Christians in Madhya Pradesh state, central India, are outraged after government agencies began profiling Christian religious leaders working among indigenous people.
A revenue department official in the tribal-dominated Jhabua district summoned Christian leaders and asked them to provide personal information such as their appointment as a priest and the document related to their conversion. The official letter also asked them to certify if they were converted through allurement or force as the government wants to initiate legal proceedings against illegal conversions.
A state law criminalizes religious con-version through allurement or force, making it an offense punishable with up to 10 years in prison. The letter issued on Sept. 13 has also directed them to present details regarding their work in person before the official on Sept. 22 at noon.
“Our 16 pastors have received similar letters,” said Auxiliary Bishop Paul Muniya of Protestant Shalom Church in the district.
Christian leaders say their people face increased hostilities from right-wing Hindu groups opposed to their work in the district in their work among tribal people.
Earlier on Aug. 26, the additional superintendent of police, in a letter to police stations under him directed to assist activists from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing Hindu outfit in their drive to close illegal Christian prayer halls and to contain illegal religious conversion activities in the district.

Christians in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have called on India’s president to provide protection amid open threats from Hindu activists to demolish their churches.
“Hindu activists mostly from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP—world Hindu Council] have set a deadline to demolish our churches on Sept. 26, alleging they are illegal structures,” said Auxiliary Bishop Paul Muniya of the Protestant Shalom Church based in the state’s Jhabua district, which is dominated by tribal people.
VHP has also issued threats to the indigenous Christians against practicing Christianity and are forcing them to return to Hinduism, he told on Sept. 20.
“We handed over a memorandum to Indian President Ram Nath Kovind through the district collector on Sept. 17 seeking his urgent intervention to ensure the safety and security of the indigenous Christians,” the prelate said.
Bishop Muniya further alleged that local administrators were siding with the right-wing groups and harassing Christians who make up 4 percent of the one million population in the district, leading to a rise in anti-Christian violence.
Father Maria Stephan, public relations officer of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, said both the revenue and police administration of the district were biased against Christians.

Christian families in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have been ostracized by their village for embracing Christianity. The three families from Mangapat Sirsai village in West Singhbhum district, who became Christian a year ago, are being pressurized to return to the tribal Sarna belief system centered on the worship of nature.
The gram sabha or village council on Sept. 17 decided that the converted families will not be allowed to use common properties for free movement or grazing cattle. They will also not be invited to any social gatherings in the village and nobody will interact with them.
Gabbar Singh Hembrom, district president of the Adivasi Ho Samaj Yuva Mahasabha, a youth organization of local tribal people, warned the villagers to abide by the decision or end up paying a fine.
A meeting will be held every Sunday to check if the decision to ostracize the Christian families was being followed strictly by everyone.
Hembrom said: “The entire village follows the Sarna religion except for Raut Bankira, Rajendra Bankira and Hiralal Bankira, who converted to Christianity along with their families a year ago. We are ready to accept them if they return to our faith, but they refused.”
Mangapat Sirsai has nearly 200 households with a population of around 700 people.
Hembrom alleged that some Christian missionaries were luring the tribal people with land and money to convert them.

The Goa-based Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth has elected Sister Berna Rodrigues as their ninth superior general. The election took place September 8, the last day of the congregation’s 12th ordinary general congregation held at St. Joseph Vaz Spiritual Centre, Old Goa.

India’s top court has dis-charged a Catholic priest from a religious conversion case, registered against him in central Indian Madhya Pradesh state three years ago.
Father George Mangalapilly, a professor at St. Ephrem’s Theo-logical College in Satna diocese, was charged with converting Dharmendar Dohar, a Hindu, to Christianity by offering him a bribe of 5,000 rupees (some US$70) and other benefits back in December 2017.
“Apart from the testimony of the witness, there is nothing else on record which could potentially be relied upon against the appellant,” wrote the top court in its order while discharging the priest from the case. The priest along with his 32 seminarians and another priest were taken into police custody on Dec. 14 as they were on their way to sing Christmas carols while visiting Christian homes, a tradition they followed for decades. The Hindu activists, mostly members of the Bajarang Dal, also blocked officers of the police station and demanded action against the priests and all the seminarians for attempting to convert Hindus and.They also alleged ulterior motives to carol singing.

More than 400 Salesian priests, brothers, sisters and young people spread over 19 regions are attending online the Salesian School of Social Communication (SSSC).
The program was opened on September 24 by Father Gildasio Mendes, the general councillor for social communication. 82 members of 12 Salesian provinces of South Asia region attended the online training session.
Introducing the vision and objectives of the year-long program, Father Mendes highlighted September 24 as a historically significant day for Salesian congregation. “We are commencing an important journey keeping in mind the evangelization mission of the Church to be achieved effectively through communication.”
As emphasized by different general chapters of Salesian Congregation, he said, communication is a priority dimension for Salesians. The Salesian School of Social Communication, an initiative of the Social Communication Department of the Congregation, Rome, envisages training all those involved in the social communication ministry, keeping in mind the priorities of the Church and the congregation.
The project further aims at preparing the participants to communicate from the Salesian perspective. The topics to be covered during SSSC are Biblical Dimension of Communication, Synodal Dimension of Communication, Salesian Dimension of Communication, Institutional Dimension of Communication and Youth Pastoral Dimension of Communication.