The police probed a religious charity in Gujarat state in the latest example of growing pressure on Christians, AFP has learned. The aim of investigation is revealing the facts whether The Missionaries of Charity, founded in 1950 by the late Mother Teresa, forced girls in its shelter home there to wear a cross and read the Bible.
District social officer Mayank Trivedi made his complaint to the police, saying that he is concerned about a report by child welfare authorities and other district authorities. Reportedly, 13 Bibles were found in the library of the institute and girls staying there were forced to read the religious text.
The Indian PM’s home state Gujarat is one of several in Hindu-majority India where vaguely worded rules against “forceful conversion” have been put in place, or more strictly enforced, in recent years.
The Missionaries of Charity based by Mother Teresa who lived and worked in Kolkata for most of her life and won the Nobel Peace Prize. The religious charity denied the allegations, while the activists say that religious minorities in India have faced increased levels of discrimination and violence since Modi’s Hindu nationalist Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.
Meantime, the current nationalistic government rejects having a radical Hindu hegemony agenda.
Last week, a Hindu mob of 200 to 300 people barged into a Christian school in Madhya Pradesh while students were taking their exams and pelted stones at the building, the school’s principal said.
