The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner, Stephen Schneck, urged US President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday to designate India as a “country of particular concern” under the US Religious Freedom Act, citing its alleged oppression of religious minorities overseas. USCIRF Statement, Alleged Murder of Pro-Khalistan Leader The USCIRF released a statement outlining its concerns regarding India’s alleged global oppression of religious minorities and those who advocate for them. “Recent efforts by the Indian government to silence activists, journalists, and lawyers abroad pose a serious threat to religious freedom,” the statement said. As per the statement, “Due to India’s systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief, USCIRF implores the US Department of State to designate India a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).” Schneck referred to the Indian government’s alleged participation in the killing of pro-Khalistan Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, and a conspiracy to assassinate another pro-Khalistan leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in the US, as “deeply troubling.” “We call on the Biden Administration to acknowledge the Indian government’s perpetration of particularly severe religious freedom violations and designate it as a country of particular concern (CPC),” Schneck said. Meanwhile, another USCIRF commissioner, David Curry, claimed India’s extension of domestic

New archbishop appeals to forego unnecessary festivities, share resources with victims of violence Christmas celebrations in the northeast Indian state of Manipur will be a low-key affair this year due to ongoing ethnic violence between the majority Meitei Hindus and Kuki tribal people, who are mostly Christian, since early May. “This year several parishes in our archdiocese will not be able to conduct Christmas services or gatherings among families and loved ones… owing to ethnic violence,” Archbishop Linus Neli of Imphal Archdiocese said. Six days after assuming the new role, Archbishop Neli in a pastoral letter on Dec. 14, appealed “to restrain from glamorous festive celebrations during this Christmas and New Year 2024.” The prelate wanted Catholics to share their resources with displaced people who were living in relief camps by avoiding carol processions, musical evenings, sports and games, and consumerist behavior among other things. Archbishop Neli also urged them to invoke God’s intervention “to bring about a lasting solution, genuine reconciliation, peace and harmony with justice in our state.” Meanwhile, the Manipur state government assured India’s top court that it will facilitate arrangements for Christians living in relief camps to celebrate Christmas. The assurance came during the Dec. 15 hearing in the Supreme Court on a

NEW DELHI, India: Every year on December 18, Minority Rights Day is celebrated in India while the country topped the list of atrocities on minorities. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and lower caste Hindus are forced to live under condition ‘worse’ than human beings in India as more than 20,000 Muslims have been martyred in India from 1964 to 2022. In 2022, 50,000 houses of Muslims were demolished in the state of Hyderabad, and in 2023, 400 incidents of violence against Christians were reported in 23 states of India. Meanwhile, Indian extremists killed hundreds of Christians and burned 600 villages in the Kandhamal district of Orissa. Sikh riots intensified after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, in which around 17,000 Sikhs were eliminated. As per DW, 60,000 crimes against Dalit Hindus were reported in India. On average, an incident of violence against a Dalit occurred every 10 minutes in 2012. National Crime Bureau in India said that over 250,000 hate crimes against lower castes were reported in the last 5 years in the country that claims to be secular, while as per the report of US Institute on Religious Affairs, there have been systematic attacks on Muslims, Dalits and Christians in India. The head of the US

The residence of Former Manipur ASP Thounaojam Brinda has become the epicenter of unrest with an irate mob wreaking havoc and escalating tensions in Yaiskul in Imphal West. Furious crowd gathered outside Brinda's house, expressing their discontent and issuing a strict ultimatum. Torbung United Club (TUC) has taken a firm stand, demanding clarification and a public apology from the former Manipur ASP by tomorrow 12 AM. Brinda stands accused of leveling allegations against Arambai Tenggol accusing them of orchestrating the burning of abandoned Meitei houses and properties in areas under Torbung Gram Panchayat on May 3, the day Manipur witnessed violent clashes. The controversy revolves around a viral audio clip in which Brinda, in conversation with an individual she refers to as uncle, makes the serious accusations against Arambai Tenggol, further labeling the group as private militias linked to Chief Minister N Biren. However, the authenticity of the audio clip, as well as the exact date and time of the conversation, remains undetermined. Residents of Torbung Bangla, fueled by anger, have issued a two-day ultimatum to Brinda, demanding a retraction of her statements and a public apology to the community. The ultimatum, prompted by recent events, requires Brinda to issue an apology by

Agartala: A joint body of several Tripura NGOs working for the tribal welfare on Sunday condemned the rally called by Janajati Suraksha Mancha, an independent right-wing organisation to withdraw the ST status of tribal people who converted to Christianity. The body under the banner Joint Action Committee of Civil Societies (JACCS) vehemently opposed the rally slated on December 25, the day of Christmas, stating that the cause of the rally was against the state’s secular fabric. According to a press statement issued by JACCS, it is a non-political and secular platform constituted in 2011 with the participation of NGOs and student organisations for working cohesively for the interest of indigenous people. The constituents of the body include the TSF (Twipra Students Federation), the UTF (United Tiprasa Forum), the TDWS (Tripuri Doctors Welfare Society), the TEST (Tipra Engineers’ Society, Tripura), the TILA (Tripura Indigenous Lawyers Association), the BPHRO (Borok People Human Rights Organization) and the PSS (Pantwi Sporting Society). “The indigenous people of Tripura have believed in Hinduism, Christianity and Animism for a long time but still live peacefully together without any clash among them on the religious ground. This is the first time in our state any organisation has raised such sensitive religious

New Delhi: “Propagating religion and promoting good things about religion is not a crime,” a local court in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district noted on December 14 as it granted bail to six persons, including two south Indian-origin social workers, accused of converting lower caste and marginalised members of the Hindu community to Christianity through allurements and inducements. In the last two weeks, police in eastern UP have arrested at least four persons hailing from south Indian states on charges of allegedly trying to convert backward caste and tribal Hindus through allurements of providing them a better life and free education and health facilities. In the first case, lodged in the backward Sonbhadra district, on the complaint of an office-bearer of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, police booked 42 persons under Sections 3 and 5 (1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Nine persons, including a person from Andhra Pradesh and one from Tamil Nadu, were arrested. In another case, police in Sant Kabir Nagar on December 11 arrested a couple originally from Kerala on charges of allegedly alluring a woman from the backward caste Nishad community to convert and for insulting Hindu deities. “They were creating a situation of

India is ranked as the eleventh-worst country for the persecution of Christians in the Open Doors World Watch annual ranking, with the United Christian Forum (UCF), an Indian Christian body, reporting an average of two anti-Christian incidents per day in the country. According to the UCF, which offers a toll-free helpline service (1-800-208-4545) to those in distress and unfamiliar with the law and system, there were 147 incidents of violence against Christians in 2014. The numbers increased to 177 in 2015, 208 in 2016, 240 in 2017, 292 in 2018, 328 in 2019, 279 in 2020, 505 in 2021, 599 in 2022, and 687 in 2023 until November. “This is in spite of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees the right to choose any religion of one’s choice. In our country, today, we have so called “Freedom of Religion Acts” which is popularly known as “anti- conversion laws” in 11 out of the 28 states wherein a person living in India is expected to seek permission from the government to follow a religion of his/her choice by filing written information to a revenue officer in contravention to UN convention,” read a note by United Christian Forum. From January to November 2023,

India witnessed at least two attacks against Christians on each day this year, a sharp hike compared with 2014 when the pro-Hindu party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, an anti-persecution group has said. “This is despite Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guaranteeing the right to choose any religion of one's choice,” said A C Michael, convenor of the New Delhi-based United Christian Forum  (UCF) that tracks violence against Christians in India. Eleven out of 28 Indian states, most of them ruled by Modi’s party — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — have enacted anti-conversion laws ironically naming them as “freedom of religion acts,” he said The anti-conversion law stipulates that conversion candidates inform district authorities of their plan to change religion 30 days before the planned conversion ceremony. Candidates also have to prove that they have not been forced or “allured” into changing faith. Violators face a jail term of up to five years and a fine.   Under the sweeping law, a person is expected to seek “permission from the government to follow a religion of his/her choice by filing a written application,” Michael told UCA News. He said the UCF has collected details on 687 incidents of violence against Christians from 23 states up to November this

Invoking the alleged official Indian hand in the assassination an overseas Khalistani militant and plots to extend such killings -- even before any culpability has been established in the matter -- a US religious freedom watchdog has called on the Biden administration to designate India as a "country of particular concern" and sanctions under the US Religious Freedom Act. In its annual report earlier this year, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal government commission, had already recommended that the administration impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for "severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and/ or barring their entry into the United States." It pushed the case again on Friday, saying, “The Indian government’s alleged involvement in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States are deeply troubling, and represent a severe escalation of India’s efforts to silence religious minorities and human rights defenders both within its country and abroad." USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck said in a statement that the Commission is "alarmed by India’s increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf." Recent efforts

The Supreme Court today (15.5.2023) directed the State of Manipur to furnish to the court appointed committee steps it had taken to restore the places of worship which had been destructed in the ethnic violence. The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra also recorded the assurance given by Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta that necessary steps would be taken so that all those in relief camps could celebrate the upcoming festival of Christmas Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for Meitei Christian Churches Council, submitted that the court-appointed committee for rehabilitation in the State headed by Justice Gita Mittal had made certain recommendations to restore the places of worship and requested the court to accept the same. Ahmadi clarified that the relief was sought regarding places of worship of all communities and not confined to any particular religion. The CJI asked–"What is being done by State to protect the places of worship that were vandalised? What is the state doing to restore?" To this, ASG Bhati submitted that the State of Manipur had filed a detailed affidavit as per which the process of identification of destroyed places of worship and subsequent securing of the same had already been done.