Number of churches in Jharkhand, MP, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha doubled

• Churches are being built on tribal lands

• Due to religious conversions, many villages in Chhattisgarh have become predominantly Christian

Ranchi (Jharkhand) – In the last 10 years, the number of churches in the four States of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha has nearly doubled. According to a survey, there were 12,300 churches in these States in 2011-12, and now there are more than 25,000, as reported by the daily ‘Divya Marathi.’ In many villages of the Gumla District of Jharkhand, 90% of the population has converted to Christianity. These people now display the symbol of the cross outside their homes.

The number of churches has doubled in the states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha!

Churches are being built on tribal lands.

Due to religious conversions, many villages in Chhattisgarh have become Christian-majority.

The Central Government should enact an… pic.twitter.com/aivFOXko5l

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) August 26, 2024

Illegal construction of churches on tribal lands

Ram Prakash Pandey, a Government lawyer who has been waging legal battle against illegal conversions and church constructions, stated that tribal lands are being encroached upon after converting the tribals. Then churches, schools, and hospitals are built there. According to the rules, a tribal person can only transfer land to another tribal person; however, all the churches built in tribal-dominated villages are on tribal lands.

No action against encroachments in Jashpur (Chhattisgarh) despite Court orders

In Jashpur District (Chhattisgarh), 250 cases of churches being built on tribal lands were registered in Court in 2007. The Court ordered that all encroached lands be cleared. When the then District Collector went to Bada Karonja in 2009 to clear the encroachments, he was held hostage inside a church. Since then, no one has been able to remove the encroachments on these lands. From 2007 to 2024, 116 new cases have been registered. All these cases involve complaints about churches being built on these lands and taken over.

Mass conversion of Hindus in Chhattisgarh

There are 50 villages in the Sanna block of Chhattisgarh. In only 5 of these villages, no one has converted to Christianity. In the village of Saraitoli, there are more than 100 Christian households. Now, only one Hindu household remains there. In Paraspur, only three Hindu households remain. Similarly, in Kardih, 90% of the population has converted to Christianity. In Jashpur, there used to be one church, now there are 50. Notably, after these Hindus convert, their names are not changed, so they are not recognised as Christians by their names.

Editorial Perspective

The Union Government should urgently pass an anti-conversion law and protect these Hindus and tribals; otherwise, there will be no Hindus left in these States in the future.