[1]CHHATTISGARH, India (BP) – Hundreds of Christians in central India have been denied clean water, fresh produce and employment for nearly a month in unsuccessful attempts to force them to denounce Christianity, International Christian Concern (ICC) reported May 29.
More than 180 Christian tribal families in Chhattisgarh state in central India are blocked from community rivers and other water sources; have been denied employment in a scheme orchestrated by the government, and are barred from collecting and selling non-timber forest products, a main tribal source of nourishment and income.
The families, termed Vivasis because of their tribal heritage, are spread among 32 villages in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, where many Christians reside among the majority Hindi nation of nearly 1.5 billion people.
“Christian community leaders have stated that these severe boycotts are aimed at pressuring believers into abandoning their faith and participating in Ghar Wapsi or ‘homecoming’ programs, meaning re-converting to Hinduism,” ICC said in reporting the persecution. “These areas of the Kanker districts have also previously seen broader tensions in the past, with various local village authorities issuing resolutions to restrict Christian burials and the entry of pastors.”
Violence often follows such boycotts and religious exclusions, ICC said, “with police and district administrations unable to take decisive action to prevent the atrocities.”
Chhattisgarh civil rights groups including the Progressive Christian Alliance and Jila Masih Astha Samaj have complained in writing of the abuse, but the targeted Christian communities continue to face severe hardships.
[2]The persecution follows the May 13 murder of three Christian church leaders among the indigenous Kuki-Thadou people in northeastern India’s Manipur State, and tracks with increased persecution of Christians, Muslims and other minorities the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has noted.
Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou and two preachers, Vumthang Sitlhou and Kaigoulun Lhouvum, were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire in mountainous terrain on a larger group leaving the United Baptist Convention Assembly in Churachandpur District, Christian persecution watchdog CSW reported May 22. At least five others suffered life-threatening gunshot injuries and were taken to Shija Hospital in Imphal, CSW said.
The Baptist convention focused on reconciliation and peacebuilding among tribal communities in Manipur. But the killings spurred days of retaliatory violence, CSW said, with reports of armed Kuki groups abducting Naga civilians, and Naga village members and armed groups abducting Kuki.
“These targeted attacks on revered church leaders who were returning from a dedicated mission of peace and tribal reconciliation constitute a horrific assault on human life and the freedom of religion or belief in Manipur,” CSW Founder and President Mervyn Thomas said. “The subsequent retaliatory abductions and hostage crisis underscore how rapidly instability can spiral when faith leaders and peacebuilders are targeted. … The international community must not look away as tribal Christian communities and peace advocates in Manipur face escalating vulnerabilities.”
The U.S. State Department should designate India a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for egregious religious freedom violations, USCIRF recommended in its 2026 annual report, noting persecution of Christians, Muslims and other minorities despite religious freedom guarantees in India’s constitution.
In October 2025, Indian police arrested U.S. citizen James Watson, accusing him of converting Hindus to Christianity in Maharashtra. Watson was released on bail after two weeks, but USCIRF did not disclose in its report any resolution of the case. Watson and two Indian nationals were charged with “hurting religious sentiment.” India accused them of “violating the state’s anti-black magic law, luring individuals to convert by promising ‘miracle cures’ and prosperity,” USCIRF said in its annual report.
[3]Religious freedom continued to deteriorate in India in 2025, USCIRF said in its report, with the government enforcing harsh laws against Christians and other minority communities and states attaching longer prison sentences to anti-conversion laws. Detention of members of minority religious communities, illegal expulsion of citizens and religious refugees, and unchecked vigilante attacks on minority religious communities increased.
Among India’s numerous laws targeting minority religious communities are the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, the 1967 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens, the 2025 Waqf Bill, and the 2025 Immigration and Foreigners Bill. Article 295A of the Penal Code functions as a blasphemy law by criminalizing actions deemed to “outrage religious feelings.”
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