Tag: Maoists

Nepal: 4 more churches attacked

May 16, 2018 Nepal Hindu nationalism, Maoists, Nepal, UN

A church in Nepal has been bombed and three other churches attacked by arsonists over a five-day period, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Arsonists attacked Hebron Church in Hilihang Rural Municipality, in Nepal’s eastern district of Panchthar, on 9 May; Emmanuel Church, Doti, in the country’s far west, on 10 . . . Read More

Tributes paid to Indian pastor beheaded by suspected Maoists

May 2, 2018 India India, Jharkhand, Maoists

The body of a pastor was found beheaded on the shore of a reservoir in eastern India this morning (2 May), hours after he was abducted by around 25 masked men whom police believe to be Maoists. Residents of Kubasal village, in the Tamar area of Jharkhand state, identified the . . . Read More

India: ‘Kandhamal seven’ appeal hearings postponed

October 16, 2017 India Hindu nationalism, India, Kandhamal, Maoists, Odisha

Seven “innocent” Christians serving prison sentences for the 2008 murder of a Hindu leader in India’s eastern Odisha state have had their appeal hearings “once again” postponed, according to a Catholic journalist campaigning for their release. The seven men, who are from the Kandhamal district of Odisha, were convicted in . . . Read More

UPDATE: Compensation for family of Indian Christian couple shot dead in anti-Maoist crossfire

January 6, 2017 India Hindu nationalism, Hyderabad, Kandhamal, Maoists, Odisha, Police

Update 6 Jan. 2017: The Human Rights Commission of the eastern Indian state of Odisha has ordered the state government to pay one million rupees (US$14,720) in compensation to the six children of a Baptist couple shot dead allegedly by a federal paramilitary force in July 2015. Dhubaleswar Nayak, 50, and . . . Read More

India: Naxalites to blame for latest murder

August 3, 2016 India BJP, Hindu nationalism, India, Maoists, Naxalites, Telangana

Another Indian pastor has been killed, but this time Hindu extremism was not to blame. Instead, the murder of Yohan Maria Kumar in Telangana on 29 July came reportedly at the hands of a Maoist group, the Naxalites – another group that has been . He leaves a wife and four . . . Read More

Nepal on verge of curbing religious freedom

August 26, 2015 Nepal Converts, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, Kathmandu, Maoists, Nepal, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, Religious freedom

The final draft of a new constitution was tabled in Nepal’s Constituent Assembly on 22 August amid protests by Hindu nationalists on the streets. They oppose the idea of secularism, which in the South Asian context simply means pluralism and equal treatment of all religions. It now needs approval by . . . Read More

Kandhamal couple’s shooting evokes darkest memories for India’s Christians

August 20, 2015 India Hindu nationalism, Hyderabad, Kandhamal, Maoists, Odisha, Police

Human rights groups claim a Christian couple were shot dead by Indian federal security forces last month, while they were speaking on the phone to their son on a mountain in the eastern state of Odisha – formerly known as Orissa. The alleged murder of Dhubaleswar (50) and Bhubudi (45) . . . Read More

Nepal’s long-delayed transition to democracy worries its Christians

April 27, 2015 Nepal Burial, Constitution, Kathmandu, Maoists, Sushil Koirala

As Nepal struggles to respond to the massive earthquake and aftershocks during the weekend that left thousands dead, the world has offered aid to a country which is still one of the poorest and most isolated in Asia, despite its attractive image for mountaineers and Western backpackers. It’s still overcoming . . . Read More

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