Hindu fanatic groups have been accused of making videos of persecution of Christians across India and circulating them on social media. Shibu Thomas of Persecution Relief said most incidents are recorded in states run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but the highest number has been reported in the northern State of Uttar Pradesh.
He said numerous videos of Christians being persecuted by religious radicals are being widely circulated on social media, with Facebook alone having a network of 33 million users in India.
These videos are especially uploaded on groups run by Hindu fanatics and then spread to other social media platforms like Twitter and WhatsApp.
These videos aim at inciting hatred and defaming the Christian minority by making false allegations against them, mostly involving religious conversion, Thomas said.
The latest incident was reported from Uttar Pradesh, where a video clip shows two Christian men being stopped by fanatics on a street.
Fanatics are seen questioning a Christian who identifies himself as Jung Bahadur and accusing him of converting a woman standing beside him, but the woman immediately denies the accusation.
In 2019 alone, it recorded 527 cases compared with 447 in 2018, 440 in 2017 and 330 in 2016. From January 2016 to June 2020, Persecution Relief recorded 2,067 cases of persecution against Christians.

An artist’s attempts to present Jesus Christ and Christian themes in Indian settings are helping convey Christian ideas to thousands of non-Christians in India.
Jyoti Sahi, 76, uses his paintings to blend biblical themes with his native symbols and pieces of folk, tribal and Vedic symbols to take Jesus closer to non-Christians in India.
“I have known Jyoti Sahi personally, and his creative paintings are path-breaking. They introduced a paradigm shift in art, using folk, tribal and Hindu cultural symbols.”
Through his evocative art, Sahi attempted to make Jesus look like an Indian. He aimed to make Jesus accessible to a multicultural and multifaith Indian milieu, said the bishop, a former professor of Indian spirituality and traditions at Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Papal Athenaeum, in Pune.
Sahi, who once thought of becoming a Benedictine monk, took up a vocation of painting. With some others, he pioneered the Indian Christian Art Movement, encouraging artistic expressions of Christian themes.
Jesuit Fr Roy M. Thottam said Sahi is known as a theologian with the brush. He draws his inspiration from Indian cultures, mythologies and mysticism as well as tribal and folk traditions. “He has depicted Christ variously as ‘the tree of life,’ ‘Lord of Dance’ and ‘Christ the living water.’ He combines Biblical symbols with cultural symbols,” said Fr Thottam, who trained as a painter under Sahi.

A member of India’s parliament has criticized Pope Francis for comparing gossiping with coronavirus. “I’m not sure about this, Your Holiness… Sometimes it seems like Covid might be a tad bit worse…” tweeted Varun Gandhi, a member of the Lok Sabha (peolple’s house), the lower house of parliament. The 40-year-old politician belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was referring to Pope Francis’ remarks on August 6 that gossiping is a “plague worse than Covid” that is seeking to divide the Catholic Church.

Jesuit Father Gaston Roberge, the French-Canadian founder of Chitrabani media training institute in Kolkata and film and media scholar par excellence, died at St Xavier’s College, Kolkata, on Aug. 26. He was 85. Both Chitrabani and the Xavier Institute of Communications, founded by Francis “Packy” MacFarland, were born within a year of each other, a little over 50 years ago in 1969-70, in two different parts of the country, Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Bombay (now Mumbai).

A pioneering Jesuit missionary who had worked for four decades in north-eastern India has died.
Father Jayant Kumar Padival died around 10 pm on September 8 in Father Muller Hospital, Mangaluru, a port town in the southern Indian State of Karnataka. He was 71 and a Jesuit for 54 years.
According to Karnataka Jesuit Provincial Father Dionysius Gerard Leonard Vaz, the burial service was scheduled at 3:30 pm on September 9. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, only a few people are attending the burial service.

Bishop Paul Chittilapilly, the first prelate of a Syro-Malabar diocese Pope Paul II created 33 years ago to resolve the rite rivalry in the Indian Church, died on Sept. 6. He was 86. Bishop Chittilapilly, who had served as the bishop of Kalyan in Maharashtra and Thamarassery in Kerala, died at 6:45 pm in Nirmala Hospital, managed by the Ursulines of Mary Immaculate nuns, in Kozhikode.

Pope Francis on August 29 appointed Father George Kurisummoottil as the auxiliary bishop of Kottayam Syro-Malabar archdiocese to take care of its Knanaya faithful from Syro-Malankara Church. The new bishop is currently the vicar general for the Syro-Malankara faithful of the archdiocese. Father Kurisummoottil has chosen the name Gheevarghese Mar Aprem.

Apostolic Nuncio to Japan Archbishop Joseph Chennoth, an Indian, died September 7 in Tokyo following a heart attack. He was 76. The death occurred at 1:30 pm Japan time (8 am Indian time). The Syro-Malabar prelate from Kerala, southern India, was reportedly recuperating after a stroke some time back. His funeral details are yet announced. Archbishop Chennoth was the apostolic nuncio to Japan since 2011. Archbishop Chennoth was born on October 13, 1943, as one of the six sons and two daughters of Joseph and Mariakutty of Kokkamangalam Chennoth family in Cherthala, Alapuzha district.

An Ursuline Franciscan nun has been appointed by Mysuru District Legal Service Authority as panel advocate for free legal aid clinic. Sr Jenifer Pinto of the congregation’s of Mysuru Province will provide as a free legal advisor in the Taluk office at Mysuru, a city in south-western Indian State of Karnataka.
She is the first person to be appointed as a free legal adviser in the newly started Free Legal Aid Clinic of Mysore Taluk.
Sister Pinto is a practicing advocate in Mysuru and Chamarajnagar District Courts.

The Indian Church and political leaders across party lines are mourning former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee, who died on Aug. 31 in New Delhi. Mukherjee, 84, had brain surgery at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in the national capital in late August. He had also tested positive for Covid-19.
“His passing away leaves a deep void in Indian politics. The Church in India will miss him very much for his political statesmanship, moral integrity and fine oratorical skills,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).
He recalled that Mukherjee was the chief guest at the CBCI’s Christmas celebrations in December 2018 when he impressed many with his vast knowledge of the Bible.
“We mourn his loss and express our gratitude for all the support and encouragement he gave the Christian community and its activities. May the Almighty grant him eternal rest.” Cardinal Gracias said.