Indian bishops meet Prime Minister Modi to discuss attacks on Christians

By Lisa Zengarini

India’s Catholic bishops have expressed concern about growing hostility towards Christians in the country.

At a meeting with newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last week, a delegation of the Indian Bishops’ Conference led by its chairman, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, asked for his intervention to end the violence and harassment of Christians, according to the Uca news agency.

Abuse of anti-conversion laws

During the 45-minute meeting, which the bishops described as “cordial”, the four-member delegation presented the leader of the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) with a memorandum lamenting the misuse of anti-conversion laws and increasing attacks on Christians under the false pretext of forced conversion.

Discrimination

The memorandum also reiterated the church’s long-standing demand to the government that the special benefits that India provides to lower-caste Dalits – such as quotas in government jobs and educational institutions and financial assistance – should be extended to Christian Dalits as well. Christian and Muslim Dalits continue to be excluded from these concessions introduced after India’s independence, on the grounds that Christianity and Islam do not follow the caste system. The church leaders also urged Prime Minister Modi not to stop the special government benefits that tribal Christians now receive, as demanded by some Hindu groups. According to these groups, Christian tribals are not followers of tribal religions and hence should not be considered tribal after their conversion.

The memorandum informed Modi about the long absence of Christian representation in the National Commission for Minorities and the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions and called for the appointment of Christians in these institutions.

Inappropriate challenges for Christian NGOs

It also expressed concern about the “undue challenges” faced by Christian NGOs in renewing their registration under the FCRA (Foreign Currency Regulation Act) and highlighted the significant contributions of the Christian community, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare and social welfare.

Modi’s invitation to Pope Francis to visit India

The memorandum welcomed Modi’s invitation to Pope Francis to visit India during the outreach session of the G7 summit in southern Italy in June and called for further efforts to expedite the process of the Pope’s arrival in India.”

During the meeting, the delegation also asked for Modi’s intervention in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, where ethnic violence has been raging since May 3, 2023.