On October 20, Khar Gymkhana, a prominent sporting club in West Mumbai, revoked the membership of Jemimah Rodrigues, a player for the Indian women’s cricket team. The decision was reportedly made due to her father’s spiritual activities and alleged involvement in attempts at religious conversion
According to the Indian Express her father Ivan used the Gymkhana club to organise religious programs in order to “convert the vulnerable” which deciphers converting non-Christians into Christianity. Now the club-authorities are “investigating” the charges for further declarations.
During the usual annual meeting of the Khar Gymkhana which is also counted among one of the utmost heritage clubs within Mumbai metropolitan, the members informed Jemimah Rodrigues about the new decision over a call and passed a resolution for further confirmation about revoking her 3-year membership.
Jemimah Rodrigues, who plays for the women’s cricket team, was the first female cricketer to be awarded the membership of the top sports club in March last year.
Hindutva “Cancel-Culture”
A member from the managing committee of Gymkhana club told that her father is connected to an organisation known as “Brother Manuel Ministers” and together they booked the presidential hall for several months and organised around 35 programs which also included some themes of Christianity.
“They booked the presidential hall for almost a year and a half and held 35 events. We all know what was happening there,” a club official said in a statement to The Indian Express.
The executive row including president Vivek Devnani claim that Ivan was targeting the “vulnerable people” for religious conversion through these events. While complaining about expensive music, big screens and related activities, they also underlined alleged religious annotations about Jesus Christ by a Christian lady.
Jemimah Rodrigues and her father have not responded to the club’s decision as of now. Meanwhile, Khar Gymkhana’s website lists various other cultural events, such as pre-Holi musical nights and Disco Dandiya, being held on the premises.
Religious Conversion Are An Excuse To Target
The allegations of “religious conversions” are often made in Maratha dominating Brahminist territories of Maharashtra to target the Muslim Community and Christian community in order to limit them within the spheres defined by the right-wing organisations and Hindutva Politics.
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s Religious Liberty Commission (EFI-RLC) the anti-Christian incidents have considerably escalated within a year. There were only 423 registered cases of religious hate against the Christian community in 2023 which have now mounted to 601 in 2024.
