Tag: India

Gender equality suffers under faith restrictions

October 8, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, Women

The rights of women and girls declines rapidly, the greater a country’s level of religious intolerance, a new study claims. The study is by the Religious Freedom and Business Association, run by Brian Grim, former Pew Research Centre Religion expert. He analysed data from Pew’s Government Restrictions on Religion Index . . . Read More

Nepal Christians arrested for “forced conversions”

June 24, 2014 Nepal Converts, Hindu nationalism, India, Nepal

More than 40 Protestant Christian leaders have been arrested for allegedly “forcing the conversions of Hindus.” Nepalese Hindu leaders filed the complaint and the arrest occurred on June 13. A few hours after the arrest, however, most of the detainees were released, though eight leaders remained in custody until June . . . Read More

India’s government has to limit Hindu extremists

May 15, 2014 India BJP, Dalits, Hindu nationalism, India, Narendra Modi, Women

India’s nationalist “Bharatiya Janata Party” (BJP) has won the election and its leader Narendra Modi, announced “a new era for India, free from corruption and a strong economic recovery”. Indian citizens are hoping for a prosperous future, but according to the Global Council of Indian Christians in order for this . . . Read More

Trouble in the south

March 4, 2014 India Andhra Pradesh, BJP, Hindu nationalism, Hindu Yuva Vahini, Hyderabad, India

Church leaders in India are alarmed over a dramatic increase in attacks on Christians in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where in recent weeks one pastor has been murdered, others beaten, and churches demolished. The All India Christian Council documented 72 incidents of anti-Christian violence and hostility in Andhra Pradesh . . . Read More

Freedom of religion an issue ‘whose time has come’

February 13, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Arab Spring, Barack Obama, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Middle East, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UN, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Freedom of religion and belief is an issue “whose time has come”, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said yesterday. During the presentation of two reports on religious freedom at the European Parliament in Brussels on Feb. 12, commission Vice Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett said . . . Read More

Pressure on Christians grew in 2013

January 8, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, African Union, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, BJP, Buddhist nationalism, Central African Republic, Colombia, Eritrea, FARC, Hindu nationalism, India, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Kyrgyzstan, Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa, North Korea, Pakistan, Peshawar, Religious freedom, Sadad, Sharia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, UN, Yemen

More than ever, some of the hardest places for Christians to live are fragile or failed states where militant Islamist movements flourish, according to an annual report on Christian religious freedom. Pressure on Christians intensified worldwide in 2013, according to Open Doors International, a charity that provides support to Christians . . . Read More

Christian deaths double in 2014 World Watch List

January 8, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Angola, Central African Republic, Churches, Egypt, India, Kidnapping, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Rape, Religious freedom, Syria

Nearly twice as many Christians died for their faith in the past year than in 2012, according to Open Doors International’s 2014 World Watch List. Open Doors International, a charity that supports Christians under pressure for their faith, said 2,123 Christians were reported to have been killed during the 12 . . . Read More

Bishops arrested at Dalit protest

December 12, 2013 India Caste, Dalits, Delhi, India

Bishops were arrested by police in India during a protest against the discrimination of the Christian Dalit minority. Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi was among those arrested during the protest on 11 December. He and several other bishops were taken to a local police station and later released, reports UCA. . . . Read More

‘Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians’

June 5, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Algeria, Arab Spring, Armenia, Asia Bibi, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Central Asia, China, Communism, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Middle East, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

This is a book designed to show that “Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today” (p4). With that aim, three authors well known in the field of religious advocacy give the reader the ultimate global briefing on the causes, patterns and trends in the persecution . . . Read More

BJP told: ‘Creating unrest won’t pay’

May 29, 2013 India Bangalore, BJP, Hindu nationalism, India, Karnataka

Christians in Karnataka state in southern India hope for a “new social and religious atmosphere” following local elections in which the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist group, suffered heavy defeat to the Congress Party. “The results of the vote in Karnataka are a warning to the BJP and the entire . . . Read More

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