A member of parliament from India’s Andhra Pradesh State has alleged that Christian missionaries use money for religious conversion, a claim rejected by church leaders and activists.

Raghu Ramkrishna Raju, the minister who represents the southern state, claimed in a television debate on May 25 that Christian missionaries are pumping large sums of money to carry out widespread conversions in the state.

“The Catholic Church in Andhra Pradesh or in any part of the country does not promote or propagate religious conversion as claimed by the minister. From time to time, some people accuse Christians of religious conversion. Let them prove it,” Father Anthoniraj Thumma, executive secretary of the Federation of Telugu Churches, told UCA News.

“It is a baseless and misleading claim and there is no truth to it. Churches are involved in education, medical and social work, and there are incidents when some people may be attracted to Christianity, but that does not mean they are converted.

“The Holy Father and the Vatican Council II document clearly state that one’s faith is a matter of consent. It should not be forced on anybody.”

Father Thumma is also regional director of the Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue of Hyderabad Archdiocese.

Raju claimed that conversions in the state were not a recent phenomenon after Jagan Mohan Reddy, its Christian chief minister, assumed office but were taking place long before, adding that proselytization was prevalent across India.

Raju, who is part of the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party in the state, claimed Christian missionaries receive foreign funding to carry out mass conversions nationwide.

Hindu nationalists have vandalized a movie set depicting a church in the Indian State of Kerala, claiming it offended Hindu sensibilities.

Production on the Malayalam language film “Minnal Murali” had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

The set was destroyed on May 24, with the Hindu nationalist groups Antharashtra Hindu Parishad (AHP) and Bajrang Dal publicly claiming responsibility for the vandalism, saying the set was near a Hindu temple.

“When they were building it, we had said no. We had submitted complaints. We don’t have a habit of pleading, so we decided to demolish it. We have to protect our self-respect,” Hari Palode, the general secretary of the AHP, wrote in a Facebook post featuring photographs of the vandals destroying the set.

On May 25, Kerala police arrested two people in connection with the crime, and filed charges against several others. Kerala is one of the centres of Christianity in India, and Christians make up nearly 20% of the population.

Bimola Montry wears many hats as she balances the roles of a family breadwinner and a committed catechist.

The 45-year mother of two has served the Our Lady of Charity Church of Raikia, a parish under the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar arch-diocese, for the past 22 years.

“Being catechist is a call from God despite my unworthiness. This work strengthens my commitment to be an instrument of God,” Montry said while talking to Matters India over phone on May 27.

The archdiocese has 400 part-time and 42 fulltime catechists. But only two full-timers are women, including Montry. “It is true it is a male-dominated world. But my male colleagues collaborate with me well. They never discriminate me just because I am a woman,” she said.

Female catechists are a rare species in the Odisha Church.

For example, all 300 prayer conductors and 32 full-time catechists in neighbouring Rayagada diocese are men.

Berhampur, another diocese in the state, has one woman among 370 catechists and 30 touring catechists. The same is the case with Rourkela diocese that has more than 300 part-time and 43 head catechists.

I read the article ‘Why the Modi government gets away with lies, and how the opposition could change that’ by columnist Shivam Vij in The Print.

With due respect to Shivam Vij, the article is superficial, and only reveals the fatuity and intellectual vacuity of the so-called Indian intelligentsia. In times of elections in India, it is completely irrelevant whether the leader of a party or a candidate is a liar.

Shivam Vij refers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 20 lakh crore (200 billion) rupee economic package to say it is far from a stimulus and is instead a “grand loan mela.” He calls the Modi government’s statement of paying 85 percent of the migrants’ train fare during the lockdown a lie. He was also critical of Modi’s statements on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), demonetization, and electoral bonds.

Shivam Vij refers to the term ‘double think,’ coined by author George Orwell in his famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and asks: “Why do people accept all this so willingly? Why do people, who are lied to every day, go and vote for the BJP?”

Shivam answers by referring to a paper that Christopher Paul and Miriam Mathews wrote for the RAND Corporation, dealing with the four ‘fire-hosing of falsehood’ propaganda techniques of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vij then suggests five ways to India’s opposition to counter Modi’s lies.

Shivam Vij’s thinking is totally superficial, inane, and lacking in depth. Here’s why the BJP keeps winning elections despite Modi’s lies.

As I have explained in several articles – ‘India is still India – A Response to Aatish Taseer’ published in indicanews; ‘Is India truly a secular country?’ published in Punjab Today; ‘Dark days are ahead for India’ published in Daily Times – although the Constitution declares India to be a secular country, the ground reality is very different.

India is in fact a highly communal country. That is because secularism is a feature of industrial society, but India is still semi-feudal. In India, most Hindus are communal, as are most Muslims. This I can say from my personal knowledge. When I am sitting with my relatives and Hindu friends, and they are sure no Muslim is present, they often spout venom against Muslims. When a Muslim is lynched, most Hindus are indifferent, some are even happy…” Said Justice Katju.

The first Indian from the deaf and dumb community on May 25 pronounced his first religious vows, in a historical and rare event.

Brother Joseph Thermadom made became a member of the Holy Cross Society as the congregation’s novitiate at Yercaud in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu State.

Joseph hails from the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese in neighbouring Kerala State. He was born deaf to Thomas and Rosy Thermadom, who are hearing parents, says a press release from the congregation.

Members of the Sikh community won several hearts as they sanitized the Delhi’s Jama Masjid ahead of Eid, a Muslim that ends a month of fast and penance for Muslims.

The incident, which has set an example of communal harmony in front of the country, took place on May 23.

Jama Masjid will remain closed for congregational prayers as part of the lockdown imposed in the country to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

Ahead of Eid, several important names in the Muslim community also released video messages, asking people to follow the norms of social distancing to prevent the further spread of coronavirus.