Another Indian state set to pass anti-conversion bill

Another Indian state set to pass anti-conversion bill
The northern Indian state of Uttarakhand is the latest to approve a so-called “anti-conversion bill”, reports India’s Hindustan Times. If the legislation passes into law at the state assembly later this month Uttarakhand will join Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Jharkhand in having anti-conversion laws. Rajasthan, Arunachal . . . Read More

2017 ‘one of the most traumatic years for Indian Christians’

Hindu radicals burn a dummy replica of local Jharkhand Archbishop, Cardinal Telephore Toppo of Ranchi. (Photo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of India)
The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has described 2017 as “one of the most traumatic” years for Indian Christians in a decade after it recorded 351 verified incidences of hate crimes against Christians during the year. The Religious Liberty Commission of the EFI, which brings together Christians from more than . . . Read More

India: Catholic bishops warn against Hindu nationalism as religious hate crimes rise

India: Catholic bishops warn against Hindu nationalism as religious hate crimes rise
An acknowledgement by India’s BJP-led government that there has been a rise in religion-based hate crime has coincided with a warning from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) about the dangers to the country of a Hindu-nationalist agenda. Statistics revealed in India’s parliament on 6 February confirmed a long-standing . . . Read More

India: Catholic schools under pressure in Madhya Pradesh

India: Catholic schools under pressure in Madhya Pradesh
A Catholic school in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has received threats from Hindu nationalists, who claim children at the school were punished for singing patriotic songs – the third school to come under pressure this month. The nationalists claimed around 30 students at the St. Joseph Convent . . . Read More

India: Catholic college attacked after refusing to perform Hindu rites

Indian school children are taking a 'selfie'. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
A large group of Hindu nationalists clashed with police on 4 January outside a Catholic college in Vidisha, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, after they tried to force the school to carry out a Hindu religious ritual. More than 900 members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, . . . Read More

India’s top Catholic on Hindutva attacks: ‘country being divided on basis of religious belief’

India’s top Catholic on Hindutva attacks: ‘country being divided on basis of religious belief’
The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, has expressed a lack of trust in the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the leader of the ruling BJP – known for pursuing a Hindu nationalistic agenda. “The country is being divided on the . . . Read More

Indian ‘converted by carol singers’ now claims membership of militant Hindu group

Indian ‘converted by carol singers’ now claims membership of militant Hindu group
An Indian man who claimed a group of carol singers illegally converted him has now said he is a member of the militant Hindu group Bajrang Dal and is unwilling to confirm his allegation. The complaint made last Thursday (14 December) to the police by Dharmendra Dohar led to the . . . Read More

India carol singers arrested for ‘trying to convert people to Christianity’

India carol singers arrested for ‘trying to convert people to Christianity’
Six carol singers have been arrested in India after they were accused of trying to convert people to Christianity. The carol singers, one of whom is a professor at a Catholic theological college, insisted they were only singing songs, but a Hindu man alleged he had been told to “worship . . . Read More