The escalated number of religious conversions has erupted a rift and is testing the patience of villagers in a tribal-dominated Rajim village in the Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh.
The situation is such that on Sunday, the villagers, incensed with the increased number of religious conversions, gathered at the praying place of the Christians in Kaundekera village, Rajim of Gariaband district.
Tensions were reported inching towards a flash point. But before any untoward incident, a team of local administration under the supervision of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), reached the spot and timely intervention from local administration and deployment of adequate numbers of police forces diffused the tension on that very day, a local reporter said.
However, the tensions are still brimming in the minds of the sulking villagers, and if the situation is not diffused completely, further confrontation cannot be averted, he cautioned.
"Sarpanch Ganesh Daharia and Vishnu Nishad complained that they are feeling hostile in our village. Our family members started practising their religions, customs, and festivals and everything changed overnight. We are feeling alienated, our unity dismembered such things cannot be tolerated furthermore," complained the villagers.
Villagers alleged, that outsiders, burgled their villages, lives, and relationships and polluted their culture, disturbing the existing peace and harmony of the village.
Angry villagers also gave ultimatums to new converts to return to their own previous faith, snap the ties with the outsiders and ban the entry of the villagers or else they will have to face serious consequences.
The diktat served by the villagers have created conflicting situations within the village.
Christian sect preacher Santosh Markam, a resident of the Kanker district was also asked to leave the village and not invite outsiders into the tribal village.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Prabal Pratap Singh Judev alleged that under the patronage of the Congress-led government, the cases of forced religious conversion have intensified in the state. "It is a part of a foolproof conspiracy," he added.
However, the local administration said they were monitoring the situation and every action will be initiated to restore normalcy in the village.
