by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Council authorities in India’s Chhattisgarh state have denied basic human necessities to 15 Christian families who refuse to renounce Christ and worship a local Hindu god, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Permanent residents of Naspal village in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh, the 15 Christian families have suffered three months of a socio-economic boycott order issued by the Gram Panchayat (village council) authority, ICC reports.
In a letter of complaint to the local police chief, advocates for the families assert that the Gram Panchayat village council had repeatedly threatened the Christians to renounce their faith or face socio-economic boycotts, ICC said. The Gram Panchayat is accused of denying the families access to drinking water, markets and grocery stores, and employment with the aim of driving them out of the village.
“In this latest instance, the 15 families allegedly were told to donate money for the village goddess fair and eat ritualistic food offered to the goddess,” ICC said in its report. “If they failed to do so, they would be banned from the village.”
“Denying tribal Christians the right to lead peaceful and meaningful lives in their village has become the order of the day in an unabated vicious cycle of threats and intimidation in area after area in many districts of Chhattisgarh,” ICC noted. “Christians are facing this threat from the Gram Panchayats, the very authorities who are supposed to protect the rights of every villager.”
India has been ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party for nearly 20 years and ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.