അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര പ്രശസ്തനായ ക്രൈസ്തവ സുവിശേഷ പ്രചാരകൻ റവ. ഫ്രാങ്ക്ലിൻ ഗ്രഹാമിന് ഇന്ത്യൻ വിസ നിഷേധിച്ച നടപടി പുനഃപരിശോധിക്കണമെന്ന് നാഷണൽ പീപ്പിൾസ് പാർട്ടി (എൻപിപി) കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാരിനോട് അഭ്യർഥിച്ചു.
നാഗാലാൻഡിലേക്ക് ക്ഷണിക്കപ്പെട്ട റവ. ഗ്രഹാമിന്റെ സന്ദർശനം തടയപ്പെട്ടത് വലിയ നിരാശയും പ്രതിഷേധവും ഉണ്ടാക്കിയെന്ന് എൻപിപി ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടി.
എൻപിപി ദേശീയ വർക്കിംഗ് പ്രസിഡന്റ് ജെയിംസ് പി.കെ. സാംഗ്മ, കേന്ദ്ര വിദേശകാര്യ മന്ത്രിക്കയച്ച കത്തിലാണ് ഈ ആവശ്യം ഉന്നയിച്ചത്.
റവ. ഫ്രാങ്ക്ലിൻ ഗ്രഹാമിന്റെ സന്ദർശനം നാഗാ ജനതയ്ക്കും വടക്കുകിഴക്കൻ ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസികൾക്കും ആത്മീയ നവീകരണത്തിന്റെയും ഐക്യത്തിന്റെയും അവസരമായിരുന്നു. ഈ പരിപാടി പ്രദേശത്ത് സമാധാനം, അനുരഞ്ജനം, സാമൂഹിക ഐക്യം എന്നിവ ശക്തിപ്പെടുത്തുമായിരുന്നു- സാംഗ്മ കത്തിൽ എഴുതി.
ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസികൾ ഭൂരിപക്ഷമായ പ്രദേശത്ത് സമാധാനപരമായ ഒരു മതപരിപാടി വിസാ പ്രശ്നം കാരണം തടസ്സപ്പെട്ടത് തെറ്റിദ്ധാരണയും അകൽച്ചയും സൃഷ്ടിക്കുമെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം മുന്നറിയിപ്പ് നൽകി.
വിദേശികളുടെ പ്രവേശനം നിയന്ത്രിക്കാനുള്ള സർക്കാർ അവകാശത്തെ പൂർണമായി അംഗീകരിക്കുന്നുവെന്ന് വ്യക്തമാക്കിയ എൻപിപി, ഈ തീരുമാനം നിയമപരമായി പുനഃപരിശോധിക്കണമെന്ന് അഭ്യർഥിച്ചു.
“ഈ തീരുമാനം പുനഃപരിശോധിച്ചാൽ ഇന്ത്യയുടെ മതസ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തോടും സർവമത സഹിഷ്ണുതയോടുമുള്ള പ്രതിബദ്ധത ലോകത്തിന് മുന്നിൽ വീണ്ടും ഉറപ്പിക്കാനാകും. നാഗാലാൻഡിലെയും വടക്കുകിഴക്കൻ ഇന്ത്യയിലെയും ക്രൈസ്തവ സമൂഹത്തിന് അത് വലിയ ആശ്വാസം പകരും- ജെയിംസ് സാംഗ്മ കത്തിൽ കുറിച്ചു.
റവ. ഫ്രാങ്ക്ലിൻ ഗ്രഹാം ഫെബ്രുവരിയിൽ നാഗാലാൻഡിൽ നടക്കാനിരുന്ന മതസമ്മേളനത്തിൽ പങ്കെടുക്കാനാണ് ഇന്ത്യയിലേക്ക് വരേണ്ടിയിരുന്നത്. എന്നാൽ കേന്ദ്ര ആഭ്യന്തര മന്ത്രാലയം അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ഇ-വിസ അപേക്ഷ നിഷേധിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു.
Sources:fb

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The Ministry of Home Affairs recently denied visa to Christian evangelist Franklin Graham from the United States, who was scheduled to visit Kohima in Nagaland on 30th November for a Christian event. While his visit has been cancelled, the event would continue as stated by the organisation behind it. The Centre has not publicly stated the reason behind rejecting visa to Franklin, however, his long-standing activities in India, including conversion-linked outreach through his organisation Samaritan’s Purse, might be at the core of the decision.

Franklin Graham’s long history in India
Over the past few decades, Franklin has visited India multiple times. His organisation, Samaritan’s Purse, has been involved in conversion-oriented activities in the country, using aid, food distribution, and other material assistance as a tool for evangelism. In the 1980s, the organisation had announced plans to establish one thousand churches in India and has worked towards that goal through various mission programmes.

His father, the late Billy Graham, first visited India in the 1950s and had met then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He also had links to the Gandhi family. These historical associations must be recalled as the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee has openly criticised the central government for denying visa to him.

Organisations criticised Government for denying visa
The Nagaland Joint Christian Forum (NJCF), National People’s Party (NPP), Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO), Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) and others have expressed disappointment over the cancellation of Graham’s visit due to visa restrictions.

NJCF is the organisation that had arranged the event which Franklin was scheduled to attend. Despite the setback, NJCF said the scheduled programme, organised with the Kohima Baptist Pastors’ Fellowship, would proceed as planned. The event took place on 30th November at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. NJCF called the event an opportunity for unity and worship.

On the other hand, NPP said it was disappointed and troubled by the Centre’s decision. The party noted that local churches had prepared extensively and that thousands of Christians were anticipating Graham’s visit.

NPP argued that Christianity in Nagaland is not a ceremonial identity but the moral and social backbone of the State. It said the cancellation had hurt sentiments and raised concerns about how the Christian minority is being treated. While acknowledging India’s sovereign authority in visa matters, NPP warned that repeated restrictions could erode minority confidence in democratic institutions.

The CPO issued a statement calling the visa denial a “direct affront” to the Christian community of Nagaland. CPO leaders Veuzhu Keyho and Chepetso Koza said the decision hurt the sentiments of people who had been preparing in prayer for months.

The group described the event as an anticipated moment of renewal and revival. It linked the decision to what it termed a historical pattern of “stepmotherly treatment” by the Centre, recalling even the 1929 Naga Club memorandum to the Simon Commission. CPO said the refusal widened the existing trust deficit and reopened old wounds, asserting that the Nagas’ right to self-determine their future must be respected. It urged the Centre to act with transparency and sensitivity in matters concerning the State’s distinct identity.

The NPCC condemned the visa denial and called it discriminatory and an “insult” to the Christian community. Congress claimed the decision reflects what it described as the BJP-RSS establishment’s intolerance towards religious minorities. It criticised the Naga People’s Front (NPF), a partner in the ruling alliance, accusing it of remaining silent and failing to defend the concerns of its own people.

Franklin Graham mocked Hinduism
In 2010, during an interview with USA Today, Franklin Graham had mocked Hinduism for its many manifestations of God and said “No elephant with 100 arms can do anything for me. None of their 9,000 gods is going to lead me to salvation.”

“We are fooling ourselves if we think we can have some big kumbaya service and all hold hands and it’s all going to get better in this world. It’s not going to get better,” Graham added.

His remarks were a direct dismissal of Hindu beliefs. He reduced the rich and ancient Hindu tradition to caricatures. By saying “No elephant with 100 arms can do anything for me” and referring to “9,000 gods”, he was not merely expressing theological disagreement, he was ridiculing Hindu Gods and asserting that they hold no value or power.

His argument rested on an exclusivist evangelical claim that salvation is possible only through Christianity, rejecting the legitimacy of all other religious paths. When he criticised the idea of a “big kumbaya service”, he mocked the very concept of interfaith harmony, implying that coexistence or mutual respect between religions is meaningless.

His mocking of Hinduism reflected the same missionary mindset that has historically targeted India, dismissing its civilisational heritage while aggressively promoting conversion under the guise of spiritual concern.

Mission to build 1,000 churches in India
In 1984, Franklin came to India to lay the foundation stone of a church. In a report from January 2020 on Samaritan’s Purse’s website, the organisation flaunted the fact that over the years, it has established 1,012 churches and 12 Bible schools across India.

The organisation used the standard modus operandi to attract Hindus towards Christianity, by providing basic amenities, education and health care. The report noted that most of the churches established by the organisation included a well where Hindus could come and get clean water.

“This gave Christians the opportunity to share the same Good News that Jesus once revealed to a Samaritan woman drawing water: “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14, ESV),” the report noted.

Using COVID pandemic as tool to convert people
As most of the evangelists do, Franklin also used the pandemic to claim that only “Christian God” can save people from the disease. In May 2020, targeting India, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association published a video from 2010 when Franklin was in India to attend a conversion event. In the post, the organisation wrote, “As COVID claims thousands of lives in India, join us in praying the people of India come to know the living Saviour. This clip is from Franklin Graham’s 2010 visit to the country.”

In April 2021, when the second wave of COVID-19 hit India, Franklin’s organisation Samaritan’s Purse claimed that it distributed food to 1,000 families, helped a local clinic for COVID-19 care and more. It is, though, unclear which channel the organisation used to provide relief material during the pandemic in India.
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