Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan writes to MP CM over arrest of Malayali pastor on allegations of religious conversion
Father Godwin, a priest from Kerala associated with the Church of South India (CSI), was arrested in Jhabua on November 4, 2025, facing charges of forced religious conversion.
Thiruvananthapuram: Following outrage from the Christian community in Kerala and from the various Christian churches, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav regarding the recent arrest of a Malayali pastor, Father Godwin, in Jhabua district on allegations of religious conversion.
Father Godwin, a priest from Kerala associated with the Church of South India (CSI), was arrested in Jhabua on November 4, 2025, facing charges of forced religious conversion.
In response, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to CM Mohan Yadav on November 6, 2025, requesting his involvement in the issue.
Father Godwin had been involved in missionary and charitable activities for several years, including managing a tuition center and a tailoring unit. While fellow priests deny any villagers complained about conversion, police assert a complaint was lodged.
Major churches in Kerala, including the Syro-Malabar Church and the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC), have strongly condemned recent attacks on priests and nuns in other Indian states, particularly in Odisha and Chattisgarh.
The Syro-Malabar Church's media commission issued a statement claiming that Christians are living in insecure conditions in BJP-ruled states due to the high-handedness of right-wing groups and called on the Union government to intervene. Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) and head of the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Thrissur, urged both the state and central governments to take decisive action against the attackers.