Christian man denied burial in Indian village amid rising persecution

A Christian man, who died at the age of 90 last week, was denied burial in his ancestral village in eastern India after villagers objected to Christian funeral rites and demanded traditional Sarna rituals instead, raising concern among Christian leaders over growing persecution in the region.

Chhuta Hansda, a lifelong resident of the village and a member of a Christian family, died Jan. 7. His family, who had converted to Christianity decades earlier, prepared for a Christian burial. However, according to a report from Union of Catholic Asian News, a dispute began when Hansda’s nephew, along with other villagers, insisted that Sarna tribal rituals — rooted in indigenous animist practices — be performed instead.

The standoff escalated as other villagers supporting the Sarna tradition joined in protest, UCA News reported. Local police and officials intervened but were unable to resolve the disagreement. 

After three days of delays, authorities directed the family to bury Hansda’s body on common land approximately 5 kilometers from their village. 

“The stalemate ended in a deeply distressing manner for us,” Binod Hansda one local source told ACN News. 

Anglican Bishop Pallab Lima, a senior leader in the Anglican Church of North India, head of the United Believers Council Network India, stated that similar incidents have occurred in Odisha in recent years and expressed concern about a growing pattern of denying Christian burial rights in tribal areas. 

“This was not an isolated incident,” Lima told UCA News. He cited similar objections raised during Christian burials in the area in 2024 and 2025.

Lima alleged that “anti-social elements aligned with some political parties” were orchestrating a “systematic campaign” to marginalize Christians and called on all Christian denominations to unite and engage in dialogue to address the growing crisis.

Pratima Minj, a Christian activist based in Bhubaneswar, told UCA News that such burial denials have become increasingly common across several tribal districts over the past three years and that the incidents are designed to pressure Christians into abandoning their faith.

The United Christian Forum (UCF), a New Delhi-based ecumenical body that tracks persecution cases nationwide, claims that persecution has occurred particularly in areas where the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in Odisha about a year ago. The forum said Christians are often targeted following allegations of forced or fraudulent religious conversions. 

According to UCF, Odisha recorded 40 incidents of attacks against Christians in 2024. 

Christians make up about 2.8 percent of Odisha’s population of 42 million, while over 90 percent are Hindus, including many tribal Sarna practitioners.

This article was originally published on https://catholicvote.org/christian-man-denied-burial-in-indian-village-amid-rising-persecution/