Report finds Christians denied burials in eastern Indian state
Christians in India’s eastern state of Odisha face a struggle to bury their dead amid widespread persecution across the country, according to a new report.
At least eight recorded incidents since 2022 involved the denial of burial, desecration of graves and forced conversions to Hinduism in the state’s Nabarangpur district.
The district has low literacy levels and widespread poverty. Tribal Christians are coerced to convert to Hinduism to bury their dead, violating the constitutionally-protected right to freedom of religion, Fr Ajay Kumar Singh, a lawyer and member of the investigative team, told The Tablet.
The team, comprising lawyers, activists and researchers from the Odisha Lawyers Forum, visited the district in April. They had visited Gajapati and Balasore districts to document instances of burial denials, forced conversions and institutional apathy, Singh said.
He noted that these violations occurred in the home district of Nithyanand Gond, Odisha’s Minister for Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, and Minorities.
The report cited the case of a young Christian, Saravan Gond, whose body was interred in family land after he was denied a public burial. Despite his father approaching the police and local authorities, the next day a 100-strong crowd gathered and forced the family to exhume the body and convert to Hinduism.
They attacked the mourners and broke open the coffin after exhumation. They took away the body and allegedly burned it according to Hindu rites, the report said.
In another incident, the family of Madhu Harijan from Menjar village was chided for bringing the 27-year old’s body in a coffin for burial. A mob performed some rituals and “converted” the body into a Hindu one before interring his remains.
Septuagenarian Chandra Harijan from Suruguda village was also buried as a Hindu. His wife allowed the conversion but still practices Christianity in private.
“It’s shocking. I could not believe when the affected families shared how they are intimidated and coerced to trading a dead body for conversion into Hinduism. Not only do they have to grieve over the dead but also suffer the pain of not being able to provide a dignified burial,” Fr Singh said.
He deplored what he called blatant violations of constitutional provisions, disregard for Supreme Court rulings on upholding the dignity of the dead and the “apathy and complicity” of local authorities.
The investigation found gross violations of fundamental, constitutional and human rights of the most vulnerable communities of Adivasi (or Scheduled Tribes), Dalits and religious minorities, the report added.
The fact-finding mission, led by advocates Sebati Soren, Sr Sujata Jena, Kulakant Dandasena and Fr Singh, alongside the rights activists Manas Jena and Jugal Kishore Ranjit, recommended making burial rights a legal guarantee and allocating burial lands.
The United Christian Forum, an ecumenical persecution watchdog, reported that in the first four months of the year 245 hate incidents against Christians were recorded in India. In 2024, 834 incidents were registered.
This article was originally published on https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/report-finds-christians-denied-burials-in-eastern-indian-state/
