Demand to scrap welfare benefits for India’s tribal Christians
Hindu nationalist group in northeast Assam state calls conversion to foreign religion threat to indigenous faith, culture A Hindu nationalist organization has asked the Indian government to end welfare benefits to indigenous people who have embraced Christianity and Islam, which they say are foreign-origin religions. Binud Kumbang, working president of the Janajati Dharma Sanskriti Suraksha Mancha, an affiliate of the pro-Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh working among indigenous communities, told a gathering in northeastern Assam state, that “conversion of indigenous people to foreign religions has been a threat” to the faith and culture of indigenous people, who constitute 8.6 percent of India’s 1.3 billion population. “The converted people completely give up their original tribal culture, customs, rituals, and traditions,” he told the gathering in Guwahati city of Assam on March 26. Kumbang and his organization claim to be working to liberate indigenous communities "from the clutches of foreign religions." In India, Christianity and Islam are considered foreign-origin religions, while Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism are said to be of indigenous origin. Indigenous people are classed as scheduled tribes while Dalits, former untouchables, are called scheduled caste. As part of the affirmative action plan devised in 1948, the federal and provincial governments provide social benefits like reservations in legislative
US report censures Indian states’ anti-conversion laws
USCIRF has called for repealing the laws to comply with the global human rights regime of which India is a signatory The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called for the repeal of anti-conversion laws in India that have been enacted by state governments and often misused to prosecute Christians in the country. The commission, a US federal government entity, on March 14 said in its latest report, compiled after an extensive study, that the sweeping anti-conversion laws in India are inconsistent with the international human rights regime. More Indian states are considering introducing such laws, it added. The commission has recommended that the US State Department designate India as a country of “particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act. According to the report, anti-conversion laws are in force in 12 of India’s 28 states. “The anti-conversion laws also worsen religious freedom conditions in India, which are already poor,” the report said. “Such laws enable and embolden existing government harassment, vigilante violence, and discrimination against religious minorities, as well as crackdowns on civil society organizations,” it noted. It has also stressed the need for repealing these laws to comply with international human rights treaties to which India is a signatory. The report comes at
114-year-old Christian hospital in Uttar Pradesh faces harassment
Fatehpur, March 10, 2023: A Christian hospital that has served a northern Indian city for more than a century faces closure after it became a victim of religious bigotry since one year. The Broadwell Christian Hospital in Fatehpur has faced “physical, mental, and emotional abuse due to the false allegations of forceful religious conversions,” bemoans Sujith Varghese Thomas, the institutions senior administrative officer. Fatehpur, a city situated between the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh state, is some 550 km southeast of New Delhi. Some Hindu nationalist groups have accused the hospital of indulging in forcible religious conversions, which the hospital authorities say are false allegations. In “an open letter” to the media, Thomas claims the hospital that provides dedicated service in social development and healthcare has remained a “vital resource” for the local community for the past 114 years. “For over a century, the hospital, its staff and its management have shared a fraternal bond with the community – something that goes beyond mere doctor and patient association. This bond is a deep two-way relationship of care, of trust, of service and of dignity – the metaphorical blood flow that has kept us connected, healthy, motivated and in service through the years,” adds
UP: Bajrang Dal Activists Allege ‘Forced Conversions’; Vandalise Church, Assault Worshippers
New Delhi: A group of Bajrang Dal activists on February 19 allegedly vandalised a church, and assaulted and threatened the worshippers, in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district, claiming the church was carrying out “forced religious conversions”. The incident took place at the Himalayan Evangelical Mission. “A group of 50-60 men, armed with rods and sticks, came and disrupted our prayer on February 19. They hit me and my son with rods, accusing us of converting Hindus into Christians in the church,” pastor Satyen Bishwakarma told The Wire. The pastor added that he and his family have been living in constant fear as the Siddharthnagar police have refused to register a first information report against the Bajrang Dal. However, as on March 5, an FIR has still not been lodged by the police. A woman, who belongs to the Dalit community and requested anonymity as she was allegedly threatened by the Bajrang Dal, told The Wire that she was beaten up by the group. She added that they even warned her not to come back to the church. “Why haven’t the police registered an FIR against them? The police saw everything when they came [to the church] but did not intervene, they were seen supporting the group [Bajrang
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 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
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
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
