Tribal Christian family flees to forest after village threats in India

A six-member tribal family, including four schoolchildren, has taken shelter in a forest after villagers allegedly drove them from their home in Narayanpur district of central India’s Chhattisgarh state for practicing Christianity instead of following traditional tribal beliefs.

The family fled their home in the village of Todohur under Barandra police station on June 28 after influential villagers allegedly threatened them with violence because of their Christian faith, according to family head Ray Singh Karanga.

“Some powerful and influential villagers threatened to harm us if we did not leave our home immediately, and under pressure, we left to save our lives,” Karanga told UCA News on June 29.
Karanga said they cannot return to the village unless they publicly renounce their Christian faith, something they are “not ready” to do.

“We are absolutely clueless as to where to go or what to do with my wife and four children, who are all studying in different schools,” he said.

“We were ostracized by the village because of our Christian faith, even though we have not formally converted to Christianity,” he said, adding that the family plans to file a police complaint.

“Our classes have started, and we will miss them,” said his daughter, a tenth-grade student, explaining that the family was unable to collect their books and school uniforms before leaving.

“We do not know what to do,” the girl said.

The family received its first meal after a friend brought them food in the forest, Karanga said.

Karanga’s family is the latest reported victim of a campaign by Hindu nationalist groups targeting Indigenous people and Dalits — formerly known as “untouchables” — who have converted to Christianity or adopted Christian practices in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state.

The campaign seeks to persuade Christian converts to return to their traditional religious practices — animist beliefs in many tribal communities — or to Hinduism.

“About 13 Christians from another remote village under the same police station jurisdiction were driven out on June 27 and told never to return unless they gave up their new religion,” said Guddu Ram Kumeti, a resident of Bharanda village who identifies as a Christian believer but says he has not formally converted.

“These families moved to Narayanpur district headquarters for their safety after they did not receive adequate support from local police,” Kumeti told UCA News on June 29.

Kumeti said his family is among 26 families facing threats of eviction if they refuse villagers’ demands to abandon their Christian faith.

“More than 100 people, including women and children, were evicted from their homes on June 23 because of their Christian faith,” he said.

Although the Christians initially resisted, they were eventually forced from their homes and spent the day sheltering under trees until police and senior civil officials intervened and escorted them back.

“We are now living under a one-month ultimatum: either give up Christianity or permanently leave the village,” Kumeti said.

He said complaints lodged with local and district police have yielded no results.

“The police have refused to act against those threatening us, even though our families have lived in these villages for generations,” he said.

“We do not know how to handle this situation. Our homes, farmland, and livestock are all in the village, and they are our source of income,” he said, adding, “We continue to pray and believe God will help us.”

“We will oppose the oppression of vulnerable tribal and Dalit people because of their faith,” said communist leader and lawyer Phool Singh Kachlam.

“India is a constitutional democracy, and people have the freedom to choose their religion. No one, including the state, can dictate that choice,” Kachlam told UCA News on June 29.

He urged authorities to protect the lives and property of Christians in the affected villages rather than allowing them to be displaced.

More than 1,000 Indigenous Christians were forced to flee their homes in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts after large-scale anti-Christian violence erupted in the second half of 2022.

Since then, the state has continued to witness various forms of discrimination against Christians, including social boycotts, restrictions on access to public water sources and difficulties burying their dead in village cemeteries. Such actions are often justified by claims that the presence of Christians angers traditional deities and brings misfortune to local communities.

This article was originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/news/tribal-christian-family-flees-to-forest-after-village-threats-in-india/114030