A tribal Christian family has been prevented from burying a 34-year-old woman, sparking renewed concern over religious freedom and burial rights in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Sambai Mandavi died on 24 February from respiratory and heart-related illness. However, villagers in Amodi, in Kanker district, have refused to allow her burial, claiming that Christian rites would “defile” local land and deities. Her body remains in a hospital mortuary as the dispute continues.
According to Christian advocacy groups, villagers have told the family that burial would only be permitted if they first return to Hinduism. The woman’s husband has lodged a formal complaint with local authorities after also facing threats of violence and damage to property.
The incident comes just days after the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order on 18 February directing that no further exhumations of buried Christian bodies should take place in Chhattisgarh while it considers a legal petition. The case was brought by the Chhattisgarh Association for Justice and Equality, which alleges that tribal Christians have been systematically denied access to village burial grounds.
Christian groups say the problem is not isolated. The United Christian Forum (UCF) reported 23 burial-related incidents in 2025 alone across tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. In several cases, bodies were allegedly exhumed and reburied in distant locations without family consent.
The petition before the Supreme Court argues that tribal Christians are being denied the same burial rights as other villagers, despite constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity. It states that forcing families to move bodies long distances amounts to degrading treatment.
At a recent press conference in New Delhi, UCF representatives described the court’s intervention as a hopeful step, but stressed that local enforcement remains weak. They accused state authorities of failing to prevent intimidation and, in some instances, of pressuring families to compromise rather than protecting their rights.
Concerns have also been raised about police conduct. The petition claims that officers have sometimes removed bodies from villages instead of safeguarding burial services, and that pastors conducting funerals have faced arrest under state anti-conversion laws.
Advocates link the burial disputes to wider tensions surrounding tribal identity and religious conversion. Some Hindu nationalist groups argue that tribal people who become Christians should lose their Scheduled Tribe status, which provides constitutional protections and benefits. Christian leaders strongly reject this claim, noting that India’s Constitution does not tie tribal identity to religion.
The Rev. Dr Akhilesh Edgar of the Progressive Christian Alliance said burial denials are often used to pressure families into participating in so-called “Ghar Wapsi” (homecoming) ceremonies, in which converts are urged to return to Hinduism. He called for legal reforms and clearer protection of burial rights, as well as action against those who threaten families.
Recent figures released by the UCF state that more than 700 incidents of anti-Christian violence were recorded across India in 2025, with Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh accounting for a significant share. Advocacy groups say that only a small proportion of cases have resulted in police action against alleged perpetrators.
The Chhattisgarh government has not yet issued a public response to the Supreme Court notice regarding burial rights. The matter is expected to return to court in the coming weeks.
Christian leaders are calling for clear guarantees that all citizens, regardless of religion, can bury their dead with dignity in the villages where they live.
Rewritten version of the original article from Morning Star News.
