US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed concern over the rise in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and the demolition of homes and places of worship belonging to minority faith communities in India. Speaking at the release of the annual State Department report on international religious freedom, Blinken noted that while these issues are escalating, efforts to protect religious freedom continue globally. The report highlights that senior US officials have persistently raised issues related to religious freedom with their Indian counterparts throughout 2023. Blinken remarked, “In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities. At the same time, people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom.” In India, ten out of 28 states have laws restricting religious conversions across all faiths. Some states impose additional penalties specifically targeting forced religious conversions for marriage. The 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom indicated that members of religious minority groups have questioned the government’s capability and willingness to protect them from violence, investigate crimes against them, and ensure their freedom of religion or belief. The Indian government has previously dismissed the US State Department’s annual human

The United States offered rare criticism of close partner India in a report published Wednesday on religious freedom, while also voicing alarm over rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims. Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled the annual report and said that the United States was also facing its own sharp increase of both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in connection to the Gaza war. "In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities," Blinken said. The US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, Rashad Hussain, faulted efforts by Indian police. In India, "Christian communities reported that local police aided mobs that disrupted worship services over accusations of conversion activities, or stood by while mobs attacked them and then arrested the victims on conversion charges," he said. The United States for decades has sought warmer ties with India, seeing the fellow democracy as a bulwark against China, with President Joe Biden embracing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist who recently secured a third term. Despite the public criticism in the report, few expect the State Department to take action on India when it drafts its annual blacklist of countries over religious

Tribal Christians in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh silently marched through the streets, protesting hardline Hindu groups' increased hate campaigns and violent attacks on their people. “We had to come to the streets as our prayers and plight have not been heard even after repeated complaints to the authorities,” Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, told UCA News on June 26. They silently walked through Motibag town in Raipur district on June 24 with placards. Slogans on the placards read: “Stop violence against Christians,” “We want justice,” and “We will not tolerate insults in the name of religion.” Pannalal said the hardline Hindu groups falsely accused Christians of religious conversion, pronounced them guilty, and punished them on the spot. “Christians have been beaten up in front of policemen who are supposed to protect them,” the lay leader said. A tribal Christian leader who did not wish to be named told UCA News that on June 12, four Christian families were violently attacked by a Hindu mob in Jagdalpur town. They were told to renounce their faith within ten days. Two of the victims lost consciousness during the attack, and three others, including one with a broken leg, were admitted to a hospital.Tribal Christians

Pastor Sanjay Kumar and his wife, Sunita Devi, were among the 13 arrested. A Christian leader – who remains anonymous – told UCA News that they had been attending house prayer meetings when police arrived. The authorities had reportedly been alerted by "local villagers suspecting conversion activities", according to the outlet. “More than a dozen Christians are being accused of religious conversion even though there isn’t a single person whom they converted,” pastor Sanjay said. He believes there has been a rise in Christian persecution following the country’s general election, where Modi’s party lost seats in Uttar Pradesh, reducing their majority in parliament. Uttar Pradesh is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It is India’s most populated region and makes up 80 seats in the lower house of parliament, called the Lok Sabha. The BJP won 62 of the seats in the 2019 general election but was reduced to 33 in this year's election on 4th June. “The rise in persecution against the Christians stems from this electoral defeat,” said the church leader. “We cannot even pray

A recent report from World Inequality Lab titled, ‘Towards Tax Justice and Wealth Redistribution in India’, has laid bare the stark economic disparities that plague India. The findings are sobering: nearly 90 per cent of the country’s billionaire wealth is concentrated in the hands of the upper castes, highlighting a deep socio-economic divide. Billionaire wealth dominated by upper castes The analysis in the report unveils a staggering 88.4 per cent of India’s billionaire wealth is controlled by upper castes. In contrast, while Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) together form a significant part of India’s workforce, their representation among enterprise owners remains disproportionately low. This discrepancy is not limited to the billionaires; the All-India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) for 2018-19 indicates that upper castes hold nearly 55 per cent of the national wealth. This concentration of wealth also highlights the persistent economic inequalities rooted in India’s caste system. Caste influences financial demographics Caste continues to play a critical role in determining access to essential resources such as education, healthcare, social networks, and credit — all crucial for entrepreneurship and wealth creation. Historically, Dalits faced prohibitions on land ownership in many regions, severely curtailing their economic progress. This disparity extends beyond billionaire rankings. The ‘State

A woman in the southern region of Chhattisgarh was brutally hacked to death on June 24 by fanatic Hindu relatives following a dispute over her Christian faith. The incident, which shocked the entire Christian community of Chhattisgarh, occurred in the Toylanka village of the state’s Dantewada district. In a complaint to the district’s police chief, relatives of the deceased, Bindu Sori, alleged that her family had been harassed and threatened by other relatives ever since they became Christians four years ago. The new complaint also alleges that despite Sori’s family’s previous complaints to the local police station, no action was taken against the harassers. This time around, the fanatic relatives and other villagers started a fight with Sori’s family over land, claiming they had no rights to the fields now that they were Christians. The relatives warned Sori’s family that there would be dire consequences if they worked in the field during the coming monsoon season. As the rainy season started, the Sori’s family went out to plow and sow the field. Enraged, the fanatic relatives attacked them with arrows and axes. The tractor driver and others managed to flee, but Sori could not. Two men caught her, attacked her with axes, and killed her. The

On 12 June, Christian families were allegedly attacked by a Hindutva mob in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur and given an ultimatum to denounce their religion within 10 days. At least two victims were left unconscious while three were hospitalised after the attack in Bade Paroda village, under Badanji Police station. One of the injured had a broken leg indication of the intensity of the violence, the lawyer representing the families told Maktoob. The village has been a flashpoint for these religious clashes since 2023, with the Christian minorities being the target of these sporadic attacks and intimidation. The lawyer representing the families since 2023 noted how all the attacks were aided by the local police eventually leading the families to flee from their village. “The families are now banished from the village and have been coerced into signing a statement, in the presence of local authorities and signed by the village sarpanch, stating they will convert within ten days if they wish to return. They fled the village, fearing for their lives, as they believed they would be killed if they did not comply,” the lawyer, who wants to remain anonymous, told Maktoob. While sharing the information about the incident, United Christian Forum (UCF) said at

Two Catholic priests were seriously injured in a violent robbery at a church in Odisha, sparking concerns over the safety of the Christian minority community in the region. The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, June 15, at the Jhorabahal parish in Sundergarh district's Rourkela city. A group of around 15 masked assailants, armed with iron rods, crowbars and hockey sticks, barged into the presbytery (priests' residence) around 2:30 am. Father Nerial Bilung, 72, the parish priest, and Father Alois Xalxo, 52, the assistant priest, were brutally assaulted by the intruders. The attackers broke through the iron grills, snatched the priests' mobile phones, handcuffed them and gagged their mouths with cloth. They then proceeded to beat the priests severely, threatening to kill them with knives held at their throats. "The miscreants attacked the priests brutally with iron rods, crowbars, hockey sticks and other lethal weapons and dragged them to the rooms, handcuffing them and tying up their mouths with clothes and demanding whatever money they had," stated a release from the Catholic Diocese of Rourkela. After the vicious assault, the robbers ransacked the premises for nearly an hour, stealing over Rs 10 lakh (approximately $11,958) in cash, including funds collected from students

As followers of Christ, it is our duty to show compassion to those in need and advocate for those who are suffering persecution. Despite their distance from us and our unfamiliarity with them and their cultures, we must not overlook or disregard those bravely enduring the impact of injustice in our world. India stands out as a troubling hotspot of minority persecution and religiously motivated killings. It’s been heartbreaking to witness the increase in crimes committed by Hindu extremists over the past few years, thanks to the rule of the Hindu supremacist political party in the country. It is even more concerning how these groups of extremists and religious oppressors have managed to align politically with certain U.S. conservatives. Donald Trump garners praise and admiration from Hindu supremacists in India, just as there are fervent supporters of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi within conservative U.S. circles. It is imperative that we crush this malevolent force before its reach extends throughout the United States and the developed West. Killing for Honor The rise of Hindu supremacist extremism has in a way emboldened people to commit religious crimes against minorities, which includes Muslims, Christians, and even Dalit Hindus from lower castes. At a 2022 conference, a

Minority-run institutes will be advised to implement the project as well, the district education officer said. Audiovisual lessons on the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita are set to become a mandatory part of morning assemblies in 650 schools in Ahmedabad district, reported The Indian Express. Gujarat education minister Praful Pansheriya on Tuesday launched the “Vidyarthi Jeevan Pathdarshak Banshe Shreemad Bhagavad Gita” project, which means “Bhagavad Gita will become a guide to student life”. In February, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader had tabled a resolution in the state Assembly to make the Bhagavad Gita a part of school curricula for classes 6 to 12. The resolution was passed unopposed. Over 3,000 teachers will begin their training for the “Vidyarthi Jeevan Pathdarshak Banshe Shreemad Bhagavad Gita” project this week. “It will apply to all schools – government, grant-in-aid and private,” Krupa Jha, the district education officer for Ahmedabad Rural, told The Indian Express. “Even as we cannot force it, the minority-run schools will be advised to implement the project in their schools too.” The project is “based on the ancient and rich Indian enlightened heritage”, Pansheriya said in a social media post on Tuesday. “Based on selected 51 verses of the Gita, this project is designed as a unique initiative