Myth of Forcible Conversions: A Fact Finding Report
This is the first part of a special report after a fact-finding team’s visit to the Congress-ruled state in central India. THE Hindu nationalists have quite successfully propagated that Christians are converting Hindus with either inducements, fraud or through coercion on such a large scale that there would be a demographic imbalance sooner rather than later. My visit to villages in Narayanpur and Kondagaon in the state of Chhattisgarh as a member of fact-finding team constituted by CSSS, UCF, AIPF and AILAJ showed once again that the shoe fits on the other foot. It is the Christians who are being subjected to violence, threats and forced displacements if they do not convert to Hindu religion. Some Christians have been converted forcibly, while others who resisted were forced to leave their villages and seek refuge from violence elsewhere. According to Adv. Sonisingh Jhali, All India People’s Forum, based in Jadalpur and who has been helping the displaced Christian Adivasis, more than one thousand of them have been displaced from their villages. According to the District Collector and Magistrate of Narayanpur, 250 have been displaced from the villages in his district and have sought shelter in indoor stadium of the district. However, another about 150
Organised campaign to convert Christian Adivasis to Hindus in Chhattisgarh: Report
There was no forcible religious conversion and the situation was under control, Mahendra Chhabra, chairman of the Chhattisgarh minorities commission, said. State authorities, however, denied that the violence was related to forcible religious conversions. There was an “organised campaign” to forcibly convert Christian tribals into Hindus in Bastar’s Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts, a team of civil society representatives said in a report on Monday after visiting more than 30 villages in districts where attacks allegedly took place against Christians. State authorities, however, denied that the violence was related to forcible religious conversions. “From December 9, 2022 to December 18, there was a series of attacks in about 18 villages in Narayanpur district and 15 villages in Kondagaon district, displacing about 1,000 Christian Adivasis from their own villages,” said the report of a fact-finding team led by Irfan Engineer, director of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, and Brijendra Tiwari, convener of the All India People’s Forum, Chhattisgarh. “Those displaced were told to give up their Christian faith and convert to Hindu religion, failing which they were threatened their village or face dire consequences, including death,” the report said. “Many Christian adivasis were gravely assaulted and beaten with lathis, tyre, and rods. At
Christian Adivasis forcefully converted to Hinduism in Chhattisgarh: Report
According to the report, "the district administration disregarded early indications such as threats and intimidation targeting Christian Adivasis." Although these intimidations were reported, nothing was done. A civil society report shed light on an organised campaign to convert Christian tribals into Hindus in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts. After visiting more than 30 villages in the districts where alleged attacks against Christians occurred, a team of civil society representatives claimed in a report released on Monday that there was a “organised campaign” to forcibly convert Christian tribals. State officials, however, disputed that the violence was a result of coerced conversions to a particular religion. According to a fact-finding team led by Irfan Engineer, director of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, and Brijendra Tiwari, convener of the All India People’s Forum, Chhattisgarh, “There was a series of attacks in about 18 villages in Narayanpur district and 15 villages in Kondagaon district from December 9, 2022 to December 18, displacing about 1,000 Christian Adivasis from their own villages.” The fact-finding team, which also included organisations like the United Christian Forum and the All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice, was established in response to episodes of violence against Christians in the districts of Narayanpur
Statement
Extremist outfits and their proxies in America should think deep and hard as to what they are actually doing on the US soil. December 21. 2022, Washington DC. Last May, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court in D.C. accusing Mr. John Prabhudoss, the Chairman of the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations, along with the co-founders of Hindus for Human Rights, Ms. Sunita Viswanathan and Mr. Raju Rajagopal, and Prof. Audrey Truschke and Mr. Rashid Ahmed of IAMC, of defaming HAF in commentary each made about reports in the press that HAF and other extremist Hindu nationalist organizations had obtained federal COVID relief. The reports were that HAF and others received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government meant for companies trying to survive the pandemic. On December 20th, 2022 Federal Judge Amit Mehta dismissed the case against all defendants. While he ruled that there was no personal jurisdiction over Ms. Viswanathan, Mr. Rajagopal, Prof. Truschke, and Mr. Ahmed, Judge Mehta dismissed the claims against Mr. Prabhudoss on the merits. He found that HAF “does not plausibly allege that Prabhudoss’s statements are verifiably false” because they amounted to statements of opinion. He further found
Hackers planted evidence on computer of jailed Indian priest, report says
Jesuit priest Stan Swamy died after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges NEW DELHI — For months, Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, claimed his innocence in courts and pleaded for medical care, but Indian authorities denied him bail. He died at a hospital in July 2021 after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges. Now, an examination of an electronic copy of his computer by Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, concludes that a hacker infiltrated his device and planted evidence, according to a new report by the company. The analysis is more proof that Swamy and his co-defendants were framed in a case that exemplifies the Indian government’s crackdown against civil society and prominent critics, the defense team says. More than a dozen activists, academics and lawyers have been imprisoned under an anti-terrorism law — some for more than four years — accused of having ties to a banned Maoist armed group that aims to overthrow the government. They deny the charges. The stringent terrorism law has drawn criticism in part because the accused can rarely secure bail and cases brought under the law have a poor conviction rate. They were accused of plotting
India deports 3 Swedes for preaching Christianity
Trio was attending a faith healing, prayer program in northeastern Assam state while on tourist visas India deports 3 Swedes for preaching Christianity A television screengrab of the Swedish nationals deported by Indian authorities for conducting Christian religious activities while on a tourist visa. (Source: youtube.com) Indian authorities arrested and deported three Swedish nationals for participating in Christian religious activities while visiting the northeastern state of Assam on a tourist visa. Hannah Mikaela Bloom, Marcus Arne Henrik Bloom and Susanna Elisabeth Hakannson were sent back to Sweden on Oct 28 after being arrested by police in Dibrugarh city on suspicion of being involved in religious conversions, according to police officials. The trio was attending an Oct 25-27 faith healing and prayer program in Naharkatia in Dibrugarh district organized by the United Churches Fellowship and the Bless Assam Mission Network. “The allegation of religious conversions is baseless. There is no truth in it as the organizers had obtained prior permission from the district administration and local police officials and the program was attended by only Christians, so where is the question of converting anyone,” Allen Brooks, the spokesman of the Assam Christian Forum, told UCA News. "We had no hidden program" However, the Swedish nationals were fined US$500 (41,500
Citizens’ Report on 2020 Delhi Riots is an Indictment of the Country: Harsh Mander
In an interview with Karan Thapar and the activist discuss the report’s findings that the Delhi police and government did precious little to stop the violence. In an interview to discuss the recently released Citizens Committee report on the 2020 Delhi riots which, sadly, has not got the attention it deserves from the media, human rights activists and the founder of Karwan-e-Mohabbat, Harsh Mander agrees the report is “a devastating critique of our country”. He says: “It’s a credible, convincing indictment of all that has gone wrong in our country. It should have led to nationwide outrage. The fact that it’s barely being discussed reflects even more deeply how far the rot has gone.” In a 30-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Mander added: “The report underlines how dark a moment this is in India’s journey as a republic, how every institution is crumbling and with what consequences.” The interview first discusses in some detail the Citizens Committee report’s findings about the response, behaviour and alleged complicity of the Delhi Police. How they failed to act for three days even though they had received at least six internal alerts from the Special Branch. How the Committee has found a mass of information
Commission to study Dalit converts, a repetition, say Christian activists
New Delhi, Sept 19, 2022: The federal government’s reported move to set up a national commission to study the socioeconomic and educational status of Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam will prolong the issue of granting reservation to the poorest in the country, bemoan Christian activists. The national media on September 19 reported that the government was all set to constitute the commission. Franklin Caesar Thomas, coordinator of the National Council of Dalit Christians, and John Dayal, a veteran journalist and activist, say several commissions and committees set up by previous governments have endorsed the socio-educational backwardness of Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin people. “The government is repeating what was done two decades ago by retired chief justice of India Ranganath Misra commission, Justice Rajender Sachar commission and a high powered committee led by Prof Satish Deshpande who found religion did not matter where social status of Dalits in India was concerned,” Dayal told Matters India. Dalits, he added, deserved affirmative action irrespective of religion. Article 341 part three discriminated against Pasmanda Muslims and Dalit Christians, he added. Franklin cited several government commissions and committees and studies that have found the socioeconomic and educational backwardness among Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam. They included the
Income Tax Raids Was Undertaken Without Giving Reason, Says Oxfam India
The Oxfam alleged that the Income Tax survey was undertaken without giving a reason. It said that in January 2022 they had a detailed week-long audit of the FCRA accounts by the auditors appointed by the FCRA division. In a latest development in connection with the Income Tax raids which were going on for three days at multiple locations and at the offices of Centre for Policy Research, a think tank, Oxfam India, Bengaluru-based non-profit Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) in connection with the alleged tax evasion, all the firms submitted they did not do anything unlawful. Oxfam India on Friday issued a statement and said that the Income Tax department officials conducted an Income Tax 'survey' at its Delhi based office from September 7 to September 9. "During these 35 plus hours of non-stop survey, the Oxfam India team members were not allowed to leave the premises; the internet was shut down and all the mobile phones were confiscated. The Income Tax survey team took away hundreds of pages of data pertaining to finances and programmes of Oxfam India. They also took all the data by cloning the Oxfam India server and the private mobile phones of the senior leadership team
Income Tax Searches At Think Tank CPR, Oxfam, And Trust That Funds Media
Bengaluru-based trustIPSMF funds some media organisations known for investigative stories that question the governments of the day Searches at the Centre for Policy Research office in Delhi's Chanakyapuri started around noon. The Income Tax Department is conducting searches at the Delhi offices of independent think tank Centre for Policy Research and charity organisation Oxfam India; and at Bengaluru-based Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) that partly funds a number of digital media outlets such as The Caravan, The Print and Swarajya. No response has yet been received from any of the organisations facing action. Sources in the tax department told NDTV that the "surveys" are connected to simultaneous action in Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat, among other places, "over funding of more than 20 registered but non-recognised political parties". News agency PTI said, citing sources, that the action is part of a probe over foreign donations. No official statement is out yet. Bengaluru-based trust IPSMF funds some organisations known for investigative stories that question the governments of the day. The most recent cover story in The Caravan — a magazine and portal backed by the Foundation — questioned a probe report that cleared PM Narendra Modi of any role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Supreme
