Legal Rights Observatory has made a serious allegation against ‘the Gideons International’, known for distributing free Bibles, for misusing the donations they received for conversion activities. LRO tweeted “#FCRAViolation Gideons International In India got Rs 171 Cr for social purpose, misused it for Church planting n conversions by defaming/ maligning Hindus, forced kids to read Bible in schools (JJ Act violation in #AndhraPradesh wrote @HMOIndia to cancel rgtn #ConversionMafia”. This NGO has the habit of distributing free bibles near Hindu temples and in holy places. For this activity, many of their workers were booked in Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad. The Gideons International’s India unit is headquartered at Secunderabad.
Gideons International was founded in 1889 in Wisconsin. They started free distribution of the Bible in 1908 when they first placed bibles in the rooms of the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana. Now they are operational in 200 countries and prints bible in over a hundred languages. Members of this community distribute around 80 million bibles per year worldwide.
The narrative of Christians in India facing persecution by the hands of Hindus is usually propagated by this organisation. Donations that they receive for their ‘social programs’ are diverted to convert Hindus with rice-bags. Gideons’ plays an important role in massive conversions that have happened in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. With such organisations violating FCRA regulations for their evangelical purposes, the Central government needs to step in and stop Gideons’ ‘soul-harvesting’ enterprise.
