India votes in gigantic election as Modi seeks historic third term
New Delhi, India Reuters India votes on Friday in the world’s largest election as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a historic third term in office on the back of growth, welfare, his personal popularity and Hindu nationalism. The vote pits Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of two dozen opposition parties which is […]
Essay: When religion gets political
TIM COSTELLO, a senior fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity in Sydney, says seeking political power to impose and enforce a religious vision is a growing problem around the world…
Essay: India’s Manipur violence did not come out of nowhere, and it could happen again in many other states across the country
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says the recent violence is the result of years of government attempts to instrumentalise religion and ethnicity to shore up its grip on power…
The Long Read: At 75, India’s democracy is under pressure like never before
SHEIKH SAALIQ, of Associated Press, reports on rising concerns over the state of democracy in India 75 years after independence…
Christians’ names missing from electoral lists in India
World Watch Monitor Hundreds of Christians in India’s Madhya Pradesh state found their names missing from the lists of voters in elections for the State Assembly on 28th November, AsiaNews reports. One of them was the Bishop of Bhopal, Leo Cornelio, who told AsiaNews that after waiting at the polling station for 45 minutes and presenting […]
Indian Christian forum demands withdrawal of ‘bogus’ charges of forced conversions
World Watch Monitor The Christian Forum of Chhattisgarh state in India called on its political parties to commit to ensuring freedom of religion, as elections for the state’s legislative house took place on Monday, Catholic news agency UCAN reported. Meanwhile, several attacks on Christians were reported in the first week of this month, across a number […]
271 Christians charged with converting Hindus through lies and drugs in India
World Watch Monitor Two hundred and seventy-one Christians in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have been charged with a range of crimes including attempting to convert Hindus through the use of drugs and by spreading lies about Hinduism. Of the 271, just three were named – pastors Durga Prasad Yadav, Kirit Rai and Jitendra Ram […]
Two years after India’s Supreme Court order, no investigation into “shocking” number of Kandhamal acquittals
World Watch Monitor The man spearheading the campaign for “justice” for the victims of the worst case of anti-Christian violence in India’s history has denounced the failure of the Odisha state government to follow up on a Supreme Court order to investigate why there have been so few criminal convictions despite nearly 6,500 arrests. Almost […]
Religious freedom violations in Asia increasing – UN Rapporteur
World Watch Monitor Religious freedoms in Asia are “eroding”, with an increase in religious fundamentalism across much of the continent, according to UN Religious Freedom rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed. Shaheed spoke during an event, hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Club in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, on the back of the 4th Southeast Asia Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference. “Freedom of religion […]
In India, Kandhamal Christians still waiting for justice one decade after massacre
World Watch Monitor Ten years after the worst case of anti-Christian violence in India’s history, the local community continues to struggle, with reparations from the government slow in coming and seven reportedly innocent Christians still in prison. Nearly 100 Christians were killed, 300 churches and 6,000 Christian homes were damaged, and 55,000 people were made […]