06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Growing anti-Chrsitian violence in BJP-governed states ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19780]

"Several human rights and religious freedom NGOs, including the All India Christian Council and the All-India Catholic Union (AICU) expressed concern over growing anti-Christian violence in several states governed by the BJP, some of whom had affiliations with fundamentalist groups associated with the RSS. In November 2005 the AICU reported that there were approximately 200 attacks against Christians throughout the country during the year. "

Document(s): Open document

13.12.2006 - Source: Asian Centre for Human Rights

Attacks on the Christian minorities ("SAARC Human Rights Report 2006") [ID 18432]

"Among the religious minorities, Christians faced more systematic attacks because of their beliefs.

In Andhra Pradesh, two Christian pastors were murdered. On 21 May 2005, K Daniel, a gospel preacher was found dead near Pedashapur on the outskirt of Hyderabad. He went missing on 19 May 2005.[284] On 2 June 2005, Pastor K. Issac Raj of Rock Church was found murdered with his body tied up with ropes in a gunny bag at Errakunta in Shaikpet, Andhra Pradesh. He went missing on 24 May 2005.[285] The police claimed that they arrested the main culprit identified as Kokala Govardhan, an activist of a little known Hindu fundamentalist outfit called Hindu Vahini.[286]

In Rajasthan, Hindu fundamentalist groups beat up workers of Emmanuel Mission on the charges of converting a group of about 250 Hindu Dalit youths from Andhra Pradesh at Kota city in Rajasthan on 19 February 2005.[287] On 21 February 2005, Bajrang Dal workers forced another group of 27 tribals from Udaipur, Rajasthan, to go back and beaten up one Pastor Kalu. The next day, 600 Christians who had come from Kerala to attend the ceremony organized by Emmanuel Mission were stopped by Bajrang Dal activists.[288] The National Commission for Minorities sent a two-member team to probe the incidents in Kota.[289]

In Karnataka, six persons identified as Shekar, Ramachandra, Poornachandra Keekar, Bhasker, Naveen and Manju were reportedly arrested on charges of vandalizing King Jesus Church, injuring devotees including two infants and sexually assaulting women in an attack in Channapatna town in May 2005.[290]

In Manipur, a church was vandalized and later torched by miscreants at Lamding village in Thoubal District on 19 April 2005.[291]

In Maharashtra, about 20 locals barged into a Bible reading session on suspicion that a religious conversion was going on and allegedly beat up three of the eight missionaries from the United States in a hall near Malwani church in Mumbai on the night of 11 June 2005. The attackers also allegedly kidnapped one of the missionaries. The police arrested two persons on charges of abduction and assault.[292]

In July 2005, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh proposed amendments to Freedom of Religion Act to check conversions following the publication of an official probe committee report that found alleged disproportionate rise in the population of Christians in the state. The report quoted census figures which showed about 80 per cent rise in Christian population in Jhabua from 14,000 in 1991 to 26,000 in 2001.[293]

While the Hindu right-wing groups demanded ban on conversion, they themselves converted tribals into Hindusism. On 17 April 2005, 45 Adivasis were reportedly reconverted to Hinduism at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) sponsored function at Popra village in Malda district of West Bengal.[294] On 1 May 2005, about 567 Christian tribals were reportedly reconverted to Hinduism in a re-conversion ceremony organized by VHP at Bijepur block in western Orissa's Bargarh district.[295]"

Document(s): Open document

12.12.2006 - Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Around 800 Dalits, comprising those of Christian, Hindu and Buddhist background, called upon government to guarantee protection of Christian minority which has experienced widespread violence throughout 2006 ("Hindu and Buddhist Dalits join Christian rally for equal rights") [ID 18111]

Document(s): Open document

11.09.2006 - Source: BBC News

Roman Catholic schools in the Northern part of the country remained shut; Hindu activists accuse one school of trying to convert students to Christianity ("Row over Lucknow Catholic schools") [ID 17703]

Document(s): Open document

28.03.2006 - Source: UK Home Office

Report on general, political and human rights situation (Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Hindus; land disputes, members of Akali Dal, domestic violence, prison conditions) ("Operation Guidance Note: India") [#48239],  [ID 6470]

"[...]
3.8.7 Treatment-Christians. It is reported that the Indian authorities do not interfere with the internal religious activities of Christians, that their activities are conducted freely and that they are well integrated into Indian society. Minorities including Christians can establish their own schools offering religious instruction as well as a general education, in addition religious instruction can be provided at seminaries.
3.8.8 However, individual acts of violence and harassment have been reported over the years, sometimes leading to the injury or death of individuals. During 2005, there were reports of harassment, acts of violence and even detention in the Rajasthani town of Kota and the Balmikinagar jungles bordering Nepal.52 In some cases, Christians involved in missionary work have been the target particularly where their actions have involved or have been perceived to involve religious conversions. Perpetrators of some of these acts of violence have been traced and prosecuted.
The United Nations noted in their Human Development Report, 2004, “In South Asia organised violent attacks on Christian Churches and missions have increased. India, despite its long secular tradition, has experienced considerable communal violence, with rising intensity." A Freedom House report dated June 2004 also noted an increase in the number of attacks on Christians over the last 10 years.[...]"

Document(s): Open document

09.03.2006 - Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

A pastor in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh state was brutally assaulted by Hindu extremists on 28 February; his wife and daughter were beaten when they tried to help him ("CSW meets pastor assaulted in Andhra Pradesh, India") [#46657],  [ID 6469]

Document(s): Open document

02.02.2006 - Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Madhya Pradesh: 2 tribal church leaders assaulted apparently by the police; 3 other church leaders beaten by Hindu extremists and arrested; 30 people threw stones at the building where a Christian meeting was taking place, many needed hospital treatment ("Serial violent attacks on Christians leave several needing hospital treatement") [#43640],  [ID 6471]

Document(s): Open document

28.01.2006 - Source: BBC News

Madhya Pradesh: 25 Christians beaten up and injured by attackers in Bhopal; Christians under pressure from right wing Hindus in the state ("'Christians beaten up' in Bhopal") [#42972],  [ID 6472]

Document(s): Open document

23.11.2005 - Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

All India Christian Council, will be holding National Rally for Dalit Christian reservation in Hyderabad, India; rally is to show support for legal challenge to discrimination against Dalits who embrace Christianity or Islam ("CSW supports Indian national rally in support of Dalit Christian rights") [#40241],  [ID 6473]

Document(s): Open document

23.02.2005 - Source: BBC News

Rajasthan: The state government is introducing a law to ban religious conversion following tensions between Hindus and a Christian mission holding its annual convention in Kota ("State to bar religious conversion") [#29186],  [ID 6474]

Document(s): Open document

04.10.2004 - Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Chattisgarh:2 Indian missionary pastors serving with Gospel for Asia (GFA) beaten and kidnapped by a group of militant Hindus ("Indian Christians attcked in ongoing campaign of violence") [#26825],  [ID 6475]

Document(s): Open document

10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Christians - additional information ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 6476]

"[...]6.63Freedom House / Centre for Religious Freedom in a report entitled ‘Hinduism and Terror’ published, June 2004, noted that, “ BJP lawmakers have also attempted to restrict minority religious groups’ [mainly Christian groups] international contacts and to reduce their rights to build places of worship.” [43b] (p.3)
[...]
6.65 According to a report published in May 2004 by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Since 1998, there have been hundreds of attacks on Christian leaders, worshippers, and churches throughout India. These attacks have included killings, torture, rape and harassment of church staff, destruction of church property, and disruption of church events.” [72] (p.2)
[...]
6.72 According to a report published in May 2004 by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, “In January 2003, armed members of a Hindu extremist group attacked an American missionary and seven others with swords: two activists from Rashtriya Swayamsevek Sangh (RSS), a part of the Sangh Parivar, were later arrested in the state where the attack took place.” [72] (p.2)

6.73 The USSD 2003 noted that some Christian groups also claimed that BJP officials at state and local levels became increasingly uncooperative. The Government was also criticised for not taking action to restrain radical Hindu groups.[2c](p20)

6.74 Freedom House / Centre for Religious Freedom in a report entitled ‘Hinduism and Terror’ published, June 2004, noted that, “India’s Home Ministry (internal security) and its National Commission for Minorities officially list over a hundred religiously motivated attacks against Christians per year, but the real number is certainly higher, as Indian journalists estimate that only some ten percent of incidents are ever reported.” [43b] (p.4) Freedom House / Centre for Religious Freedom considered that there had been an increase in the number of attacks on Christians in the past ten years. [43b] (p.1) The United Nations noted in their Human Development Report, 2004, that, “In South Asia organised violent attacks on Christian Churches and missions have increased. India, despite its long secular tradition, has experienced considerable communal violence, with rising intensity: 36.2% of casualties due to communal violence since 1954 occurred in 1990 - 2002” [71] (p.74)
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

26.09.2004 - Source: BBC News

Kerala: 3 priests and 6 nuns reportedly attacked by members of Hindu parties Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in separate incidences on the outskirts of Kozhikode ("India nun attacks trigger arrests") [#25837],  [ID 6477]

Document(s): Open document

04.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Christians ("Country Report - April 2004") [#22427],  [ID 6478]

"6.57 According to a report on religious intolerance by the Special Rapporteur in 1997, Christians constitute the second largest minority in India, after Muslims. The Indian authorities do not interfere with their internal religious activities, which may be conducted freely. Christians are well integrated into Indian society. [6b](p10&12)
6.58 The Special Rapporteur’s report of 1997 noted that the public schools provide secular education. Minorities can establish their own schools; these include schools providing a general education but in addition offering religious instruction to Christian pupils. Also religious establishments such as seminaries provide religious instruction. [6b](p11)
6.59 According to a report by the Special Rapporteur in1997, there is constitutional freedom to produce and disseminate religious publications, including the Bible. [6b](p12)
6.60 The Special Rapporteur noted in his 1997 report that Christians have an adequate number of places of worship, although there have been isolated cases of obstacles to the construction of places of worship. This is attributed to slow administrative procedures, affecting all communities. [6b](p12)
6.61 According to the US State Department Report 2003, “There is no national law that bars a citizen or foreigner from professing or propagating his or her religious beliefs…During the year, State officials continued to refuse to issue permits for foreign Christian missionaries to enter some northeastern States, on the grounds of political instability in the region.” [2c](p20) A BBC news report dated 26 March 2003 reported that in March 2003, a bill to stop forced religious conversions was introduced in Gujarat. The Freedom of Religion Bill was modelled on similar legislation introduced in December 2002 in Tamil Nadu, and legislation already on the statute books of Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Under the terms of the bill, a conversion must be assessed by officials and prior permission given by the District Magistrate to be lawful. [32at] A further BBC news report dated 6 June 2003 reported the laws forbid any religious conversions carried out under “force, fraud or allurement”.[32aw]
6.62 It was reported in December 2002 by the BBC that police arrested 10 people in Tamil Nadu who were organising a mass baptism and cordoned off the site. BBC news also reported in December 2002 that thousands of low-caste Hindus (Dalits) were to be converted to Christianity and Buddhism and the event was being planned by Christian and Dalit groups to counter-act a tough new anti-conversion law. The Christian leaders insist the conversions are voluntary but some Hindu leaders accuse the Christians of bribing the poor by offering inducements to convert.[32ax]
6.63 In a Reuters news report 1998, it was reported that the United Christian Forum for Human Rights (UCFHR) in India stated that it had recorded nearly 120 cases of rape, Bible burning, assault and other forms of violence against Christians during 1998. This compared to 40 cases recorded between 1964 and 1996. [8d] Reuters reported in 1999 that most of these incidents have occurred in Gujarat. It is said that those extremist groups that have been terrorising Christians have been emboldened by the BJP's coming to power at the head of a coalition Government. The BJP also forms the State Government of Gujarat. [8h]
6.64 According to a Reuters news report 1999 some of the worst violence occurred in the Dang district of Gujarat, where Hindu mobs went on the rampage for several weeks starting on Christmas Day 1998. The attackers burnt churches and missionary schools, and injured priests and nuns. [8g] A Reuters news report 1999 reported that the VHP denied instigating such violence, but it criticised evangelists who it said were forcing Hindus to convert. The VHP regarded these conversions as an assault on the Hindu religion and culture, but Christians dismissed these accusations. [8f]
6.65 According to a Reuters news report 1999, Prime Minister Vajpayee, who visited the Dang area, stated that the Government would not tolerate any further attacks on the Christian minority. The Union Home Ministry sent a team of officials to investigate the attacks. Security forces were deployed in the affected areas to guard missionaries and churches. [8g] An Amnesty International news release dated 25 January 1999 noted that further violence took place on the day the Gujarat Chief Minister rejected an interim report by the National Commission for Minorities on the situation in the State as "biased and one-sided". The report found that attacks on Christians and their property had been carried out with the connivance of Hindu groups and was critical of the Gujarat Government's role in failing to protect minorities. [3e](p1-2)
6.66 Amnesty International news release 1999 reported that concerns had been expressed that these attacks had been carried out directly by, or in connivance with, right wing Hindu groups with links to the ruling BJP, including the VHP and Bajrang Dal. These groups had spoken out strongly against the alleged forcible conversion of tribal people and others by Christian missionaries, justified attacks on Christians and their property and advocated their expulsion from India. [3e](p2)
6.67 The 1999 Amnesty report cited that much of the violence against Christians has centred around deprived areas of India where Christian missionaries have traditionally carried out development activities with tribal and dalit communities, organising health and educational services. [3e](p2)
6.68 Reuters reported in 1999, in Orissa an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his 2 sons were burnt alive in their jeep in late January 1999. [8i] The Indian news agency PTI reported in February 1999, the Indian Government ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident to be conducted by a sitting Supreme Court judge. [10d]
6.69 According to a Reuters report dated 8 June 1999, the Wadhwa Commission, which investigated the murder of Graham Staines and his sons, presented its report on 6 August 1999. The report concluded that Dara Singh, a Hindu fundamentalist, was responsible for leading and inciting a crowd into the murder of Staines and his sons and that there was no evidence that any authority or organisation was involved. [8p] A press release of 12 August 1999 by Christian Solidarity Worldwide noted that the President of the All India Christian Council, Dr Joseph D'Souza, and the National Convenor of the United Christian Forum for Human Rights, John Dayal, expressed disappointment in the Commission's findings. They deplored the State authorities and central Government for their failure to provide the Commission with all the facts about the violence against the Christian community in India. They stated that the Commission had not been given a free hand to investigate and the Government had rejected demands that the terms of reference of the Commission be expanded to examine the totality of anti-Christian violence which culminated in the murder of Graham Staines. [17]
6.70 A CNN news report dated 2 December 1999 stated that on 1 December 1999, Junior Home Minister I.D.Swami said an investigative report into the murder of Graham Staines had found that Staines did not try to convert villagers. [33b]
6.71 According to a BBC news report dated 1 February 2000 Dara Singh was finally arrested on 31 January 2000 in a village in Orissa. [32g]
6.72 A BBC news report dated 2 October 2000 reported that in October 2000 a 13 year-old boy was sent to a juvenile detention centre for 14 years for his role in the murder of Staines. Sudarshan Hansda was tried separately because of his age. His was the first conviction in the case. [32w] It was reported in the US State Department Report 2003 that “The trial of Dara Singh and his 12 associates for the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons concluded during the year. On September 23, the court sentenced Dara Singh to death and his associates to life imprisonment. In October, Singh appealed his sentence to the Orissa High Court.” [2c](p219) BBC news reported the same day that on 15 September 2003 Dara Singh and twelve others were convicted at a special court in the eastern state of Orissa and another acquitted due to lack of evidence.[32by] According to a BBC news report on 22 September 2003 the ringleader received the death sentence and twelve others received life imprisonment for burning Graham Staines and his two sons alive. The death sentence is used rarely in India and is reserved for the most serious crimes, defendants have the right to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court and can then ask for a presidential pardon. [32bp]
6.73 According to a BBC news report dated 8 June 2000, violence against Christians continued during 2000. In May 2000, a bomb blast in a crowded congregation in Machlipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, left 30 people injured. Three further explosions occurred on 8 June 2000, in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, injuring 4 people. [32m] A BBC news report dated 24 June 2000 stated that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee spoke out strongly about these incidents. He called on State Governments to "firmly and impartially investigate all incidents of violence against Christians in India", and commenting on the spate of attacks he called them an "aberration and an exception to the general texture of peaceful and cordial relations between the various communities". [32o] The US State Department Report 2003 noted that some Christian groups also claimed that BJP officials at state and local levels became increasingly uncooperative. The Government was also criticised for not taking action to restrain radical Hindu groups.[2c](p20)
6.74 It was noted in the US State Department Report 2003 that, “Christian leaders noted a slight decrease in incidents of violence against their community and a change in the type of incident; however attacks against Christians continued.” [2c](p21)"

Document(s): Open document

25.02.2004 - Source: US Department of State

USDOS: Christians in India ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003") [#19765],  [ID 6479]

"[...]Some Christian groups also claimed that BJP officials at state and local levels became increasingly uncooperative. The Government also has been criticized for not attempting to restrain the country's radical Hindu groups.

Christian leaders noted a decrease in the incidents of violence against their community and also a change in the type of incidents; however, attacks against Christians continued. For example, in January, Hindu militants attacked missionary Joseph Cooper and several others in Kerala. Police arrested nine persons in that attack; however, no persons were charged at year's end. In a report on the attack, the human rights NGO "CHRO" quoted a Minister as saying that the request by local police to have Cooper leave the country "would send the right signal that the country will not be soft on foreigners who violate the laws of the land."

No action was taken against persons who attacked Christians or churches in 2002. Despite a reduction in physical attacks against Christians, Hindu nationalists continued an ideological campaign to limit access to Christian institutions and discourage or, in some cases, prohibit conversions to Christianity. There were no developments in the Sister Brishi Ekka case during the year. In 2002, a cable television station promoting Catholic values was launched in Kerala.

Citizens often referred to schools, hospitals, and other institutions as "missionary" even when they were owned and run entirely by indigenous Christian citizens. By using the adjective "missionary," the RSS tapped into a longstanding fear of foreign religious domination.
[...]
In Christian majority areas, Christians sometimes were the oppressors. In Tripura, there were several cases of harassment of non-Christians by Christian members of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), a militant tribal group with an evangelical bent. For example, NLFT tribal insurgents have prohibited Hindu and Muslim festivals in areas that they control, cautioned women not to wear traditional Hindu tribal attire, and prohibited indigenous forms of worship. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

06.2003 - Source: International Christian Concern

Country Profile - Christian Persecution in India ("Country Profile - Christian Persecution in India") [#17142],  [ID 6480]

Document(s): Open document

08.2002 - Source: European Reintegration Networking

Background information on India (including procedures for entrance, supply and care, health, education, work opportunies,...) ("Background information on India (including procedures for entrance, supply and care, health, education, work opportunies,...)") [#28646],  [ID 6481]

"[...]Dem Christentum gehören ca. 2,3 % der Bevölkerung an. Das Christentum erreichte Indien bereits zur Zeit der Aposteln und ist heute in allen seinen Formen präsent. Es heisst, der Heilige Thomas landete im Jahr 52 n. Chr. und begann mit den ersten Konvertierungen. Im vierten Jahrhundert etablierte sich die syrisch-orthodoxe Kirche. Die Ankunft der Portugiesen Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts brachte die römisch-katholische Kirche nach Indien. Der Jesuit Heiliger Franz Xaver missionierte entlang der Westküste, vor allem bei den Angehörigen niedriger Kasten und bei Kastenlosen. 1995 gab es 19 Erzbischöfe, 103 Bischöfe und ca. 15.000 Priester in Indien. Die protestantische Kirche verbreitete sich vor allem während der britischen Kolonialzeit. Seit 1947 sind in der "Church of South India" die presbyterianische Kirche, die Reform- und Kongregationskirche, methodische und anglikanische Kirche vereint mit ca. 2,2 Mio. Mitgliedern. Eine ähnliche "Church of North India" hat 1 Mio. Mitglieder.

In Kerala und Goa machen Christen ein Viertel bzw. ein Drittel der Bevölkerung aus, in den kleinen Einzelstaaten Mizoram und Nagaland bilden sie die Mehrheit. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

02.2001 - Source: Forum 18

Freedom of religion: report on general legal framework, registration requirements, civil and penal restrictions and religious freedom in practice ("Freedom of religion: A report with special emphasis on the right to choose religion and registration systems") [#8587],  [ID 6482]

Document(s): Open document