Christian Families in India Ordered to Abandon Their Faith, Threatened With Violence and Social Boycott

Eight Christian families from Bansgoam village in India's Chhattisgarh state were told to deny their faith or face a social boycott.

International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that the families attended a meeting on Nov. 22, along with 100 other villagers. They were told that the village gods and goddesses were upset because of the Christians and the practice of their faith. 

When the Christians refused to recant their faith, village leaders shouted profanity at them and told them to leave.  

A social boycott was also ordered against the families, denying them access to water from the well, the right to walk on the roads, permission to bury their dead, and payment for labor.

"Following the village meeting, the leaders put a lock on the tub well where the drinking water is drawn from," Ganesh, a Christian villager, told ICC. "The villagers continue to threaten that they will drive us out of the village and kill us. We are holding our lives in our hands and feel very unsafe in the village. No one in the village is even talking to us."

The Christians met with local authorities on Nov. 25 and requested protection from the villagers. They were told to return to Bansgoam and were assured that the matter had been resolved. 

But, the ongoing situation has become dangerous now that radical Hindu nationalists are harassing and threatening the Christians. They were told to abandon their faith or leave the village. 

CBN News has previously reported on the rise in persecution and violence among Christians.

Last month, more than 50 house churches were not allowed to hold worship services in India's Madhya Pradesh state.

The Universal Hindu Council (VHP) and other radical Hindu nationalist groups sent out a notice to Christians in the Jhabua district forbidding them from gathering. 

A mob of 50 radical Hindu nationalists brutally attacked a Christian community on Nov. 6 in India's Chhattisgarh state, leaving nine Christians severely wounded. 

Christians, including women and children, were beaten with fists, wooden clubs, and other objects. The attack left several victims with broken bones, dislocated joints, and head injuries.

People of faith are concerned they will no longer be allowed to exercise their religious freedom rights which are guaranteed in theory by India's Constitution.

According to a fact-finding report, in the first nine months of 2021, there were more than 300 incidents of significant Christian persecution. 

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