Christian families in a village in India say they feel uncertain about Christmas celebrations amid local pressure from Hindu nationalists.
The tensions began in on November 24 in the central state of Chhattisgarh, a day after a group of locals did not allow the family of Anthi Mandavi – a 35-year-old local Christian who died from tuberculosis – to perform her burial. According to Newslaundry, Anthi’s brother Charan claimed the police were present but did not intervene after a mob stopped the funeral and the family eventually had to take the body elsewhere for the burial.
Station House Officer alias Police Inspector Ganesh Yadav said the police have increased patrolling in the area, which has a population of around 400, following the assault.
But local Christians have accused the police of inaction. They said the required report was never lodged, and even the complaint by seven Christian villagers about the assault was “reworded” to link it to a “land dispute” instead of “religious hatred.”
A day after the police complaint, the Hindu group that attacked them served all the 23 Christian families a show cause notice referring to their homes – about engaging in “illegal” construction on tribal land.
“We were told by more than 150 villagers that these families have encroached on land and that’s why we have issued a show cause notice to them,” a revenue officer told Newslaundry.
“They have responded to the show cause notice. We will do a survey to find whether they have done any encroachment or not. We have not sent them notices because of any religious bias. We have sent it only because other villagers informed us about it,” the official said.
The village council chief Beeruram Baghel denied a land dispute and said that villagers want these families to return to the “tribal and Hindu fold” and that they are “planning to expel them from the village if they do not do ghar wapsi,” a common Hindu rite.
“All villagers have also decided that we will not let them celebrate Christmas this year,” reported Newslaundry.
Earlier in Chhattisgarh in the Sukma District, eight village councils passed a joint resolution on November 17 prohibiting any Christians from staying in their villages.
The resolution declared that Christians in these villages would either have to leave or renounce their faith, and if they fail to do either then all their fields, belongings, and property would be looted. Approximately 100 Christians are affected by the order.
The matter was brought to the notice of the head of one of the affected villages, who confirmed the resolution and claimed that the rule of the village council superseded that of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief under Article 25.
The next day, on 18 November, the Christians filed a written complaint at the Gadiras Police Station in Michwar and provided audio evidence of what the village chief had said. However, the police initially refused to file an official report, which would have been required for them to open an investigation. Instead, they asked them to take them to their field. When they arrived there, a mob of at least 1,500 people had looted the Christians’ harvest and proceeded to demand that they renounce their faith or leave the village. The police subsequently left the area without offering further assistance.
Approximately 40 villagers from eight families whose fields were looted have moved away from their land and are now residing in a church building in Michwar.
The eight villages are as follows: Dabba, Doodhiras, Gonderas, Gurli, Jagadlanar, Kundanpal, Kunna, and Michwar.
According to the 2011 census, over 93.25 percent of the state’s population practised Hinduism, above the national average of 80 percent. The Christian population is about 1.9 percent, below the national average of 2.3 percent.
Father Thomas Vadakumkara, the press officer of Jagadalpur Diocese said these things are happening only in the town of Sukhma.
“This is affecting almost Christians in many districts,” he told Crux.
“Basic human rights are routinely being denied to Christians: Burial of the faithful; staying on their own land; and cultivating and harvesting their fields and farms,” he said.
According to United Christian Forum (UCF), a civil society organisation based in Delhi, violence and discrimination against Christians are on the rise in 23 out of the 28 states in India.
The largest number of hate crimes have been recorded in Uttar Pradesh with 182 incidents, followed closely by Chhattisgarh with 139 cases reported.
Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur of Jagadalpur diocese told Crux he has heard about the current incidents from the media.
“However, the persecution of the Christians in Chhattisgarh has not stopped irrespective of the State Government in power. Whether the Congress or the BJP rules, lawlessness continues, the village non-denominational churches are routinely targeted, and persecution of Christians continue,” he said.
“We are a peace-loving people, We are law abiding citizens, and we abide by the Constitution,” the archbishop said.
