News from India
80-Mile-Long Human Chain Forms to Protest Politician’s Anti-Christian Remarks
Christians in Chhattisgarh formed an 80-mile-long human chain to protest inaction against a member of the legislative assembly who made derogatory remarks about Jesus and conversions to Christianity in a public speech.
U.S. Government Commission Finds Worsening Persecution in India Amid Elections
A special mid-year report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released last week found that persecution in India has continued to worsen throughout 2024, with government actions and mob violence combining to restrict the rights of religious minorities across the country.
11 Female Evangelists Arrested on False Charges of Forced Conversions
Eleven Christian women evangelists from Hyderabad, along with seven other local Christian men and women, were arrested and arraigned on false charges of trying to forcefully convert school children in Bhagwanpur, Bihar. Police also impounded three cars used by the evangelists.
Pastor Found Guilty of Forced Conversions in India
Despite being granted bail, a pastor working for a missionary organization in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was convicted on Wednesday on charges of unlawful conversions and sentenced to five years in prison.
Indian Supreme Court Hears Case Related to Mass Religious Conversions
A fierce and prolonged legal battle is going on in the Supreme Court of India (SCI) in a case related to the “protection from arrest” granted to several top officials of a noted agricultural university accused of mass religious conversions in the Northern State of Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Complaints Filed Against U.S. Evangelical Organization in India
Authorities in four Indian states have received complaints against the U.S.-based evangelical organization Joshua Project, accusing it of carrying out forced conversions.
Hindu Nationalists Attack Church in Odisha
A pastor and several members of his church were beaten on Sunday as Hindu nationalists attacked a worship service in Odisha on Sunday, accusing the church of forcefully converting Hindus to Christianity.
Family of Deceased Pastor Coerced to Re-Convert for Burial
When a Christian pastor died suddenly of a heart attack in a village in the Bastar district of India’s Chhattisgarh state, his family was forced to re-convert to their former religion and pay a hefty fine to get him buried in his village.