Land Gifted in 1887, Worth $43 Million Today: An Indian State Moves to Take a Christian College’s Grounds

• Madhya Pradesh authorities ordered the attachment of 1.702 hectares of Indore Christian College land
• The land, valued at about 4 billion rupees ($43.65 million), was gifted in 1887 by the Holkar dynasty
• Officials claimed it was being misused for commercial purposes
• The college said a request to build shops for income was used against it

Authorities in India’s Madhya Pradesh state ordered the attachment of 1.702 hectares of land belonging to Indore Christian College, valued at about 4 billion rupees ($43.65 million), UCA News reported on January 27, 2026.

The land was gifted in 1887 by the Holkar dynasty to establish a hospital and school. District Collector Shivam Verma issued the order on January 23, claiming the property was being misused for commercial purposes. The college has about 2,300 students in 17 undergraduate and graduate programmes.

A church official said the management had asked for permission to build commercial shops on unused portions of the land to generate income for the institution, but that “that application was instead used to target Church property.” Principal Amit David said: “We have challenged the order in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.”

Christians make up 0.27 per cent of Madhya Pradesh’s 72 million people.

The Indore case shows the risk of using land given for one purpose, such as a school or hospital, for another, such as rental shops, even when the aim is to support the original mission. Jamaican church schools and institutions that want to earn income from spare land should first check the terms under which the land was granted, get the necessary planning approvals and, where needed, formal consent to change the use. Doing it properly protects both the income and the land itself.