Christians in Chhattisgarh caught between a rock and a hard place

A poster outside the 116-year-old Sundarganj Mennonite Church in Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, warns non-Christians to enter at their own risk. Nearly 50 km away, at Jamgaon village in neighbouring North Bastar Kanker district (Kanker hereafter), a signboard outside the 15-year-old Diocese of Church of God declares: “Entry of pastors and priests is strictly prohibited.”

Though different in wording and intent, the two signs point to a growing climate of caution and hostility around Christian worship in parts of the State. In central Chhattisgarh, churchgoers say prayer meetings are being disrupted and visitors are questioned about their presence. In the tribal region of Bastar, curbs on the entry of pastors and priests have emerged amid disputes over religious practices and burial rights.

These developments have unfolded against the backdrop of the Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam, 2026, or the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act (FORA), taking effect and replacing a 1968 law enacted in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Passed by the State Assembly in March and notified in August, the new law prescribes stricter punishments, including life imprisonment and fines of up to ₹25 lakh in specific cases of “illegal conversions”. It also requires individuals intending to convert, as well as religious functionaries conducting conversions, to submit declarations or prior intimation to the competent authority – defined as the District Magistrate or an authorised officer of at least the rank of Additional District Magistrate.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the State, led by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, has defended the law as a measure to curb conversions carried out by “exploiting people’s poverty and lack of education and knowledge”. However, Christians and their representatives fear that its provisions could be misused to restrict religious freedom and deepen existing hostility towards their community.

“Almost every Sunday, members of the Bajrang Dal and other right-wing groups disrupt prayers. While such disruptions are not new, they are now carrying printed copies of the FORA and stopping visitors. Citing provisions of the new law, the intruders ask attendees to either convert to Christianity or avoid visiting churches altogether. There are Christians, non-Christians who have been praying for years, and casual visitors who come to the church, but now they all live in fear. With the police administration taking little to no action, there is little we can do,” says Diamond Philus, general secretary of the Dhamtari District Christian Forum.

He says the law has heightened fears of misuse because of its stringent provisions and the administration’s “attempts to placate the party in power”. Some community members also argue that it infringes on the constitutional rights to freedom of conscience, religious freedom, privacy, and personal liberty.

Pre-emptive action

“Conversion is a legal process, but there are many who see belief in [Jesus] Christ as different from Christianity. This new law pushes for registration, though there are many who are unwilling to do so,” says Philus.

Apart from putting up posters, churches in Dhamtari are also asking visitors to fill self-declaration forms stating that they are visiting of their own free will and not under any pressure. The churches claim that 1,500 such forms have been submitted to the District Collector.

Philus clarifies that these declarations are different from the intimation mandated under the FORA. “According to the law, the burden of proving innocence lies with anyone accused of alluring someone to come to church or promising them something. So, these forms are pre-emptive, so that we have some proof if any action is taken against us,” he says.

The disruptions and even the posters have had little impact on visitors to the Sundarganj Mennonite Church, according to Philus.

However, Alok Majumdar, a local pastor who runs a small prayer hall nearby, says people carrying copies of the law and telling others to stay away from prayer meetings until they formally convert have managed to keep many visitors away.

“No action is taken against those who disrupt our prayers. Even if an FIR is registered, it is usually against a group rather than the individuals we name in our complaints. We have nowhere to go,” says Philus.

He adds that the situation is even more dire in villages, where those who worship Christ are subjected to violence, particularly during Sunday prayers or when trying to bury their dead as per Christian rituals.

Entry barred

In Jamgaon village, the gram sabha has put up one of the three signboards barring Christian pastors and priests right next to the church signboard. Citing the Fifth Schedule and the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), it invokes the gram sabha’s right to preserve local traditions and customary culture to prohibit pastors, priests, and converts from outside the village from entering Jamgaon or holding Christian prayer meetings and religious events.

As in several other instances across Bastar in recent years, the burial of Somlal Rathore, who followed Christianity, according to Christian rites last July met with objections from villagers. The dispute turned violent, eventually leading to the signboards being put up.

“We insisted that we would bury him on his own land according to his wishes, but other villagers and many outsiders objected. They carried out a violent attack on the church, damaging property. The police had to be called. The body was exhumed and taken elsewhere. We don’t know what happened to it,” says Rathore’s son-in-law Sandeep Chauhan, who has been following Christianity for the past five years.

‘Solution remains elusive’

The events that followed Rathore’s death led to a massive protest in Kanker by people practising the Christian faith, demanding burial rights and designated burial sites.

Months earlier, Ramesh Baghel had approached the Supreme Court after being denied the right to bury his father, Subhash Baghel, a Christian pastor, in his native Chhindwada village in Bastar district. In a split verdict, the apex court ordered that the burial be conducted at a designated site in Karkapal village in the same district. The court also directed the BJP government and local authorities to demarcate exclusive sites for Christian burials across the State in accordance with the law.

Kanker Collector Kundan Kumar admits that burial sites have not yet been allotted in his district and attributes the delay to stiff opposition. “Whenever we identify a place to allot for burials, people from that village say they will not allow Christians to be buried on that patch of land. Even suggestions of alternative sites are dismissed as protesters oppose Christian burials anywhere in the village,” he says.

Philus says the same situation prevails in Dhamtari.

The lack of designated burial sites has led to further instances of such objections, some of which have turned violent. Last December, the father of the then sarpanch Rajman Salam was buried according to Christian rites on the family’s private land in Bade Teoda village in Kanker.

According to the police, a mob vandalised a prayer hall and police personnel sustained injuries in intermittent clashes over three days. Salam was later removed from his post through a no-confidence motion in the panchayat and the incident had a ripple effect.

“It was a major law and order issue and we had to camp there for days. Finding an acceptable solution in such cases appears impossible as neither side is willing to relent,” says a senior police officer who has served in Kanker and Dhamtari.

Bade Teoda is among the areas under the Aamabeda police station that the officer identifies as most sensitive in terms of religious clashes. There are 72 villages under the police station limits, another officer posted there says, adding that the farthest is 50 km away.

Sannao Gota, local pastor of Tumasnar village in Kanker, which also falls under the police station’s jurisdiction, says five of the 16 families that used to attend church have stopped doing so, fearing a backlash.

‘Misuse of PESA Act’

More recently, the gram sabha of Punpalli panchayat in Sukma district passed a resolution banning the allotment of community land to Christians and converts for burials, construction of churches, prayer meetings, and other religious gatherings.

An information board prohibiting the entry of Christian priests and preachers into the village for conversions, prayer meetings, and other activities has also been put up. The gram sabha cited Article 244(1) of the Constitution, the Fifth Schedule, the PESA Act, and the amended Chhattisgarh PESA Rules, 2022.

“Such resolutions further diminish the prospects of securing a burial site close to a village,” says Philus.

The PESA Act grants gram sabhas in Fifth Schedule areas additional powers to protect and maintain traditional systems of governance.

Pradeep Singh, a Jagdalpur-based lawyer who serves as a legal adviser to Christians in the Bastar region, says this amounts to a blatant misuse of PESA and that “the law is taking precedence over the Constitution”.

The impact of these signboards extends beyond burial rights and disruptions to Sunday prayers. “We cannot invite guests for weddings or other rituals. There is also an undeclared social boycott. I used to work as a butcher at a friend’s chicken shop in the village, but now I have to travel 17 km every day to find work as a casual labourer,” says Chauhan.

Another Jagdalpur-based lawyer, who did not wish to be identified, says in some cases there is institutional bias, with tribals who have adopted Christianity being allegedly denied work under the Central government’s rural employment scheme or prevented from collecting forest produce. “In one instance in Bastar district, a family was not allowed to harvest its own crops just because of its faith,” the lawyer claims.

‘Bans are non-negotiable’

Madkam Bhima, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader and Janpad panchayat member in Sukma, defends the Punpalli panchayat’s decision, arguing that such measures are needed to protect tribal culture. “We worship nature and we have no objection if someone follows a different faith. The problem starts when they abuse our gods and our faith and do not participate in collective rituals,” he says.

While Chauhan says Christians have never refused to participate in other religious events but are instead not invited, Jamgaon sarpanch Bhagwati Uikey dismisses these claims. She says the signboards reflect the collective view of villagers who follow “Hindu and tribal culture”. “They had been told to follow our practices, but they refuse. Hence, such prohibitions have become non-negotiable,” she says.

Hunga Markam, a BJP leader from Sukma, says tribal villagers have relied on their traditional practices for generations and that these have served them well. He also alleges that Christian missionaries use healthcare facilities and money to persuade people to abandon their faith. Christian community leaders have firmly denied the allegations.

Some community leaders say while the new law is pushing people practising the Christian faith to seek formal registration, its stringent provisions make the process difficult.

A writ petition challenging the FORA in the Chhattisgarh High Court documents these concerns, citing alleged violence and hostility against religious minorities, attacks on churches and prayer meetings, social boycotts and economic exclusion, gram sabha resolutions and interference in Scheduled Areas, denial of burial rights, misuse of conversion-related charges, and surveillance and disruption of churches, pastors and religious gatherings.

According to the petitioners, the law makes even voluntary conversions subject to public disclosure and multiple government clearances, rendering the process excessively cumbersome. They sought interim relief from certain provisions of the law. On October 7, the High Court asked the State government to respond to the plea within three weeks.

shubhomoy.s@thehindu.co.in

Edited by Paniker Rohit Nandkishor