Christian suppression continues in India,
From Anglican Ink,
The Indian government has denied a visa to American evangelical leader Franklin Graham, who was due to take part in an event organised by the Kohima Baptist Pastors’ Fellowship on 30 November. The incident has provoked a strong wave of indignation in Nagaland, an Indian state with a Christian majority. The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has called the decision ‘selective and discriminatory’ and described the refusal as ‘deeply offensive to the feelings of the Naga people’.
In its statement, the NSF highlighted the contradiction of the central government, which on the one hand decided to relax the requirements for obtaining a Protected Area Permit (PAP) for foreign visitors attending the Hornbill Festival, Nagaland’s largest cultural event. On the other hand, however, it denied a visa to Graham, son of Billy Graham, a well-known Baptist preacher who became popular in the last century. ‘This inconsistency is indicative of a discriminatory mindset,’ the federation reiterated.
Nagaland, governed by the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in alliance with the BJP, is one of the few Christian-majority regions in India. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio personally wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah on 28 November to urge the issuance of permits for foreign visitors during the festival.
However, Franklin Graham did not receive the green light. The preacher is considered a controversial figure due to some of his past statements. In 2010, for example, in an interview with USA Today, Graham described Hindu gods as incapable of offering salvation: “No elephant with 100 arms can do anything for me. None of their 9,000 gods will lead me to salvation. We are deluding ourselves if we think that all we need to do is organize a big kumbaya ceremony, hold hands and everything will be better in this world. It will not get better.”
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