A group of over 300 U.S. Christian leaders sent a letter to the U.S. State Department this month urging the agency to put India on a watchlist of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom. The Aug. 1 letter, organized by the Federation of Indian-American Christian Organizations in North America (FIACONA), called for India to be named a “country of particular concern” (CPC). Violence against Indian Christians has “skyrocketed” since the 2014 ascent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Christian leaders said in their letter. FIACONA says it documented 1,570 attacks on Christians in 2023, up from its previous report of 1,198 in 2022. According to FIACONA, the signatories include 18 bishops, three archbishops, 167 clergy from diverse denominational and nondenominational backgrounds, eight current or former presidents and deans from five theological schools, and leaders from more than 40 Christian organizations. “The U.S. Church is tragically silent as India becomes not only our nation’s greatest ally in Asia but also the most dangerous democracy in the world for Christians,” said Pieter Friedrich, a FIACONA board member and journalist who specializes in South Asian affairs. “It is encouraging to see the narrative shift as, finally, hundreds of Christian leaders

The Federation of Indian American Christian Organization (FIACONA) opposes anti-Muslim float at India Day Parade August 18, 2024, in New York City August 4, 2024 The Honorable Governor Kathy Hochul Executive Chamber New York State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 The Honorable Mayor Eric Adams Mayor of the City of New York City Hall New York, NY 10007 Dear Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams: The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) is profoundly alarmed by the inclusion of an anti-Muslim float at the India Day Parade scheduled for August 18, 2024, in New York City. This float, organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) in collaboration with the office of the Indian Consulate, the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), and the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) and the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), starkly contradict the intended values of inclusivity and respect that New York City and the state of New York uphold. The VHPA, an offshoot of India’s Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has been designated a “militant religious organization” by the CIA’s World Factbook. Inordinate government funding went into the infrastructure and inauguration of the Ram Temple in January 2024 by India’s Hindu supremacist Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has heightened religious tensions,

MUMBAI, India – A Christian organisation in India is against a plan by the state government in Uttar Pradesh to increase the penalties for “unlawful conversion”. The northern state has India’s largest population – with over 241 million people – but only has 356,000 Christians, just 0.18 percent. The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) issued a statement condemning the intent of the Uttar Pradesh Government to pass the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2024. “This amendment significantly intensifies the provisions of the original Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021,” the July 31 statement says. “While the 2021 Act already classified religious conversion as a cognisable and non-bailable offence, with penalties up to 10 years in prison for conversions conducted through marriage, misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, or other allegedly fraudulent methods, the new amendment introduces even harsher measures. It raises the maximum penalty from 10 years to life imprisonment, allows any individual to file a complaint, and complicates the bail process,” writes Rev. Asir Ebenezer, the General Secretary of NCCI. Uttar Pradesh, like the national government, is run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant

“As Indian Christians struggle to follow their faith in the face of Hindu supremacist policies, persecution of religious minorities is being buried by U.S. adoration of the current Indian regime,” says Federation of Indian-American Christian Organizations in North America (FIACONA) Executive Director Rev. Neal Christie. “This letter highlights the rapidly escalating state-sanctioned violations of human rights targeting religious minorities, including Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and indigenous tribal peoples.” The over 300 signatories include 18 bishops, three archbishops and 166 clergy from diverse denominational and non-denominational backgrounds, eight current or former presidents and deans from five theological schools, and leaders from over 40 Christian organizations. This is the first letter ever produced by U.S. Christian leaders addressing religious persecution in India. Signatories include the immediate past president of the National Council of Churches; the president, immediate past president, and ecumenical officer of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church (UMC); the chancellor emeritus of the Orthodox Church in America; the presidents of Wesley Theological Seminary and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary; the president of International Christian Concern; national ecumenical office leaders from both the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA); the executive director of the Paulist Fathers Ecumenical and Multi-Faith Relations; the Catholic

(OSV News) -- An Catholic bishop in Chicago from an Eastern church whose origins go back to St. Thomas the Apostle has joined some 300 faith leaders in sounding an alarm over religious persecution in India. Bishop Joy Alappatt of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago is among more than 300 signatories of an open letter to the U.S. State Department, asking Secretary Antony Blinken to designate India as a "country of particular concern," or CPC, due to significant violations of religious freedoms against Christians, Muslims, Dalits and Indigenous peoples. Such designations are made under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, which requires the president to review the status of religious freedom in each of the world's nations, and to flag those whose governments engage in or tolerate particularly severe violations of religious freedom. Torture, prolonged detention without charges, forced disappearances or other flagrant denials of life, liberty and security all trigger the CPC designation. Nations that meet some but not all criteria are placed on a special watch list under the 2016 Wolf Act. The secretary of state is delegated by the president to make the applicable designations. News of the open letter was announced Aug. 1 in a press release

The Evangelical Fellowship of India has released its 2023-2024, 56-page ‘Survey of Youth Issues Among Christian Young People’ with data collected by Christ’s Love For All (CLFA) Youth Movement, focusing on the contemporaneous post-pandemic challenges and influences on Christian youth in the country. Data collection for the survey involved getting the views of 416 youngsters aged 15 to 24 between October 2023 and January 2024. Four main themes and 13 sub themes were identified, including gender identity, media addiction and the significance of family and intergenerational discipleship. According to the report, about 356 million people in India are aged between 10 to 24, equivalent to one in every three people. The report’s authors hightlighted the need for churches to invest efforts in “youth centric initiatives” because India “in this sense” is a young country. “More than at any time in the past, the lives of today’s youth from urban areas have become significantly more challenging,” said the report. “There has been a notable shift in terms of socio economic development, lifestyle, technological advancement, and environmental surroundings over the last few decades.“About 87% of young women and men living in developing countries face challenges brought about by limited and unequal access to resources, healthcare, education,

Mumbai: Christians in India are being meticulously denigrated, demonised, and bad-mouthed, said Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. "Challenges that Christians face in India are tremendous. They will take away our land, properties, and homes," said Prakash on Tuesday evening while speaking at a virtual discussion organised by FIACONA (Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations) on the subject 'Challenges Facing the Christians of India Today'. The aim of the meeting, which was attended by members of the Indian Christian diaspora, clergy, and civil rights activists, among others, was to lay out a path to the challenges in pursuing justice in cases of religious persecution, especially after the recent national elections. Reverend Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar, who moderated the meeting, said that Christians and people of faith faced a global challenge and needed to map out patterns of violence and its challenges. Prakash spoke about the challenges Christians face in India and how faith communities and civil society work for advocacy in the area. One of the instances discussed was the recent statement by a judge of the Allahabad High Court who said that unchecked and unlawful conversion of religion could lead to the majority becoming tomorrow's minority. The judge had remarked

Church leaders and rights activists have deplored the passing of sweeping changes to the anti-conversion law in a northern Indian state where Christians complain of harassment. The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which provides for stricter punishment, including life imprisonment for fraudulent or forced conversion, was passed by the state assembly on July 30. Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, is ruled by the Hindu right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The National Council of Churches in India, in a July 31 statement, said the amended law “violates the provisions of the Indian Constitution” and “adversely affects the harmonious life in India and the basic rights of its citizens.” “Conversion itself is not an offense unless induced by undue influence, misrepresentation, or coercion, which only the victim can claim,” stressed the council, an ecumenical forum of Protestant and Orthodox churches in India. Reverend Asir Ebenezer, council general secretary, said the amended law grants extensive authority to officials and any third parties and can be misused to target specific individuals or communities based on religious prejudice. “The law is a risk… for heightened harassment and criminalization of peaceful religious practices, including baptism in Christianity,” he added. The

A northern Indian state plans to amend its anti-conversion law, aiming to sharpen punishments against religious conversions. On July 29, the Uttar Pradesh state government proposed sweeping changes to its anti-conversion laws, including tightening bail conditions and increasing the maximum jail term from 10 years to life imprisonment. State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk-turned-politician, said the law — Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion — needs to be amended to address the problem of religious conversions. The proposed amendment states that a person who violates the provisions of the law can be imprisoned for 20 years or his or her entire life. The law criminalizes conversion by force, inducements, or fraudulent methods, which allows any Christian missionary activity to be construed as force or inducement for conversion. The current law allows a person to file a complaint against illegal conversion only if the complainant is a victim. Blood relatives of such victims can also file complaints. However, the proposed amendment widens the scope of complaints, saying, “Any information related to violation of the provisions of the Act can be given by any person” to police or authorities. In cases related to mass religious conversions, jail terms have been increased to 7-14 years from

People of India yearned to have a better change when they were fed up of rampant corruption that soared up all over the country during the long regime of the Congress dynasty. Then the BJP became the major alternative political party with commitment for innovative development programs. People of India chose the BJP to power with aspiration to get liberated from slavery of poverty, have self sufficiency, economic growth and development. With diligence the Saffron party rose to power in 2014 and got reelected in 2019 with a comfortable majority in Lok Sabha while the Congress was nearly completely decimated. It strengthened position even in the northeast and Nagaland. The slogans and catch phrases, ‘acche din anne wala hai’ and ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’ and good governance were systematically disseminated to attract and connect with the grass root level people. However, when ‘acche din’ arrived, religious minorities had to face persecutions in various places of India. Hidden agenda became open agenda. The Christians were often persecuted, their Churches vandalized and ostracized with false allegations of paid bribery for and forced conversions of Hindu believers into Christianity. The Dalits or SCs(Scheduled Castes)are placed at the lowest echelon of the Hindu society which