Tag: Hindu nationalism

India: ‘pressure from right-wing Hindus’ forced closure of Catholic children’s hostel

September 20, 2017 India Anti-conversion law, Hindu nationalism, India, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh

A children’s hostel owned by the Catholic Church has been closed down by the government in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A priest told Matters India that it was because the authorities are “under mounting pressure from right-wing Hindu groups”. The hostel, in the western district of Guna, allowed . . . Read More

India: two Christian women accused of ‘forced conversions’

September 11, 2017 India Anti-conversion law, Hindu nationalism, India, Jharkhand, Karnataka

Two Christian women in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka have been escorted to a police station by Hindu activists, who accused them of trying to convert other women, despite there being no complaints from the women themselves, reports Asia News. According to the activists, the two women – known . . . Read More

Nepal criminalises conversions and ‘hurting religious sentiment’

August 22, 2017 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Blasphemy, Charikot, Converts, Hindu nationalism, India, Nepal, Proselytism

As Nepal prepares for its first election following the introduction of a new Constitution two years ago, its parliament has passed a Bill criminalising religious conversion and the “hurting of religious sentiment”, as Christian Solidary Worldwide (CSW) reports. Nepal’s Christian minority fears that, once presidential approval is given, the new . . . Read More

Modi accused of hypocrisy after BJP bulldozes through India’s latest ‘anti-conversion law’

August 17, 2017 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Dalits, Gujarat, Hindu nationalism, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Narendra Modi, Rajasthan

Church leaders in India have joined the chorus of protest against the BJP-led government, known for espousing a Hindu nationalist agenda, hurrying through an “anti-conversion law” in the eastern state of Jharkhand. The Freedom of Religion Bill, which was introduced and passed on the same day (12 August) in the . . . Read More

Indian bishop: Hindu nationalists fear ‘another 1947’

August 10, 2017 India BJP, Dharm Jagran Samiti, Hindu nationalism, India, Pakistan

Church in central India destroyed by Hindu extremists (2015). They fear that if Christians grow in number and influence, there will be another Pakistan. (Photo: Open Doors International)

It is concern for the unity and integrity of India and the overwhelming fear of another split like the 1947 partition of Pakistan and India that drives the agenda of the Hindu nationalist movement in India, says Bishop Joseph D’Souza. The bishop, founding president of the ecumenical All India Christian . . . Read More

Indian Christians faced almost as many attacks in first half of 2017 as all of 2016

August 8, 2017 India BJP, Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, India, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Narendra Modi, RSS

In the first six months of 2017, Indian Christians were harassed, threatened or attacked for their faith in 410 reported incidents (248 in the first quarter) – almost as many as the total for the whole of 2016 (441). This is according to figures compiled by partners of Open Doors, . . . Read More

India: Cross desecrations continue in Goa, despite arrest of Catholic ‘culprit’

July 28, 2017 India BJP, Crosses, Goa, Hindu nationalism, India

Crosses continue to be desecrated in the Indian state of Goa, despite the police claiming to have captured the ‘culprit’, a 50-year-old Catholic who, from what police say, appears to be mentally ill. Francis Pereira was arrested on 14 July, but the desecrations have continued, most recently on 27 July . . . Read More

Nepal: Christian worker shot at Easter says he’s still fearful

July 14, 2017 Nepal Catholics, Hindu Morcha Nepal, Hindu nationalism, Kathmandu, Nepal

Three months ago, on 16 April, Christian worker Santosh Khadka was shot in Kathmandu while he was returning home from an Easter service. Police have not been able to identify the attackers, but local Christians say Khadka was targeted because of his religious-freedom work, as some groups in this young democracy . . . Read More

‘Change your image of India from a nice backpacking trip to Taj Mahal!’

June 26, 2017 Bhopal, BJP, Donald Trump, Europe, Hindu nationalism, India, Madhya Pradesh, Narendra Modi, Pakistan, Ram Nath Kovind, Saudi Arabia

India, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan top the list of countries where religious freedom is under pressure, according to the Annual Interim Report 2017 of the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance’s, presented in Brussels last week. “Forget the image of a nice backpacking trip . . . Read More

India’s Christian leaders distance themselves from ruling Hindu nationalists

June 19, 2017 India Beef, BJP, Digital India Day, Good Governance Day, Hindu nationalism, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Narendra Modi

The leaders of India’s Christian minority – 2.3 per cent of India’s 1.3 billion population – have distanced themselves from rumours of increasingly close ties with the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP. The latest rumours began following a meeting between senior Catholic Church leaders and the BJP’s national president, Amit Shah, . . . Read More

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