Two Christian families in Chhattisgarh were prevented from burying relatives on their own land after villagers refused to permit Christian burials and demanded Hindu rites instead.
The first incident took place on 5 November in Kanker district, where a Christian man from Kodekurse died after a prolonged illness. When his family attempted to lay him to rest in their ancestral burial ground, other villagers stopped the procession, objecting to the family’s faith. Efforts to secure police assistance reportedly failed, with officers unwilling to challenge the crowd. In protest, the Christian community placed the body outside the local police station.
Supporters from neighbouring villages arrived the following day, but officials still did not intervene and advised the family to seek another place of burial. Concerned about threats from hardline groups, the family requested police protection to transport the body. The funeral procession was trailed by an aggressive crowd before eventually being redirected nearly 200 kilometres to the state capital, Raipur, where the burial was finally completed at a Christian cemetery on 7 November.
A second case emerged only days later in Jewartala village, around 90 kilometres from Raipur. The family of Raman Sahu, who had recently embraced Christianity, brought his body home after he died in hospital. Villagers again blocked the entrance, insisting the funeral could proceed only if carried out according to local Hindu customs. Police were called to manage rising tensions while officials attempted, without success, to persuade residents to allow a Christian burial.
With no agreement reached, Sahu’s body remained in a mortuary until the family arranged a burial at a site in Sankra on the following Sunday. Local police confirmed that the villagers’ objection was solely based on Sahu’s Christian faith.
According to officers, both families had sought to use land legally designated for burial, but community members refused access unless they renounced Christianity. The Chhattisgarh Christian Forum condemned the authorities for not protecting the families’ rights. Its president, Arun Pannalal, said Christian villagers are increasingly denied the dignity of burial in their own communities, despite legal provisions safeguarding their access to burial grounds.
Christians in rural and tribal regions of India often face hostility linked to accusations of religious conversion, leading to social exclusion, intimidation, and restrictions on basic civil rights.
Adapted from The Christian Post.
