India Hindu leaders turn up ‘reconversion’ rhetoric

India Hindu leaders turn up ‘reconversion’ rhetoric
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in JammuVishal Dutta / Flickr / Creative Commons   Ignoring paralyzing opposition in Parliament and private expressions of exasperation from their own political leader, the top leaders of India’s fundamentalist Hindu movement have mounted a vigorous defense of a campaign to bring Christian converts back to . . . Read More

Christmas 2014 ‘evokes not joy but fears’ for India’s Christians

Christmas 2014 ‘evokes not joy but fears’ for India’s Christians
Christmas is an occasion mostly associated with joy and celebration. But since the start of the holiday season, India’s minority religious groups of Christians and Muslims have been especially under pressure. The Indian Parliament has hardly functioned since the start of December because several opposition lawmakers have been protesting a . . . Read More

Indian Christian man forced to separate from Hindu wife by right-wing activists

Indian Christian man forced to separate from Hindu wife by right-wing activists
Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat state, at a BJP rally in 2009.Flickr / Al Jazeera English / Creative Commons   An Indian couple who married Sept. 26 had their marriage annulled five days later by police under pressure from Hindu nationalists. The couple, Joseph Pawar and Ayushi Wani, were . . . Read More

An old story under India’s new government

An old story under India’s new government
The Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, is the political home to India’s Hindu nationalist movement. Following rallies such as this one in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, in May, the BJP rolled to landslide victories in national parliamentary elections.Narendra Modi / Flickr / Creative Commons   More than 600 attacks on minority . . . Read More

Indian villages outlaw Christian practices

Indian villages outlaw Christian practices
Several villages in central India have outlawed the open practice of Christianity – a move of questionable legality yet one that worries church leaders who say it already has encouraged anti-Christian violence. “The situation is becoming worse. The anti-Christian propaganda is becoming stronger,” Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, . . . Read More

Pressure on Christians grew in 2013

Pressure on Christians grew in 2013
More than ever, some of the hardest places for Christians to live are fragile or failed states where militant Islamist movements flourish, according to an annual report on Christian religious freedom. Pressure on Christians intensified worldwide in 2013, according to Open Doors International, a charity that provides support to Christians . . . Read More