Tag: Hindutva

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

In India, one case of anti-Christian violence every day

January 21, 2016 India Anti-conversion law, BJP, Chennai, Ghar Wapsi, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, Madhya Pradesh, Vishva Hindu Parishad

Rahul Nayak, 25, the eldest son of Dhubaleswar and Bhubudi Nayak, a Christian couple shot dead in Odisha in July 2015.World Watch Monitor Attacks on Christians in India were reported on an almost daily basis in 2015, according to a Christian advocacy group. “The country saw 355 incidents of . . . Read More

Nepal on verge of curbing religious freedom

August 26, 2015 Nepal Converts, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, Kathmandu, Maoists, Nepal, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, Religious freedom

The final draft of a new constitution was tabled in Nepal’s Constituent Assembly on 22 August amid protests by Hindu nationalists on the streets. They oppose the idea of secularism, which in the South Asian context simply means pluralism and equal treatment of all religions. It now needs approval by . . . Read More

Indian beef ban hits ‘untouchable’ Dalits hardest

March 13, 2015 India Bangalore, Beef, BJP, Dalits, Hindutva, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

A national ban on beef, the cheapest meat in India, would hurt all of India’s tribal peoples.Meena Kadri / Flickr / CC The west Indian state of Maharashtra, run by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), caused a commotion last week when it received Federal approval to enforce . . . Read More

Ahead of Obama’s visit, India’s Christians start hotline on Hindu harassment

January 27, 2015 India Barack Obama, Bihar, BJP, Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Religious freedom, RSS, Tamil Nadu

President Modi welcomes President Barack Obama & Michelle Obama to India on 25 January 2015.Photo: narendramodi.in President Obama ended his visit to India with a speech referring to religious freedom which has been interpreted as an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s treatment of minority faiths, although Modi was . . . Read More

India Hindu leaders turn up ‘reconversion’ rhetoric

December 23, 2014 India BJP, Ghar Wapsi, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, Narendra Modi, RSS, Vishva Hindu Parishad

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in JammuVishal Dutta / Flickr / Creative Commons Ignoring paralyzing opposition in Parliament and private expressions of exasperation from their own political leader, the top leaders of India’s fundamentalist Hindu movement have mounted a vigorous defense of a campaign to bring Christian converts back to . . . Read More

Christmas 2014 ‘evokes not joy but fears’ for India’s Christians

December 18, 2014 India BJP, Christmas, Dharm Jagran Samiti, Good Governance Day, Hindutva, India, Maharashtra, Narendra Modi, RSS, Uttar Pradesh

Christmas is an occasion mostly associated with joy and celebration. But since the start of the holiday season, India’s minority religious groups of Christians and Muslims have been especially under pressure. The Indian Parliament has hardly functioned since the start of December because several opposition lawmakers have been protesting a . . . Read More

Attack on India prayer meeting puts 25 in hospital

October 22, 2014 India Andhra Pradesh, Anti-conversion law, Hindutva, RSS

As Cyclone Hudhud churned toward India’s southeastern coastline earlier this month, about 200 Christians in the path of the storm gathered to pray for safety. Twenty-five of them were hospitalized, three of them with serious injuries — not because of the cyclone, but because of a violent mob that accused . . . Read More

Nepali pastor leaves prison after 2 years for killing a cow

August 29, 2014 Nepal Beef, Hindu nationalism, Hindutva, Nepal, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, Sushil Koirala

We will no longer sit and watch as cows are slaughtered in our sacred land’: Shrinevasacharya. John Hill / Creative Commons A Nepali pastor sentenced to 12 years in prison for slaughtering a cow has been released early after a court declared him not guilty on 17 July. Reverand . . . Read More

Indian villages outlaw Christian practices

July 17, 2014 India BJP, Chhattisgarh, Converts, Hindutva, Vishva Hindu Parishad

Several villages in central India have outlawed the open practice of Christianity – a move of questionable legality yet one that worries church leaders who say it already has encouraged anti-Christian violence. “The situation is becoming worse. The anti-Christian propaganda is becoming stronger,” Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, . . . Read More

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