of this year, 525 violent incidents against Christians have been documented in 23 different states in India, according to United Christian Forum (UCF). Compared to the total of 505 instances for the prior year, it is much higher. According to a statement issued on September 7 by UCF, June had the most incidents—89—against Christians. UCF found that the number of violent occurrences peaked in July at 80, while it was at its lowest in May at 47. There are 13 areas across the nation where it is now unsafe to practise Christianity, says UCF. Bastar and Kondagaon in Chhattisgarh, where there have been 51 and 14 acts of violence against Christians, respectively, top the list. Most frequently, Christians are the targets of the state's anti-conversion law. Close to 520 Christians have been detained across the nation under the anti-conversion statute so far this year, the UCF statement noted. With 211 assaults, Uttar Pradesh recorded the most attacks, followed by Chhattisgarh and Haryana. In Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Christians have been denied access to water sources in over 54 instances of social exclusion. Occasionally, they were even barred from gathering their own harvests. Additionally, acts of violence against Christians occurred in New Delhi, the nation's capital, where four prayer

Christian in Uttar Pradesh have voiced grave alarm after nearly 25 believers, including pastors, were arrested in the previous week over supposed "conversion" efforts by authorities. Pastor Jitendra Singh, the general secretary of the Pastors' Association of Uttar Pradesh, told UCA News that 20 Christians were arrested on September 10 in Kanpur, three on September 13 in Azamgarh, and two on September 14 in Auraiya districts. Although the 20 Christians imprisoned in Kanpur were freed the same day, the three believers from Azamgarh had little chance. They were detained by the police after residents said they were giving cash inducements and had gathered a sizable group of men and women with the intention of converting them to Christianity. There is "little chance" that they would be released, even if they submit a conventional bail application, according to a Christian activist who preferred to remain unnamed. Pastor Singh stated that over 100 faithful, including pastors, had been detained by the state police in the previous six months on bogus charges of conversion. It has become a "matter of great concern" for Christians in the state, he claims, as there have been so many arrests in the past week of this one month alone. Not only that, various church events

India has previously rejected USCIRF reports that alleged violations of religious freedom in the country The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has announced that it will hold a hearing on religious freedom in India on September 20. India has previously rejected USCIRF reports that alleged violations of religious freedom in the country. Coming on the heels of two successful bilateral meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden -- the Official State Visit of the Indian leader here in June and a bilateral meeting in New Delhi in September -- USCIRF in its announcement of the meeting said the Congressional hearing is on how the US government can work with the Indian government to address violations. Fernand de Varennes, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, has been invited to testify before the Commission along with Tariq Ahmed, Foreign Law Specialist, Law Library of Congress; Sarah Yager, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch; Sunita Viswanath, executive director, Hindus for Human Rights and Irfan Nooruddin, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Indian Politics at Georgetown University. On May 2 this year, India rejected as "biased" and "motivated" a report by the USCIRF that alleged "severe violations" of religious freedom in the country. "The

MUMBAI – A Catholic priest who faced a police complaint for a social media post protesting recent anti-Christian violence in the Indian state of Manipur committed suicide on Sept. 13, with his body found hanging from a tree in a cemetery. A spokesman for the Diocese of Sagar in India announced the death of Father Anil Francis in a statement to the press Friday, saying, “We are extremely pained and sad over the death of Fr. Anil Francis, who was known for his commitment to the works given to him and dedicated to the values preached by him.” According to the statement, Francis’s death is under police investigation and the diocese is cooperating fully. It also noted that in a suicide note, Francis had requested that his body be cremated. Francis, 40 at the time of his death, was ordained to the priesthood in April 2013. The statement indicated he had arrived at the bishop’s house in Sagar on the evening of Sept. 13 for a prayer meeting the next day. The suicide came shortly after Francis had posted an image to social media depicting a woman wrapped in the colors of the Indian flag being held by two men, with a mob behind