Executive Summary: A joint team of Public-Spirited Activists and Odisha Lawyers Forum visited Nabarangpur District to investigate violations of the rights of Adivasi, Dalit and religious minorities. The team found gross violations of fundamental, constitutional and human rights of the most vulnerable communities in terms of equality before law, right to freedom of expression, thought, belief and association; more importantly, the right to life and dignified burial. The team found in six of seven cases direct violations of Articles 21 and 25 of the Indian Constitution in the presence of local administration; it recommends a series of steps to ensure every person has the right to equality and non-discrimination as accorded to every citizen. The team found gross violations of the Bharatiya Nagarika Surakhya Sanhita, 2023, Supreme Court rulings, and National Human Rights Commission’s guidelines on the rights of the dead persons. The team was surprised and shocked to note that the incidents were taking place in the assembly constituency and district of the Minister for SC, ST and Minorities in the Odisha Government. However, the Minister could not be held responsible for the past; however, the Minister has a duty for course correction and to assure every SC, ST and

In recent weeks, we have witnessed an alarming rise in the persecution of Christians across several Indian states. Chhattisgarh, in particular, has become a hotspot for such acts, where believers are being forcefully excommunicated, displaced, and cut off from society—all for the sole reason of following Jesus Christ. In Darba village under Sukma district in Chhattisgarh, two heartbreaking incidents have occurred. In one case, eleven families comprising 41 members were displaced. The heads of these families are Kadti Laxmi, Lekam Bhima, Lekam Lachhu, Kunjam Bichhem, Lekam Bandi, Lekam Lakke, Mediyam Lakhama, Mediyam Jimo, Kadti Hirmaya, Padam Hidma, and Lekam Hoonga. These families have been stripped of their homes, dignity, and freedom because of their unwavering faith. In another similar incident from the same village, ten families consisting of 47 members were driven out. The family heads affected are Lecum Lachhu, Kadti Ramesh, Hardness, Kadti Bhima, Lecum Lakke, Padam Hidma, Lekam Bhima, Kunjam Lakshmi, Kadti Bhima (repeated), and Medium Jime. These believers now live in fear and uncertainty, many without shelter or support. Adding to the growing crisis, six Christian families were recently excommunicated from Gondi village in Narasapuram Block, Ambedkar Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh. The village council imposed strict fines on anyone

Villagers practicing tribal religion who assaulted Christian families and drove them from their homes in central India for practicing their faith have threatened to kill them if they return, sources said. In Sukma District, Chhattisgarh state, the Christian families were assaulted, threatened and forcibly expelled from their homes for their faith on April 24. About 45 members from 10 Christian families fled Durandarbha village, in Konta tehsil, and scattered to nearby hills and forests. They spent the night in the open air before taking refuge at a church in Chintalnar, 11 miles away. On April 28, the Christians sent two women to Durandarbha to gauge residents’ attitudes. They returned terrified, reporting the villagers had threatened to kill them all if they returned still following Christ. “Leave Jesus Christ and only then enter the village,” they were told, according to Hirma Markam, who was helping to care for the Christian families in Chintalnar. On April 29, they received news that the home of one of those who fled, Mediyam Lakhma, had been destroyed by fire. The perpetrators remain unidentified, but “it seems obvious that the villagers have done it,” Markam said. Santosh Markam, another helper, added, “The families had to flee towards the hills and some

Two years after the violence, Manipur State is still shattered and divided. Peace and harmony are distant dreams. The displaced remain scattered and homeless, unsure if they can ever return to their villages again. “[My] family hid in my parents’ room, while a maniacal mob laid chaos outside our gate for the second time that night,” recalls Neinu*, a Christian from Manipur State in northeastern India. “We prayed on our knees as a family, asking for an easy end if the worst-case scenario happened. What if [the mob] actually managed to break in? What if something had happened to us?” Lalboi* another believer says, “May 3, 2023, came and went but has never left our hearts and is still the longest night of our lives. [But what] hurt the most was not the pain of losing everything; [it was] seeing our parents aging years in the span of one night and not having the means to stop it.” Both Neinu and Lalboi are still dealing with the impact of the riots that swept through Manipur State in May 2023. The violence between the Kuki tribal group (a majority-Christian ethnic community and a minority population in Manipur), and the Meitei people (a majority Hindu

Six Christian families were evicted from their homes in a village in the Sukma district of India’s Chhattisgarh state on April 12 for refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus. Their belongings were loaded on a tractor-trailer, taken outside the village, and thrown in a forest. The families are now living in the forest without shelter, food, or water. The families put their trust in Christ about seven years ago but only faced persecution recently when the villagers demanded they return to Hinduism. The six families are among 13 that initially converted to Christianity. Around 400 people from different villages gathered in a special Gram Sabha (autonomous village council) on April 12 to decide the fate of the 13 families. The village council led by the Sarpanch, or elected head of the village council, demanded that the families who have converted to Christianity should be thrown out of the community as conversion is against the social structure and tradition of the village. When the Christian families were allowed to present their case, six of the 13 families flatly declared that they would follow Christianity until their death. The other seven families said they would return to Hinduism. Following this development, the village council unanimously decided to

NEW DELHI: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has strongly condemned a violent police assault on two Catholic priests and several parishioners in Odisha’s Ganjam district, calling the incident “unfortunate and unjustified.” According to a report by Matters India, the attack took place on March 22 at the Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Juba village, under the Berhampur diocese in eastern Odisha. The incident gained public attention over ten days later, following a televised interview with one of the victims, parish priest Father Joshi George, aired by Odia news outlet Samartha News. “We condemn the attack. Such incidents should never happen to any person, not just priests,” said Father Robinson Rodrigues, spokesperson for the CBCI. “We demand a thorough investigation and stringent action against the erring policemen.” According to Father George, a native of Kerala, the assault began when a police team led by officer Joshna Roy entered the church premises without warning. The officers allegedly beat three young girls who were cleaning the church in preparation for Sunday Mass. When Father George and his assistant, Father Dayanand Nayak, came out to intervene, they were also physically attacked. The priests were allegedly dragged through the streets, verbally abused, and humiliated in public.

A Christian charged under India’s anti-conversion law after Hindu nationalists attacked a church is seeking anticipatory bail from the Supreme Court of India. Rajesh Sharma said his plea for anticipatory bail was rejected in Chhattisgarh state’s lower and high courts. Sharma and the others were booked after a mob of 70 to 100 hardline Hindus led by members of the Hindu nationalist Bajarang Dal cut the electrical power of the 120-member Church of God in Raipur and attacked them during their March 9 worship service. “The mob was accompanied by few policemen, and they attacked in the presence of police – who stood there as mere spectators, as they were very few in numbers,” said 66-year-old Senior Pastor Praveen Lawrence of the Church of God in Raipur. The Hindu mob shouted slogans like “Jai Jai Shri Ram [Praise lord Rama],” “Stop conversions” and “Get rid of those carrying out conversions,” including derogatory words in Hindi not included in these translations. Vandalizing cars and two-wheelers belonging to congregation members, the mob struck the vehicles with church chairs, broke surveillance cameras and then assaulted four Christians who sustained injuries, including two women, Pastor Lawrence said. “They really tried very hard to break open the church door –

A Christian healing prayer service in eastern Indian Jharkhand state will go ahead as planned, despite a Hindu group opposing it, calling it a ploy to convert gullible tribal people, organizers said. Officials of the Jharkhand Christian Association and the Jharkhand Christian Youth Association, which planned the May 1-3 program in the state capital, Ranchi, told UCA News May 30 that the program was not cancelled. Praveen Kachap, general secretary of the Jharkhand Christian Association, said they have “all the necessary permissions” to conduct the program, called the Jharkhand Prayer Festival. “Our program will go on as planned,” he said. The assertion comes after a Hindu group, Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM or tribal protection forum), on April 28 urged Governor Santosh Gangawar, the state’s top constitutional authority, not to permit the program. It said the Christians’ program “is playing with the faith and belief of the local Sarna tribal community,” the forum alleged, warning that it “could lead to conflict and animosity.” The Hindu forum is widely perceived to have the backing of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its parent organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It claims to safeguard tribal people in the eastern state, especially followers of the Sarna religion, who are nature worshippers. In