ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says the Indian Government – and international community – need to ensure families are free to live in the villages they call home “without fear of coercion, harassment or violence on account of their religious beliefs”…
Last month approximately 100 Christians from eight villages in the Sukma District of India’s Chhattisgarh State were told they were no longer welcome in their homes.
In a joint resolution adopted by the village councils (panchayats) of Dabba, Doodhiras, Gonderas, Gurli, Jagadlanar, Kundanpal, Kunna and Michwar, Christian residents were directed either to leave their villages or renounce their faith, and warned that they would be stripped of their fields and properties if they refused to do either.
A field looted in Michwar village. PICTURE: Courtesy of CSW.
Tensions continued to rise particularly in Michwar as members of the New Bethesda Jesus Tribal Ministry appealed repeatedly for police intervention, highlighting that the resolution contradicts protections for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) enshrined under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.
However, the authorities refused even to open an investigation until days after a mob of at least 1,500 people had looted the Christians’ harvest and demanded once again that they renounce their faith or leave the village.
“The targeting of Christians in this manner is not uncommon in rural parts of India, where many tribal communities practice some combination of Hinduism and animism, which involves the worship of nature and spirits. Christianity and conversion to it is viewed as a threat, and therefore Christian activities – such as the act of gathering in a home for a private prayer meeting or Bible study – are met with regular resistance and even violence.”
At the time of writing, approximately 40 villagers have taken shelter in their local church building. The fate of the rest remains uncertain.
The targeting of Christians in this manner is not uncommon in rural parts of India, where many tribal communities practice some combination of Hinduism and animism, which involves the worship of nature and spirits. Christianity and conversion to it is viewed as a threat, and therefore Christian activities – such as the act of gathering in a home for a private prayer meeting or Bible study – are met with regular resistance and even violence.
As in the current situation in Sukma District, in many cases the authorities make matters worse, either through negligence that allows perpetrators to act with impunity, or in some cases through outright complicity. In Michwar, for example, when Christians appealed to the village chief (sarpanch) about the council’s ruling, he told them that the resolution was legitimate and that the rule of the panchayat superseded that of the Indian Constitution.
Such contempt for the principles of democracy, tolerance and peaceful co-existence that India was founded upon extends to the highest level of government, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have embraced a Hindu nationalist agenda that divides communities on religious grounds.
Earlier this year the country held general elections, the campaign for which saw hateful rhetoric towards religious minorities recorded in Chhattisgarh and at least seven other states, including Rajasthan where Modi himself made an obvious reference to Muslims in which he described them as ‘infiltrators’ who have ‘more numbers of children’ and falsely alleged that the opposition would redistribute the property of Hindus to Muslims if they came to power.
Ultimately the BJP did not secure an outright parliamentary majority, but it retained power with the support of its National Democratic Alliance bloc and as such the country’s religious minorities have continued to suffer at the hands of extremists emboldened by the BJP’s Hindu nationalist rhetoric.
In June, three Muslim men died from injuries sustained after they were violently attacked for transporting cattle from Mahasamund in Chhattisgarh to a cattle market in neighbouring Odisha State. In August, a mob of over 200 people attacked 18 Christian families in Iradaha village, again in Chhattisgarh, after a year of increasing threats and harassment aimed at forcing the families to convert back to Hinduism. In October, a Muslim trader was killed and at least 17 others were injured after communal clashes broke out following a disagreement over the collection of donations for a Hindu festival in Tripura State.
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These cases are just a snapshot of a far wider picture of the erosion of the social fabric of India. Studies have shown that incidents that erupt into full blown violence typically originate from systematic discrimination, hate mongering, and isolated incidents of targeted violence over a long period of time.
The Indian authorities have allowed this to happen. In fact, some of them have actively encouraged it. This cannot continue.
Interventions must be made in cases like that of the Christians in Sukma District, not only to make reparations for the loss of or damage to any property since the resolution was passed, but also to ensure that these families are free to live in the villages they call home without fear of coercion, harassment or violence on account of their religious beliefs.
Beyond that, the international community must consider how they might hold Prime Minister Modi and the BJP to account for the part they have played in creating an India in which discrimination and hatred have become a daily reality for far too many religious minorities across the country.
As we look to a new year, let us pray that 2025 would see India turn from this path of intolerance and impunity, and that all Indian citizens would enjoy the equality and freedom promised to them as far back as the Partition of 1947.
Ellis Heasley is public affairs officer at UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW.
