Christian families in a village in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district say they feel uncertain about Christmas celebrations amid local pressure for “ghar wapsi”, after a mob allegedly stopped a funeral and assaulted seven members of the community last month.
Lohndiguda SHO Ganesh Yadav said the police have increased patrolling in the area, which has a population of around 400, following the assault.
But local Christians have accused the police of inaction. They said an FIR was never lodged, and even the complaint by seven Christian villagers about the assault was “reworded” to link it to a “land dispute” instead of “religious hatred”.
Asked about the lack of an FIR, SHO Yadav said a case will be registered “once we investigate” the matter. “In some cases, it’s done like this.”
A day after the police complaint, the tehsildar served all the 23 Christian families a showcause notice referring to their homes – about engaging in “illegal” construction on tribal land. The matter is before an executive magistrate’s court.
Newslaundry reached out to Tehsildar Kailash Poyam to ask about the showcause notice and why it was only issued to Christian families in the village. “We were told by more than 150 villagers that these families have encroached on land and that's why we have issued a showcause notice to them. They have responded to the showcause notice. We will do a survey to find whether they have done any encroachment or not. We have not sent them notices because of any religious bias. We have sent it only because other villagers informed us about it.”
Meanwhile, in a conversation with Newslaundry, the village’s sarpanch Beeruram Baghel denied a land dispute and said that villagers want these families to return to the “tribal and Hindu fold” and that they are “planning to expel them from the village if they do not do ghar wapsi”. “All villagers have also decided that we will not let them celebrate Christmas this year.”
The village is part of the Bastar zone, which has seen 20 complaints of targeted attacks against Christians this year. And the incident comes against the backdrop of demands by the Janjati Suraksha Manch, an organisation backed by the RSS and BJP, to delist converted Adivasis in Chhattisgarh and to deny them welfare benefits.
Newslaundry reached out to Tehsildar Kailash Poyam to ask about the showcause notice and why it was only issued to Christian families in the village. “We were told by more than 150 villagers that these families have encroached on land and that's why we have issued a showcause notice to them. They have responded to the showcause notice. We will do a survey to find whether they have done any encroachment or not. We have not sent them notices because of any religious bias. We have sent it only because other villagers informed us about it.”
The latest ‘attack’
The tensions began on November 24, a day after a group of locals did not allow the family of Anthi Mandavi – a 35-year-old local Christian who died from tuberculosis – to perform her burial. Anthi’s brother Charan claimed the police were present but did not intervene and the family eventually had to take the body elsewhere for the burial.
A Rest Of World investigation had earlier detailed how Hindutva vigilantes in Chhattisgarh pressure Christians to convert while preventing them from burying their dead.
The next day, around 8 am, about six Christian villagers were standing outside a grocery store when a mob of 200 people allegedly attacked them.
Raju Kashyap, a 40-year-old who was among those allegedly assaulted, alleged, “They didn’t ask us any questions and attacked straight away. They kicked us, slapped us, and hit us with lathis. They were saying if you are not going to leave Christianity, you are going to lose your lives.”
Another villager, Paalo Kashyap, 35, claimed that he was at his shop when the mob arrived. “They suddenly started beating everyone who was standing outside our shop. They were saying you have to do ghar wapsi or we will be killed. We somehow managed to call the police.”
Seven Christians from the village approached the police with a complaint about “religious hatred”, but they said an FIR was not lodged and even the complaint was “reworded” to say that the assault was linked to a land dispute. Newslaundry has seen copies of both the versions.
A day after the complaint was filed, all 23 Christian families were served a showcause notice saying their homes were illegal construction on government land, summoning them to court on December 5.
Raghunath Kashyap, a 42-year-old, claimed the police “asked us to write in the complaint that we were attacked because of some land dispute”.
Kashyap claimed, “We have made our homes on tribal patta land, which was allotted to us by the government, so how come constructing houses on those pattas is illegal? These notices have only been served to Christian families. This is deliberate.”
Decision to ‘expel’ Christians, shadow over celebrations
Mahadev Baghel, 45, a Christian community member, said, “The villagers are planning to hold a meeting in the next two to three days to discuss expelling the 23 Christian families from the village. We are fearful of celebrating Christmas because if we do, there’s a real risk of being attacked again.We want to celebrate Christmas but we don’t know how it will be possible to do so peacefully.”
Mansingh Kashyap, 42, another member of the Christian community, said, “We’re afraid to celebrate because the situation in the village is extremely tense.”
Manan Kashyap, 40, told Newslaundry, “Every year, we go to church, play music, dance, and prepare a feast to celebrate with the entire community. But I don’t think we’ll be able to celebrate this year.”
Lohndiguda SHO Ganesh Yadav said, “We have increased patrolling in the area to ensure safety. The community is free to celebrate their festival. We are in regular contact with both other villagers and the Christian community. We have made it clear that anyone who disturbs law and order will be dealt with.”
Yadav did not comment when asked about whether members of the Christian community were asked to omit the mention of religious hatred in their complaint.
Son Singh Jhali, a senior lawyer at the Jagdalpur High Court who represented the 23 families in the executive magistrate court, said, “These actions are completely unconstitutional.”
Newslaundry reached out to Chhattisgarh Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma. This report will be updated if he responds to our questionnaire.
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