There is rightly plenty of attention to Islamic and Chinese oppression and persecution of Christians, but there is still far too little to such oppression and persecution by the Israelis, and even less to their perpetration in the name of the Dharma. Anto Akkara writes:
The results of staggered elections in four key Indian states held in April have drawn diverse reactions from the Christian community following the May 4 counting of the votes.
While the poll outcomes from the two southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been soothing for Christians, the results from West Bengal and Assam in eastern and northeastern India have come as frustrating for Christian communities.
Kerala: A ‘clear verdict’ against propaganda
In the southern Christian heartland of Kerala, the ruling communist alliance was decimated to 35 seats while the opposition Congress-led alliance won 102 seats in the 140-member assembly of Kerala, a state of 35 million people, 18% of whom are Christian.
“The result has shown that the people cannot be misled by propaganda and they have given a clear verdict against it,” Father Thomas Tharayil, deputy secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council, told EWTN News on May 6.
The remark came against the backdrop of anti-Christian propaganda by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with prominent Christians in the BJP even attacking Church leaders for the Churchʼs protest against the draconian amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
Christians in Kerala were relieved after four prominent Christians who had allied with the BJP lost the polls despite making much noise against church leadership: P.C. George, a seven-time Kerala legislator; his son Shone George; federal Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian; and Anoop Antony, son of veteran Congress party leader and former Kerala chief minister A.K. Antony.
Half a dozen other Christian candidates the BJP fielded in Christian pockets under its lotus symbol also lost, while the party won just three seats with its Hindu candidates.
Tamil Nadu: A ‘genuinely historic’ TVK upset
In neighboring Tamil Nadu, with a population of 77 million, the new political party TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam — Victory Party of Tamil Nadu), founded by Catholic actor Joseph Vijay, stunned the Dravidian parties that had held power for nearly six decades between them.
Under Vijayʼs leadership, the TVK he founded in 2024 won 108 of the 234 seats in the state legislature, with the ruling DMK reduced to 73 and the opposition AIADMK left with 53 seats.
Describing the TVK victory that stunned even poll forecasts as “genuinely historic,” Father Charles Antony, editor of the Catholic fortnightly New Leader based in Chennai, told EWTN News: “Vijayʼs victory is real, consequential, and disruptive [of the] bipolar politics” in the state, which has more than 5 million Christians.
“He visited churches, temples, and mosques alike during the campaign, successfully projecting himself as a leader for all communities. This secular messaging helped his party distance itself from identity-based polarization,” he added.
While Vijay is “Catholic,” Antony emphasized that “his Christian identity is incidental to his politics. Attacks from the BJP [on his Christian identity] with ‘minority’ tag against him, paradoxically, may have helped consolidate minority votes.”
West Bengal: ‘A terrible result many had feared’
The likely outcome in West Bengal — the state bordering Bangladesh — had been the subject of much conjecture even before voting, due to the controversial, hurried action of the Election Commission of India that disenfranchised more than 9 million, or 12%, of its 76 million voters under a Special Intensive Revision of the voter list.
The Trinamool Congress, which had ruled the state since 2011 across three consecutive terms, lost the election badly — as many had feared — winning a mere 80 seats while the BJP captured power in the state for the first time, with 205 seats in the 294-seat state assembly.
“This is a terrible result many had feared,” Sunil Lucas, former president of Signis India, told EWTN News, while prominent Church leaders declined to comment on the results that bring the Hindu nationalist BJP to power in West Bengal — with Kolkata as its capital — for the first time.
“Decoding BJPʼs Bengal sweep: 77 seats won in 2021 retained, 129 wrested from TMC,” Indian Express summed up the results, which were flayed by the ruling party and the opposition parties other than the BJP.
On May 5, the national news channel NDTV carried a similar report with graphic details on how the ruling Trinamool Congress party “performed in seats with high voter deletions.” In constituencies where more than 25,000 voters had been disenfranchised, the BJP had won 95 of 147 seats, the report pointed out.
Assam: ‘Democracy becomes a failure’
In Assam state in the northeast, the BJP improved its tally with allies to 102 of the stateʼs 126 seats, securing a third consecutive term.
“When the ruling party with over two-thirds majority has no member of the minorities in the legislature, democracy becomes a failure,” Allen Brooks, a Catholic and spokesperson for the ecumenical Assam Christian Forum, told EWTN News.
While none of the 82 BJP winners are from the Muslim community, which accounts for 34% of Assamʼs population, Brooks also lamented that “there is not a single Christian in the Assam Assembly now, though Christians account for 3.7%” of the stateʼs 31 million people.
Nirmala Carvalho writes:
Police in the Indian state of Rajasthan have arrested four Catholic men and charged them under multiple sections of the penal code, including attempted murder, after a group of right-wing Hindu activists disrupted a Mass gathering and accused worshippers of engaging in religious conversions.
According to local Church leaders, the incident occurred in Kalinjara village, Rajasthan’s Banswara district, within the Diocese of Udaipur, during an evening Mass held as part of a Novena leading up to a Marian feast on May 7. The prayer service was being held at a private grotto because there is no church building in the area.
Father Arvind Amliyar of Trinity Parish in Kalinjara told Crux Now that approximately a dozen men entered the gathering during the distribution of the Eucharist and began accusing the Catholics present of conducting “forced conversions.” A confrontation followed, and police later detained four Catholic men who remain in jail facing charges under anti-conversion laws and other criminal statutes.
India has a population of over 1.4 billion people, and the vast majority – around 80 percent – are Hindu. Christians make up just 2.3 percent of the population, a number that has remained unchanged for decades despite accusations of “forced conversion” by Hindu nationalists.
The state of Rajasthan has an even higher average number of Hindus – nearly 90 percent – and its Christian population is just 0.14 percent.
“There is no formal church building in that area, so the faithful gather at a grotto on private property,” Amliyar told Crux Now. “Catholic families and people from nearby areas are invited to join in prayer.”
Father Parsing Damor, a newly ordained priest from the village and a member of the Phil Tribe, presided at the Mass when the group stormed in.
“They started making allegations like ‘conversions taking place’,” Amliyar said. “Our people tried to calm the situation and suggested calling the police to clarify matters.”
The situation escalated when, according to the priest, one of the intruders was seen carrying a knife.
“Our people noticed that one of them had a knife. That’s when tensions rose, and some members of the congregation reacted angrily. A scuffle ensued,” he said.
Police arrived quickly. However, instead of initiating an inquiry into the allegations, officers detained four Catholic men at the gathering.
“They immediately took four individuals into custody—a retired government school principal, a young man, and two middle-aged men,” Amliyar said. “All of them are Catholics. There was no question of conversion.”
Efforts by the local community to file a criminal report were reportedly unsuccessful.
“Our complaint was not registered despite repeated attempts, even when a large group approached the police station,” the priest told Crux Now.
The four Catholics are in jail and have since been charged under multiple sections of the penal code, including attempted murder and violations of anti-conversion laws.
Additional arrests have also been reported.
“The next day, more individuals were taken into custody. There are claims that others were involved or abetted the incident,” Amliyar added.
Meanwhile, fear has spread among the village’s residents, many of whom are Bhil tribal community members. The Bhil people have a larger percentage of Christians than the rest of the state.
“People are frightened. Those whose names have been mentioned are in hiding, especially the men,” Amliyar said.
Despite the confrontation, no serious injuries or property damage were reported. The priest who had celebrated the Mass left the area shortly after the incident.
As legal proceedings begin, the community awaits bail hearings and further developments. The case highlights ongoing sensitivities around religious practices in rural regions and raises questions about law enforcement response and the protection of minority communities.
“This is not about conversion,” Amliyar said. “It was a peaceful prayer gathering that was disrupted.”
Bishop Devprasad Ganawa of Udaipur condemned the incident, saying it disrupts the life of the village and the wider community.
“A peaceful celebration was underway, attended solely by Catholic faithful. Today, being a Christian presents significant challenges, and it often feels as though we are under constant surveillance,” he told Crux Now.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has ruled India since 2014, is linked with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist group.
Hindu nationalists often accuse Christians of using force and surreptitious tactics in pursuing conversions, and such “illegal conversions” can be punished with fines and jail time.
And Nirmala Carvalho also writes:
Four Catholics have been arrested in Kalinjara, a village in Rajasthan’s Banswara district within the Diocese of Udaipur, on allegations that included “forced conversion,” according to local Church officials.
The arrests come amid continuing tensions in India over anti-conversion laws and accusations by Hindu nationalist groups that Christians use coercive or deceptive methods to convert people — allegations Church leaders have repeatedly denied.
India has been governed since 2014 by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is closely associated with Hindu nationalist organizations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Several Hindu nationalist groups have campaigned aggressively against alleged religious conversions, and in several Indian states, including Rajasthan, so-called illegal conversions can carry penalties including fines and prison sentences.
Christians make up about 2.3 percent of India’s population of more than 1.4 billion people, according to government data. In Rajasthan, where Hindus account for nearly 90 percent of the population, Christians represent roughly 0.14 percent.
Crux Now spoke with Bishop Devprasad Ganawa of Udaipur and Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, the retired archbishop of Guwahati, about the recent arrests and the broader climate facing Christians in India.
Crux Now: What is your reaction to this latest incident?
Ganawa: The incident is strongly condemnable, as it disrupts the life of the village and the wider community. A peaceful celebration was underway, attended solely by Catholic faithful. Today, being a Christian presents significant challenges, and it often feels as though we are under constant surveillance.
Nevertheless, our apostolate in education, healthcare, and welfare services continues unabated. Our personnel serve tirelessly, reaching out to people of all castes and creeds without discrimination. We remain committed to our mission of contributing to nation-building.”
Crux Now: Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, the incident in Udaipur diocese comes amid a broader pattern of increasing hostility. According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) and its Religious Liberty Commission, there was an increase in reported persecution in 2025. The EFI documented 747 verified incidents of hostility against Christians in India in 2025, higher than 640 incidents in 2024. Does this rising intolerance against Christians reflect a worrying trend?
Menamparampil: We have reports from Udaipur diocese of a group of 12-13 Hindutva activists disturbing a gathering of 70 Catholics gathered for prayer in Kalinjara village, Banswara District. They were accused of conversion activities and cow slaughter. The scuffle that followed turned violent. The police refused to register a complaint. Our national leaders connive at these instances of violence.
Over 640 such incidents were reported in 2024. Every year there has been a steady increase.
The other day, Dattatreya Hosable, the General Secretary of the RSS, claimed that his organization was not an Indian version of the Ku Klux Klan. In the mouth of some of our leaders today, a denial is the assertion of a fact. It has become a standard mode and widely acceptable.
It is true, the RSS does not take to direct violence like the Ku Klux Klan, but it plants division among communities that leads to communal clashes and victimisation of the minorities. It motivates and trains Hindutva youth volunteers, places before them goals and strategies, and outsources violence to these risk-takers. Those of them who are ready to be beaten up or arrested are honored as heroes. They know they will be released soon. That explains the recklessness in our streets today.
Crux Now: The BJP has won the 2026 Legislative Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam. What are your concerns with this victory?
Menamparampil: The victory of the BJP in the recent elections in West Bengal and Assam sends a red signal round the nation. Cow-protection forces will increase. There will be fresh volunteers to enforce the meat ban near temples; new scholars to distort history in revised textbooks; ready accusers of forced conversion.
Healing services are already forbidden by law in Assam. We are waiting to see what the first decision of the new Assam Government will be, giddy with their victory.
What we suggest in response is not collision, but collaboration; not ongoing tussle, but joining hands together for shared social service; not empty boasts of past achievements, but enthusiastic appreciation of each other’s contribution. Let us begin again.
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