ICC Note:

A new report released by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has documented 134 cases of Christian persecution in just the first 6 months of 2016. According to EFI, this doubles the number of cases documented in the same time frame in previous years. Many blame this rise in Christian persecution on the current government led by the Hindu nationalist BJP. Many believe the current government to be responsible because of the BJP’s Hindu nationalist roots and the government’s inability or unwillingness to confront Hindu radical forces in India. With this report now out, will India’s government take steps to protect the religious freedom right of Christians?

8/24/2016 India (The Christian Times) – An independent report revealed that India already documented 134 cases of Christian persecutions for the first half of 2016, doubling down on cases reported in previous years.

According to Morning Star News, the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission (EFIRLC) documented the incidences from Jan. 1 to June 30 and supported by independent fact-finding surveys. Last year, the cases recorded amounted to 177 while the cases totaled 147 in 2014.

The European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance also released June 30 its “Annual Report on the State of Freedom of Religion or Belief in the World 2015-2016” that cited a 150 percent increase of religious persecution in India.

The report described the crimes perpetrated against Christians as physical violence, attacks on churches, prohibiting church services, threats, and even murder. Hindu extremists also use the South Asian country’s Freedom of Religion Acts by falsely charging Christian leaders of conversion by force.

William Stark, an ICC member and expert in South Asia on radical Hindu ideology, explained why Hindu radicals refuse to tolerate any other religions.

“If you see someone Muslim or Christian, they’re following a foreign faith, and they’re defiling India because they’re following a foreign faith,” Stark told Vice News.

He also added that Christianity is on the rise in this predominantly Hindu country despite ongoing persecution because many of those in the lowest caste find the Christian faith appealing.

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