Complaint Lodged Against Christian Preachers For Allegedly Exploiting Manipur Crisis To Fan Communal Hatred
In a recent development, a formal complaint has been registered against Christian preachers in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by Legal Rights activist, Legal Rights Protection Forum, accusing them of engaging in anti-national activities and enabling religious conversions. The complaint, which was addressed to the Union Home Ministry authorities, raises concerns about various incidents, including activities on national holidays and alleged involvement in the Manipur crisis. The complaint draws attention to the deliberate organization of special Christian worship programs in numerous churches across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on significant national holidays such as August 15th and January 26th. It contends that certain churches are purportedly conducting full-day prayers, camps, and youth retreats on these days with what the complainants term a “malicious intention” of diverting citizens’ focus away from the celebration of Independence Day. The complainants claim that some posters advertising these August 15th programs allegedly display disrespect to the national flag through alterations and religious inscriptions upon it. Furthermore, the complainants argue that hate-filled speeches have been delivered during these events, targeting freedom fighters and portraying them as “hell-bound disbelievers” due to their supposed lack of faith in Jesus Christ. The complainants assert that these activities are aimed at
Contribution of Odia Christians in Indian Independence Movement
By Barendra Kumar and Prime Abhilas Quite a few articles have been published to elucidate the role of Indian Christians in Indian Freedom movement . However, there is very less information in public domain about the role of Christians from Odisha in the Indian Freedom struggle. From ‘Utkal Gaurav’ Madhusudan Das, Sailabala Das, Lal Mohan Patnaik, to ‘Rai Bahadur’ Samuel Das, Lakhma Jee Jachuck, Rajkishore Mohanty, there are numerous such Freedom Fighters from Odisha’s Christian community, who played an active role in India’s Freedom Movement. Information about all of them has been mentioned in the book *ODIA CHRISTIAN LUMINARIES* that has been authored by Barendra Kumar and Prime Abhilas and published by Unicorn Books, Delhi. *Lakhma Jee Jachuck* was a Freedom Fighter from the Christian community of Odisha. He was born in 1871. He was popularly known as ‘Muni Aja’. After India gained independence, Lakhma Jee Jachuck was given the honour of hoisting the National Flag for the 1st ever time in Cuttack at the residence of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. *Rajkishore Mohanty* was another Freedom Fighter from the Christian community of Odisha. Rajkishore Mohanty was born in a non-Christian family but later embraced Christianity. Being a nationalist, he used to wear Khadi
Manipur Mobs Destroyed Hundreds of Our Churches. Yet God Calls Us Christians to Repent.
Since the beginning of May, more than 180 people have lost their lives in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. Most of these victims are Christians from the minority Kuki-Zo tribe and, in turn, thousands from these communities have fled from the violence for shelter in other parts of the state or country. Manipur is a hill-locked state with a fertile valley in the middle. The Meiteis occupy the valley districts, whereas the hill districts are the ancestral home of the various tribal communities, predating the British colonial administration. Both the hill districts and the tribal people are protected under a special act of the Indian Constitution that restricts land ownership in tribal areas. The current conflict began after the tribal community’s peaceful protest against the Meiteis’ efforts to become a “scheduled tribe” (which would also give them access to this hill land) was met with violent retaliation by a radical Meitei mob. The violence was further fueled by explosive lies spread purportedly by the Meitei community themselves, which quickly spread to the state capital, Imphal. Violent mobs started ransacking tribal houses, churches, educational institutions, and hospitals, and attacking people, including women and children. The article is published on christianitytoday.com
Christian, Dalit bodies hold protests in Punjab against Manipur violence
The impact of the Punjab bandh call was also visible in Ferozepur district where shops and markets at several places remained shut. In Moga, protesters said they will appeal to shopkeepers to keep their shops closed in protest against the violence in Manipur. Several Christian and Dalit bodies Wednesday held demonstrations at several places including Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Moga as part of their ‘Punjab bandh’ call against the Manipur violence. Shops remained shut in many areas of Jalandhar and Ferozepur districts as protesters shouted slogans against the central government for the violence in the northeastern state. Ahead of the bandh call given by different Dalit and Christian organisations, police were deployed at many places in the state. In Jalandhar, several markets remained shut with representatives of Dalit and Christian communities staging a ‘dharna’ in the city’ Kapurthala chowk. Police were deployed at Rama Mandi and Nakodar chowk, said officials. The impact of the Punjab bandh call was also visible in Ferozepur district where shops and markets at several places remained shut. In Moga, protesters said they will appeal to shopkeepers to keep their shops closed in protest against the violence in Manipur. A police officer in Moga said adequate security arrangements have been made
Hindu Nationalists Injure Four Christians in Attack in Central India
08/03/2023 India (International Christian Concern) – A mob of Hindu nationalists brutally attacked four Christians in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The violent attack reportedly took place in the presence of the village leaders. According to local sources, the group of Christians was summoned to a meeting by the village leaders, where the Hindu nationalists attempted to force the Christians to renounce their faith and convert back to Hinduism. The leaders threatened them with abusive language, and the mob told the Christians of the consequences of not renouncing their faith in Jesus. The leaders told them that if they did not deny Christ, they would be thrown out of their village. Nevertheless, the Christians remained faithful and did not deny Christ. When the four Christians refused to deny their faith in Christ, the mob beat them with sticks and stones. They were rushed to the hospital with police protection. The incident was reported to local law enforcement, who filed a report (FIR) against eight people and investigated the attack. In the wake of the event, other Christians in the village left for nearby villages, fearing for their lives. Chhattisgarh is among the eleven states with anti-conversion laws. The radical Hindu nationalists abuse this law
Ghaziabad News: Pastor Arrested under Unlawful Religious Conversion Act
Ghaziabad News: A man has been arrested by the Ghaziabad police from Modinagar on Wednesday 26 July in accusation of converting socially and economically backward classes into Christianity. The man held is identified as Mahindar Kumar, who is a pastor. Mahindar is originally from Peernagar Sudana village of Hapur District has been accused of converting people from backward classes into Christianity. Authorities took action into the complaint registering that some people are pursuing Modinagar locals to convert into Christianity by offering them jobs or money. FIR registered ACP Modinagar Gyan Prakash has told the press that the FIR was registered against Rohit and his mother Kusum after complaint filed by Ashish Kumar on Sunday, 23 July of illegal religious conversion. “Case has been registered under relevant sections of IPC and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act 2021.” He further told the media. ACP Gyan Prakash told police “Investigation revealed that Rohit and Kusum were under the influence of Mahindar Kumar. Police are questioning Rohit and Kusum. During the investigation, Mahindar have been involved in conversion for last eight years and have converted around 15 people.” Foreign Connections Police officials have stated that Mahindar and his wife with few other accomplices run a charitable
Violence and State Inaction in Manipur Condemned Across the World
The ongoing ethnic/religious violence in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur and the lack of adequate response from the state have been condemned by people and organizations around the world. The violence erupted on May 3 after the Kuki-Zomi community protested against the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The majority Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 percent and reside mostly in the hill districts. Reports of tribal Kuki attacks on ethnic Meiteis circulated immediately after the protest, which in turn plunged the Imphal Valley which accommodates 90% of Manipur’s population into an outburst of violence against Kuki tribal Christians. At the same time, ethnic Meitei settlements in the Kuki-dominated hills surrounding the valley also were the targets of violence. While the official death count now totaling around 150, with the overwhelming majority of the victims being Kuki Christians, human rights observers estimate the figure to be underestimated. Nearly 60,000 people, most of them Kuki Christians, now have fled their homes to the Kuki-dominated hills and to other states to escape the arson attacks, and more than 300 churches have been burned and
357 Churches in India Set On Fire With the Support of the Authorities
(ZENIT News) The Thursday, 20th July the monsoon session of India’s parliament was disrupted by politicians demanding an emergency debate on a video footage of two women being led naked by a mob in Manipur – before they were gang raped, according to reports. The event occurred on 4th May, the day after the uprisings which spiraled into violence against the Christian-majority Kuki and Naga ethnic groups broke out, but the footage only surfaced on the web (Wednesday, 19th July). Although reports have not confirmed that the women were Christian, they belong to the Kuki ethnic group. Last week, senior BJP politician R Vanramchhuanga resigned over his party’s failure to condemn violence against Christians. In his resignation letter, dated 13th July, Vanramchhuanga wrote that even though 357 churches and other buildings belonging to Christian organizations had been destroyed by Meitei militants in Manipur that BJP leaders from local and national governments had not spoken out against the targeting of Christians. Christians belonging to the Meitei ethnic group were also targeted during the attacks. The vicious persecution in India’s Manipur state – where hundreds of churches have been destroyed – has entered a new stage as a video showing women being paraded naked went viral. Vanramchhuanga,
MP: Christian priest, two others get two-year sentence for unlawful conversion
Jhabua (MP), Jul 19 (PTI) A court in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district on Wednesday sentenced a Christian priest and two others to two years' rigorous imprisonment for converting members of a tribal community by offering allurement. District judge Lakhanlal Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Father Jamsingh, pastor Ansingh and their assistant Mangu. The three were convicted under section 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act, public prosecutor Mansingh Bhuria said. The article is published on www.ptinews.com/
Police discreetly profiling Christians in central Indian state
A controversial questionnaire seeking details of churches and other Christian institutions was leaked in the media Police in a central Indian state have been asked discreetly to collect information on Church institutions, an officer has admitted after the media leaked details of the questionnaire. An exercise to profile Church institutions is said to have been going on in the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Madhya Pradesh state since the beginning of July. Indore city’s police commissioner, Makrand Deoskar, on July 15 confirmed that a questionnaire was sent out. But “it is an internal communication for the station house officers [SHOs] of local police stations and not for Church officials.” The questionnaire was “inadvertently shared with Church officials,” the city’s top cop explained. “It was withdrawn after opposition from the Christian community,” Deoskar claimed. The SHOs were reportedly asked to gather details such as the name of the missionary institution, its work and purpose, details of foreigners involved in mission work, and details of activities in the past three months. It also asked to collect the institution's bank details and see if the institution was involved in religious conversion or political activities such as helping people in agitation. It wanted to know if the institution was getting foreign funds. “Some of our churches and
