Kolkata, Feb 20 (PTI) TMC councillor Ananya Banerjee on Tuesday received flak from both her party and opposition BJP for her controversial remarks about the Christian community, with Mayor of Kolkata Firhad Hakim condemning the remarks and seeking an explanation from her. Denouncing her remarks made during a discussion of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Hakim emphasised that the KMC and the Trinamool Congress dissociate themselves from such a view and have taken steps to address the matter internally. He stated, “Yesterday during a discussion on the KMC budget, councillor Ananya Banerjee made a few remarks about a particular community. We condemn such remarks. The party doesn’t endorse her views. Don’t share her views. The TMC’s municipal team has sought an explanation from her.” The comments made by Banerjee, an actor-turned-politician, on Monday have been expunged from the KMC proceedings. Banerjee said that she referred to an “allegorical tale” involving Fathers and Nuns to buttress her point that one should read the KMC budget documents carefully. She also expressed regret if her comments hurt the religious sentiments of anyone.BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh slammed the TMC and Bandyopadhyay for making such remarks against the Christian community. “What business does the Church have in the KMC’s Budget Session?

The decision last month by India’s federal government to “seal” the open border with Myanmar will mainly impact indigenous tribes in the northeast region such as Nagas and Mizos, most of whom are Christians and share ethnic affinity and kinship ties that cut across political borders. There were angry outbursts by most tribal people but many sought to clarify that they “would not like to be seen as causing hurdles” in India's effort to secure its border.Leaders of indigenous people's groups and rights activists met in Dimapur, a commercial city in Nagaland state, on Feb. 16 and condemned the decision to do away with “free movement” across the Myanmar border. "The decision to do away with the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and erect border fencing is not only impractical and dehumanizing to the communities living on both sides of the border but, such an approach may only diminish the prospects for peace and wellbeing in the restive region,” they stated in a letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  Officials in the federal Ministry of Home Affairs said the FMR was scrapped to ensure “the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure” in the northeastern states. India and Myanmar agreed in

The BJP government of Chhattisgarh is going to bring a conversion law. A bill related to this will be introduced in the ongoing session of the Assembly. Cabinet Minister Brijmohan Aggarwal gave information about this in the House on Saturday. Let us tell you that BJP had made conversion the biggest issue in Chhattisgarh assembly elections. Now Vishnu Dev Sal's government is going to bring anti-conversion law in Chhattisgarh. Brijmohan Aggarwal said, 'Cases of conversion are continuously coming to light in Chhattisgarh. Conversion got a lot of protection during the previous Congress government. 34 cases have been registered against conversion, while complaints have been received in more than 3400 cases. However, many officials of the BJP organization are saying that the actual figures of conversion are much higher than this. BJP leaders are claiming that demographic change has taken place in Chhattisgarh due to religious conversion. In such a situation, after the law is made, there may be a ban on conversion somewhere. Congress has reacted on this issue. Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant condemned the conversion law being made without consultation with the opposition. He said, 'The articles of the Constitution given by Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar are being

Maharajganj/Nichalul. The religious conversion was being done at Kuti Tola in Dhamur village adjacent to the India-Nepal border. On Friday, the police raided on the information of an informer and arrested four people who were converting religion. The team also recovered nine books and two Jhal Majeera related to religious conversion from the spot. Area Officer Anuj Kumar Singh said that the police received information from the informer that some poor and scheduled community people were being lured into religious conversion at Kuti Tola in Dhamur village adjacent to the India-Nepal border. On the basis of the above information, police station incharge inspector Satyaprakash Singh and Bahuar police post incharge Manish Kumar Patel along with the team raided. During which it was seen that there was a huge crowd of villagers. Where some people are being converted. Seeing the police, the people who were converting people started running away from the spot. But the police team rushed and arrested four people. Police have recovered nine books and two Jhal Majeera related to religious conversion from the same spot. During interrogation, the four arrested people revealed their names as Vishwanath and Brijlal residents of Dhamur Kuti Tola police station Nichlaul, while Ravindra resident

At least 20 Christians were injured in a village in southern India when a group of Hindus attacked them over a land dispute on Feb. 13, says the top leader of India's Methodist Church. “Our 21 followers were injured" in the violence in Janwada village in Telangana state's Ranga Reddy district, said Bishop M. A. Daniel, who heads the Methodist Church of India.The land dispute is linked to the widening of a public road near the Methodist Church in the village. Bishop Daniel, based in the state capital Hyderabad, told UCA News on Feb. 14 that 12 persons were admitted to a government hospital and three of them were in critical condition.“Nine others received first-aid and were discharged from hospital,” he said. The prelate said he was still clueless about what exactly led to the violence. "But I am sure the truth will come out after the police investigation,” he added. The Christians were agitated over attempts to appropriate church land for the road without their consent, according to a Church official who did not want to be named. The situation worsened when more than 150 local villagers arrived on the scene and confronted them.Arguments turned violent soon and bricks from a nearby construction site were used to attack each other. Police have registered a

After overnight group clashes in Janwada village in which 11 persons were injured, the Cyberabad Commissioner of Police Avinash Mohanty imposed Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibiting gathering of five or more persons. The prohibitory orders will be in force for a full week, starting the noon on February 14 till 11 p.m. on February 21 (Wednesday).As many as 14 people suffered injuries in the clashes involving two parties in Janwada of Shankarpally mandal in Rangareddy district. According to Mokila police inspector B Veera Babu: “The fight broke out between the two parties at around 8 pm on Tuesday on the issue of road widening. The villagers asked to widen the road while the members of the church protested calling it encroaching on their land.” Telangana United Christian Pastors Association (TUCPA) general secretary Goneh Solomon Raj, who along with a delegation of Christian leaders visited the victims at the hospital, said the clashes erupted over laying a cement road that reportedly passed through the church premises. “The villagers wanted to extend eight feet into the church’s land, and an argument rose between between the village sarpanch, Mandal Praja Parishad (MPP), the Ward members and the members of the church,” he said, and

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh govt plans to bring in a legislation to stop "illegal religious conversion" in the state.During a debate on budgetary demands in the assembly on Wed, minister for religious trusts and endowments Brijmohan Agrawal said many forces were "at work to alter the demography of Chhattisgarh". In order to prevent these activities, an anti-conversion bill, titled 'Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill', would be introduced during the current session itself, he announced. Around a fortnight ago, CM Vishnu Deo Sal had alleged that Christian missionaries were carrying out conversion under the garb of healthcare and education. Speaking at a school event, Sai had said the missionaries were "very active" in the state and were "dominating" the two sectors, resulting in a rise in religious conversion. "All this will stop soon, and Hindutva will gain in strength," he had said. BJP has repeatedly declared that it will put an end to conversion by force or allurement. In Nov 2023, a week before the second phase of voting in the assembly polls, home minister Amit Shah had alleged that there was "unfettered religious conversion of tribals in Congress rule". "We will not allow anyone to convert tribals without their consent," Shah had said at

Five Christians are among 21 people arrested in a village in southern India after the recent clashes over a land dispute linked to the widening of a public road near a Methodist Church. The police arrested the 21 people on Feb. 15 and were searching for others who are absconding after the clashes at Janwada village in Ranga Reddy district Telangana state.“Police arrested our five believers and have also registered a case against 19 other Christians based on a complaint from the opposition party,” said Bishop M. A. Daniel, who heads the Methodist Church of India and is based in the state capital Hyderabad. The top leader of India's Methodist Church said around 20 Christians were injured when they were attacked by a group of Hindu villagers on Feb. 13.Those arrested and still absconding are charged with criminal offenses and under the provisions of a special law dealing with atrocities against Dalits or former untouchable people. The Christians were agitated over attempts to appropriate church land for widening a road without their consent, according to a Church official who did not want to be named. The situation worsened when more than 150 villagers arrived on the scene to confront them. Arguments turned violent and the groups attacked each other.More

An Indian Catholic diocese in southern Karnataka state has sought justice for a nun who was sacked from her teaching job under pressure from hardline Hindu groups who alleged she spoke ill of Hindu deities and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Sister Mary Prabha Selvaraj, a teacher at St. Gerosa English Medium Higher Primary School, run by the Sisters of Charity in Mangaluru (formerly Mangalore), was removed on Feb. 12 following protests against her. The protests were led by D. Vedavyas Kamath, a legislator from the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who vowed to continue them until the nun was shown the door.The allegation against Selvaraj was based on an audio clip circulated by a parent on social media. The audio clip reportedly carried the voice of the nun teaching a poem, Work is Worship, by Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian poet who won the Nobel for literature in 1913. The poem stresses that God is not confined to a particular religious place of worship. Soon after the audio clip went viral on social media platforms, there were calls made for boycotting Christian schools.The protesters claimed the nun made derogatory remarks against Hindu deities and the Indian prime minister and caused chaos in the school, which has more than 1,000 students. District administration officials who visited

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the criminal trial in a Madhya Pradesh court against a person accused of forcibly converting a couple and their two children to Christianity. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that the local court proceeded with the trial despite an earlier undertaking by the counsel for Madhya Pradesh before it that nothing will happen in judicial proceedings till January 5. The SC had on December 15, 2023, heard the plea of Christian missionary Ajai Lall challenging his prosecution in the case for the first time. After taking note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lall, the bench had issued notices to the Madhya Pradesh government and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The case was filed by NCPCR after a video of a woman who claimed that she, her husband, and children were asked to convert to Christianity in exchange for money and were harassed by the petitioner when they stopped going to church went viral. This article is originally published on https://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-stays-trial-against-man-for-converting-others-to-christianity-9097358/lite/