Orthodox Hindu organization urged state government to prohibit Christian priests from operating in indigenous villages, citing concerns over alleged conversions of tribal communities to Christianity
Newsroom (07/08/2025 Gaudium Press) An orthodox Hindu organization, Sanatan Samaj, has urged the Chhattisgarh state government to prohibit Christian priests from operating in indigenous villages, citing concerns over alleged conversions of tribal communities to Christianity. The group’s demands, outlined in an August 5 petition to Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, a senior leader of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also include demolishing churches purportedly built illegally and halting Christian charitable services in these areas.
The petition was presented to the Kanker district administration following a protest march through Bhanupratappur, the administrative block’s headquarters, where most shops shuttered in solidarity. Hindu leaders at a post-rally meeting accused Christian clergy of exploiting vulnerable Dalit and indigenous populations with social services and education to facilitate conversions.
Further demands include denying Christians burial grounds, effectively seeking to erase their presence in tribal villages where missionaries have long provided education and healthcare in remote areas often beyond the reach of state services. The petition also called for “stringent punishment” for two Catholic nuns recently granted bail by a special court handling terrorism cases, accused of human trafficking and forced conversions.
The nuns, Vandana Francis and Preeti Mary of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, were detained on July 25 at Durg railway station while accompanying three Christian tribal women, aged 19 to 22, to work as domestic help in their convents. Hindu activists from Bajarang Dal intercepted them, leveling charges without evidence, the petition urged police to refrain from acting against these activists.
The nuns’ release, reportedly influenced by political pressure from their home state of Kerala, has fueled unrest among Hindu groups in Chhattisgarh. Pastor Simon Digbal Tandi, coordinator of the Progressive Christian Alliance, told UCA News on August 6 that the state’s tiny Christian community—comprising just 2 percent of Chhattisgarh’s 30 million population—is being unfairly targeted. “The government and ruling party are demonizing Christians based on a false narrative of illegal conversions,” Tandi said, emphasizing that Christians adhere to India’s constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and the state’s anti-conversion law.
State Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Vijay Sharma announced on August 3 plans to strengthen the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act of 1968, following 52 consultation meetings, according to the Deccan Chronicle. Chhattisgarh ranks as India’s second-worst state for Christian persecution, with 165 reported attacks in 2024, trailing only Uttar Pradesh, another BJP-ruled state, with 209 incidents.
Christians in Chhattisgarh face ongoing social exclusion, including denial of basic needs and burial rights, underscoring the growing tensions in the state.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCAN News
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