More than 400 people from 22 villages in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, India, gathered on Oct. 5, deciding to strip Christians of their burial rights.
The local Hindus had gathered to discuss how the growing number of conversions to Christianity in their region was affecting their cultural identity, customs, and traditions. By the end of the meeting, they decided to oppose Christian burial practices and deny believers access to burial land.
According to multiple sources, Chhattisgarh has the second-highest number of persecution incidents in India, with another northern state, Uttar Pradesh, boasting the most persecution incidents.
In recent months, Kanker has become the hotbed of Hindu fanaticism, with multiple tribal villages adopting violent or non-violent methods to impede Christians from practicing their religious freedom guaranteed by India’s Constitution.
The Progressive Christian Alliance, working proactively for the welfare of Christians in the country, said that Deepak Yadav, a Christ follower from Banspatar village, participated in Sunday’s gathering.
During the meeting, he was questioned about his caste, community, religion, and conversion, and was pressured to undergo Ghar Wapsi, a ceremonial reconversion to Hinduism. Yadav firmly refused and was kicked out of the meeting.
The Hindu nationalists also discussed the vandalism and destruction of church buildings and a proposal for excluding Christian communities from forest land and related properties.
Village councils were also instructed to identify reasons for any conversions to Christianity and take prompt action against such movements.
International Christian Concern (ICC) previously reported on six village councils in the same Kanker district that weaponized the autonomous authority granted to them by passing resolutions prohibiting the entry of Christian pastors, priests, and so-called “conversion agents” in their areas.
Huge blue billboards were erected at the entrance of these villages with warnings written in the Hindi language. They declared the villages off-limits to Christian missionaries or evangelists, citing the constitutional provisions under the Fifth Schedule and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, also known as the PESA. Christian advocacy groups have filed a public interest lawsuit against the billboards.
