(Compass)
Indian officials have ordered Jim Borst, 67, of the U.K.-based Mill Hill Mission working in Kashmir since 1963, to leave the country
on the pretext that his visa has not been renewed. In an April 22 letter, officials of the Foreigners’ Registration Office threatened to
take action against Borst, principal of Burn Hall School and St. Joseph’s school, if he did not leave the country “within seven days.”
The Global Council of Indian Christians issued strong protests against the “unwarranted harassment of Father Jim” and appealed the
decision to Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and other national officials. Borst has translated the New Testament and Book of
Psalms into modern Kashmiri, according to sources in Kashmir. In recent months, hundreds of young Muslims and lower caste
Hindus disillusioned with conflict in the region have reportedly turned to Christian missionaries for answers. “That must be one of the
real reasons of the provocation,” a Christian leader in Kashmir said.