Tribal Christians in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh continue to suffer the aftermath of a series of brutal attacks carried out by Hindu nationalists in recent months, resulting in more than 2,500 Christians becoming homeless and hundreds of homes being vandalized and looted.
“There wasn’t even a time for me to lock the door of my house before I fled to the jungle,” the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern quoted a distressed tribal Christian as saying.
The ferocity of the attacks has left many Christians feeling traumatized and constantly living in fear, ICC said.
“They would have killed me and my family had I not fled to the jungle,” a survivor, identified only as Pastor Kanan, was quoted as saying. “The phone call that I received from my friend saved my life … he alerted me about the furious mob that was advancing toward our village Gadhbengal carrying sharp weapons and sticks.”
A recent report by a fact-finding team said a series of attacks on Christians, who are tribal, or indigenous, took place from Dec. 9–18, 2022, in numerous villages in the two districts displacing about 1,000 Christians.
Their homes were vandalized and their churches and properties were attacked for refusing to “re-convert” to Hinduism.
On New Year’s Day, an anti-Christian mob of nearly 700 radicals mobilized in the Christian-populated area of Gadhbengal village, and destroyed homes and properties, ICC said, adding that around 200 Christians escaped the mob when they were alerted about rioters heading their way.
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