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.