EFI questions “irresponsible” report prepared on Jhabua incident

New Delhi – In the wake of a proposal made by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Babulal Gaur, to amend the existing state anti–conversion laws and implement stricter rules, the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has flayed the controversial report prepared by former director–general of police Narendra Prasad on the communal violence in Jhabua last year, claiming it to have aggravated the discord between the Hindu and Christian communities by its “baseless” and “irresponsible” allegations of “huge conversions.”

Prompted by the report, the Government of Madhya Pradesh has directed the administration at the district level to keep an eye on the minority Christian community. The directive has also sought details about all conversion activities. It has made it mandatory for all District Collectors to maintain a register on all conversions and pass on the details to the government by the 10th of every month.

The report that alleged that Adivasi–dominated Jhabua district has seen a tremendous conversion growth has alarmed the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government which is in the process of making the anti–conversion provisions much more stringent, Christian Today has confirmed.

“The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) is concerned at Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister Babulal Gaur’s proposal to amend the state Freedom of Religion Act with intent to make religious conversions more difficult,” said Rev. Richard Howell, general secretary, EFI.

“The move is based on a controversial report prepared by former director–general of police Narendra Prasad in the wake of the communal violence in MP's Jhubua district last year,” he said. “And, we are apprehensive that irresponsible statements made in the report about ‘huge conversions’ being responsible for the violence may further fuel communal violence against the Christian minority community.

According to Rev. Howell, the report raises an alarm at the number of conversions taking place “without going into the fact whether the conversions were by force, fraud or collusion.”

“The report seems to treat conversion to another faith, a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right, as a sin against society,” he said.

The report has also been denounced as it failed to “mention the burning of three churches, illegal detention of 11 Christians since January 2004 until date, and the torching of 15 houses.” The anti–Christian violence took place after the body of a 9–year old girl was found in a public toilet, raped and mutilated, within a church compound in the town of Jhabua on January 11, 2004. Later, the police investigation revealed the rapist and the murderer was a Hindu.

Rev. Howell regretted that in spite of the vast contribution made by the Church towards social welfare and development, yet “instead of applauding the church’s efforts, the very service provided by it is seen as suspect.”

“The EFI stands in solidarity with the Church in Madhya Pradesh at this time and prays that the Church would continue to work undeterred in the remotest parts of the country without fear, uplifting the downtrodden and bearing the gospel of Christ with great humility,” he said, urging the state government take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of the Christian community in the state and “refrain from using the highly controversial report to further unconstitutional ideals.”