Of late, Jhabua diocese has become a laboratory for right-wing Hindu groups to re-convert indigenous Christians
Christians of various denominations gather in a show of solidarity after Father Joseph Amuthakani of Jhabua Diocese was illegally detained by police on Jan. 18 following allegations he attempted to convert a person fraudulently. The priest was released after ten hours, but Christians have sought police protection during Holy Week to avoid any such untoward incident. (Photo: supplied)
The pro-Hindu government in a central Indian state has agreed to provide police protection during Holy Week to churches in a diocese where Christians face hostility from Hindu nationalist groups.
“We will provide adequate security for churches in the Jhabua diocese during the Holy Week,” said Agam Jain, superintendent of police, the top cop in the tribal-dominated Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The decision comes after the police department received a memorandum from the Jhabua diocese, seeking protection for its churches during Holy Week. But right now, the situation in the district is peaceful, Jain told UCA News on April 5.
“However, we will take all necessary precautions to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the Holy Week,” the police officer added.
Jain further said that help from intelligence agencies is also being sought to maintain law and order in the district.
The diocese has sought protection for its 18 churches, which have faced open threats from hostile Hindu nationalist groups in the recent past.
“We have sought police protection during Holy Week to avoid any untoward incident,” Father Rockey Shah, the diocesan public relations officer, told UCA News on April 5.
Christians account for about 4 percent of Jhabua district’s 1 million population which has a strong indigenous tribal presence.
The district has been a hotbed of a nationwide re-conversion program called Ghar Vapsi (homecoming). Initiated by a Hindu group, it aims to convert people of various religions, particularly Christians, to Hinduism.
Of late, Hindu groups have also launched an aggressive campaign in the diocese to “re-convert” indigenous Christians, saying their conversion to Christianity was through allurement, force and coercion, which are banned under the state’s sweeping anti-conversion law.
The Hindu groups also want to demolish churches in the diocese, claiming that they were built illegally on tribal lands, which is banned.
Protestant pastors in Jhabua are often charged with provisions in the anti-conversion law and Protestant groups too have sought police protection.
Kamalesh Mavi from the Shalom Church in Jhabua told UCA News on April 5 that their church has “sought police protection to avoid unnecessary charges of religious conversion” during services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
“Generally, prayer services are termed as gatherings for religious conversion and hence police protection has been sought in advance,” he said.
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