LUCKNOW, India: As part of the anti-Hindi drive being run under the ruling Hindu hardliner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government demolished the Jeevan Jyoti Church in Bhulandih village in Jaunpur district on October 11.
Jeevan Jyoti Church is the largest church in Jaunpur district of the Indian northern Uttar Pradesh State.
It was reflective of the blatant persecution drive against the Christian Community in so-called secular India.
In Pradesh State, wherever the people gather for prayer in houses, sheds, tents or churches, the Hindu right-wing elements launch frivolous and false complaints, and upon which, the police and civil administration carry out operation to to arrest the pastors, demolish or bulldoze the structure.
Presently, 89 pastors and believers including Catholic) are incarcerated in the Pradesh State jails.
The victims have called upon the Church leadership to organize the people and utilize all means to move the executive and judiciary to stop the ongoing blatant persecution drive against Christians.
It’s worth mentioning that many Indians have been seeking refugee status in Canada since the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
So far this year, Canada has accepted 1,344 refugee claims from India, making it the third-largest source country for refugees.
It’s behind Iran with 2,730 accepted claims, and Turkey with 1,993, according to Canada’s Immigration Refugee Board (IRB) data cited by the CBC News.