Christians in India have a harrowing time because of harassment by politicians, officials and the police of the BJP governments, attacks on individuals, prayer gatherings and institutions by the right-wing organizations, the foot soldiers of the Sangh Parivar, raids on institutions like hostels, care homes, orphanages, school etc. by government agencies and filing false cases against them.

Instead of providing protection and security to the victims of violence, the Police often remain silent spectators when the attacks take place. Sometimes the Police and the law enforcing authorities become complicit in the crimes committed on Christians, as it is happening in Manipur. The North-East State could be a dress rehearsal of what can happen in other states also.  

One of the instruments used to harass and persecute Christians is the stringent anti-conversion laws passed by the BJP governments. Most BJP state governments amended the anti-conversion laws to make them harsher with severe punishments. Even conducting prayer in a family is interpreted as a method of religious conversion and cases are filed against the participants. Advocate Sr. Sheeba Jose, while addressing the CRI members of Indore diocese on 30th July on anti-conversion laws, spoke about many false cases filed against Christians and their incarceration in jail without bail.

In 2022, there were over 550 violent attacks on India’s Christians, according to the United Christian Front (UCF), an Indian NGO. According to a report compiled by the UCF, Manipur has witnessed several incidents of targeted violence against Christians amid ongoing civil unrest. In the first half of 2023, the Christian community faced over 400 hate crimes, averaging more than two incidents per day. In June alone, there were approximately three incidents reported daily.

Most of these attacks were executed by the right-wing groups of the Sangh Parivar on the allegations of religious conversion. The term “conversion by allurement” is interpreted in such a way that telling any non-Christian that by praying to Jesus he/she will get healing is an act of conversion. Hundreds of Christians, who were arrested and put in jail, are very often denied bail by the lower courts. They have to approach either the High Court or the Supreme Court and it is very expensive.    

Another method used by the BJP governments to harass Christian institutions and personnel is raids on the Church-run schools, hostels and orphanages by the officials of the Central and state child protection panels. For the last one year many such raids were conducted in Madhya Pradesh. 

A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the Bishop of Jabalpur Jerald Almeda and a sister belonging to CMC congregation on a complaint lodged by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairman Priyank Kanoongo on May 30 this year in Katni district.  Kanoongo in his complaint had alleged that the bishop and the nun tried to convert children in the diocesan orphanage named Asha Kiran at Katni to Christianity and willfully neglected them. Asha Kiran houses 47 children.  

The bishop and the sister could secure anticipatory bail only when they approached the High Court in Jabalpur. According to the judge, a police officer shall not inquire or investigate a complaint under section 3 of Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021 unless the said complaint is a written complaint by a person aggrieved or his/her kith and kin. “In the absence of such a written complaint, police do not have any jurisdiction to inquire or investigate offences committed under section 3 of the (MP Freedom of Religion) Act. In view of aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, the anticipatory bail applications filed by the applicants are allowed,” the verdict said.

It is clear from the observation of the High Court judge that officials are using high handed methods to file false cases against Christian institutions and those who are managing those institutions. A hidden agenda behind these raids appears to be driving away Christian agencies from the field of welfare activities carried out by them for the underprivileged groups.

During the inspection of a hostel in Jhabua of Madhya Pradesh, three tribal Catholic girls were forcibly taken away on July 21 by a team of the State’s Commission for Protection of Child Rights on suspicion of conversion to Christianity. They were kept in the custody of Jhabua district’s Child Welfare Committee for ten days. In the name of child protection, the committee was actually harassing and traumatizing the girls.

Use of the provisions of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012) to trap priests, pastors and the lay staff who work in Christian institutions is another cunning method used by right-wing organizations. Non-Christian female staff members and children of Christian institutions and organizations can be pressured or stimulated to file cases against priests, brothers or even lay staff belonging to Christian community under POCSO. Although there are some genuine cases, false cases are often filed to take revenge or even to extract money.   

Violation of civil laws due to ignorance or negligence by those who run Christian institutions and organizations is another source of harassment of Church personnel. Issues related to purchase and sale of immovable properties, Income Tax, taxes levied by Municipalities and Gram Panchayats, Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, registration of institutions of care homes for children and women with government agencies are some examples.  
 
Precautions and Responses
 
Time has come for the Christians in India to diligently follow Jesus’ warning to his disciples, “Be shrewd as serpent, yet innocent as a dove”. Christians, especially the heads of organizations and institutions have to follow a shrewd and intelligent strategy without compromising integrity and the core values of Jesus. Special attention shall be given to four areas.
 
1. Issues Related to Alleged Religious Conversion

• Get a copy of the anti-conversion law of the state and study it. It is advisable to organize a seminar for the heads of institutions at the province/diocesan level on the provisions of the anti-conversion law. Send a list of dos and don’ts to all religious houses/parishes and institutions.

• Use only common prayers and hymns/bhajans in public institutions where people of different faiths come for services. Instead of keeping only the symbols of one religion exhibit symbols of different religions and quotes from different religious scriptures related to core ethical and human values. This is in tune with the Indian Constitutional value of respecting all faiths.

• Don’t take children of other faiths to the church or chapel for Holy Mass and other Christian prayers. Dedicate a room in the public institutions for prayer with the symbols of different religions.

• Stop the traditional method of evangelization and focus on living the values and teachings of Jesus, and thus become ‘salt’ and ‘light’ of the world. 

• Don’t conduct any religious activity in public places without proper permission. Avoid as far as possible mega religious events and processions.

• Don’t ask school/hostel children belonging to other faiths to remove religious symbols like thread, bindi, rakhi etc.

• Don’t impart any religious instruction in private aided and unaided schools during the school time wherever anti-conversion law is operative.

• Don’t construct any church or chapel or prayer hall without proper permission from the government authorities concerned.
 
2. Issues Related to Care Homes for Children and Women

• Hostels/boarding houses for school-going children, care homes, shelter homes etc. shall have proper license/registration as per the law existing in each state.

• Avoid all types of physical punishment and verbal scolding of children.

• Avoid taking children and women alone to the rooms of warden, teacher, director etc.

• Get consent letter from both parents when children are taken for excursion, camps, training programmes etc. outside the school/hostel etc.

• Girls and boys below the age of 18 can be kept in hostels attached to schools, if they are studying in the same schools. But they should be treated only as students coming for study in the school and not as candidates joining religious life.  In this case also, consent letter from parents and a letter form the Panchayat President/Municipal Chairperson is to be obtained.

• Girls/boys below the age of 18 should not be employed in any religious house or institution. Even when girls above the age of 18 are employed as domestic workers, those who stay in the religious house/institution should have a consent letter from parents and an affidavit signed by them.

• When candidates and girls below the age of 18 are brought from one state to another it is safe that their parents accompany them and they have to carry with them identity proof. 

3. Compliance with Laws

The religious congregations/dioceses houses/institutions are functioning under a registered society or Trust or Charitable Company. They are commonly known as Non-Profit Organizations.  It is generally observed that many Church personnel are not aware of the essential provisions of the laws related to registered societies/trusts. All Church personnel should have general knowledge about the following laws and they should be part of their formation.  

• Provisions of laws related to registered societies/trusts.

• Provisions of Income Tax Act as applicable to non-profit organizations.

• Laws related to purchase and sale of immovable properties -- land and buildings, and permission for constructing buildings.

• Provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

• Provisions of laws of Panchayati Raj Institutions and urban bodies as applicable to Non-Profit Organizations.

• Maintain all required documents: Land documents, permission documents, registration certificates, register of beneficiaries etc. 
 

4. Building Public Relations

Lack of public relations is one of the reasons for the harassment of Church personnel, especially in north and central India. Frequent transfer of heads of public institutions appears to be one the obstacles to building and maintaining public relations. Some points in this regard to be taken into account are the following.

• Avoid frequent transfers of the heads of public institutions like schools, colleges, social work organizations. At the same time put in place systems and processes to make the heads accountable, transparent and participatory. The person who is going to take over leadership has to work with the existing head for at least one year and build public relations under the guidance of the existing head of the institution.

• Those who are working in public institutions should be fluent in the local language. Lack of proficiency in local language is a serious handicap for building and maintaining public relations. Frequent transfer is a serious impediment to being proficient in the local language. Use local language while addressing parents and the public.

• Get enough information about the local population, culture, occupations, political situation and influential people and leaders.

• Have clear knowledge about the government administrative system at the state, district and Municipality/Panchayat levels.

• Participate in public functions/ meetings/gatherings and make use of those occasions for building public relations. Similarly make use of the opportunities to address the public.

• Participate in the marriage celebrations and funerals of the family members of the staff members, friends and well-wishers of the institution.

• Greet officials, local leaders and friends on their important festivals like Diwali, Dussehra, Eid, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Christmas etc.

• Avoid the practices and dress that give the impression of being foreigners. Lack of indigenization and inculturation has been one of the reasons for Christians in India being branded as foreigners.

Difficult times require tough decisions. This is the time to think and act out of the box. Belief in the incarnation of Jesus requires incarnation in the culture and life situation of the people. Avoid all kinds of arrogance, colonial vestiges and fundamentalist postures. Let the followers of Jesus remember the words of the management guru Peter Drucker, “If you let the past control you, you will have no future”. Let them read the signs of the time and respond creatively to the challenges.