PASTOR, WIFE, AND CHILD JAILED IN INDIA FOR PRAYING AT HOME
A pastor, his wife, and their three-year-old son have been imprisoned in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after holding a prayer service in their home. Pastor Harendra Singh and his wife Priya were taken into custody charged with ‘luring innocent people to Christianity’. The couple had no choice but to bring their young child with them into prison. This family’s plight is the latest in a series of arrests involving believers in Uttar Pradesh. One Christian leader lamented, ‘The situation has reached such a stage that holding a prayer service or reading the Bible at home can land you in jail.’ Arrested That same day another pastor, Amarjeet Ram, and 14 other Christians were arrested during a prayer meeting in Balapur village. And seven other Christians were arrested separately in two incidents in other districts of the state over the same period. State law prohibits religious conversion through allurement, force, or coercion. But given the law’s catch-all wording and its intent to discriminate against religions other than Hinduism, baseless accusations can lead to charges even when no inducement has occurred. Uttar Pradesh ranks as the state with the highest level of persecution against Christians in India. Successive states have passed similarly worded anti-conversion laws and there
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
NCPCR moves SC against bail for archbishop & nun in MP ‘conversion of children’ case
SC bench agrees to hear matter again in 2 weeks, declines to stay anticipatory bail granted to an archbishop & a nun by HC on ground that NCPCR had no locus standi in the case. New Delhi: Challenging the anticipatory bail granted to an archbishop and a nun booked for alleged forceful conversions of children at a shelter home in Madhya Pradesh, the National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has moved the Supreme Court, asserting its authority to lodge a complaint in the case. Agreeing to hear the matter again in two weeks, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud Monday, however, declined to put a stay on the anticipatory bail granted to Archbishop Jerald Alameda and sister Liji Joseph by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, in the case registered under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021. The Act prohibits religious conversion by “misrepresentation, allurement, use of threat or force, undue influence, coercion or marriage”. According to court documents in ThePrint’s possession, an FIR was registered against Almeda and Joseph in Madhya Pradesh on 30 May, based on a complaint by NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, following his visit to the children’s shelter home run by the Asha Kiran
Violence Against Indian Christians Is Becoming a Problem for American Politicians
As the US pursues a closer relationship with India, activists are concerned some are overlooking the persecution of religious minorities in the world’s largest country. For nine days, Pieter Friedrich starved himself to get his congressman’s attention. Drawing from his own Christian tradition of prayer and fasting and the Indian political tactic of satyagraha, the activist and journalist fasted from July 27 until August 5, aiming to convince US Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, to speak on the House floor about violence against Christians. “He has not just a political responsibility, but a human responsibility to raise these issues,” said Friedrich, after he had abandoned his strike at the request of two Indian organizations. “I believe the only way he continues to refuse doing so is because he’s continuing to straddle the fence.” The Christians whose plight Friedrich was demanding Khanna take responsibility for, however, were not Californians, but Indians living more than 7,000 miles away in Manipur. The fence he was accusing an American congressman of straddling was US policy toward Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and his troubling history of Hindu nationalism. From President Joe Biden to Indian American congressmembers like Khanna, American politicians are under increasing pressure to account for their
Christian teacher in India arrested on false charges of trafficking, conversion of students
HYDERABAD, India — Police in central India on July 26 beat a Christian educator and filed baseless charges against him of human trafficking and fraudulent conversion of eight Christian students he was escorting to a Bible institute, sources said. After arresting Liju Kuriakose off of a bus in Manikpur, Chhattisgarh state, police officers told the students, including five minors, to give false statements that they were being trafficked, said one of the youths, a 17-year-old identified only as Govardhan. “We all had vehemently refused and told the police that we have been Christians for a while and are not new converts,” Govardhan told Morning Star News. “We cannot tell lies about the brother who came all the way from Kerala to help us. When their attempts failed, police sent us to the Child Welfare Committee’s home.” Kuriakose had come from Kerala state to ensure the safe travel of the students, ages 15 to 22, and all from tribal Christian families. They had boarded the bus in Manikpur bound for a railway station in Bilaspur, where they were to take a train to the Bible institute in Kochi, Kerala state, Govardhan said. “All eight of us had secured admission in a Bible institute in Kochi,
Hindu nationalists demand arrest of Catholic priest in India for saying king was not a god
A Catholic priest in the Indian state of Goa was granted “anticipatory bail” Aug. 8 after police registered a criminal case against him for allegedly “hurting Hindu sentiments” in remarks he made about a Hindu king during a Sunday Mass in July. Hindu groups had staged demonstrations in front of the police station calling for criminal charges to be brought against Father Bolmax Pereira, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church in Chicalim in the Archdiocese of Goa. Pereira was quoted in the Mass posted on YouTube saying that 17th-century Hindu king Chatrapati Shivaji “was a national hero but not a god.” “There are a few people for whom Shivaji has become a god … Yes, he is a national hero. We have to honor and respect him. What he has done, the battles he fought to protect his people … for all that he deserves respect. He is a hero, but not a god. … We have to have a dialogue with our Hindu brethren and ask them ‘Is Shivaji your God? Or a national hero?’ If he is a national hero, let it be at that. Don’t make him a god. We need to understand their perspective. If we live in
Indian Christians led by FIACONA hold prayer for end to violence in Manipur at the United Nations
The Indian Christian community in the Tri-state area held a prayer vigil in front of the United Nations to highlight the violence in Manipur, particularly the alleged attacks on the Kuki-Zo tribal people who are mostly Christian. The Prayer rally was attended by Christians from all denominations and regions in North America in cooperation with FIACONA (Federation of Indian American Christians of North America). A press release from organizers said the vigil was attended by more than seven hundred people, and clergy conducted the prayers to decry the loss of lives and destruction of homes and churches in Manipur. “This is not a protest rally. We aim not to examine why the riots happened, who is responsible, or politics,” President of FIACONA George Koshy is quoted saying in the press release. “We are here today to pray for the rule of law in Manipur, and obviously, there are limits as to what we can do to help. However, Prayer does not have any limitations”. He further clarified that we aim not to condemn or oppose anyone politically,” Koshy added. Dr. Anna George, the leader of this event, said the suffering on the ground in Manipur was “beyond our imagination. Other speakers at the event
Ahead of Biden’s visit, US again rakes up alleged religious persecution, human rights issues in India
The critical stance of the Pentagon came on Monday when a reporter asked whether Biden would raise the issue of alleged violations of human rights especially "Christian persecution" in India. Ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to India, the Pentagon has again made a contentious statement against New Delhi on human rights issues despite being schooled by India on several occasions. While speaking at a regular press conference, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the Biden administration has been raising the issues of human rights violations in India in the past and will do the same in the future. "We regularly raise human rights concerns with countries with which we engage, have done that -- so in the past with India, and we'll do so in the future," he said. Biden to visit India next month Notably, President Biden is due to visit New Delhi next month for the G20 Summit where he will be holding a series of meetings with Indian officials including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, the critical stance of the Pentagon came on Monday when a reporter asked whether Biden would raise the issue of alleged violations of human rights especially "Christian persecution" in the country. "We have made
Hindus oppose construction of church in K’taka village with no Christians
Hindu organisations and villagers have opposed the construction of a church in a village with no Christian households in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district. The church is being constructed in Lokavalli village of Mudigere taluk and the development has already stirred a controversy. The locals and Hindu organisations have claimed that since there were no Christian families in the village, the church should not be constructed The locals have also alleged that the church is being constructed to carry out religious conversions. The church is constructed in the land of one Ranga, from Haandi village near Mudigere. The police are yet to react to the issue. The development has caused concern in the communally sensitive region of Chikkamagaluru which was considered as the bastion of the BJP. But in the last Assembly elections in May, the BJP suffered a humiliating defeat. Former National General Secretary C.T. Ravi lost the elections from Chikkamagaluru constituency to his right hand man turned Congress candidate. The article is published on thestatesman.com
Indian Catholic girls ‘traumatized’ by forced detention
Say they were treated like ‘criminals’ and kept as ‘prisoners’ in a Madhya Pradesh government-run home Three tribal Catholic girls, who were released from custody by child rights authorities in a central Indian state after being forcibly taken away on suspicion of conversion, say they are “traumatized and terrified.” Two of the teenage girls were released on July 31 while one was released earlier on July 28. The three were kept in detention for around 10 days in Madhya Pradesh by a team of the state's Commission for Protection of Child Rights. “It was a terrifying experience for me,” said a shaken Raksha Baria after she returned to her home in neighboring Rajasthan state in northwest India. Baria, a resident of Jamburi village in Rajasthan’s Banswara district, along with the other tribal Catholic girls from the same village, was studying in a Catholic Mission School in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua district. They were detained during an inspection of the school hostel on July 21 by a team from the child rights panel. The girls were forcibly taken away on suspicion of conversion to Christianity and were kept in the custody of Jhabua district’s Child Welfare Committee (CWC). “The inspection team treated us like criminals and did not
