The tension is growing between Christian and non-Christian members of Dhuragaon village in Chhattisgarh state, India. The incident started weeks ago when village members stopped the funeral of a local Christian on November 24. Non-Christian villagers did not allow the family to bury their dead within village premises, so the family was forced to hold the funeral outside the village.

There are 23 Christian families living in the village against whom the discrimination is growing. A local revenue official filed a complaint against all the Christian families, claiming that they built their homes on tribal land illegally. This claim was debunked by the local village head, saying that there is no land dispute; however, they want the Christians to “return” to Hindu religion. He added that together with all non-Christian villagers, they decided not to let the Christians celebrate Christmas. The village head also threatened the Christians to expel them from the village if they do not comply with ghar whapsi, or “homecoming,” a practice endorsed by the Bharatiya Janata Party with the goal of making Christians convert to Hinduism.

“It is time we should be united and firm in our faith as these groups will try all tactics to divide poor people in the name of caste, creed, and religion.”

Voiced his opinion, Victor Henry Thakur, Archbishop of Raipur. In Chhattisgarh state, violence against the Christian minority is not a rare occurrence. The state ranks second in the attack committed against Christians, with 127 incidents in the past nine months.

Source: UCAnews