UP: Bajrang Dal Activists Allege ‘Forced Conversions’; Vandalise Church, Assault Worshippers
New Delhi: A group of Bajrang Dal activists on February 19 allegedly vandalised a church, and assaulted and threatened the worshippers, in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district, claiming the church was carrying out “forced religious conversions”. The incident took place at the Himalayan Evangelical Mission. “A group of 50-60 men, armed with rods and sticks, came and disrupted our prayer on February 19. They hit me and my son with rods, accusing us of converting Hindus into Christians in the church,” pastor Satyen Bishwakarma told The Wire. The pastor added that he and his family have been living in constant fear as the Siddharthnagar police have refused to register a first information report against the Bajrang Dal. However, as on March 5, an FIR has still not been lodged by the police. A woman, who belongs to the Dalit community and requested anonymity as she was allegedly threatened by the Bajrang Dal, told The Wire that she was beaten up by the group. She added that they even warned her not to come back to the church. “Why haven’t the police registered an FIR against them? The police saw everything when they came [to the church] but did not intervene, they were seen supporting the group [Bajrang
Indian Christian educators denied bail in conversion case
Catholic residents have voiced concerns about the historical structure they say has been in use since the 17th century when it was built. To beautify a Daman football ground, a 400-year-old church could be demolished Special arrangement A 400-year-old chapel in Daman could soon be history as the local administration is in the process of acquiring land on which it stands. The purpose of the move, the administration says, is to “beautify a football ground” adjacent to it. The notice from the district collector for acquisition of land on which the Chapel of Our Lady of Angustias stands has shocked the Catholic community in the Union Territory. “They [the authorities ] did not tell us so but we fear they may even demolish the church,” said Father Anselmo D’Souza, a priest in Daman. The matter has also drawn the attention of the National Commission for Minorities, which has asked the administrator of the Union territory to send it a detailed report on the matter by March 21. According to church officials, the Chapel of Our Lady of Angustias or Our Lady of Sorrows, located next to the popular Moti Daman Fort, was constructed in the early 1600s, and has been in use since then. It is
Christians seek protection as violence continues in central India
Elected village bodies dictate to Christians what they should believe and how should they live and work Christians seek protection as violence continues in central India An Indian policeman looks at damaged windows at a house in Bhopal on Jan. 28, 2006, after a group of Indian Christians were attacked during a prayer meeting. Christians in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh have appealed again to their state chief minister to protect them as hundreds of indigenous Christians continue to live in the forest amid rising violence. A delegation under the ecumenical Ecclesia United Forum (EUF) met chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and urged him to take “immediate steps to end violence," said Father Johnson Thekkadayil, a Catholic priest working in the state. “The brutal attacks unleashed on the Christians in Chhattisgarh, especially in the tribal regions, continues unabated,” Father Thekkadayil, who was part of the delegation told UCA News on Feb. 26, three days after they met Baghel. Christians in the Bastar region, dominated by indigenous people, have been witnessing unprecedented violence, reports say. The forms of violence include social boycotts, assaults, parading men and women nude, and encroachments of Christians’ land. Increased violence in the past six months has forced more than 1,000 Christians to flee
Indian protestant bishop arrested under conversion law
Auxiliary Bishop Paul Muniya of the Protestant Shalom Church has been falsely implicated by a local man, his son says Indian protestant bishop arrested under conversion law A Protestant bishop in the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has been remanded to judicial custody over allegations he violated the provisions of the state's stringent anti-conversion law. Auxiliary Bishop Paul Muniya of the Protestant Shalom Church in the Jhabua district, inhabited predominantly by tribal communities, surrendered to the local police on Feb. 23 to comply with an order issued by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. “The high court order said he would be granted bail once he surrendered to the police, but instead he was sent to jail,” the bishop’s son Kaleb Muniya told UCA News on Feb. 24. Police charged Bishop Muniya under the state’s anti-conversion law following a complaint by local resident Kailash Bhuria on Jan. 11. Bhuria alleged that he was being intimidated to attend prayer services by the bishop and Tita Bhuria, a church elder. The duo in September last year took him to a nearby church and sprinkled water on him, gave him a Bible and a cross, he said. The bishop accompanied by the church elder also visited his house in January
Indian Christians unite to protest against hate crimes
Thousands march in Delhi against rising number of attacks, especially in anti-conversion law states Christians protest against rising hate crimes against them in New Delhi on Feb. 19 Thousands of Christians, representing nearly 79 denominations, staged a protest march in India’s capital on Feb. 19 against a growing number of hate crimes against them. More than 2,000 Christians demanded the federal government, judiciary and civil society take action to stop atrocities against them, with particular concern for those in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Jharkhand. Most of these states, ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, have enacted sweeping anti-conversion laws. “Our prime minister speaks of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' [collective efforts for inclusive growth], but what is happening to the Christian community in the country?
Demolition threatens 400-year-old chapel in India
Local Catholics say the administration plans to raze the chapel to expand a football stadium A four-century-old chapel in western India dating back to the Portuguese colonial era faces a threat of demolition as the administration aims to acquire land to turn it into a football stadium, local Catholics say. Catholic leaders say the chapel of Our Lady Of Remedies in Daman faces threat due to a controversial beautification drive planned by Praful Patel, the administrator and a leader of the pro-Hindu Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Daman and Diu is a federally ruled territory that comes directly under the administrative control of the BJP-led government in New Delhi. Territory's administrator Patel neither confirmed nor denied the move to demolish the chapel to expand the football field. “No, I have no idea, you ask the local authorities,” he told UCA News. But local Catholics said the administration was firm about the demolition plan. "They want to acquire the chapel's land
Indian yoga guru is kicking up a storm ahead of polls
Baba Ramdev raises specter of ‘conversion’ while denigrating Muslims and Christians in Congress-ruled Rajasthan state India’s Yoga guru-turned-business tycoon Baba Ramdev may not have bargained for police action when he made provocative remarks against Muslims and Christians at a recent gathering of Hindu leaders in the northern state of Rajasthan. The state’s police registered a case against him for promoting enmity and outraging religious feelings by insulting religion. Ramdev, who is perhaps one of the richest "godmen" in India, joins a long list of hate mongers and votaries of Hindutva who advocate Hindu supremacy and seek to transform India into a Hindu nation, a project incubated a century ago at the Nagpur headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organization. Like many so-called godmen, Ramdev also makes no bones about his links with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an offshoot of the RSS, and openly campaigned for it during the 2014 parliamentary elections. Perhaps he wants to play a bigger role ahead of the 2024 elections. That is what it looks like. What exactly did Ramdev say in Barmer, Rajasthan on Feb. 2 that offended Muslims? The speech prompted a section of Muslim clergy to issue a call to boycott products
‘Congress in Chhattisgarh Has Utterly Failed to Defend Rights of Christian Adivasis’
Brinda Karat tells Karan Thapar that attacks on Christian Adivasis in Chattisgarh have continued for 5 months and have done extensive damage to homes, churches and livelihoods and forced up to 2,000 people to flee their villages. Senior politburo member of the CPI(M) and former Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat, speaking about attacks on Christian Adivasis in Chhattisgarh, which have continued for 5 months and have done extensive damage to homes, churches, belongings and livelihoods and forced up to 2,000 people to flee their villages, says, “The Congress has utterly failed to defend the constitutional rights of Christian Adivasis.” She has raised this matter in a letter addressed to chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and, in response, the home minister met a CPI(M) delegation on February 7. They asked why no one from the government has met the victims but did not get a meaningful answer from the home minister. She says even the Congress party president in Chhattisgarh, who is also the MLA for Narayanpur, where many of the 60-70 villages where the Christians have been attacked are located, has failed to visit his own constituency. She also says “not a single family or individual victim has received any compensation”. In a 30-minute
India’s draconian anti-conversion laws face new challenge
‘Love Jihad’ myth causes violence, intimidation of minorities by police and non-state actors, Supreme Court told India’s draconian anti-conversion laws face new challenge India’s top court is likely to examine the constitutionality of nine of 11 provincial anti-conversion laws after their validity was challenged amid demands for a federal law to contain alleged rampant fraudulent religious conversions. The Supreme Court on Feb. 3 served notices on the federal government and five provincial governments — Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand and Karnataka — on a fresh petition filed by a group called Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) challenging the constitutionality of their anti-conversion laws. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed them to file their counter affidavits within three weeks and set March. 17 for the hearing. Earlier, the court issued notices to Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand about a similar petition against their anti-conversion laws. The CJP said in a statement that it is fighting a ‘Love Jihad’ myth that has led to violence and intimidation by police and non-state actors (against minority communities especially Muslims). “The ‘Love Jihad’ laws legitimize un-constitutional, anti-minority and misogynistic beliefs, and help further the hateful, communal agenda of extremists”, it said. "The top court is hearing
