United Christian Forum for Human Rights

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United Christian Forum for Human Rights
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The United Christian Forum for Human Rights (UCFHR) is a coalition of Christian organizations in India that was formed in 2014 with the aim of advocating for the rights of Christians and other religious minorities in the country.

Contents

The UCFHR plays an important role in advocating for the rights of Christians and other religious minorities in India. The organization has worked to improve access to justice, provide legal support, and raise awareness about the situation of religious minorities in the country.

Objectives

The main objectives of the UCFHR include:

Leaders

Alan Basil de Lastic

Alan Basil de Lastic, formerly Archbishop of Delhi, was instrumental in bringing members of most Christian denominations into the organization, and served as President. [1] de Lastic announced a National Protest Day on 4 December 1998 to draw attention to the continued attacks on the Christian community. [2] In September 1999 Archbishop Alan de Lastic and UCFHR National Convenor John Dayal protested to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee over an ongoing terror campaign against the Orissa Christian community after Roman Catholic Priest Arul Doss had been brutally killed. [3]

John Dayal

John Dayal also played a key role in formation of the UCFHR and was National Convenor. [4] In September 1999 Human Rights Watch quoted Dayal as saying of the attacks "Dalits and tribals are used as instruments. They are paid, drugged, alcoholized, they are in a stupor". [5] In September 2000 U.S. President Bill Clinton welcomed Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to the White House. In New York John Dayal and Bernard Chand, president of the International Council of Evangelical Churches, held a briefing hosted by Human Rights Watch on religious persecution of India’s Christian minority. [6]

Activities

In June 2000 the New Delhi-based UCFHR said it had identified 129 attacks in the past year against Christian churches, schools and individuals. Officials of the Indian government denied any involvement in the attacks. [7] After a renewed surge of violence against Muslims and Christians in June 2005 John Dayal asked that a proposed constitutional review should consider the increased violence against minorities who are living in "an atmosphere of hatred". [8] In 2009 the Gujarat United Christian Forum for Human Rights challenged the state's Freedom of Religion Act 2003 on the basis that it violated the constitutional right of individuals to choose their religion. The act had required a person who had decided to convert to a different religion to seek prior permission from a district magistrate. [9]

The Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights (KUCFHR) was formed in September 2008 after attacks were launched on Christian Churches across Karnataka. In December 2009 priests and pastors from several Christian denominations participated at an ecumenical meeting organized by KUCFHR at St. Marks Cathedral in Bangalore. Attendees discussed recent allegations of forced conversions to Christianity, and an attempt by the government to introduce an anti-conversion bill. [10] After the attacks of 2008 and 2009, the KUCFHR began making representations to the Government every time incidents were reported from anywhere in the state. [11]

In February 2011 the Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights and the Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops' Council staged a sit-in protest over the findings from an investigation of a series of attack in September 2008 on Christian targets in southern Karnataka state. The report had failed to identify the attackers in 57 incidents involving Christian churches and other sites. [12] Speaking at the KUCFHR meeting Rev. Bernad Moras said: "Let us not be intimidated by any threats or attacks, let us boldly profess, practise and propagate our faith". [13] In August 2011 Fr Ronnie Prabhu, general secretary of the Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights, reported that police had been calling on local clergymen saying they must register their prayer houses at the local police station. They were told that if they did not do so their meetings would be illegal and the police would not protect them. [14]

In February 2023, The United Christian Forum for Human Rights has written to the President of India to request that the constitutional rights of the Christian community be protected. In a document expressing deep concern over 597 incidents of violence committed against Christians in 21 states in India, it petitioned the President to ask both the Union and State governments to safeguard the rights and freedom of the Christian community to practice its faith, run its educational facilities, and live with respect throughout India, as its safety has come under severe threat. [15]

Related Research Articles

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Religious intolerance is intolerance of another's religious beliefs, practices, or lack thereof.

Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate or repress different subcultures is a recurrent theme in human history. Moreover, because a person's religion frequently determines his or her sense of morality, worldview, self-image, attitudes towards others, and overall personal identity to a significant extent, religious differences can be significant cultural, personal, and social factors.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Kandhamal violence</span> Anti-Christian violence in Orissa

The 2008 Kandhamal violence refers to widespread violence against Christians purportedly incited by Hindutva organisations in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, India, in August 2008 after the murder of the Hindu monk Lakshmanananda Saraswati. According to government reports the violence resulted in at least 39 Christians killed and 3906 Christian houses completely destroyed. Reports state, more than 395 churches were razed or burnt down, over 5,600 – 6,500 houses plundered or burnt down, over 600 villages ransacked and more than 60,000 – 75,000 people left homeless. Other reports put the death toll at nearly 100 and suggested more than 40 women were sexually assaulted. Unofficial reports placed the number of those killed to more than 500. Many Christian families were burnt alive. Thousands of Christians were forced to convert to Hinduism under threat of violence. Many Hindu families were also assaulted in some places because they supported the Indian National Congress (INC) party. This violence was led by the Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the VHP.

The status of religious freedom in Africa varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion, the extent to which religious organizations operating within the country are policed, and the extent to which religious law is used as a basis for the country's legal code.

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The 1998 attacks on Christians in southeastern Gujarat refers to the wave of attacks against Christians mostly around the Dangs District of Southeastern Gujarat from late 1997 to early 1999. The attacks reportedly started at the end of 1997 before peaking during the Christmas of 1998 after the anti-Christian rallies in the Dangs District by the Hindu Jagaran Manch. The attacks included assaults on and killings of Christians, attacks against Christian schools, institutions and shops, damages, demolition and burning down of Prayer Halls and Churches mainly by members of the Bhartiya Janata Party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagran Manch.

The 2021 anti-Christian violence in Karnataka refers to the series violence against Christians by right wing Hindutva groups in the Indian state of Karnataka in 2021. The attacks increased after September 2021 when leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared of an "anti-conversion bill" in the state to check religious conversions. The violence again intensified over the Christmas period when right-wing mobs disrupted Christmas celebrations. The Human rights organisation, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) documented 39 violent incidents against Christians in Karnataka from January to November 2021, all carried out by Hindutva organizations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hindu Jagrana Vedike, Bajrang Dal, and Banjara Nigama. The violence included physical assaults, sexual assaults against women, church vandalism, filming the attacks and later later circulating the videos to celebrate.

References

  1. ↑ "Alan Basil". International Council of Evangelical Churches. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  2. ↑ "Church releases data to show that anti Christian violence in India this year has been the highest ever in the history of independent India". National Christian Forum for Human Rights. 24 November 1998. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  3. ↑ "CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY SHOCKED AT MURDER OF CATHOLIC PRIEST TODAY IN THE REGION WHERE GRAHAM STAINES AND HIS SONS WERE BURNT ALIVE IN JANUARY 1999". United Christian Forum for Human Rights. 2 September 1999. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  4. ↑ "John Dayal". International Council of Evangelical Churches. Archived from the original on 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  5. ↑ "Politics by Other Means: Attacks Against Christians in India". Human Rights Watch. 1 September 1999. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  6. ↑ Leela Jacinto (Sep 15, 2000). "Clinton Welcomes Indian Prime Minister" . Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  7. ↑ "Christians in India Seek International Help". Congressional Record. Government Printing Office. 20 June 2000.
  8. ↑ DIAN MUELLER (30 May 2005). "India's Holy Wars". Toward Freedom. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  9. ↑ "Christian forum challenges Gujarat freedom of religion act". Thaindian News. Feb 26, 2009. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  10. ↑ Adolf Washington (Dec 1, 2009). ""Conversion Allegations Against Christians Are For Political Gain": Karnataka Christian Forum". Catholic Bishops' Conference of India . Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  11. ↑ "'State Government failed to protect Christians'". The Hindu . February 2, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  12. ↑ "Indian bishops protest against 'whitewash' of attacks on Christians". Catholic Herald . 21 February 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  13. ↑ "Christians protest against Somasekhara panel report". The Hindu. February 22, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  14. ↑ "Hindu radicals threaten more anti-Christian pogroms in Karnataka". Asia News. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  15. ↑ Team, CWM Communications (2023-02-22). "United Christian Forum (UCF) issues memorandum on targeted violence against the Christian community in India - Council for World Mission" . Retrieved 2023-04-20.
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