The Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is one of several with legislation restricting religious conversions. This legislation has led to arrests and mob violence in areas throughout India. According to a July 26 report from Compass Direct, government officials from Madhya Pradesh are considering amendments to its present legislation to check the increasing numbers of tribal people converting to Christianity.
Three incidents in the past week demonstrate the difficulties facing Christians because of this legislation. On July 20, a couple in Jeet Nagar village were charged with trying to convert poor Hindus to Christianity by offering inducements. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, members of the Hindu organization Jagaran Manch claim that Gracy Naik and her husband Jagdish are offering food, medicine and free education as an inducement for people to convert to Christianity.
On July 21, Father P.T. Thomas, director of St. Michael's Catholic School in the Jhabua district in western Madhya Pradesh, was arrested under the "Freedom of Religion Act." It is alleged that he was abetting conversion to Christianity by offering reduced school fees to Christians. He has been released on bail. A recent report claims that the number of Christians in the Jhagua district has increased by eighty percent in the past twenty years.
In Gandhi Nagar in the Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, members of the militant Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh stormed a pastor's retreat on July 23 and asked tribal participants why they were attending. As a result of this intrusion, police and media representatives investigated the conference and accused the organizers of encouraging forced conversions. No arrests have been made in this incident.
Continue to pray for Christian ministries in India as they endeavour to serve the needs of the Indian people under increasing pressure.
For more information on the challenges facing Christians in India, click here.
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