Fourth Christian in Less than Two Months Killed in India

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Maoists in Maharashtra state killed a church pastor on Friday (July 10), the fourth death of a Christian for their faith in India since late May, sources said.

In Bhatpar village, Gadchiroli District in the western peninsular state, pastor Munshi Devu Tado was leading a worship service on his property for about 15 village families from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. when three armed men and three women escorted him away, said his wife, Jaini Munshi Tado.

“They shook hands with him at first, then took him by his hand and, after few steps, they tied his hands at his back with a rope,” she told Morning Star News. 

“I, my father-in-law and brother-in-law followed after them, pleading and enquiring as to why they are taking him. They said they just want to talk to him and that we need not worry, they will send him back in a little while.”

Family members continued to follow until the Maoists forcibly stopped them and pushed them away, throwing them to the ground, Jaini Munshi Tado said.

“Hardly five to seven minutes later, we heard a gunshot,” she said, weeping. “We immediately ran in the direction only to find the body of my husband in the pool of his blood, and the Maoists had gone. I wept bitterly, my husband was gone.”

Pastor Tado was estimated to be in his mid-thirties. He leaves behind four children, ages 6, 5, 4 and 1.

Villagers upset with the growth of the church and the number of converts to Christianity from their native tribal religion incited Maoists to kill the pastor, though the assailants tried to give the impression that they killed him for being an informer, sources said.

The body of pastor Munshi Devu Tado in Gadchiroli District, Maharashtra, India. (Morning Star News)

The Maoists left a note in Pastor Tado’s pocket saying that he earned large amounts of money as a police informer against the militant insurgents, Jaini Munshi Tado said.

When police arrived to investigate, they told Christians that Pastor Tado was not an informer for them, and that they did not even know him, said pastor Vijay Kumar Vachami, a mentor and close associate of Pastor Tado.

Villagers had sent three letters to Maoists at different times spreading false information about Pastor Tado to instigate them against him, Pastor Vachami said.

“The Maoists once sent back a message saying, ‘We do not want to kill Tado, make him understand, and he will understand,’ but the villagers did not stop at that,” Pastor Vachami told Morning Star News. “They pestered the Maoists to the point that they actually executed the horrendous killing.”

The pastor and his family began to suffer persecution after the couple put their faith in Christ seven years ago, he said. A Christian from a nearby village had told them the gospel, and Tado’s family was the first family to convert from their tribal religion in the village of about 100 families, he said.

“They were persecuted in every way,” Pastor Vachami said. “Then one day, their house was attacked and brought down by the villagers. They were told to leave the village or else they would be killed.”

Three years ago, Pastor Tado left his village and made a temporary shelter for his family a mile from the village on his farmland, he said. Pastor Tado began to lead regular worship services at his new place, and people began receiving Christ, said Pastor Vachami, who lives in a neighboring village.

“There were only three Christian families in the past, but this year due to the hard work of Tado, the number of families increased to 18,” he said.

Contributions from church members helped Pastor Tado erect a separate worship place on his farmland, which the Christians inaugurated two weeks ago, he said.

“He was a very simple man and a very faithful servant of God,” Pastor Vachami said. “Please pray for his family that is left behind.”

Former Maoists

Pastor Tado and his wife were once Maoists, Jaini Munshi Tado said.

They joined the Maoist Naxalite movement in 2005, and police arrested them in 2007 from their home in Bhatpur village for participation in the communist insurgency. They were convicted and spent 18 months in prison, she said.

Upon their release, they returned to their village and began to make a living working their farmland. Their former Maoist contacts visited and even encouraged them to continue with the fresh start in their lives, she said.

“Since that day till only now, the Maoists never visited us or troubled us, nor called us back,” Jaini Munshi Tado said.

A First Information Report was registered at the Bhamragarh police station, but the family has not received a copy as investigations continue. Police declined to take calls from Morning Star News.

Pastor Tado’s body was scheduled for autopsy at the government hospital of Bhamragarh on Sunday (July 12).

“We earned our living by serving the Lord and by working in the agriculture fields,” Jaini Munshi Tado said. “Now that my husband is gone, I will ask God for His grace for me to bring up the four children.”

Including the death under mysterious circumstances of a Christian woman in Chhattisgarh state the last week of May, Pastor Tado’s killing would be the fourth religiously motivated slaying of a Christian in less than two months. In Bari village, Jharkhand state, followers of tribal religion on June 7 abducted and killed Kande Munda. On the night of June 4 in Odisha state, followers of tribal religion abducted 16-year-old Sambaru Madkami for his faith before stabbing and stoning him to death.

In the case in Chhattisgarh state, tribal Hindus persecuted a widowed, Christian mother of four before her body was found severely mutilated in the wilderness near her village, sources said. The body of 40-year-old Bajjo Bai Mandavi appeared to have been eaten by wild animals when it was found two miles into the wilderness near her native Kumud village, Kuye Mari, on May 29, but local Christians suspect villagers upset by her conversion killed her. She was last seen going into the wilderness of Kondagaon District to collect firewood on May 25.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on April 28 urged the U.S. State Department to add India as a “Country of Particular Concern” to its list of nations with poor records of protecting religious freedom.

India is ranked 10^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country was 31st in 2013, but its position has worsened since Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.

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Police Unresponsive or Hostile toward Christians Beaten in Jharkhand, India

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – Police in Jharkhand, India refused to register a complaint about an attack that sent Christians to the hospital for treatment, while officers in another area falsely accused the victims’ relatives in an assault that left a woman unconscious, sources said.

A mob of about 400 animists of the tribal Sarna religion tore down parts of a church building under construction in Budhakaman village, West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand state, on May 10 and attacked Christians at the site, according to Suman Sinku, wife of the church pastor.

“They abused the Christians present there in extremely derogatory language,” Sinku told Morning Star News. “They held Suraj Chatomba and punched his jaws and back. The assailants then knocked another Christian, Muni Chatomba, to the ground and kicked her on her face and upper body.”

Another Christian woman, Bijayanthi Chatomba, ran over to rescue her but was struck in the nose with enough force for it to bleed, Sinku said.

“The mob forcefully held a female Christian, stripped off her clothes including her inner garments, leaving her half-naked, and continued punching her face,” Sinku told Morning Star News. “They thumped Shiromani Chatomba’s chest.”

Christians phoned police about the attack, which began shortly after 11 a.m., and officers showed up at about 2:30 p.m. and dispersed the mob, she said.

Village elders had summoned Christians to a meeting at 7 a.m. to question them about construction of the church building, but church members waited for three hours and no officials showed up, Sinku said. After the Christians had returned home, a mob formed at the meeting venue, ignoring social distancing norms to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and then went to the church site to attack, she said.

The next morning, May 11, Sinku and others accompanied the injured Christians to the Jagannathpur police station, where officers refused to register cases against the assailants, she said.

“Police insisted that the villagers also must be allowed to share their grievances before deciding if cases must be registered against them,” she told Morning Star News. “We waited for the village elders, but nobody turned up.”

At last one Sarna representative showed up carrying his child in his arms, she said.

“The station house officer kept delaying the matter, so I had reminded him that as a law- abiding officer he must accept the victims’ complaint and must ensure that necessary action is taken against the assailants,” Sinku said. “But he tried to suppress the matter, and his driver harassed the victims mentally, abusing them in filthy language.”

Upon receiving information about the attack from Pastor Sudarshan Sinku and his wife, the Jharkhand Legal Aid Cell coordinator for Alliance Defending Freedom India, Sandeep Tigga Oraon, helped the injured Christians send a complaint to the West Singhbhum District Superintendent of Police, she said.

The village elders told the Christians to show certificates as evidence they had renounced the Sarna religion and had accepted Christianity, Sinku said. Village chiefs in the area assume arbitrary powers to deny tribal benefits to people who have left the traditional tribal religions, a source who requested anonymity said.

“There have been instances where the village chief refused to enroll the Christians converted from indigenous groups as members of the village,” the source said. “He would deny them residential and tribal status, making it difficult for them to apply for government subsidies, benefits for lower-income groups and also for higher education.”

Area village chiefs also send young adults to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) training sessions to develop a Hindu nationalist mindset to oppose Christian and Muslim minorities, he added.

On May 31, the tribal animists returned and set the church building cross on fire, and police later summoned both parties to the police station, Sinku said. Village chief Vignesh Tiriya again told the Christians to produce certificates to prove their Christian faith, she said.

“At the police station, I once again questioned the police if they were aware about the constitutional provisions for religious freedom and the special provisions for Scheduled Tribes,” Sinku said. “The inspector seemed clearly annoyed, asked me to leave the room where the discussion was going on and attempted to effect a compromise without listening to the Christians’ pleas.”

Morning Star News tried to reach the police inspector of Jagannathpur police station, but officers there were unavailable.

False Charges

Also in Jharkhand state, relatives of a woman beaten unconscious for refusing to renounce Christ learned on May 31 that police had falsely accused Christian family members in order to protect Hindu extremist assailants, they said.

Hindu extremists had stormed into the home of the Christian woman, 23-year-old Reena Kumari, took her outside and pressured her to renounce Christ, relatives said. The six upper-caste Hindus attacked Kumari in Bichagara village, Khunti District, on April 16, her mother Phulmani Devi said.

“They were after her that night tormenting her, ‘Will you leave Christian faith or not?’” the 61-year-old Devi said. “They badgered her.”

The next morning, the six Hindu extremists intruded into the family’s home and dragged Devi, her husband and three daughters out and presented them before the village council, she said.

Officials demanded that Kumari sign a document pledging to refrain from attending church services and telling anyone about Christ, Devi said. Under immense pressure from the village elders, she said, her daughter agreed to sign it but balked at their subsequent demand that her parents and family also had to sign, she said.

“My daughter told them that she had signed it and that should be enough, and that they must not force our family to sign it,” Devi told Morning Star News. “They went on to angrily hold her by her hair and punched her on her back and head.”

Reena Kumari’s brother, Suraj Kerketta, also witnessed the assault.

“They beat up my sister very badly, so that she fell unconscious,” Kerketta told Morning Star News. “We took her home, and in a short while we found that she suffered severe blows and must be taken to the hospital.”

A relative took Kerketta to the police station to file a complaint against the assailants, but an officer there said he was writing too slowly, snatched the paper from him and began writing it, he said.

“I dropped out of school to earn a livelihood from daily wages and support my parents,” Kerketta said. “I had no time to argue with the officer, as my sister was growing very weak. I rushed out of the police station to drop my sister at government hospital. Doctors told us that she had suffered internal injuries. A CAT-scan was done on her, but the medical staff refused to show the reports. They told us that they would only submit in the court directly.”

Kumari was hospitalized until May 28 and is still unwell, Devi said.

“Her head aches if she talks for a few minutes,” she said. “She also is unable to chew food, I am feeding her semi-solid food. She is fainting every now and then. We don’t know anything about her health. The doctors have not shared anything with us.”

On May 31, Devi and Kerketta went to the Khunti District Court as the case they had filed had come up before a judge. They were forbidden from passing through the court gates due to coronavirus restrictions, Devi said, but they noticed that police had made false accusations in their report.

“The police had noted names of our relatives who were actually helping us rescue our daughter from beatings as the accused in the case,” Devi told Morning Star News. “The next hearing is on June 15. We are hoping to bring this to the notice of the judge that the police wrongfully framed our relatives also in this case.”

Police at the Karra station were not available for comment.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on April 28 urged the U.S. State Department to add India as a “Country of Particular Concern” to its list of nations with poor records of protecting religious freedom.

India is ranked 10^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country was 31st in 2013, but its position has worsened since Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.

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Hindu Extremists Pressure Convert to File False Charge against Pastor in India, Sources Say

A pastor is facing criminal charges in northern India even though the complainant later denied allegations against the church leader of luring him to convert, sources said.

Police in Rupaidiha village, Uttar Pradesh state on Jan. 28 arrested 40-year-old pastor Dharmendra Singh on a charge of “alluring to convert” and two related charges – outraging religious feelings and promoting enmity. He was released on bail on Jan. 31.

Pastor Singh denied all charges against him, saying members of the Hindu extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal fabricated a story and pressured a new Christian, Ramesh Gautam, to file a false complaint against him.

Gautam said in court on Jan. 30 that the allegations were false, the pastor said.

“He witnessed that his faith is his own choice and nobody has forced him or his family to believe in Jesus,” Pastor Singh told Morning Star News. “‘We have not converted by allurement but have become worshippers of Jesus,’ said Ramesh in the courtroom.”

Pastor Singh leads a church in Nepalganj, Nepal, where he resides just across the India-Nepal border, but he regularly visits the Indian village of Rupaidiha, Bahraich District, to lead the new fellowship there where Gautam worships.

Gautam and other members of his family put their faith in Christ about six months ago after the pastor had prayed for his wife, who is from Nepal, and she was healed, he said.

“Ramesh, his wife and other members of his family believed and started to attend church regularly,” Pastor Singh said. “The entire village began to trouble the Gautam family and made things difficult for them.”

In spite of pressures, Gautam’s wife stood firm before villagers and defended their new-found faith, he said.

The pastor said he was grateful to God for the hardships he and his family have endured from his arrest.

“It is my privilege to suffer for Christ,” he said, adding that he was able to share the message of the saving grace of Christ with a group of 150 prisoners his first day of incarceration.

Later he shared the gospel with smaller groups of prisoners, as he did each day until his release, he said.

“The message of Christ was proclaimed with power amongst the prisoners, and I am delighted that the name of Christ was heard by all 1,300 prisoners,” Pastor Singh said. “I saw that their spirits were crushed, and they had deep loneliness in them.”

Some of the prisoners were convicted murderers and had killed as many as 22 people, and he prayed with and embraced many of them, feeling an anointing and the power of God, he said.

“I am delighted to have gone to the prison and been used by God,” he said. “Now that I have seen them and have been there, I can pray for them with much conviction and burden.”

A native of Delhi who converted to Christianity from Hinduism, the pastor moved to Nepal five years ago and lives there with this wife and three children. He runs a tailoring training center in Nepalganj with his wife and also has been ministering at the Prem Sewa Clinic, a hospital in Rupaidiha, for nearly two years.

Indian and Nepalese nationals may cross the border without restrictions, though there is a customs checkpoint for goods and for those from other countries.

India this year cracked the top 10 on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution, ranking 10th, up from 11th the previous year.

Nepal: ‘No Conversion Zone’

In Nepal, the increase in persecution of Christians that began after a new criminal code was passed in October 2017 (taking effect in August 2018) continues, with a mob stopping construction of a church building in Kathmandu, the capital, on Jan. 20, another pastor said.

Nearly all districts in Nepal now have roadside signs reading, “No Conversion Zone,” Pastor Sagar Baiju told Morning Star News.

“Local people got together and objected to the construction of a church building – they said that Christians cannot come into their cities and reside here,” Pastor Baiju said.

A local resident of Kathmandu told Morning Star News that Christians commonly face harassment when renting or leasing apartments in the city. When they inquire about availability, they are asked to state their religion, and generally landlords are not willing to rent homes to Christians, the source said.

On Christmas Day, the President of the Hindu Revival Campaign Nepal (Hindu Jagran Abhiyan Nepal), Ram Prasad Upadhyay, led a huge anti-Christian procession and burned Bibles at a highway intersection.

A crowd estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000 people shouted slogans such as, “Beat the Christians,” “Throw out Christians” and “Down with Christians” in Bharatpur, Chitwan District. Bharatpur, the fourth largest city in Nepal, is 160 kilometers (almost 100 miles) from Kathmandu.

The procession featured saffron flags and banners with threats printed on them.

“Bharatpur is a prominent city, and we can see a wave moving against Christians,” B.P. Khanal, pastor of The Lord’s Assembly and a social activist, told Morning Star News. “The burning of the Bibles was a symbolic representation of their victory over conversion and Christianity in the country.”

Police did nothing to stop the anti-Christian threats and hate speech, illegal under Nepalese religion laws.

“Leave aside the police taking action against the mob, they were actually there to give protection to the whole procession, safeguarding against any kind of communal tension that could arise,” Pastor Baiju told Morning Star News.

He added that he was shocked to see that no media covered the procession.

Christian leaders filed a request with police to take action against such processions on grounds of hate speech and disrupting the peace in the society, but officials took no action, sources said.

The general secretary of the Nepal Christian Society, along with its president and leaders of the National Churches Fellowship of Nepal (NCFN), went to see the home minister on Dec. 31 and appealed for him to look into the procession and take appropriate action against organizers.

“Though the home minister said good words and assured the delegation of action, no action was taken,” Pastor Khanal said.

The meeting, however, led the home minister to send a proposal to declare Dec. 25, 2019 as a holiday, he said.

“People are traumatized in Chitwan and across the nation,” Pastor Khanal said. “Most of the Christians are afraid to go out and evangelize. Some of the churches are threatened and are afraid to conduct regular worship services.”

Unlike Christmas in 2017, Christmas carols were sung behind closed doors last year, sources said.

“This past Christmas, the majority of carol singing has taken place inside our respective churches,” said one source. “Out of fear, very few have gone door-to-door carolling, and the government is mum; the police are mute spectators.”

Pastor Baiju said he feels that the government is not doing enough to protect the rights of the Christian community, and that radical groups are taking undue advantage of this laxness.

Nepal was ranked 32nd on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

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Christians in Rajasthan, India Harassed with False Charges, Church Leaders Say

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – When evangelists in India were accused of fraudulent conversion in a village at a time when they were hundreds of miles from it, they knew powers beyond their control were at play.

Pastor Kasiram Meghwal, 46, was leading his church in Choru, Rajasthan, 410 miles from the village near Khajuwala where he was accused of trying to fraudulently convert people on May 20, his attorney said.

Evangelist Sahiram Nayak, 34, lives 136 miles from Khajuwala in Sri Ganganagar and was attending his church in Rai Singh Nagar at the time, the lawyer said. A third accused Christian, 32-year-old pastor Vijender Singh, was leading Sunday service at his church in a different area of Khajuwala at the time of the alleged fraudulent conversion attempt at Hindus’ homes, according to the attorney.

The three Christians came together in the Khajuwala area on May 22 to proclaim Christ to villagers, but the First Action Report (FIR) filed by area resident Rameshwar Lal alleges that on May 20 they offered him 100,000 rupees (US$1,450) and 50,000 rupees (US$730) to another area Hindu to convert, attorney Subodh Mathews told Morning Star News.

Having obtained bail for a previous false charge, the three Christians were devastated to be jailed again on May 24 under a statute against “outraging religious feelings.” Their plea for bail was denied.

“We wept before the Lord, but we never abandoned our faith,” Pastor Singh told Morning Star News. “We met many people inside the prison, including a few people who told us that they were in the habit of committing murders for money, and that they related to some extremist religious groups as well. They told us that they would have gladly killed us, had they seen us outside.”

Undaunted, the Christians told the convicts about Christ and held a Sunday worship service inside the prison on May 27, he said.

“We got the opportunity to share inside the jail to murderers,” he said.

With much difficulty they were able to obtain bail on May 29 and were released.

Entrapped

On May 22 they distributed Christian literature and New Testaments among families of village 16 BD and then went to the home of Kaku Singh in village 14 BD, near Khajuwala in Bikaner District, Rajasthan, Pastor Singh told Morning Star News. After inviting them in, Kaku Singh told them that his wife was suffering from cancer, he said.

“We shared the gospel with him and prayed for his wife and decided to leave,” but Kaku Singh insisted on offering them tea, Pastor Singh said. While the three evangelists were waiting, Rameshwar Lal called them out of the house on the pretext of asking questions about the literature they had given him earlier, the pastor said.

When they stepped out of the house, a man named Darshan Singh suddenly attacked them, he said.

“He caught me from my collar, slapped me and pushed me down,” Pastor Singh said. “He started to verbally abuse us using filthy language. They punched Sahiram too.”

Soon a mob of about 80 people surrounded them, carrying wooden sticks with intent to attack the Christians, he said.

Though Kaku Singh would file the first case against them, he objected to the mob dragging the three Christians towards the main road with the intention of killing them, the pastor said. He said that as the mob shouted, “We will kill you today,” Kaku Singh called police to keep them from being killed.

Police soon arrived and took the Christians into protective custody, or otherwise they would have been killed, Pastor Singh said. The three Christians were arrested under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, “Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offenses.”

A police officer told the Christians that he immediately rushed to the site because he was aware of how Christians are being targeted in India, the pastor said.

Surrounding the police van carrying the three evangelists, the mob demanded that they be handed over to them or they would set fire to the police van, he said.

“The atmosphere got very tensed,” Pastor Singh said. “It was dangerous.”

Police managed to bring the Christians to the Khajuwala police station for questioning. Officers treated them with respect and consideration, the pastor said.

“While we were there, the sitting Member of Legislative Assembly [MLA], Dr. Vishwanath Meghwal, who belongs to the BJP [Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party], kept calling the police inspector and kept pressuring him to question us thoroughly,” Pastor Singh said. “The policeman, exasperated by the frequent calls of the MLA, finally asked him to come to the police station and satisfy himself by interrogating us.”

Kaku Singh accused the three Christians, all members of the Brethren Assembly, of trying to lure him and Lal to convert to Christianity.

The next day, May 23, after the Christians had secured bail and were walking out of the police station, they were arrested again, this time based on a separate complaint dated May 20 and submitted by Lal, who had called the Christians out of Kaku Singh’s home. His FIR alleges that the Christians offered him 100,000 rupees (US$1,450) and 50,000 rupees (US$730) to Kaku Singh, and they were re-arrested under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code for alleged “Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion.” 

Since being bailed out, two court hearings have passed, one on June 5 and another on June 30, though no formal charges have been filed. Church leaders believe the accusations are rooted only in the desire to harass the Christians.

T.J. Joseph, senior leader of the Brethren Mission, said legal proceedings could harass the evangelists for years.

“Though they have been bailed out, they have to travel long distances for every court date of theirs,” Joseph told Morning Star News.

The hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, against non-Hindus, has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 11th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution. 

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Pastor in India Arrested while Securing Affidavits on Converts’ Faith

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – A pastor in Uttar Pradesh state, India was filing affidavits stating that 16 people had become Christians of their own will this week when Hindu extremists came and accused him of forcible conversion – resulting in his incarceration.

Pastor Maleywar

After manhandling and jailing 58-year-old Dependra Prakash Maleywar on Monday (June 18) at the Sardhana lower court premises near Meerut, the Hindu extremists have since gone to the 16 new Christians’ homes and threatened to expel them if they do not recant their faith, sources said.

Members of the Hindu extremist Bajrang Dal surrounded Maleywar while the Church of North India (CNI) pastor and a lawyer were securing notarizations of affidavits for baptisms signifying the faith in Christ of 16 people, sources said.

Someone on the court premises had informed the extremists about the affidavits, sources said, and at about 1 p.m. a few members of the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the Hindu extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad, approached and questioned Pastor Maleywar about the affidavits as they man-handled him.

Checking the pastor’s bag and grabbing the affidavits, they accused him of forcible and fraudulent conversion, the sources said.

Officers at the adjacent Sardana police station noticed the commotion, took Pastor Maleywar into custody and transferred him to the Abdullapur jail near Meerut, 14 miles away, the sources said.

“They confiscated my father’s cell phone and all the affidavits – he could not even contact us,” the  pastor’s 30-year-old son, Rohin Maleywar, told Morning Star News.

The affidavits are not legally required in Uttar Pradesh, but church leaders request them to avoid controversies and the very kind of accusations that occurred, said the Rev. Prem Prakash Habil, CNI bishop of the Diocese of Agra that encompasses the two churches the 16 people belong to. Two of the Christians belong to the church Pastor Maleywar leads, St. Thomas Church in Mulhera, and 14 belonging to Epiphany Church in Khatauli.

The affidavits are self-declarations that the signees willingly choose to follow Christ, want to get baptized and are not coerced or offered inducements.

“We always follow this procedure; they have to submit a hand-written application in their own writing, verification papers and an affidavit if they want to become a member of the church and receive baptism,” Habil told Morning Star News.

Usually, however, the candidates for baptism file the affidavits themselves, he said.

“The way my evangelist was working was not the right way – it was [supposed to be] the work of the individuals who believed to get their own paperwork done and then submit it to their respective churches,” he said.

Pastor Maleywar had gone to get the affidavits notarized in Mulhera, where his church is located, but he was unable and so went to the lower court Sardhana, fewer than seven miles away, sources said.

All 16 baptisms were still set to take place, sources said.

Pastor Maleywar has been leading the CNI’s St. Thomas Church for five years and working as an evangelist with CNI for 17 years.

Intimidation

The families of the 16 Christians have become the targets of both the Hindu extremists and local media.

“The members of the Bajarang Dal went door-to-door and met all the 16 families and spoke to them,” said Pastor Maleywar’s daughter, Ritika Maleywar.

Pastor Nirmal Jacob of the Ephiphany Church said that Bajarang Dal members are exerting severe pressure on all the families.

“The head of the village, along with Bajarang Dal members, went to the homes of these believers and threatened them with dire consequences,” Pastor Jacob said. “They said that they would be boycotted from the village, asked to leave, their educational certificates would be confiscated and their entitlement to government benefits would be withdrawn if they profess their faith in Jesus Christ.”

He said local and national television media visited him in Khatauli on Wednesday (June 20), along with local police, and interviewed him and many families from his church.

“People testified to the media how prayer and attending church has healed them from fatal diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis,” Pastor Jacob said. ‘One family boldly shared how they did not have a child after 12 years of their marriage, and after they got themselves prayed for and started to regularly attend church, they have two children now.”

The pastor was deeply troubled, however, when none of their testimonies were broadcast, and editing changed the meaning of the interviews entirely as they were shown saying only that they were once Hindus, he said.

He is receiving threatening calls, and friends have been warning him that he could be attacked at any time.

“I do not know where to find help in a situation like this,” Pastor Jacob said. “The police, media and judiciary are biased; I do not feel safe any longer.”

The pastor, 39, has been ministering with the CNI synod for 14 years.

Alwan Masih, general secretary of the CNI synod, said the churches will go forward.

“As citizens of our country, we have rights and we will execute our rights, but at places people have suffered for their faith,” he told Morning Star News.

Bail Rejected

At this writing Pastor Maleywar remained in the Abdullapur jail under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, “Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offense,” after the Sub-Divisional Magistrate rejected his bail petition on Wednesday (June 20), sources said.

He has also been charged with causing voluntary hurt under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 504 of the IPC, “Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace.”

“Local politicians created a ruckus in the courtroom,” his attorney, Reena Luka, told Morning Star News. “The judge said if he granted Maleywar bail, the peace of the area would be compromised.”

Luka said that the judge told them to wait a few days until tensions cooled.

“We are hopeful that we will be able to procure the bail on Monday (June 25),” she added.

The hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, against non-Hindus, has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 11th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution.

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Christian accused falsely of insulting Hindu religion in Madhya Pradesh

Four Christians including a Pastor have been charged with insulting the Hindu religion in Sidhi in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh last month. They have been accused of defiling Hindu idols and treating them with disrespect. The accused completely denies the charges and calls it an “evidence planted story”.

Pastor Geeta Dixit

Pastor Geeta Dixit, 46, Rajpal Gharwaar, his wife Asha Gharwaar and another Christian Ruby Toppo have been falsely blamed of the act according to Pastor Geeta Dixit.

All four have been booked under Indian Penal Code 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 294 (obscene acts or words in public), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

A first information report (FIR) was filed against the four in the month of April, wherein Rajpal Gharwaar was detained by the police for two days before he was bailed out. 

This is the second time in the end of last month that another FIR has been filed against the four with Geeta Dixit named as the main accused. Both the times, the complainants were Rajpal Gharwaar’s mother, elder brother and his wife and younger brother. “They all live next door to Rajpal’s house,” said Geeta Dixit while narrating the complete story to Global Christian News.

Asha and her husband come from a Hindu ‘Rajput’ family. Asha became a follower of Christ 10-years ago after she started to visit Geeta’s church along with her ailing sister, who was also the wife of Rajpal’s elder brother, in the year 1993. Asha and her sister committed their life to Christ and faced opposition from their families. Unfortunately, Asha’s sister passed away after two years and Rajpal’s brother remarried. 

“Rajpal’s younger brother was at the verge of dying, when he was carried to my Church on a stretcher. He was prayed-upon by the Church members and God healed him completely. Rajpal’s mother and other family members have been coming to Church occasionally, whenever they were facing difficult times and wanted prayers.

“Asha’s husband Rajpal regularly got his wife to Church but never entered the Church himself until two months ago, when he saw a dream one night that Jesus descended from the sky and Asha and his children were lifted up above the ground and carried by Jesus and Rajpal was left all alone. He also saw Jesus raise a dead man to life.

“Rajpal woke very restless and wanted answers. He spoke to Asha and then to me about his dream. I advised him to repent for his sins and explained him the meaning of his dream,” narrated Geeta.

It was when Rajpal took baptism early April that his mother and brothers started to raise questions and registered a false case against Geeta, Ruby, their own son Rajpal and Asha.

“They got a Hindu idol and putting mire on it, presented it as a witness to the police, blaming me and the others of disrespecting Hindu gods,” said Geeta.

Geeta denying the allegations said, “It is completely a fabricated story. We have not desecrated the idols.”

Geeta, who is a widow and has three daughters, feels harassed and mentally traumatized because of the false case that she has to fight along with the three others.”

Geeta and the others have to appear for their first court hearing on 17 August, 2017.

The Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam (Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act) prohibits religious conversion through force, allurement and fraudulent means. Changing one’s religion without informing the authorities is also punishable under the Act.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states in India besides Gujarat, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh which has enforced the anti-conversion laws. 

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Christians beaten up in Kondagaon

9 Christians were beaten up by fundamentalists at Kondagaon, Chhattisgarh on 23rd June 2017.

The villagers, under the influence of Hindu fundamentalists had accused the Christians of practising witchcraft. The beaten up Christians included women.

Christians were also told that they must abandon their Christian faith or else they will be killed.

Nun detained in India, in latest anti-Christian incident

MUMBAI, India - A religious sister in India has been charged with human trafficking after she accompanied four young women on a train in central India on June 13.

The Railway Police and Hindu nationalists stopped the women in the state of Madhya Pradesh as they were travelling to Bhopal.

Hindu nationalists accused the nun of trying to convert the others to Christianity.

The police said one of the girls was a minor, although Sister Bina Joseph maintains all were over the age of 20.

Madhya Pradesh state, which is over 90 percent Hindu and less than 1 percent Christian, is ruled by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also controls the national government.

The BJP has strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization. Groups affiliated with the RSS participated in the detention of Joseph and the women accompanying her to Bhopal.

In two separate incidents in May, groups of Christians in the same state were taken into custody, charged with trying to convert Hindus to Christianity, after being stopped on trains.

“I strongly condemn this harassment by rogue elements who profess their political allegiance-alliance with the ruling party,” said Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal.

He told Crux the detention of the nun was “absolutely wrong,” and violated her rights as a citizen of India.

“The Catholic nun was travelling in a public transport, and was subjected to harassment, intimidation and humiliation by the police,” the archbishop continued.

“This behaviour of the police is strongly condemned, the minority community, is being targeted by fringe elements of the ruling party and in any devious manner, the ‘conversion’ allegations are levied against the minority Christian community, even in the case of travelling, as in this case,” Cornelio said. 

He told Crux the Government is not doing enough to curb “these fringe elements,” who he says are taking advantage of the fact that the BJP is in power. 

“Scores of poor students from remote rural areas study in our schools and reside in our hostels and they need to travel,” he said.

The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, passed in 1968 and amended in 2013, makes it mandatory to seek government permission before conversion. The law imposes jail time for alleged “forced” conversions.

Cornelio said it seems that in the present time, even travelling by public transport is being linked to conversion.

“I strongly condemn this harassment of the minority,” the archbishop said.

Sister Tripti, the vice provincial of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa, the order in which Joseph belongs, told Crux the religious sister was detained until midnight after spending nearly 12 hours at the railway police station, together with the three young women.

The one determined by the authorities to be a minor was turned over to a child services agency.

Charges were filed after the young woman’s relatives filed a complaint, which Father Stephen Maria, a local priest, told Crux was made under pressure from “right wing extremists.”

Tripti said despite the harassment, the order will continue in its mission.

“These girls hail from impoverished families from remote rural areas, and were enroute to Bhopal for their own empowerment,” Tripti said. “This incident, however, does not deter us. We will continue to serve the poor.”

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Vandals raid UP church, allege forced conversions

GORAKHPUR: Six people were injured when a group of about 60 alleged Hindu activists attacked a church on Thursday .The activists claimed that the church was forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity.

AB Lal, the pastor of Full Gospel Church at Moti Pokhra area in Gorakhpur, said, "The attackers were waving saffron flags and were armed with sticks. They barged into the church and kept chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'."

"The attackers said they belonged to Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) and other Hindu groups," he said. Lal added the miscreants vandalised the church for almost an hour.

Police said a case against unknown persons had been registered on the complaint made by church authorities.

HYV, however, denied the allegations. "I don't know anything about it. We were not a part of the attack," said Vinay Paswan, media in-charge of the outfit. 

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Police in India Threaten to Fine Christians Attacked by Hindu Extremists

A month after a crowd of village Hindus in Jharkhand state, India summoned 25 Christians, tied up six of them and beat them with sticks, some of the assailants ran into one of the Christians and asked if he was still worshipping Christ.

The Hindu extremists in Hunter village, Palamu District came across Gunni Bhuiya on June 14 on an area road. Bhuiya told them he still believed in and worshipped Christ, and the Hindu extremists manhandled him and threatened to kill him, Christian leaders said.

“They told Bhuiya that as the Christians are still worshipping Christ even after they had received severe beatings, they were now going to kill them,” area pastor Sanjay Kumar Ravi told Morning Star News.

Area Christians are living in fear as the Hindu extremist forbid them to worship, boycott them economically and threaten to kill them, while police threatened to fine them if they continued worshipping publicly, the leaders said.

Hindu extremists led by Dilip Chandra, Ram Chandra Vanshi and Dil Narayan Yadav on May 8 summoned the 25 Christians from six families to a public meeting, forcing them into vehicles and taking them to a middle school on the outskirts of the village.

“About 100 people from three neighboring villages were waiting when we reached the place and started to tell us that it is wrong for us to pray to Jesus and that we should follow Hinduism and perform puja (Hindu rituals) to the idols only,” Pastor Ravi said.

The Christians refused. Rather, Pastor Ravi began sharing his testimony with the crowd, saying Christ had healed him from an illness in 2007, and that he has followed Him since then.

“The pastor’s testimony enraged the crowd more,” the Rev. Akash Nandi, an area Christian leader, told Morning Star News, “and they started to beat him and the other five Christian men while they shouted that they should renounce Christ or else they will kill them. They told them to chant, ‘Jai Shri Ram [Hail Lord Ram],’ perform the puja and worship the idols there and then.”

When the Christians refused, the furious Hindu extremists threatened to kill and bury them.

“They shouted to each other to bring kerosene oil so that they could burn us all,” Pastor Ravi said.

Nandi said the Christians told them, “Do whatever you like, we are not going to leave Christ at any cost.”

The extremists then tied the hands and the legs of six Christian men and punched, kicked, slapped and beat them up with sticks, the leaders said. The assailants then hung them upside down, took them down and beat them again.

As the abuse went for about half an hour, a 5-year-old child, Eraj Ram, begged the assailants to stop beating his father, Naresh Ram.

“He folded his hands and begged them to stop beating his father, however, the extremists caught him by the collar and threw him aside,” Pastor Ravi said.

Shouting that they should not worship Christ anymore, the extremists then pushed the Christian men to the ground and stomped on them, the Christian leaders said.

All six men were bleeding from their mouths, Naresh Ram’s hands were broken and Pastor Ravi sustained an internal injury that left him with severe chest pain, along with cuts on his hands and abrasions over much of his body. Four other unidentified Christians suffered cuts and wounds on their mouths, eyes, hands and legs.

“The extremists threatened to tie up the women as well while they mocked and hurled all sorts of vulgar abuse at them,” Pastor Ravi said.

The assailants told the Christians to leave the village or else they would shave them, burn them and set their houses on fire, he said. The Christians managed to return to their homes and left the village at dawn the next day. At Ramgarh village, they received medical treatment from a local doctor.

Later that morning, the Christians went to Ramgarh police station to report the attack to police, but officers declined to register a case, and on May 10 they summoned the assailants to the police station. About 50 of the Hindus showed up to meet with three area Christian leaders among the 25 Christians who arrived at the station. Police forced the Christians to sign a statement that they would worship only in their homes or else be fined 10,000 rupees (US$150), along with other possible punishments.

“We were forced to sign the bond, we have no other choice as we have nowhere else to stay except in the village,” Pastor Ravi said.

The Christians, impoverished “untouchable” Dalits, lost some benefits when the village head came under pressure from the Hindu extremists to exclude them. The Hindu extremists also ensured that the Christians were denied rice, wheat, sugar and other goods at subsidized rates.

“Our names were also cut off from the list where houses were allotted to the villagers by the state authorities,” Pastor Ravi said.

Likewise, on June 10 the Hindu extremists threatened Dharaya Singh and his wife Sumitra Singh, saying they would keep them from plowing their land and drive them from the village if they continued to worship Christ.

“We can only pray in our homes with our respective family, our movements are closely watched and the extremists told us to leave Christ and threatened to beat us up at every opportunity they could find,” Pastor Ravi said.

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Blind couple among 13 in Madhya Pradesh held for ‘conversion’

Madhya Pradesh police have arrested 13 people, including a blind couple, for allegedly trying to convert a few residents of Dehar village in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district to Christianity.

Officers from the Kukshi station said they had also launched a search for four more persons in connection with the alleged conversion attempt in the house of a local resident, Shankar Singh, on January 14.

Twelve of those arrested last week — the 13th arrest was recorded yesterday — are linked to a Pentecostal church in Badwani and claimed that they had not converted but only followed the teachings of Jesus, said police.

All the arrested were booked under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and Section 153 (A) of the IPC, said police. Among those were Balu Keshu Saste, a blind man in his 40s, and his wife Bhuri, said police, adding that Saste had earlier been detained for a similar offence in 2010; the trial is on at a court in Kukshi.

“They trick local residents by offering inducements or using force. We had received information that the conversion was on,’’ U C Tiwari, in-charge of Kukshi station, told The Indian Express. Shankar Singh, however, accused the police of acting at the behest of right-wing activists from Nisarpura village, who he alleged led the police to his house when he was serving the visitors lunch. “They stormed my house and misbehaved with women,’’ alleged Singh. 

Badwani-based Anar Singh, who identified himself as an assistant to a pastor, said the activists also raised slogans and damaged two-wheelers before police completed the arrests.

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3 Christian preachers arrested for conversions in Satna district

BHOPAL: Three people were arrested in Satna district late on Saturday under state's anti-conversion law. The trio reportedly told police they work for Gospel Echoing Missionary Society (GEMS), an NGO which preaches Christianity and has a presence in northern states for more than four decades, police said.
Of three, one accused Stephan Rajkumar, 40, is a resident of Chennai, other accused Harilal, 20, is a resident of Rewa and the third, Anil Kumar is resident of Azamgarh, said Majhgawan police station in charge Khem Singh.
"The trio has been booked under sections 3 and 4 of Madhya Pradesh Dharm Swatantrya Adhiniyam, besides Section 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), Section 506 (criminal intimidation). They did not inform the collector before converting locals," he said.

"They converted two people by offering Rs 5,000. One of them complained to us. Subsequently, all three were arrested from a local school while they were holding preaching sessions on Saturday night. CDs, projectors and other material used to propagate Christianity were recovered."
"They converted more than 10 people in Satna district. We have recorded statements of the two, who were converted. We are tracking 10 others, who were allegedly converted. Their statements will also be recorded," Singh said.
Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, 1968, bans conversions by force, allurement or fraud and there is a provision of imprisonment up to three years and a fine of Rs 50,000 as per recent amendments in the Act.

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Christians targeted in Deoria, Police deny conversions as alleged by Hindu Yuva Vahini

Gorakhpur: Heavy police force was deployed at Salempur in Deoria district on Sunday after reports of conversion.

On Sunday afternoon, Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) workers and police reached the house of a Christian couple following reports that about 100 women from nearby villages were attending prayers organized by the duo. Most of the women, who were wearing the cross, escaped after seeing police and HYV workers.

Reports said Jaswant Masih, a teacher and resident of Rasda in Ballia, and his wife Suman had taken a house on rent at Pipra Nazir ward in Salempur. Every Sunday, the couple organizes prayer in the house which is attended by a large number of people.

Police detained Masih couple, house owner's son Sudhir Singh and two women. But they were released after interrogation. Police found books on Christianity from the house. The detained persons told police that they have been coming for prayers every Sunday for past 21 years.

Israwati, a local, said: "We have been attending the prayers for past five years. The couple tell us that that Prabhu Yeeshu will take away our poverty and diseases. It has had a positive impact as my health has improved."

Bible in Bhojpuri language was also recovered from the spot.

Jaswant Masih denied any incident of conversion. "We just pray in front of the picture of Jesus Christ. There is no truth in allegations made by the Hindu hardliners," he said.

A leader of HYV said: "Christian missionaries are trying to convert locals to Christianity. They target the weakest and poorest sections of the society. Jaswant is trying to influence people and promoting Christianity in the region since long."

VHP and HYV activists have demanded action against such people.

Police, too, denied any incident of conversion. "A Christian family has been organising prayers for past many years and people go there. It is just a matter of faith and nothing else," said inspector Ram Yadav.       

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Catholic priest, brother dragged to police station in central India

Fr Prasad Kuzhively

Indore: Hindu radical groups on Sunday forcibly took two Catholic missionaries to a police station in central India after disrupting an inter-faith meeting to celebrate Christmas and New Year.

The activists of Bajrang Dal (the party of the strong stout) and Dharma Jagran Manch (forum to awaken religion) accused Father Prasad and Brother Sleeva of trying to convert Hindus to Christianity. They demanded that the police arrest the missionaries, after registering a First Information Report against them.

The two were let off after three hours of high drama at the police station, Tapan Bhattacharya, a Hindu member of the Sadbhavna Foundation that organized the meeting, told Matters India on Monday. He said the Hindu radicals could not prove the charges against the missionaries.

The missionaries belong to the Society of Divine Word, an influential Catholic Religious congregation that works with various religious groups for social harmony and peace in Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh state. Father Prasad, 60, is the secretary of Indore diocese’s commission for inter-religious dialogue and ecumenism.

The Sabhavna Foundation, launched in 2005, comprises members of all religions in Indore, and Father Prasad, an inter-religious activist, has been its secretary from the inception.

Bhattacharya said they observe the festivals of all religions, but choose a venue belonging to another religion to celebrate them.

The Christmas meeting was held at Gita Bhavan (house of Gita), a convention center under a Hindu trust. People of all religions use the place for various functions, he explained.

Fr T Xavier, Divine Word congregation’s Madhya Pradesh provincial, was among several dignitaries of the city attending the Christmas program when scores of Hindu radicals came to the venue shouting.

“They alleged we were converting Hindus and demanded to know if we had the permission to conduct the meeting,” Bhattacharya narrated. “We showed them the permission signed by Gita Bhavan’s trustee chairman, but they dismissed it, saying the venue is not the chairman’s personal property that he can grant permission to anyone.”

The participants, mostly Hindus, tried to explain that no conversion was taking place. “But they refused to listen to us, saying we are not real Hindus since we promote secularism,” said Bhattacharya, a Brahmin, the highest caste in Hinduism.

He said the Hindu radicals wanted action against on the Catholic missionaries. “But all of us, Hindus and others insisted they should make us also the accused.”

Inter-faith meeting under attack

Father Prasad told Matters India that the protesters forced him to ride pillion of the motorcycle of the lone policeman present at the meeting venue. “They hit me on head from behind and abused me,” he said. He said it was around 10:30 pm when they came out of the police station.

The priest said the incident was unexpected and unnerving. He said he had told Brother Sleeva that their experience was “only a small opportunity” to witness their Christian faith.

Anand Mohan Mathur, a former Advocate General of Madhya Pradesh and president of the Sadbhavna Foundation, said they organized the program after obtaining all permissions. 

“Whether Diwali or Christmas we celebrate it together. Nobody’s religious sentiments were hurt by our program,” he told naidunia.com.

Vinod Sharma, a committee member of the Dharma Jagran Manch, said they protested because there was no mention of Hinduism in the invitation to the program. “They were celebrating Christmas Day in the name of Sadbhavna. The organizers claim they respect all religions, but they did not bother to mention Hinduism in their notice,” he told naidunia.com.

Mukesh Yadav, local area coordinator of Bajrangal Dal, wants they should be permitted to conduct their religious programs at mosques and churches, if other religions are given permission to conduct their programs at a Hindu venue. 

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