Abandoned, unwanted, and grossly underrepresented is how religious minorities, including Christians, feel in the western Indian state of Gujarat — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.
The alienation is so complete that the majority of Christians or Muslims living here are resigned to their fate as second-class citizens in this “model state” that owes much to Modi’s development-oriented governance as its chief minister from 2001 to 2014.
The marginalized communities make no bones about their disillusionment with both the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, which swears by secular-liberal values but practices a softer version of “Hindutva” (Hindu nationalism).
Naturally, the minorities are seething with anger at being sys-tematically reduced to irrelevance — it is as if they do not matter in Gujarat. With the provincial assembly polls round the corner, their political fate hangs in the balance.
There is little hope or assurance of adequate political re-presentation for Christians or Muslims here. And there is little or no other option.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which rose from the ashes of a nationwide anti-corruption crusade in 2012 and rules Delhi and Punjab in the north, has entered the fray and forged an alliance with the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTS), headed by tribal strong-man Chhotu Vasava, himself a legislator.
“Census figures show Christians barely form 0.50 percent of Gujarat’s 63 million people; but their numbers in about 10 assembly segments, especially in the southern tribal belt”
But Christians, who have sizable numbers in the tribal belt of South Gujarat, are keeping their fingers crossed when it comes to the number of nominations they could expect for their co-religionists.
The BJP never bothered to grant the Christian community adequate representation in the state assembly election, while the Congress indulges in mere tokenism — repeating the nomination of the lone Christian candidate, Punaji Gamit, for the last four terms.
Even Gamit’s nomination stands threatened due to a campaign by pro-Hindu forces, but Congress would still like to ride on his successful run so far.

A resolution commemorating the life of Indian human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said.
Vargas, the Representative from the US state of California, recently introduced the resolution in Congress to commemorate Swamy “and to encourage an independent investigation” into his death.
The resolution is co-sponsored by Representatives Andre Carson and James McGovern. Its introduction in the US House of Representatives coincided with the first anniversary of 84-year-old Swamy’s death in judicial custody.
Vargas, a Democratic Party Congressman, was speaking at a webinar titled ‘Persecution of Religious Minorities and their Defenders in India: Commemorating Father Stan’s Death in Custody’ on July 5.
The panelists noted Swamy’s extensive service fighting for the rights of the tribals. “I am appalled by the abuse Father Stan faced while in custody. No one who fights for human rights should face such violence and neglect,” said Vargas.
Swamy was admitted on May 29, 2021, in a Mumbai hospital, a day after he suffered a cardiac arrest and was put on the ventilator. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease and several other ailments. He died July 5, 2021.
Father Swamy was arrested by the NIA from Ranchi, Jharkhand, on October 8, 2020, under the stringent UAPA in connection with the Elgar Parishad case and lodged at the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai.

Pope Francis on July 10 renewed his appeal for peace in Sri Lanka which has been rocked by instability for months over a worsening economic crisis. “I unite myself to the sorrow of the Sri Lankan people, who continue to suffer the effects of political and economic instability,” the Pope said at the Angelus, the traditional mid-day prayer on Sunday.
Following weeks of popular demonstrations, groups of protesters in Sri Lanka on July 9 stormed the presidential palace and other government buildings, demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka who broke into embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence have claimed to have recovered millions of rupees inside his mansion, according to a media report.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, crippled by an acute shortage of foreign exchange that has left it struggling to pay for essential imports of fuel, and other essentials.
The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly US$7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about US$25 billion due through 2026.

Not many people outside Gujarat and even within this western Indian state itself know that there is a Christian Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Hindutva laboratory – one who has won four terms in a row. And that is perhaps because of his common tribal identity.
Punaji Gamit, 56, a Protestant, represents Vyara, a constituency in the tribal-dominated Tapi district of South Gujarat. He happens to be a convert – like 30% of others in his constituency.
So not many people know that these days Gujarat’s sole Christian assemblyman is losing sleep over an issue — the demand for delisting converts like him from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list — which has serious ramifications for him and other converts. This demand is being pushed by Janjati Su-raksha Manch (JSM), an outfit backed by the powerful right-wing Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Despite being the only Christian MLA, Gamit has not emerged as the voice and face of the Christian community. The Dalit community, which accounts for 7.5% of the population, has an iconic figure in the outspoken Jignesh Mevani.
Though about 60 Christian organiza-tions in South Gujarat have come together to form a common plat-form to counter what they des-cribe as Hindu groups’ controversial move, the community so far does not have a prominent face to spearhead the cause.
In fact, the Christian community does not even have a leader of the stature of Chhotu Vasava — an MLA known across the whole tribal belt.
“As a beneficiary of tribal status, Gamit understands that with de-listing he will not be able to contest elections and represent the tribal community”
Interestingly, even this lone Christian MLA, who is a member of the Congress Party, is not part of the Christian group that has been formed to combat the JSM’s campaign which Christians fear is likely to reach its logical conclusion in the Monsoon session of Indian parliament expected to start on July 18.

Christians cutting across denominations came together at various parts of India July 3 to organize special programs to mark the 1950th martyrdom day of Saint Thomas the Apostle.
Saint Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of India, is believed to have come to India in 52 AD and preached the Christian faith in the western and southern regions of the country. He was martyred 20 years later in Chennai, currently the capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Since 2021, the day is being observed as the Indian Christian Day to “love the neighbor, serve society, celebrate Jesus and bless India.”
The ecumenical annual day helps Christians to remember and celebrate “the person and message of Lord Jesus Christ in India.” That also helps them preserve their identity with the Indian cultural heritage and promoting unity. The day, a people’s movement, saw Christians organizing festivities, cultural programs, community service, health and literacy camps, food and clothes drive, environmental cleanup and workshops.

A civil society group assisting Catholic nuns in distress has opposed a reported move to reinstate Bishop Franco Mulakkal to his former post after being acquitted of rape charges by a trial court.Save Our Sisters (SOS) in a June 14 statement urged Catholic authorities “to reconsider a possible attempt to bring back Bishop Mulakkal” while referring to news reports about his resuming pastoral duties in Jalandhar Diocese in northern India. The media reports appeared after a visit by Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio in India, to the diocese on June 11-12.
“It is true Archbishop Girelli has confirmed to priests that the Vatican [has] accepted the Indian court order that exonerated Bishop Mulakkal from charges of rape,” said Bishop Agnelo Rufino Gracias, apostolic administrator of Jalandhar, although he dismissed the media reports.There was no discussion on the reinstatement of Bishop Mulakkal, he told UCA News. “It is normal practice that the Vatican accepts the ruling of a court in any country where it works,” Bishop Gracias said. “There was nothing more to be attached or attributed to it.” SOS, however, said the Vatican is likely to act solely on the report and advice of the apostolic nuncio, who is a Mulakkal supporter

An interdenominational rights group in India’s national capital has demanded the federal government and judiciary intervene immediately to check the rapid rise in incidents of violence, coercion and false arrests of Christians.
The New Delhi-based United Christian Forum (UCF) has cited 207 cases of persecution in 2022 to back the demand. It documented 505 cases in 2021. “This data flies in the face of statements by government functionaries and leaders of the ruling party at the center and in the states that there is no persecution and that there are only a few stray incidents by fringe elements,” said UCF national president Michael Williams in a press statement on June 13. William said it was ironic that the culprits, many of whom even film the acts of vandalism and physical violence on unarmed women and men, dare to defy the law with such impunity while the pastors and faithful gathered for prayers are arrested on false charges of religious conversion. “In all such cases, the police are either mute spectators or active participants. Despite our appeals to senior officials and administrators, the police have failed to follow protocol, rules and conduct investigations,” the press statement added.
Based on the data collected from its national helpline number 1800-208-4545, the UCF said as many as 57 cases of persecution against Christians were recorded in May alone. The most acute situation prevailed in UP and MP states in the north, Chhattisgarh in the east and Karnataka in the south. “The data collected so far wasn’t exhaustive as many incidents did not come on our radar and hence aren’t recorded” There were 40 incidents recorded in January, 35 in February, 33 in March and 40 in April.

Catholics have criticized a pro-Hindu publication for calling Devasahayam Pillai, the first Indian layman to be declared a saint, “a thief who was shot dead for his crime.”
The objectionable writing questioning the recent canonization titled “Devasahayam Pillai and Holy Sins” is published in the June 10 issue of Kesari, a Malayalam-language weekly known as a mouthpiece of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in southern India’s Kerala state.
The three-page article by writer Murali Parapuram claimed that all the reasons cited by the Catholic Church for the saint-hood are totally false because there was no spiritual transformation in him.
It further described Saint Devasahayam as “a victim of religious conversion activities carried out by Christian missionaries” and charged the Church with “distorting history through fraudulent documents to promote their religious interests rather than any other concerns.”
“The RSS magazine is creating mistrust and confusion among the people and thereby whipping up communal discord,” said Father Michael Pulickal, secretary of the social harmony and vigilance commission of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council.

The Kerala High Court on June 23 granted bail to a Catholic priest and a nun who have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the sensational Abhaya murder case.
The division bench of Justices Vinod Chandran and C Jayachandran acted upon the petitions of Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy seeking suspension of their life term.
The court asked the two to deposit 500,000 rupees each and refrain from leaving Kerala without the court’s permission.
Earlier in December 2020, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Court had sentenced the priest to two life terms besides a fine of 500,000 rupees after conviction under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Sister Sephy was also convicted and handed down life imprisonment under the same section in addition to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for tampering with evidence under Section 201 (destruction of evidence).
After a prolonged legal battle, the CBI court had found them guilty of murdering Sister Abhaya, whose body was found March 27, 1992, inside a well at a con-vent in Kottayam, a town in Kerala. The trial court had allowed the discharge petition of another alleged accused Father Jose Puthrikkayil.

The Catholic Church in India should seriously address the existence of casteism within its fold as it organizes a national thanksgiving prayer for Saint Devasahayam, says the Dalit Christian Liberation Movement.
The Church in India will on June 24 hold the prayer service from the tomb of the newly canonized India’s first lay person at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral of Kottar, Tamil Nadu.
An open letter from the Dalit movement agrees to celebrate Devasahayam’s canonization is quite fitting, but what is “more important and necessary is to invoke the true spirit of his martyrdom.”
The June 23 letter signed by M. Mary John, the movement’s president, urges the Church not to treat the thanksgiving “only as a spiritual exercise or religious ritual” but as an occasion to introspect about the conti-nuing oppression and discrimination of its Dalit members.
“This occasion should be a call to the Catholic Church to stop this. This is also important in the context of the call by Pope Francis for Synodality in the Church,” it adds.
John says the saint was martyred because he converted to Christianity defying the then prevailing oppressive and discriminating caste system. Saint Devasahayam became “a true witness” to Christ’s values and mission.
“He stood up firmly against the caste hegemony of the ruling class of the then kingdom of Travancore in South India,” the letter explains.
The movement says Devasahayam was martyred for the same cause that the movement now demands.
The global Christian community, it says, is ignorant about continuation of the caste oppression and discrimination even three centuries after Devasahayam’s times and that its “worst victim” is the Dalit Christians.
“But even after so many years, casteism, caste oppression and discrimination continues in the Catholic Church itself, which need to be challenged on this occasion,” the letter asserts.
The letter further says the movement has raised this issue “vociferously in recent times. But this truth will be suppressed and hidden by the glitters of the celebration, liturgical services and rituals scheduled to be led by the top members of India’s Catholic hierarchy.”
It wants the hierarchy in India to use the thanksgiving occasion to own up the existence of casteism in the Church and resolve to take steps to eradicate it.