Two Christian families in Odisha, India, have been denied basic rights and public utilities because they refused to give up their faith and become Hindu on March 29. The situation is an outrageous example of religious discrimination.
The Christians are from Siunaguda village, Beheda Panchayat, under Umorkot Police Station in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district.
Pastor Gangadhar Santa, 28, revealed that his family and his uncle’s family have been living in darkness since March 23, after being cut off from electricity.
“The moment we refused to reconvert, they severed our power supply,” he stated.
But the persecution did not stop there. The village borewell has banned the families from drawing water, leaving them desperate for even the most basic needs.
Deliberate Denial of Government Welfare
The village recently conducted a survey for the Indira Awas Yojana, a government scheme providing housing for the poor. The list of beneficiaries deliberately excluded both families, despite their eligibility. “We qualify for the scheme, but our names were ignored,” lamented Pastor Gangadhar.
The official demarcation process excluded their land and properties, further isolating them.
“Every other family had their properties marked, but ours were ignored, as if we don’t exist,” he said.
A shocking precursor to religious persecution
This is not the first time Christians in Siunaguda have faced such brutal discrimination. A horrifying incident on March 3 set the tone for this continued persecution.
When Gangadhar’s 75-year-old grandfather, Kesab Santa, passed away, the village’s Hindu majority refused to allow his burial in the village graveyard.
“Even though my grandfather was a Hindu and a respected natural healer, the villagers denied us burial rights because we, his children, are Christians,” Gangadhar recounted.
The grieving family was given a cruel ultimatum: reconvert to Hinduism or watch their patriarch’s body remain unburied.
The situation turned tragic when his uncle, Turpu Santa, and his family were forced to sign a declaration of reconversion just so they could bury the deceased.
“They had no choice. Gangadhar described their situation as emotional blackmail and cornering.
The body of Kesab Santa lay in the village street for an entire day while the administration remained paralyzed. Even the presence of police and the district collector failed to protect the family or uphold their rights.
Kesab Santa's burial took place only at 6 pm after his son Turpu and his family signed a declaration of reconversion to Hinduism.
A Village Controlled by Fear and Intimidation
The village has accused a prominent tribal leader named Purna Bagh of orchestrating this intimidation campaign. Gangadhar said, "The whole administration seems helpless against him." He was discussing how the police have failed to address numerous complaints and have not taken any action.
“This is the fifth time in recent years that Christians have been denied burial rights here,” he stated.
“My father died in 2023, and even though he was a Hindu, we were denied burial in our land because we had converted to Christianity. We had to travel 10 kilometers just to bury him," he added.
Siunaguda village comprises about 130 families, all belonging to the Kondh tribal community.
Five families had converted to Christianity, but due to relentless pressure and systematic persecution, three of them have already reconverted.
The remaining two, including Pastor Gangadhar’s family, are resolute in their faith despite the hardships.
A Call for Religious Freedom
When asked if he would ever consider reconverting to Hinduism, Pastor Gangadhar’s response was firm: “Never. Heaven is all I desire. The Bible says, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
However, he also called upon the authorities to uphold constitutional rights. “We live in a secular nation that guarantees religious freedom. I simply demand the protection, justice, and freedom that our rights as Indian citizens entail. - Sujata Jena
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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