Jaipur: Civil society groups in Rajasthan have issued a joint statement condemning the ninth reported attack on Christians in the state in September. The incident took place on September 23 at the Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI) in Pratap Nagar, Jaipur, a 22-year-old center for training pastors and Christian leaders.
Around 50 members of the Bajrang Dal staged a protest at the Institute during an inspection visit by officials from HBI’s headquarters in Chennai and regional representatives from Banswara. They accused the visitors of carrying out conversions and created unrest. Local police detained the visiting officials, seized their phones, laptops, and documents, and treated their inspection visit as a criminal act. Property papers of the Institute were also confiscated.
This came only two days after Pastor Daniel was assaulted during a mass in Pratap Nagar, also within the Chief Minister’s constituency. Despite the filing of an FIR, no arrests have been made.
HBI Chennai, established 73 years ago, is recognized nationally for training pastors and church leaders. The detention of its representatives has raised alarm about increasing hostility against minority communities in Rajasthan.
Following the incident, a delegation of civil society groups including Jaipur Christian Fellowship, Rajasthan Samagra Sewa Sangh, PUCL, APCR, Jamat-e-Islami Hind Rajasthan, Jamiat-ulema-Hind, and Dalit Muslim Ekta Manch met with senior police officials. The delegation, led by Sawai Singh along with John Mathew of Jaipur Christian Fellowship, Father Vijay Pal Singh, and Kavita Srivastava, demanded the release of the detained officials and the restoration of confiscated devices and documents.
The groups expressed concern that communal violence has increased since the passage of the Anti Conversion Bill in the state assembly earlier this month. The statement listed similar incidents in Dungarpur, Alwar, Kotputli Behror, and Anupgarh District, describing a growing pattern of harassment.
The coalition urged authorities to take strict action against Bajrang Dal and RSS members involved in these incidents. They called for an immediate halt to targeted attacks on minorities and stressed the need to protect constitutional rights. Families running the Institute in Jaipur expressed fear for their safety despite engaging in lawful educational activities.
The joint statement, signed by John Mathew, Sawai Singh, and Muzammil Rizvi, warned that unless strong action is taken, violence against minorities will continue to threaten peace and harmony in Rajasthan.
