Our fundamental rights, our right to live, and our human rights are being taken away from us, they complain
India’s tribal Christians stage a protest against violent attacks against them in front of the district collector’s office in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh state, on Dec. 18. (Photo supplied)
Indigenous tribal Christians forced to abandon their homes and villages due to social boycotts and violence have urged authorities to take action against the instigators in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
Some 1,000 aggrieved Christians camped outside the office of the district collector in Narayanpur on Dec. 18 demanding action against local political leaders influenced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other Hindu nationalist organizations.
Many among them including women and children showed their injuries sustained during the public beatings they were subjected to in the villages when they refused to give up Christianity
“At least 300 families from Narayanpur and Kondegaon districts in the Bastar region were driven out of their homes in the past two months,” Pastor Moses Logan, president of the Chhattisgarh State Christian Welfare Society, said.
The pastor told UCA News that violence against Christians in Chhattisgarh has shown a marked increase in the past few months with public beatings, and destruction of homes and agricultural crops being the norm.
The rise in attacks was attributed to police inaction. Activists accuse them of ignoring the complaint of the victims and siding with the attackers.
“Police refuse to register cases against the perpetrators of crime and instead tell us to go and make peace with our tormentors,” one of the victims who did not want to be named told UCA News.
Their leader said many tribal people had succumbed to threats from their fellow villagers and gave up the Christian faith, while those who refused had to leave the villages.
The Chhattisgarh State Christian Welfare Society has collected details of the numerous attacks across several villages to be presented to the political, administrative and police authorities in the state seeking action against the culprits.
Those affected by the violent attacks blame it on the provocation from local political leaders, reported The Wire news portal.
“We have been living in these villages for generations now without any discrimination, peacefully practicing our religion and its rituals. However, there are some leaders who are inciting others to attack us and our community… The women and our children have become targets of lewd comments. Our fundamental rights, our right to live, and our human rights are being taken away from us,” stated the villagers’ complaint as quoted by The Wire.
Chhattisgarh is ruled by India’s main opposition party, the Congress, which swears by secular ideals. Christians make up 1.92 percent of the state’s roughly 30 million people, a majority of who are followers of the Hindu religion.
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