Source: www.persecution.org
Date: September 18, 2024
India (International Christian Concern) — Authorities in four Indian states have received complaints against the U.S.-based evangelical organization Joshua Project, accusing it of carrying out forced conversions.
Complaints against the organization have been filed in the tribal-dominated states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand, according to a two-part report on Joshua Project’s activities in India published by Dainik Bhaskar, a widely read Hindi newspaper. The four complaints were filed after the newspaper published the articles in August.
The Joshua Project, which provides a comprehensive people group database of the world on its website highlighting the peoples and places with the least access or response to the gospel, responded to Danik Bhaskar’s report, which it deemed “inaccurate.”
For many Christian missionary organizations, Joshua Project is the standard for database on people groups who are unreached in terms of the gospel.
In its report, Dainik Bhaskar claimed its reporters investigated the Joshua Project’s activities in India for 18 days across the four states and uncovered the “nefarious activities” of converting tribals to Christianity in an illegal manner.
The newspaper’s main source is a former Joshua Project staff member. His name and photo were published in Dainik Bhaskar’s report, along with details of Joshua Project’s activities obtained from him.
The former employee disclosed the salary given to him, the organization’s hierarchy, and the methods used to lead Indians into Christianity.
The newspaper published another story the next day claiming several illegal methods the Joshua Project used to convert people to Christianity. An International Christian Concern (ICC) staffer in the region who read the reports stated that the reports did not include any illegal conversions, only the account of the former Joshua Project worker.
“Also, the newspaper had drawn its own conclusions quoting the rise in Christianity in several tribal regions without substantiating any of its claims of illegal conversion activities,” the ICC staffer said.
The alleged findings of Dainik Bhaskar’s articles enraged right-wing Hindu groups, who alerted ministers and members of legislative assemblies in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. Each state has pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments, which reportedly helped Hindu nationalists file the complaints against Joshua Project.
Politicians in the states where the complaints were filed are taking action. Chhattisgarh’s Home Minister Vijay Sharma told local media that a new law would soon be introduced in the assembly to stop illegal conversions to Christianity, and all illegal churches built on tribal land would be removed. Sharma added that Joshua Project’s workers will not be spared.
Another member of the Chhattisgarh government sent letters to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief minister of Chhattisgarh calling for action to be taken against Joshua Project. In Odisha, a government official wrote to his chief minister demanding an immediate investigation of the organization and an audit of churches built in the state.