Church leaders have expressed their strong disapproval of a pro-Hindu state government’s attempt to clandestinely profile Christian missionaries in a central Indian state. “Some of our institutions indeed got a questionnaire from the local police, but we are yet to reply,” said Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh state. Police are circulating the questionnaire among the Christian community seeking details of missionaries working in the state, the institutions run by them, and their funding sources.“I do not know why single out Christians and collect such details. I see some ulterior motives behind it,” Bishop Almeida told UCA News on Feb. 7. The police want details like the name and address of the individual missionary or institution, work objectives, bank account, and sources of foreign funding. They are also seeking names and phone numbers of those working with the missionary in case he/she runs a non-governmental organization (NGO). The questionnaire also sought to know whether Christians resort to religious conversion activities, which are banned under a stringent anti-conversion law passed by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2021. “We will seek legal opinion before sharing any information as police are trying to gather the information unofficially,” Bishop Almeida said. Most of the information sought is already there in the public

A body bringing together India’s Latin Catholic, Syro-Malabar, and Syro-Malankara bishops deplored Wednesday increasing attacks on the country’s Christian minority. In a six-page statement issued Feb. 7, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) expressed alarm at rising intolerance in Indian society and political life. It said: “Attacks on Christians continue to increase in different parts of India. Destruction of homes and churches, harassment of personnel serving in orphanages, hostels, educational and healthcare institutions on false allegations of conversion have become common.” Christians account for around 2.3% of India’s population, forming the country’s third-largest religious group, after Muslims (14.2%), and Hindus (79.8%). Roughly a third of Indian Christians — more than 20 million people — are Catholic. They belong to three autonomous particular churches: the Latin Church, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Since 2014, India has been led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In April and May this year, India is scheduled to hold general elections, in which Modi will seek a third term in power. In January, the advocacy group Open Doors listed India as the world’s 11th worst country in which to be a Christian. It noted that an increasing number of Indian states were

ROME – In the latest signs of what critics have long described as a deteriorating climate for religious minorities in India under a Hindu nationalist government, several Protestants, including two American nationals, and a Catholic priest have been arrested in separate incidents under the country’s controversial anti-conversion laws. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Father Dominic Pinto of the Lucknow diocese was arrested Feb. 5 along with six Protestants on charges of trying to convert poor Dalits, or “untouchables,” from Hinduism to Christianity, while in Assam, in far northeastern India, two American Baptists were fined Feb. 2 for engaging in religious activities that violated the conditions of their tourist visas. The Americans, named John Matthew Bone and Michael James Flinchum, were not arrested but were compelled to pay a fine of $500. Pinto, meanwhile, and his Protestant companions, remain in custody pending a bail application. According to local media reports, Pinto is the director of the Navintha pastoral center of the Lucknow diocese, which he had agreed to make available to a group called Khrist Bhakts, or “followers of Christ,” composed of Hindus, Muslims and members of other religions who nevertheless find inspiration in Christ and pray to him. Sources said that while the

Police have arrested seven Christians including a Catholic priest and five Protestant pastors for allegedly trying to convert poor Hindus in northern Indian Uttar Pradesh state. Catholic Father Dominic Pinto of Lucknow diocese was arrested with six others on Feb. 5 after a group of hard-line Hindu activists complained to police in Barabanki district. The Hindu activists alleged that a mass religious conversion gathering was held at Navintha, the diocesan pastoral center."There is not an iota of truth" in the allegation, said Father Donald D’Souza, chancellor and spokesperson of Lucknow diocese. Pinto "did not even attend the prayer gathering. He only provided space for it to be held at the pastoral center, which is a normal practice,” D’Souza told UCA News on Feb. 6. D'Souza said people who call themselves “Khrist Bhakts” (followers of Christ), who are not converted to Christianity but follow the teachings of Christ, organize their prayer gatherings. Often they hold such gatherings at the diocesan center. “Nobody is converted or asked to become Christian. But still, police arrested our people,” D’Souza lamented. The police complaint filed at the Deva police station named 15 persons including five women. They were accused of violating the state’s sweeping anti-conversion law. The complainant Brijesh Kumar Vaishya accused them of luring poor Hindus including women and

SRINAGAR: The Kashmir’s oldest missionary St Joseph school is staring at closure as the school administration is struggling to get its land lease, which has expired, renewed and authorities have reportedly refused to register its students for board examinations due to absence of land lease documents. The St Joseph’s Higher Secondary School in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district was established in 1905 on the government land leased to the school management by the authorities. The lease of the land, according to the school management, expired in 2018 and they had approached the concerned government department for renewal of the land lease well before its expiry. “The file including the recommendation of Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla is pending for approval in the office of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir since April 2022,” the school management said. The Lt Governor administration in Jammu and Kashmir in 2022 amended the rules under the Education Act, 2002 to provide for fresh guidelines relating to the use of land and building structures by private schools in the UT. It had ordered that all those private schools which are established on the state land should close the schooling of the enrolled children soon. With authorities not renewing the land lease, the Board of School Education

State Bureau, Raipur. Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai said that he is committed to providing rights to the tribal society. Support the removal (de-listing) of people who have converted from the list of people who get the benefits of reservation. Big injustice is being done to the tribals CM Sai claimed that people from the Scheduled Castes are taking the benefit of up to 70 percent of the reservation given to the Scheduled Tribes. This is the biggest injustice to the tribals. Tribal people need to unite against this, only then the converts can be deprived of the benefits of reservation. Sai said that the tribals who have converted should not get the facilities and benefits of Scheduled Tribes. During discussion with the media, he told that illegal conversion was happening indiscriminately in Kunkuri area. Cow slaughter used to happen, but due to the tireless efforts of Dilip Singh Judev of Jashpur royal family, a campaign was launched to bring the converts back to their Sanatan culture. Illegal religious conversion should be banned – CM Sai Despite being from the royal family, he washed the feet of the converted people and brought them back to Sanatan. Chief Minister Sai alleged that illegal religious conversion was going on in full swing during the previous

Guwahati: Two US nationals, John Matthew Bone and Michael James Flinchum, have been detained by the Assam Police for violating their visa conditions, police sources said. Religious preaching is barred under visa rules and the men were detained on February 2 at the Baptist Christian Hospital in Tezpur. Action was taken after the locals filed a complaint, police sources added. The men were fined $500 each, and the district police have forwarded the case filed at Kacharigaon police station to the police headquarters. It is likely that the US nationals will be deported, sources said. On January 31, the men attended the inauguration of the North Bank Baptist Christian Association office at the Baptish Mission Complex in Tezpur. Sonitpur Additional Superintendent of Police Madhurima Das said the two US citizens took part in a religious meeting on February 1 at Baptist Christian Mission Hospital, reported news agency Press Trust of India. "The police detained them after getting information. We conducted a probe and found them involved in the religious gathering," she was quoted as saying. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had previously asked religious communities to avoid converting indigenous people. "Unfortunately, indigenous communities in India often become the target of conversion efforts by mainstream religions," the Chief

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of a Christian organisation — Tamil Nadu Social Service Society (TASOSS). The non-governmental organisation (NGO) is the second Tamil Nadu-based Christian association whose FCRA registration has been cancelled 2024. According to its website, which is under construction, TASOSS is an official organisation of the Tamil Nadu Catholic Bishops Conference.According to MHA’s order, the NGO is no longer eligible to receive foreign donations and the registration has been cancelled on account of “violation”. The NGO is registered as a “social” organisation. Registered associations can receive foreign contributions for social, educational, religious, economic and cultural programmes. FCRA registration is mandatory to receive foreign donations. The cancellation comes days after MHA revoked the FCRA registration of World Vision India (WVI). Its parent arm, the U.S.-based World Vision, is one of the largest Christian voluntary groups with a presence in over 100 countries. WVI has been operational in India for the past 70 years. Through FCRA, the ministry regulates foreign donations to ensure that such funds do not adversely affect the country’s internal security. Since 2015, the FCRA registration of more than 16,000 NGOs has been cancelled on account of “violation”. As of February

Raipur. A case of holding a healing meeting has come to light in Dokda village of Jashpur. The matter of religious conversion has come to light in the healing meeting. On receiving this complaint, the Dokda police station team immediately reached the spot and arrested a person named Rafael Khalkhon (50). The pastor of the Odisha Christian Missionary absconded before the police arrived. This article is originally published on https://matribhumisamachar.com/en/2024/01/31/one-arrested-after-being-accused-of-religious-conversion-in-healing-meeting/

Christian leaders have termed as “baseless" the allegation of religious conversions made against missionaries by the chief minister of a central Indian state. Vishnu Deo Sai, the new chief minister of Chhattisgarh state, accused Christian missionaries of converting poor people through their charitable works in the education and health sectors. Sai, an indigenous tribal leader assumed the post in December 2023 after his pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party won the assembly elections held on Nov. 17.While addressing a gathering in the state capital Raipur on Jan. 28, Sai made a scathing attack on Christians. “Missionaries are in dominance; they are a dominant force in education and healthcare, and their ramifications are that they promote conversion under the pretext of providing health and education facilities,” Sai said as reported by the Organiser, a mouthpiece of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an umbrella forum of pro-Hindu groups. “It [conversions] will be stopped,” the magazine further quoted Sai. Father Sebastian Poomattam, vicar-general of the Raipur archdiocese in the state capital, said the chief minister's reported statement is "totally baseless.” “It is not expected of a person holding such an important constitutional office to make allegations against a religious minority community without checking the real facts,” he told UCA News on Jan. 31. The priest said there is no denying the fact that Christian missionaries