Source: Morning Star News, July 21, 2014
Church leaders in India have asked national and Chhattisgarh state officials to reverse a ban on non-Hindu religious activity that more than 50 villages have reportedly adopted.
The resolutions were passed under the pretext of stopping alleged forcible conversions of Hindus. Belar village banned all non-Hindu activities in a council meeting on July 6, after about a dozen villages adopted a similar resolution in Sirisguda village on May 10 that included a ban on non-Hindu missionaries.
“To stop the forced conversion by some outsiders religious campaigners and to prevent them from using derogatory language against Hindu deities and customs, the Sirisguda Gram Sabha [Village Council] bans religious activities such as prayers, meetings and propaganda of non-Hindu religions,” the resolution states.
“This resolution goes against the ethos of the constitution, which guarantees to everyone the right to equality and freedom of religion,” said attorney Tehmina Arora of religious rights group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) of India.
» See also Indian Villages Outlaw Christian Practices (World Watch Monitor).