Christians beaten and forced to reconvert to tribal religions in Indian village
The Christian Post reports that Christian families in a village in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh fled after villagers belonging to a tribal religion ostracised and threatened to kill them if they did not convert back to their ancestral religion; the ten Christians who could not flee were beaten and forced to “reconvert”.
Tensions in Chhingur village began on the 2nd of March when a villager, who had requested that a local pastor pray for him for healing, died, and the tribal villagers refused to allow him to be buried. With the intervention of the police, area Christians took him to another village for the burial.
Also last month, a mob of about seventy people carrying weapons attacked a group of Christians who were praying at a believer’s home in Surguda village Bastar District, burning Bibles and vandalising furniture. They injured at least six Christians, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The persecution is taking place amid radical Hindu groups’ campaign to stop the country’s tribal people from converting to Christianity. These groups have been demanding that the government ban those who convert from receiving education and employment opportunities.
Source: christianpost.com
