Bowing to the wishes of the board that administers the Sri Venkateswara Temple (see prior posting), the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has announced that it plans to impose a ban on non-Hindu religious activities in a 110 sq. km. area surrounding the shrine. Christian Today reported on Saturday that the Global Council of Indian Christians has asked the governor of the state not to approve the legislation imposing the ban. They fear the ban will be used to harass non-Hindu residents in the area. The law will also require federal government approval before it can go into effect.
UPDATE: Apparently this new legislation is in addition to legislation enacted in June that permits the Andhra Pradesh government to prohibit propagation of religion in places of worship other than the religion traditionally practiced there. That law, the Andhra Pradesh Propagation of Other Religions in the Places of Worship or Prayer (Prohibition) Ordinance, 2007 was implemented by Government Order 747 that applies the prohibtion to 20 Temples in the state. (Persecution Update India.) The Aug. 20 Times of India says that Christian groups will file suit in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of that Order, and arguing that it is being misapplied to also ban social work by non-Hinud groups in the 20 towns involved.
