Church leadership needs to listen to the people and heed their concerns and insecurities “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader In my two decades in public life, including three terms in Parliament, I have written columns on a range of subjects, but never one on the church in India. This is a first. It needed to be written. More silence on the subject would make me complicit. A former Provincial (head of a province) of a large religious congregation told this columnist: “Bishops must continue to lead the Church on all spiritual issues. But is it time for the lay Catholic leaders to unite and set the direction for the church in social and political spheres? It is time this is debated. It is time Christians from the grassroots (referred to by the Church as the laity) start openly asking direct questions of the few hundred bishops who comprise the key decision-making body of the Catholic Church in India.” More priests and nuns, usually bound by strict rules of discipline, have also begun to speak up. A nun, who is a leading educationist, told this columnist: “That the bishop’s

MUMBAI, India – Shocked by the surge of violence especially during the Christmas season in India, over 400 senior Christian leaders and 30 church groups issued an urgent appeal on Dec. 31 to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for immediate action to address the surge in violence against Christians. The appeal comes after at least 14 incidents of violence, threats, and disruptions targeted Christian gatherings across the country during the Christmas season, the leaders and church groups wrote in a press release. Prominent signatories of the appeal include Bishop Thomas Abraham, Bishop David Onesimu, Bishop Joab Lohara, Richard Howell, Mary Scaria, Cedric Prakash S.J., John Dayal, Prakash Louis S.J., Zelhou Keyho, E.H. Kharkongor, Allen Brooks, K. Losii Mao, Akhilesh Edgar, Michael Willams, A.C. Michael and Vijayesh Lal. They pointed to troubling statistics, including over 720 incidents of violence targeting Christians reported to the Evangelical Fellowship of India and 760 cases recorded by the United Christian Forum between January and November 2024. The appeal highlights systemic concerns, including the misuse of anti-conversion laws, growing threats to religious freedoms, escalating hate speech, and exclusionary policies denying Dalit Christians Scheduled Caste status. The leaders also urged the prime minister to take a visible role

New Delhi: Over 400 senior Christian leaders and 30 church groups on Tuesday (December 31) have issued an urgent appeal to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for immediate action to address the surge in violence against Christians. The appeal comes after at least 14 incidents of violence, threats, and disruptions targeted Christian gatherings across the country during the Christmas season, the leaders and church groups wrote in a press release. The signatories, including prominent Christian leaders such as Thomas Abraham, David Onesimu, Joab Lohara, Richard Howell, Mary Scaria, Cedric Prakash S.J., John Dayal, Prakash Louis S.J., Zelhou Keyho, E.H. Kharkongor, Allen Brooks, K. Losii Mao, Akhilesh Edgar, Michael Willams, A.C. Michael and Vijayesh Lal, expressed deep concern over the alarming trend of rising intolerance and hostility. They pointed to troubling statistics, including over 720 incidents of violence targeting Christians reported to the Evangelical Fellowship of India and 760 cases recorded by the United Christian Forum between January and November 2024. The appeal highlights systemic concerns, including the misuse of anti-conversion laws, growing threats to religious freedoms, escalating hate speech, and exclusionary policies denying Dalit Christians Scheduled Caste status. The leaders also urged the prime minister to take a visible role

A wave of violence against Christians in Odisha, eastern India, has raised alarm over citizens’ religious freedom guaranteed by the country’s Constitution. The latest incident occurred on December 26 in the Gabardhanpur village of Balasore district, where the members of the New Life Church were attacked while celebrating Christmas with a local family. According to Pastor Sadhu Sundar Singh of the Church, Gobinda Singh, a resident of Gabardhanpur, had invited him and his colleagues, Subhasini Singh and Sukanti Singh, to his home for prayers and Christmas celebrations. The gathering involved cake cutting and a shared meal. However, a drunken man from the village approached Gobinda Singh under the pretext of asking for food. Ignoring requests to wait, he rallied villagers waiting nearby and falsely claimed that religious conversion was taking place in the house. The mob attacked the gathering, severely beating Subhasini and Sukanti Singh. Their clothes were pulled, as the mob shouted accusations of forced conversion. Pastor Singh shared a video of the incident. In the video, a man named Badal Kumar Panda, wearing a white shirt and a tilak, introduced himself as the Block President of Devsena. He is seen pointing towards the women and saying, “I came here because these people are converting

Christmas celebrations in India were overshadowed by violent incidents on December 25, 2024, as several states reported attacks on Christian communities. The violence, allegedly carried out by members of Sangh Parivar organizations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, occurred in states such as Manipur, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Kerala. The attacks, which involved assaults on religious leaders, educational institutions, and individuals participating in Christmas events, created a sense of fear and unrest, disrupting the festive atmosphere. In Punjab's Ludhiana, a Pentecostal pastor, identified as Pastor John, was brutally assaulted by a man named Sonu Singh, who accused the pastor of attempting to convert people to Christianity. The attack, which left the pastor with serious injuries, drew widespread condemnation from the local Christian community and human rights organizations. In Rajasthan, Christmas celebrations at schools in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer were disrupted when activists harassed teachers and students, alleging that the celebrations were attempts to force religious conversions. The authorities have been urged to take swift action against the perpetrators. In Madhya Pradesh, another unsettling incident took place when Hindu Jagran Manch activists assaulted a Zomato delivery employee dressed as Santa Claus in Indore. The attackers also issued threats to other

A Christian advocacy group has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to launch a national-level inquiry into the rise in violence against Christians across India, as believers in the country saw a steep increase in “tragic violence, bloodshed, and the demolition” of dozens of churches. In a Dec. 20 press release cited by UCA News, National Coordinator of The United Christian Forum A.C. Michael urged the government to appoint a secretary-level official to lead the investigation into a sharp uptick in incidents of persecution. Michael, a former member of the Delhi Minorities Commission, noted that since Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power in 2014, attacks on Christians rose from 127 in 2014 to 745 by the end of November 2024. The figures, derived from complaints registered on the UCF’s toll-free helpline launched in 2015, might not reflect the full extent of the violence, the organization cautioned. “Many other incidents may have occurred that were not reported through our hotline and, therefore, are not included in the total number,” the press release stated. The helpline was established to support victims of persecution, offering guidance on accessing public authorities and legal remedies. However, the UCF noted that data on violence in the northeastern

India has witnessed a steady rise in targeted violence against Christians since 2014, reveals the latest report by a New Delhi-based ecumenical body that records attacks against Christians in the South Asian country. The United Christian Forum (UCF) in a press statement said that “745 incidents of violence were registered on its toll-free helpline number” by Christians across India from January to November this year. In 2023, UCF recorded 743 incidents. “As per the complaints received on the helpline, there were 127 incidents in 2014, 142 in 2015, 226 in 2016, 248 in 2017, 292 in 2018, 328 in 2019, 279 in 2020, 505 in 2021, and 601 in 2022,” the press statement added. A C Michael, the UCF convener, said this data did not include attacks on Christians and their churches in strife-torn Manipur, where sectarian violence has claimed over 250 lives and displaced 60,000 people, most of them Christians, since it began on May 3, 2023. “This is in spite of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to choose any religion of one’s choice,” he told UCA News on Dec. 22. Michael, a former member of the Delhi Minorities Commission, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi “to consider setting up

Just before Christmas, police have arrested seven Christians in Uttar Pradesh, India, following a complaint that they made derogatory comments against Hindu deities, according to Union of Catholic Asian (UCA) News. UCA News reports that the arrests took place Dec. 13, after members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, reported the allegations to the police. The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janta Party runs the government in the northern state Uttar Pradesh. According to UCA News, before the Party amended the state’s anti-conversion law this year, only relatives or persons affected by the alleged violation could complain to the police. The amendment expands this, allowing anyone to report a complaint. According to AsiaNews, the maximum penalties for violating this law have been broadened. Now, the maximum possible sentencing is life imprisonment, and the maximum fine has been raised by an additional 400,000 rupees. AsiaNews also reports that the seven Christians are “accused of ‘forced conversions’ at a house celebration.” The group providing legal help to the arrested Christians told UCA News that they applied for bail Dec. 16. A Christian identified as Pastor Jiyalal told UCA News that Christians in the region are experiencing fear. “In most cases, we have found the allegations false,” he said.

MUMBAI, India – Christian families in a village in India say they feel uncertain about Christmas celebrations amid local pressure from Hindu nationalists. The tensions began in on November 24 in the central state of Chhattisgarh, a day after a group of locals did not allow the family of Anthi Mandavi – a 35-year-old local Christian who died from tuberculosis – to perform her burial. According to Newslaundry, Anthi’s brother Charan claimed the police were present but did not intervene after a mob stopped the funeral and the family eventually had to take the body elsewhere for the burial. Station House Officer alias Police Inspector Ganesh Yadav said the police have increased patrolling in the area, which has a population of around 400, following the assault. But local Christians have accused the police of inaction. They said the required report was never lodged, and even the complaint by seven Christian villagers about the assault was “reworded” to link it to a “land dispute” instead of “religious hatred.” A day after the police complaint, the Hindu group that attacked them served all the 23 Christian families a show cause notice referring to their homes – about engaging in “illegal” construction on tribal land. “We were told