India

India: Hindu nationalist leader threatens violence unless local authorities shut all churches in tribal areas

A Hindu nationalist leader in India’s Madhya Pradesh state has demanded that local authorities shut down all churches in the state’s tribal areas, falsely claiming that Christians are carrying out mass conversions on “gullible indigenous peoples,” International Christian Concern reports. Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Azad Prem Singh threatened violent action if his January 11 demand is not met within 30 days.

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India: First Christians arrested and jailed under anti-conversion law in Uttar Pradesh state

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has charged and jailed its first Christians under a new anti-conversion law, International Christian Concern reports. A Korean Christian and three Indian nationals in the Gautam Buddh Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh were arrested under the new Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance on December 19, 2020.

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India: Hindu extremists lock Pastor in room and leave him to die as punishment for sharing the Gospel

A pastor in northeast India has been rescued after a gang of radical Hindus locked him in a room and left him to die because he was distributing Gospel tracts, Morning Star News reports. Pastor Shelton Vishwanathan was accosted by six men who knocked him unconscious and imprisoned him in a room in Bihar state’s Sheohar District on October 5.

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Nigeria added to US blacklist of countries which allow religious freedom violations

The United States added Nigeria to a blacklist of countries that violate religious liberties Monday, DW reports. Joining Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and China, Nigeria is now listed as a country “of concern” “under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998."

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India: Tribal animists attack and hospitalize Christians at child-dedication gathering

Twenty-one Christians were taken to hospital after a large gang of tribal animists attacked a church hall and adjoining home in Chhattisgarh state, India last week, Morning Star News reports. The attackers accused the believers of influencing and converting people to Christianity. Several Christian families have gone into hiding since the attack.

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High court in India orders safe return of Christians displaced by Hindu extremists

A high court in India has ordered the district administration of Kondagaon to facilitate the safe return of Christians who were displaced from their villages by radical Hindu nationalists in Chhattisgarh state, Assist News reports. The order was issued by Bilaspur High Court on November 8.

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