Tag: Hindu nationalism

Indian Church denies rumours it supports Hindu nationalist party

January 7, 2016 India BJP, Hindu nationalism, Pune, RSS, Sangh Parivar

Indian church leaders have expressed shock and surprise after an article was published claiming dozens of bishops attended the launch of a Christian forum by a Hindu nationalist organisation. The church leaders dismissed the report as propaganda, saying four bishops attended a Christmas gathering they did not know was an . . . Read More

Indian Christians frustrated by Good Governance Day ‘distraction’ at Christmas

December 22, 2015 India BJP, Christmas, Good Governance Day, Hindu nationalism, Kerala, Maharashtra, Pune

Thousands of Santa Clauses parade through the streets of Thrissur, Kerala state, in 2014.World Watch Monitor Church leaders have joined critics of a controversial move by the government of India’s second-most populous state to hold “Good Governance Day” observances on Christmas Day. “Holding programmes to promote Good Governance is . . . Read More

Indian nationalists blame other faiths as census shows Hindus in decline

December 6, 2015 India Arunachal Pradesh, BJP, Hindu nationalism, Kerala, RSS, Vishva Hindu Parishad

John Dayal speaks at a protest marking 300 days of Narendra Modi’s government in March, 2015Photo: Anto Akkara Hindu nationalists have hit out at Christians and Muslims in India, after the number of adherents to “Bharatiya” (traditionally Indian) faiths fell, according to the recently released results of the 2011 . . . Read More

India: village church attacked, Christians hospitalised

November 6, 2015 India Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalism, Pentecostals

Several Christians were hospitalised after the incident in Chhattisgarh state.Courtesy Open Doors International Several Christians were hospitalised and others forced to reconvert to Hinduism, after a village church in India’s central Chhattisgarh state was attacked by Hindu hardliners. The Christians from the Independent Pentecostal Church in Kohkameta were attacked . . . Read More

Anti-conversion laws threaten another Indian state

October 15, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, Gumla, Hindu nationalism, India, Jharkhand, Vishva Hindu Parishad

Hindu extremists have called for “anti-conversion laws” to be introduced in India’s Jharkhand state, after local media reported that 300 tribals had converted to Christianity. But Catholic Cardinal Telesphore Toppo told UCA News the reports were false and that the indigenous people were already Christians. Jharkhand has a higher than . . . Read More

Indian Parliamentarians propose ban on conversions

October 6, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, Beef, BJP, Himachal Pradesh, Hindu nationalism, Hindu Yuva Vahini, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand

Two cows, a sacred animal for Hindus, stand outside a church in Anjuna Flea Market in Goa.Eustaquio Santimano / Flickr / CC Two members of India’s ruling BJP party, one in the Lower and one in the Upper House of the national Parliament, plan to introduce a Private Members’ . . . Read More

Churches bombed as Nepal stays secular

September 15, 2015 Nepal Converts, Hindu Morcha Nepal, Hindu nationalism, Jhapa, Nepal, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal

Nepal’s Constituent Assembly rejected calls to revert the country to a Hindu state on Monday (14 Sep.), sparking violent protests, reports AP. Bombs went off at two churches in Nepal’s easternmost Jhapa district late on 14 Sep. The churches suffered structural damage, but nobody was hurt, according to The Kathmandu . . . Read More

NE India – Manipur violence sparks fears of religious conflict

September 14, 2015 India Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Hindu nationalism, India, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Naga, Nagaland, Tripura

India’s north-east corner consists of seven states* linked to the rest of the country by a narrow strip of land: tribal peoples there perceive themselves to be very different – in culture, identity, and even looks – from the rest of India. One state, Manipur, on the Myanmar border and . . . Read More

India’s Christians are under attack

September 11, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalism, Kandhamal, Madhya Pradesh, Naxalites, Odisha, Pune, Punjab, Raipur

Rahul Nayak, 25, the eldest son of Dhubaleswar and Bhubudi Nayak, a Christian couple shot dead in Odisha in July.Campaign Against Fabricated Cases The number of violent attacks on Christians and churches in India increased over the summer months. Below, World Watch Monitor lists 18 incidents from July, August and . . . Read More

Sixth Indian state seeks to adopt ‘anti-conversion law’

September 11, 2015 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Hindu nationalism, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha

A sixth Indian state is debating the introduction of an “anti-conversion law”. Maharashtra would follow Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in implementing a Freedom of Religion Act, which seems harmless in name, but in practice discourages evangelism, as Vishal Arora reports in the video below. Learn more: . . . Read More

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