Assault, exile, exhumation of loved ones: A pattern of violence against Chhattisgarh’s Adivasi Christians

A wave of violence has been unleashed on Adivasi Christians in Chhattisgarh. 

On January 2, a church was vandalised in Narayanpur on suspicion of conducting “conversions”. And, between December 9 and 18, almost 1,000 Adivasi Christians were targeted and displaced from their homes, according to a fact-finding committee led by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism. 

“My father was beaten up. My mother, sister and others were lying on the ground,” said Ramlal Sori, 26, an Adivasi Christian whose family was attacked on December 3. “My father was in hospital for a week. We filed an FIR but it’s been more than a month and no action has been taken.”

At least a dozen Adivasi Christian – locally known as Vishwasis, or believers – in Kondagaon district told Newslaundry they had been attacked and assaulted for “believing in Christ”. They were allegedly thrown out of their homes and have been living in temporary accommodation since then. 

But this targeting is not unusual. Some alleged that, in the past, the graves of their loved ones were desecrated and the bodies dug up because their last rites had been conducted as per Christian traditions. 

Ramlal’s family lives in Rengagondi village in Kondagaon while he works as a labourer in Bandpara in the same district. At around 8 am on December 3, he said, a group of 200 people from Rengagondi and nearby Kokati village went to their house. Ramlal’s parents and sister were inside.

“They forced the three of them into an open ground nearby. They told my parents not to follow a foreign religion like Christianity,” Ramlal told Newslaundry over the phone. “My family said they hadn’t converted, they were still Adivasis, just that they now believe in Maseeh, in Jesus Christ. But they were beaten badly.”

Video footage from that day, shot at around 8.30 am, showed a crowd of people standing or sitting in a circle on open ground, green forests behind them. A man and three women – Ramlal’s father, mother, sister and one Maseeh Pota Kumari – were in the centre of this circle. Five or six men came forward and hit them with bamboo sticks. Another man kicked one of the women in the chest and she fell.

Voices shouted in Gondi, “Call up Ramlal. Where is he hiding? These people cannot live in our village. The police and administration belong to us. Who will you complain to? You people are destroying our rituals. Because of you, our tribal gods are leaving the village.”

Slogans were then chanted, “Bhagana hoga, isaiyon ko bhagan hoga.” Christians need to be chased away.

Ramlal, meanwhile, learned about these events when his mother telephoned him. He rushed home and found his family and about 15 other Vishwasis from Rengagondi and Kokati at the boundary of his village. All 18 had been told to never return to their homes. 

“I arranged for an ambulance and admitted my father to the hospital. He was there for a week,” said Ramlal, adding that his father had injuries on his back from the beating. “We then went to the Bayanar police to file an FIR. But nothing happened.” 

The family now lives in Ramlal’s home.

Newslaundry accessed a copy of the FIR. It named nine accused – Kachru, Bal Singh, Ramji, Jaylal, Dhanuram, Ganesh, Jangaram, Jamdhar and Shubhlal – and was filed under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The police did not respond to Newslaundry’s phone calls.

Ramlal now feels helpless. He said he started “believing” in Christianity – he was emphatic about not using the word “convert” – after his wife was “cured” of a lengthy illness in 2014.

“She had been vomiting for 32 days, her eyes had become weak,” he said. “We went to doctors in Raipur, Jagdalpur and Kondagaon but it didn’t help. We went to a guniya” – a tribal priest who offers medicines and exorcisms – “multiple times but her condition stayed the same. Then an acquaintance told me I should go to church since people get cured there.”

Ramlal complied, visiting a Christian prayer hall in Chemdi. “The priest held prayers for my wife and she became all right within six hours. After that, we believed in Christ. My family and I go to church every Sunday. But I am not a convert. I just believe in Christ while still following Adivasi rituals.”

In Kakoti, Soundar Kurram, 55, said he had been assaulted and evicted from his village alongside Ramlal’s family on December 3. 

“Villagers came to my home that morning and forced my wife, four sons and me to come with them to Rengagondi,” he told Newslaundry on the phone. “They hit us with sticks. They demanded we stop following Christianity.”

Like Ramlal, Kurram said he told the villagers he “is not a convert”, that he “just believes in Christ”.

“But they kept beating us,” he said. “They hit my wife and my 16-year-old son with bamboo sticks. My younger sons were spared. They then threw us out of the village and said if we return, we will be killed.”

Kurram turned to Christianity in 2015, after losing three children – all aged between three and four years – to various illnesses. “I was concerned about the safety of my other sons and a pastor suggested I come to church,” he said. “I went. Because of the prayers, my four children survived. Since then, I’ve believed in Christ.”

Kurram’s family presently lives in Ramlal’s home in Kondagaon, along with Ramlal’s family and some of the other families exiled from Rengagondi and Kokati. 

“Twenty of us live in two rooms,” Ramlal said. “Our clothes, documents, money, food, utensils – all our belongings are in the village. We can’t go back because they threatened to kill us. The police and administration are not taking action or providing any security for us to go back home. We don’t know how long things will go on like this.”

A series of attacks

On January 1, the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan published a fact-finding report on the displacement of Vishwasis in the state. After the violence in December, the report said, about 450 Adivasi Christians from 16 villages in Narayanpur and Kondapur were “driven out” from their villages. 

It said “tensions erupted” after the formation of the Janjati Suraksha Manch, which is “backed” by the RSS and BJP. The Manch “has been demanding the de-reservation of converted Adivasis” in Chhattisgarh. At a rally in April last year, the report said, it “gave an open call for violence against converts”, using the slogan “Roko, Toko, Thoko”. 

Yet the victims interviewed for the report all said violence had been meted out by fellow villagers, even though it had been “instigated on the orders of the BJP-RSS”.

According to the report, meetings are called in some villages on Sundays without informing the Vishwasis, who only realise what’s going on when 10-15 villagers arrive at their homes and ask them to present themselves in front of the villagers. The Vishwasis are then asked to “leave” Christianity or face eviction. Many Vishwasis are “beaten” in these meetings.

Newslaundry also accessed letters written by tribal outfits to the district administration saying they will not allow the burial of Adivasi Christians in their villages, or allow pastors to enter without the permission of the gram sabha, or permit Christian prayer meetings or churches.

One letter was from the Gondwana Samaj Samanvay Samiti in Kondagaon. Another contained multiple signatures under the banner of the Jila Panchayat of Antagarh tehsil, including signatures from the sarpanches of gram panchayats in Arra, Tumasnar, Amabeda, Koliyari and Phupgaon.

Similarly, over the last three years, Vishwasis have filed statements with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, saying they are assaulted, evicted and not permitted to carry out Christian burials in areas like Bastar, Bijapur, Kondagaon, Dantewada, Kaker and Narayanpur.

Degree Prasad Chauhan, the president of PUCL in Chhattisgarh, told Newslaundry 40 attacks on Adivasi Christians took place from December 1 to 17, and 20 attacks on December 18 alone.

“The attacks on Adivasis, their ouster from their villagers, and stopping them from burying their loved ones is a result of religious and cultural fanaticism,” said Chauhan. “It seems Hindu fascism has intruded on the never-ending spirit to fight for the preservation of jal, jungle and zameen. These forces are using the PESA act to spread enmity between tribals on religious lines. They are using the powers of the gram sabha to lead attacks on tribals who believe in Christianity.”

Irfan Engineer, who led the fact-finding committee for the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, told Newslaundry that a “forcible conversion campaign to convert tribal Christians to Hindus has been carried out using violence”

“The district administration has ignored the early warning of threats and intimidation targeting Christians,” Engineer said. “The administration displayed a lackadaisical attitude despite repeated requests for help from the victims.”

Newslaundry sent questionnaires to chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu. This report will be updated if they respond.

Bhojraj Nag, a former BJP MLA from Antagarh and the state coordinator of the Janjati Suraksha Manch, insisted that his organisation “is not instigating anybody”. “I believe the church is behind the ongoing violence,” he said. “Government should order a detailed inquiry and punish the culprits.”

In Kurutola, a mother’s body dug up 

While the December violence has hit the headlines, Adivasi Christians in Chhattisgarh say they’ve been targeted before too. 

In Kurutola, a village in Antagarh tehsil in Kanker district, the family of Chaitibai Nareti allege that her body was dug up days after her burial. Chaitibai died of jaundice on November 1. While the matter is now in the high court, the family currently lives in hiding, fearing for their safety.

On November 4, Chaitibai’s son Mukesh Nareti filed a complaint with Kanker’s superintendent of police Shalabh Sinha and district collector Priyanka Shukla. Newslaundry accessed a copy of the complaint. 

Mukesh wrote that on November 1, after his mother’s death, village authorities did not provide him space to conduct the last rites but told him to use Chaitibai’s patta land. She was buried that evening as per Christian rituals. 

Mukesh alleged he and his three siblings were “harassed” by villagers who insisted that he “dig up” his mother. 

“They threatened to kill me if I didn’t,” he wrote. “...Town inspector Harishankar Dhru threatened to label me a Naxalite and kill me in an encounter if I don’t take out the body.”

On the night of November 3, Chaitibai’s body was allegedly dug up by a group of people. Mukesh claimed Bhojraj Nag, the former BJP MLA from Antagarh, and Santlal Dugga, president of the Gondwana Samanvay Samiti, had been in attendance too, as was Ramesh Mandavi, a member of the Samiti and sarpanch of Arra village. 

“The police intervened and told villagers to leave the body in the grave,” Mukesh wrote. “A day later, police dug out the body and took it with them.” Mukesh and his family have since been in “hiding”.

His version of events was corroborated by Birendra Patel, a journalist in Amabeda who reported on what happened for Khabar Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.

“After Mukesh buried the body, the villagers created a commotion,” Patel told Newslaundry. “They called a meeting in Kurutola on November 3 which was attended by former BJP MLA Bhojraj Nag and Santlal Dugga. Nag led a rally in the village demanding the body be dug up. The rally gheraoed the Amabeda tehsil office and police station.”

On the same day, Patel said, the police “picked up” Mukesh between 4 and 5 pm. “I received eight to 10 calls from sources and acquaintances saying the police were beating him up. I went to the police station and he told me the police were threatening to kill him and pass it off as a Naxal encounter if he did not agree to dig up his mother’s body.”

Patel said the police told him they hadn’t laid a finger on Mukesh. Mukesh was released at around 8 pm. An hour later, his mother’s body was allegedly dug up by a group of villagers alongside Santlal Dugga and Ramesh Mandavi.

“They dug her up in front of her children. The police rushed to the spot. Mukesh and his brothers and sister were pleading with them but they weren’t listening,” said Patel. “The villagers brought a tractor to take the body away – their plan was to throw it in front of the police station. The police intervened and asked them to put the body back in the grave. At 11 am the next day, the police took the body away.”

Chaitibai’s body was kept at the mortuary in Antagarh hospital. Meanwhile, Mukesh and his siblings went into hiding. A few days later, Chaitibai’s body was buried in a Christian graveyard in Antagarh on orders of the collector, said Patel.

Since then, the family has filed a petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court against Nag, Dugga, Mandavi and other villagers. The family’s lawyer DP Gupta told Newslaundry the high court issued notice to nine people in November. “They had to submit a reply within three weeks,” Gupta added, “but they haven’t yet.”

Shalabh Sinha, Kanker’s superintendent of police, said they received Mukesh’s complaint in November but have been unable to contact him since the family is in hiding. Meanwhile, the police “have not found any incriminating evidence” on the roles played by Nag and Dugga.

“We need Mukesh to provide a statement so we can take appropriate action,” said Sinha. “Maybe he is afraid to come back. But he should come here.”

But a senior police official at Kanker told Newslaundry that “RSS and BJP are instigating villagers not to allow Adivasi Christians to bury the bodies of their dead”.

Sinha added that providing protection to “every Adivasi Christian family is not possible”. “But we patrol those who have a history of such cases,” he said. “In recent times, burials of Christ believers has become a burning issue because villagers don’t allow them. We are trying our best to resolve these issues but it’s very challenging. We don’t want anyone to disrespect the dead.”

What about the town inspector, Harishankar Dhuru, who purportedly threatened to kill Mukesh in an “encounter”?

Sinha did not comment on this, but Dhuru told Newslaundry “there is no truth” to the claim. “I have not done any such thing,” he said. “We are still investigating the matter and will take appropriate action against the accused.”

When asked about Chaitibai’s body being dug up, Bhojraj Nag said, “Every village in Bastar has a code of tribal traditions and rituals. These rituals need to be followed. If someone dies, his last rites are done as per those traditions...If anyone conducts last rites following Christian rituals, the villagers don’t allow them to do so.”

Nag also spelt out his issues with Adivasi Christians: “If anyone wants to become Christian, they can go ahead. But then they should not address themselves as Adivasis just to take the benefit of reservation.”

‘It has shattered us’

In Khalebedi village of Keshkal tehsil in Kondagaon, the Padda family had a very similar story to tell.

On October 8, Dulari Padda, 72, died after an illness. She was buried in the village graveyard, where four other Vishwasis had previously been buried too. Her son Ghasnu Padda, who had died a few weeks before, had been buried there too.

“We buried her around 4 pm that day,” said Ram Singh Padda, Dulari’s grandson, speaking to Newslaundry on the phone. “Some villagers objected. They came to us with representatives from the Gondwana Samaj and demanded that we dig up her body. We said we couldn’t and pointed out other burials had happened before.”

Curiously, the villagers had not raised objections when Dulari’s son Ghasnu Padda had been buried in the same village graveyard.

Ram said the villagers filed a police complaint against his family at Dhanora police station. He was then visited by Shankar Lal Sinha, the sub-divisional magistrate. 

“He said if we don’t comply with the villagers, we’ll have to face the consequences,” Ram said. “We said we won’t bury a body next time but they cannot dig up my grandmother.”

It’s true that the Keshkal sub-divisional magistrate asked that Dulari’s body be exhumed. But the SDM’s order, dated October 9 claimed it was because her death was “suspicious” and that her family had buried her without informing the local police station. The order said the body must be exhumed for a postmortem. 

Dulari’s body was accordingly dug up by a few villagers, on the orders of the SDM, on October 10.

“They dug it out in front of us and took it for postmortem,” said Ram, adding that the postmortem did not find anything “suspicious”. “She was then buried in a graveyard in Keshkal. Only a few of us could attend the burial since the atmosphere in the village was very tense. Our family was in shock and grief. It was very disrespectful. It has shattered us emotionally.”

Newslaundry contacted SDM Shankar Lal Sinha to ask him about his order. He said, “Villagers submitted an application to dig out her body as the death was suspicious.”

But did the postmortem find anything suspicious? “My job was to issue the order. I don’t know about that,” Sinha said. “We only gave the order because we received the application. Otherwise, I would not have asked that the body be dug up.”