ബാംഗ്ലൂർ : ന്യൂയർ വാച്ച് നൈറ്റ്‌ സർവീസ് 2024 ഡിസംബർ 31ന് രാത്രി 10:00 മണി മുതൽ കണ്ണൂർ F G A G ചർച്ചിൽ നടക്കുന്നു. പ്രസ്തുത മീറ്റിംഗിൽ 50,000 പേര് പങ്കെടുക്കാൻ വേണ്ടി FGAG സഭാശുശ്രൂഷകൻ റവറന്റ് പോൾ തങ്കയ്യയും ചർച്ച് മെംബേഴ്സും കൂടി ഉപവാസവും പ്രാർത്ഥനയും ചെയ്തു വരുന്നു. ഈ വാച്ച് നൈറ്റ്‌ സർവീസിന് ആർക്ക് വേണമെങ്കിലും ഫാമിലിയോടൊപ്പം FGAG ചർച്ചിൽ കടന്നുവന്ന് പുതുവർഷ പ്രാർത്ഥന കൂട്ടായ്മയിൽ സംബന്ധിക്കാവുന്നതാണ്. ഈ മീറ്റിങ്ങിനു വേണ്ടി 20 ഏക്കർ സ്ഥലവും 2 ലക്ഷത്തി ഇരുപതിനായിരം ഫീറ്റ് ഷാമിയാന ടെന്റ് 50,000 ജനങ്ങൾക്ക് വേണ്ടി ഒരുക്കിയിരിക്കുന്നു. ഈ മീറ്റിംഗിൽ 100 പേര് അടങ്ങുന്ന ക്വയർ ടീം ആരാധനയ്ക്ക് നേതൃത്വം നൽകുന്നു.
Sources:gospelmirror

http://theendtimeradio.com

The top court in northern Indian Uttar Pradesh state has granted bail to a Protestant pastor and his wife after they spent close to 20 months in jail over an alleged case of religious conversion.

The Allahabad High Court granted Pastor Ashok Yadav and Foola Devi bail on Dec. 5. The couple has been in jail since April 2023, when police arrested them from the Nichlaul area of Mahrajganj district.

“We got the copy of the order on Dec. 13 and will try to get them released in a day or two after complying with bail conditions,” said a Church official assisting them.

While granting bail to the Christian couple, Justice Ashutosh Srivastava directed them not to tamper with evidence and cooperate with the investigation and the trial.

The couple, in their submissions, told the court that they were trapped in a false conversion case after inviting them to a house.

After they reached there, the complainant and another person accused them of asking to convert to Christianity. They even kept a copy of the Bible and planted other evidence against them.

The complainant and other witnesses in the case are allegedly members of Bajrang Dal, a hardline Hindu organization.

Some 70 Christians, including pastors, continue to be in different prisons in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, for alleged violation of the state’s stringent anti-conversion law.

“They [Yadav and his wife] are lucky that they got bail as they were charged under the old anti-conversion law,” said the Church official who did not want to be named, fearing retribution.

Uttar Pradesh’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under its Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath has further amended the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act in 2021, making it harsher.

The amendments in July this year have brought in more stringent provisions including life imprisonment. The law made even getting bail difficult in a conversion case, Christian leaders said.

“In December so far, 19 people have been arrested and jailed in different parts of the state for alleged violation of the new draconian law,” said a Protestant pastor.

“At least 40 bail applications of our people are pending before the high court and rest in lower courts,” he added.

Uttar Pradesh tops among Indian states in violence against Christians, with 156 incidents recorded till September this year.

Christians make up a mere 0.18 percent of the state’s more than 200 million population, mostly Hindus.
Sources:ucanews

http://theendtimeradio.com

India — The North Indian state of Rajasthan last week approved an anti-conversion law that makes it mandatory for people wishing to convert to another religion to inform authorities at least two months in advance.

Under the law, the victims of unlawful conversions — those based on misleading information, fraud, force, or undue influence — can be compensated up to 500,000 Indian rupees (about $590), while offenders could get jail terms ranging from up to 10 years. Rajasthan will become the 12th Indian state to have an anti-conversion law.

The bill, known as the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill 2024, must be passed by the state legislature during the winter assembly session to become law.

The state of Rajasthan is ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also is the ruling party at the federal level. This could make it easier and faster for this anti-conversion bill to become law.

Offenses under the bill are classified as non-bailable and cognizable, and the bill includes provisions for varying punishments based on the nature of the offense.

The bill aims to protect vulnerable groups, with stricter penalties for the conversion of minors, women, and individuals from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. It also stipulates that any individual who wishes to convert to another religion must notify the district authority at least 60 days in advance. Then, a notice of 30 days must be given for any ceremony for the conversion.

Then again, after the conversion, the person concerned must inform the collector through an affidavit within 60 days.
These three layers of the conversion process make it formidable and controversial and could also likely contradict the country’s constitutional right to freedom of religion.

Article 25 (1) in India’s Constitution states, “Subject to public order, morality, and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.”

Rajasthan’s anti-conversion bill allows for imprisonment between two to 10 years and a fine of 25,000 Indian rupees (about $300) for converting minors, women, or people from the vulnerable Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities. The imprisonment could extend to three to 10 years and a fine of 50,000 Indian rupees (about $590) for large-scale conversions.

The bill also states that any marriage under duress or through inducements is liable to be annulled. This clause is particularly aimed at curbing inter-religious marriages, especially between Hindus and Muslims.

Alongside Rajasthan, the following are the other states that presently have anti-conversion laws: Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
Sources:persecution

http://theendtimeradio.com