Tag: Anti-conversion law

Anti-Christian violence in India at an ‘alarming level’

August 2, 2016 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Hindu nationalism, Madhya Pradesh, Narendra Modi, Pentecostals

A message is held aloft at a protest march against anti-Christian violence – in Bangalore in February 2015.World Watch Monitor The leader of a Christian advocacy group in India says that incidents of anti-Christian violence in the country have reached an “alarming level”, with more than 30 incidents a . . . Read More

Nepal: amending conversion law ‘not enough’

May 17, 2016 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Converts, Hindu nationalism, Nepal

In Nepal, a campaign to reduce official penalties for religious conversion doesn’t go far enough, . Father Silas Bogati, vicar general of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal, criticised a campaign that last week delivered 40,000 letters from the public asking Parliament to reduce penalties for converting someone from another religion. . . . Read More

India: fines for saying ‘Christian’ prayers

February 8, 2016 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Converts, Hindu nationalism, India, Madhya Pradesh

Four people have received fines for practising Christianity from a village council in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the men, Shankar Singh, that they were fined 5,000 rupees (US$75) each. The arrests followed accusations by a Hindu group that the people at the gathering were attempting to . . . Read More

Indian priest in critical condition after attack

February 4, 2016 India Anti-conversion law, Converts, India, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh

An Indian priest is in a critical condition in hospital, after he and three lay officials were attacked by a mob in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, . Fr. Jose Kannumkuzhy and the laymen were attacked by a group of around 35 men, as they waited in a car . . . Read More

In India, one case of anti-Christian violence every day

January 21, 2016 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chennai, Ghar Wapsi, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, Madhya Pradesh, Vishva Hindu Parishad

Rahul Nayak, 25, the eldest son of Dhubaleswar and Bhubudi Nayak, a Christian couple shot dead in Odisha in July 2015.World Watch Monitor Attacks on Christians in India were reported on an almost daily basis in 2015, according to a Christian advocacy group. “The country saw 355 incidents of . . . Read More

Anti-conversion laws threaten another Indian state

October 15, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, Gumla, Hindu nationalism, India, Jharkhand, Vishva Hindu Parishad

Hindu extremists have called for “anti-conversion laws” to be introduced in India’s Jharkhand state, after local media reported that 300 tribals had converted to Christianity. But Catholic Cardinal Telesphore Toppo told UCA News the reports were false and that the indigenous people were already Christians. Jharkhand has a higher than . . . Read More

Indian Parliamentarians propose ban on conversions

October 6, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, Beef, BJP, Himachal Pradesh, Hindu nationalism, Hindu Yuva Vahini, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand

Two cows, a sacred animal for Hindus, stand outside a church in Anjuna Flea Market in Goa.Eustaquio Santimano / Flickr / CC Two members of India’s ruling BJP party, one in the Lower and one in the Upper House of the national Parliament, plan to introduce a Private Members’ . . . Read More

India’s Christians are under attack

September 11, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalism, Kandhamal, Madhya Pradesh, Naxalites, Odisha, Pune, Punjab, Raipur

Rahul Nayak, 25, the eldest son of Dhubaleswar and Bhubudi Nayak, a Christian couple shot dead in Odisha in July.Campaign Against Fabricated Cases The number of violent attacks on Christians and churches in India increased over the summer months. Below, World Watch Monitor lists 18 incidents from July, August and . . . Read More

Sixth Indian state seeks to adopt ‘anti-conversion law’

September 11, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Hindu nationalism, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha

A sixth Indian state is debating the introduction of an “anti-conversion law”. Maharashtra would follow Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in implementing a Freedom of Religion Act, which seems harmless in name, but in practice discourages evangelism, as Vishal Arora reports in the video below. Learn more: . . . Read More

Indian police beat Christian evangelists

March 4, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Police, Rajasthan, RSS

Swollen, reddened wrists and hands displayed after release from police custody Feb. 25 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.Photo provided by People’s Union for Civil Liberties Twenty Christian men on an evangelical mission in north-western India last week were illegally detained and tortured by police, according to a human rights group . . . Read More

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