Chhattisgarh:Christians face renewed threats of expulsion from their villages

In recent weeks, in the district of Narayanpur, a series of measures have targeted Christian families with the aim of forcing them to take part in tribal religious rituals. The Archbishop of Raipur to AsiaNews: “These actions are funded by those with a self-serving political agenda. Let us pray that God may open their hearts.”

Raipur (AsiaNews) – In the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, serious tensions have been reported in a village where two Christian families were reportedly told by others to leave, following a dispute over participation in traditional customs.

The police have deployed additional officers to the village of Khadka to prevent any escalation, after villagers reportedly removed the personal belongings of the two families – comprising seven adults and three children – from their homes.

According to residents, members of the tribal community asked the families to contribute to village activities like other residents and to take part in tribal religious rituals and the worship of traditional deities. “At a village meeting, the decision was taken to expel the 15 families for failing to follow the rituals despite being asked to do so,” said a representative. “It is an insult to our deities.”

The dispute escalated after villagers reportedly asked the two families – comprising seven adults and three children – to leave the village and removed their belongings from their homes. Yielding to pressure on Tuesday 30 June, a father and his son returned to the tribal faith. The rite of re-entry was celebrated in accordance with indigenous tribal customs, marking their formal return.

A few days earlier, on 23 June, in Bharanda – another village in the same district – a further 26 tribal families who had converted to Christianity also claimed they had been told to renounce the Christian faith or leave the village.

They stated that they had been prevented from returning to their homes and had been subjected to a social boycott. According to the families, this was the culmination of a series of disputes the village had experienced over the past month.

On 9 June, a pastor and his wife, upon arriving in the village, were reported to the police for “offending religious sentiments” following allegations of religious conversion. On 21 June, another similar dispute forced a family to flee into the forest, necessitating police intervention.

Msgr Victor Henry Thakur, Archbishop of Raipur and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Council of Chhattisgarh, spoke to AsiaNews about these events: “Those who do not understand human dignity and human rights, in their ignorance, view conversion solely in terms of the political manoeuvres they themselves carry out. I hope that one day they will realise the atrocities they are committing by accusing others of conversion in every circumstance. As we all know full well, this is a self-serving political agenda pursued by those who fund and support attacks against innocent, devout Christians, particularly in Chhattisgarh. May God bless them and open their hearts and eyes to the truth.”