HINDU EXTREMISTS CHASE CHRISTIAN FUNERAL 200 KILOMETERS TO PREVENT BURIAL
Extremist Hindu nationalists in India are so hostile towards Christianity that they seem determined to persecute even the dead, latest reports from the country suggest.
A Christian man from the Indian state of Chhattisgarh died on November 5. What followed was a protracted struggle between Christians seeking to lay one of their own to rest, and Hindu extremists exercising "deep rooted prejudice," Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports.
The man, who remains unnamed due to security concerns, died in his ancestral village of Kodekhursi, Kanker District.
Despite his longstanding connections to the town, local Hindus refused permission for the man to be buried within the village boundaries and even in his family's own plot of land.
The police refused to take action, meaning he could not be buried. In protest and as an appeal for action, the man's remains were placed outside the police station.
Local authorities still refused to uphold the rights of the Christian community and suggested that the man be buried somewhere else.
Taking this advice, the Christian community decided to take the body to another town, Charama, for burial.
Even then however, the extremists were not placated. A funeral procession departed to Charama under police escort and for around a kilometer, the procession was chased by Hindu activists before eventually being dispersed.
Due to the constant threats, the family ended up traveling nearly 200 kilometers to bury the man in the state capital of Raipur.
Mervyn Thomas, Founder President of CSW, is calling on the authorities to launch an inquiry.
"No family should ever be subjected to such humiliation and danger while carrying out a sacred final rite," he said. "This incident exposes not only a deep rooted prejudice but also a troubling pattern of administrative failure to protect the rights of India's most vulnerable tribal Christian citizens."
Thomas called on state authorities to conduct an impartial inquiry into the matter and take concrete measures to safeguard the constitutional freedom of all communities, ensuring that no one is denied the basic dignity of burying their loved ones.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
They would not let a Christian family bury their dead.
On their own land.
In their ancestral village.
Hindu extremists blocked the burial, and the police did nothing.
When the family placed the body outside the police station in protest, authorities told them to bury him somewhere else.
They traveled to another town.
A mob chased the funeral procession.
The family was forced to drive 200 kilometers to the state capital just to lay their loved one to rest.
This is religious persecution so vicious it extends beyond the grave.
India presents itself as the world's largest democracy.
This is what Indian democracy looks like for Christians.
No protection.
No justice.
No right to bury your dead on your own property.
Hindu nationalism has made Christians less than second class citizens.
They are treated as pollutants.
As untouchables.
As people whose very corpses defile the ground.
The West celebrates India as a strategic partner against China.
We ignore that India systematically persecutes 28 million Christians.
Partnership without principle is complicity.
TAKE ACTION
- Support persecuted Indian Christians through Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which documents religious freedom violations and advocates for victims. Donate at csw.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 8329 0046 to fund emergency legal assistance and protection for tribal Christians in Chhattisgarh.
- Contact the Indian High Commission in London demanding investigation and prosecution of Hindu extremists who prevented Christian burial. Call +44 (0)20 7836 8484 or email info.london@mea.gov.in pressing for constitutional protections to be enforced.
- Pressure your MP to raise Christian persecution in India during diplomatic engagements. Write via parliament.uk/get-involved demanding the UK condition trade agreements on India's protection of religious minorities and enforcement of burial rights.
- Fund Open Doors India emergency response providing legal defense and relocation assistance for Christians facing violent persecution. Visit opendoorsuk.org or call +44 (0)1993 460015 to support families forced from ancestral lands.
- Support International Christian Concern's advocacy for Indian believers systematically denied basic rights by Hindu nationalist mobs. Visit persecution.org to sign petitions demanding US and UK governments address religious freedom violations in bilateral talks.
- Pray for tribal Christians in Chhattisgarh facing escalating Hindu extremism and administrative complicity. Contact Release International at releaseinternational.org or +44 (0)1689 823491 to join prayer networks for India's 28 million persecuted Christians denied dignity even in death.
