Archbishop: There are no forced conversions

Archbishop of South Indian city of Bangalore said there is "no forced conversion" by Christians in Karnataka and said "the accusations are wrong".

Karnataka, with Bangalore as the capital, is a state that has witnessed an increased attack on Christians since last year, on the false allegations of conversions.

Archbishop Bernard Moras was speaking at a meeting of the Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights on Wednesday well attended by Christian leaders and bishops from various denominations that formed the forum.

"There are accusations of forced conversions against the community. Let me tell you we cannot convert people like that. We respect all religions and don't convert people either through aggression or enticement," he was quoted as saying by Times News Network.

"There has never been a single case of forced or induced conversion by Christians.

"The accusations are wrong," Moras said, explaining that the forum's role is to protect the community when such accusations come up.

Archbishop Moras also said the meeting was convened to remind the forum that it had to protect human rights, irrespective of religion.

The forum is a common platform for all Christians in the state, irrespective of their denominations. Bishops from various Churches were present - Believers church, Catholic church, Church of South India (CSI), Jacobite church, Methodist church, members of the Federation of Christian Churches Organisation to name few of them.

The same day, while Archbishop Moras was speaking, unknown miscreants attacked St. Francis De Sales Church in the outskirt of the city breaking 10 windows and destroying the statues of Mary and Jesus, it was reported yesterday.

Since Hindu nationalist – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in the state a year ago, attacks on Christians have increased sharply, one Catholic priest was murdered, pastors and Church leaders were attacked and arrested on false conversion charges.

Global Council of Indian Christains (GCIC) said Karnataka recorded the second most number of attacks on Christians – at least 112 anti-Christian attacks across 29 districts in 2008; and there have been at least 20 such incidents reported this year, topping the record so far.