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
Indian Christian educators denied bail in conversion case
The Lal brothers are accused of funding mass conversion activity in northern Uttar Pradesh A photograph of an event underway at the Evangelical Church of India Church in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh's Harihar Ganj district A top court in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh has denied anticipatory bail to two top Christian educators accused of mass conversion. Rajendra Bihari Lal, the vice chancellor of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, and his brother, Vinod Bihari Lal, who serves as the director at the university, had moved an application in the Allahabad High Court seeking anticipatory bail when police summoned them for interrogation earlier this month. Justice Manju Rani Chauhan of the Allahabad High Court on Feb. 28 noted that there was material evidence against the duo and hence their application “stands rejected.” Police have been investigating a complaint of mass conversion reported at Harihar Ganj in the state’s Fatehpur district on April 14, 2022, which happened to be the Maundy Thursday. The judge while elaborating on the grounds for rejecting their bail application said the intent behind the charitable works undertaken by the Lal brothers appears to be dubious, affecting the lives of marginal sections of society as reported in the alleged case
Indian pastor, wife held for alleged religious conversion
Activists say police in Uttar Pradesh arrested the couple after being pressured to do so by a Hindu mob Christians pray during a Good Friday service in Delhi on March 30, 2018 Indian police have arrested a Protestant pastor and his wife for allegedly indulging in religious conversions, say Christian leaders. Police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where a sweeping anti-conversion law is in force, arrested Pastor Santosh John and his wife, Jiji John, on Feb. 26 based on a complaint by Bajrang Dal, an ultra-Hindu outfit. “Pastor John and his wife were summoned in the morning for questioning and were freed later in the evening. But they were arrested after a mob protested in front of the police station,” Minakshi Singh, a Christian activist, told UCA News on Feb. 28. John and his wife were holding a prayer service in a rented basement in Indrapuram in Uttar Pradesh near India’s capital New Delhi when the mob created a ruckus and accused them of religious conversion. The couple appeared before a magistrate on Feb. 28 and were denied bail. Singh, general secretary of Unity in Compassion, a charity based in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, said, “Pastor John and his wife are lodged in the
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
Religious event disrupted by cyclone in Jashpur district of Chhasttisgarh state
A religious event organized to forcefully convert the Christian converts to Hinduism was disrupted by an unusual cyclone. The cyclone destroyed the temporary shade structure under which the event was taking place. Religious event disrupted by cyclone
Indian archdiocese alleges minorities cut from voter list
Bangalore archdiocese says thousands of Christians, Muslims deleted from electoral roll ahead of Karnataka state polls Several thousand voters belonging to religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims have been allegedly removed from electoral rolls in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, say Catholic leaders. The state, where the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) runs the government, is headed for polls in May and Christian leaders suspect deleting minority voters could be a strategy to retain power. A delegation from Bangalore archdiocese on Feb. 15 submitted a memorandum to the state's chief electoral officer (CEO) saying a total of 9,195 voters' names were removed from electoral rolls of the Shivajinagar constituency in the state capital, Bengaluru. At least Some 8,000 names were of Christians and Muslims, the memorandum said. “We fear that [voters lists for] many constituencies across Bengaluru city could have tampered with impunity. If such mischief is allowed to carry on unchecked, the confidence of the people in the electoral process will be destroyed beyond measure,” J. A. Kanthraj, public relations officer of the Archdiocese of Bangalore, told UCA News. He said it appeared to be clear manipulation to prevent Christians and Muslims from casting their votes in the upcoming elections. Repeated attempts by UCA
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
