Radical Hindu groups in India have launched a campaign to stop the country’s tribal, or indigenous, people from converting to Christianity by demanding that the government ban those who convert from receiving education and employment opportunities, according to reports.
Supporters of All India Christian Council pray during a rally in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 29, 2007. The activists demanded protection from violence by right-wing Hindu organizations and safeguarding of their religious rights. | (Photo: AP / Gurinder Osan)
As part of Hindu nationalists’ ongoing campaign to stop India’s tribal, or indigenous, people from converting to Christianity, a rightwing Hindu leader has demanded that all churches be closed down in a district in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
Azad Prem Singh, a leader of the Hindu nationalist group the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or the World Hindu Council, handed over a memorandum to the administrative head of Jhabua district, demanding that all churches be banned in tribal areas, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reported Sunday.