The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has recommended extension of the visa for a Dutch missionary, who had been asked to leave, as his presence in Jammu and Kashmir was reportedly fuelling tensions due to alleged reports of conversion.
The Commission found no evidence of ‘conversions’ by any of the organised Christian groups and hence asked that 74-year-old Jim Brost be permitted to stay put in Kashmir till October 2005. The permission was given so that an orphanage and two schools run by Brost for underprivileged Kashmiri children do not suffer.
NCM member V.V. Augustine, who visited Kashmir to investigate an appeal of Christian associations on behalf of Brost, told The Indian Express that he was impressed by the work being done by the priest. ‘‘At the schools in Pulwama and Srinagar, I found parents of the children protective about Brost and he seems to be a popular figure in Srinagar. I guess, people should not have any problem.’’
The member also met J-K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to discuss the issue.