Since the Hindu nationalist BJP came to power in 2014, radical Hinduism has increased steadily. Several states outlaw proselytism, and there have been efforts to impose such so-called “anti-conversion laws” at a national level. The violence of radical Hindu groups or angry mobs of villagers is often allowed by local, state and national authorities dominated by the BJP. This means the Hindu radicals can act with increasing impunity.
India: Eight Christians acquitted of kidnapping and forced conversion
Two and a half years after they were arrested, an Indian court has acquitted eight Christians accused of kidnapping and forced conversion of 60 children, reports the Catholic news site UCAN. Their case was dismissed 18 February by the criminal court in Ratlam in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. […]
India: Supreme Court orders seven Kandhamal Christians freed on bail after 9 years in prison
Eleven years ago today, 13 December 2008, an Indian man was arrested. Initially, he suspected it would be quickly resolved – he was active in local politics and assumed it was for something minor connected to that. But it was to be over ten years before he would get his […]
India: Supreme Court orders Kandhamal Christian freed on bail after 10 years in prison
Gornath Chalanseth, one of seven Christians jailed for life for the murder of a Hindu swami in the Kandhamal district of Odisha state in eastern India, has been freed on bail by India’s Supreme Court yesterday, May 21. The seven – three of whom are Dalits, the other four tribals […]
India: Christian convert killed and left on the road, beheaded
An Indian man who had become a Christian last year was killed and beheaded in eastern India earlier this month, reports Persecution Relief. On 11 February, Anant Ram Gand, 40, was taken from his home in the village of Raigarh Tehsil, in the district of Nabarangapur, Odisha, by three men […]
‘Situation for India’s religious minorities is at tipping point’ – report
A report by a religious freedom watchdog shows a dramatic increase in the number of attacks on Christians and Muslims in India in the last four years and “the situation … is at a tipping point”. The number of reported incidents in the first three months of 2018 was greater […]
India: Life sentence for top politician gives hope for justice for Kandhamal Christians
Rights activists say the lifetime prison sentence given to a top politician in India on 17 December for his involvement in the riots that led to the killing of thousands of Sikhs in 1984, gives hope to India’s Christian minority still waiting for justice, reports Matters India. The High Court […]
Indian Christians heave sighs of relief as Hindu nationalists lose elections in key states
Christians can heave sighs of relief as the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP has been thrown out of power in three key states in central India that have reported dozens of incidents of anti-Christian violence and harassment. The BJP, which had enjoyed unstinted power in two of the states – Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh – for 15 […]
India: Christians’ names missing from electoral lists
Hundreds of Christians in India’s Madhya Pradesh state found their names missing from the lists of voters in elections for the State Assembly on 28 November, AsiaNews reports. One of them was the Bishop of Bhopal, Leo Cornelio, who told AsiaNews that after waiting at the polling station for 45 […]
Indian Christian forum demands withdrawal of ‘bogus’ charges of forced conversions
The Christian Forum of Chhattisgarh state in India called on its political parties to commit to ensuring freedom of religion, as elections for the state’s legislative house took place yesterday (12 November), Catholic news agency UCAN reported. Meanwhile, several attacks on Christians were reported in the first week of this […]
Record anti-Christian violence in India’s most populous state
India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, saw a “record level” of anti-Christian violence last month, according to a survey by Violence Monitor, a monthly magazine that reports incidents of violence against minorities, as reported by AsiaNews. The magazine revealed that out of 25 cases of religious intolerance reported in the […]