The Gumla district in Jharkhand, one of the worse affected by left-wing extremism, has seen rampant religious conversion by Christian missionaries over the years, especially during the lockdown last year. The powerful Christian missionaries operating in the town threaten the poor and vulnerable locals, especially those belonging to the Scheduled Castes, with dire consequences if they do not pay heed to their demands. Many eventually, buckle under the pressure and convert to Christianity.
News 18 has reported about a group of families dwelling in the Gadtoli block, situated at a distance of 35 km from the Gumla district in Jharkhand, out of which a little less than half have been compelled to give up their Hindu Sarna faith to adopt Christianity due to the terror of the conversion gangs working in the area at the behest of Christian missionaries.
Out of the 55 families dwelling there, almost 30 families have converted to Christianity, reports News 18, which added that the conversion racket in this hamlet has been prevalent for the last 15 years.
The report further stated that now, there are these two families which are particularly being tortured to bow down to the demands of these Christian conversion gangs. One family belonging to that of a person named Salik Gop is said to have been ostracized by the Christian villagers for the last 6 months for not concurring with the demands of religious conversion. Salik Gop’s family has regularly been receiving death threats compelling them to think a hundred times even before leaving the house.
Salik Gop’s son Budheshwar, who is a paraprofessional teacher, has not been able to go for his work for the last 6 months.
Jharkhand Hindu family being forced to consume beef, barred from using the village well for declining conversion demands
Speaking to the media outlet, Salik Gop’s family claimed that, despite being a cowherd family, they are constantly pressured to eat beef. Leave alone farming, their family has been even barred from using the water from the village well. Their children have been forbidden to go to school, said Salik Gop.
The family’s entire source of income has been disrupted so that they acceded to the conversion demands of the influential Christian missionaries participating in proselytization in the area, but, Salik Gop said that no matter what happens, he will not submit to their demands.
It is appalling how these organisations have been openly running a parallel government in Jharkhand’s Gumla town for many years now. The majority of the events take place in the presence of the police administration, who do little to stop them.
Dalit woman files complaint against Christian villagers alleging torture
It may be recalled how in the month of September, OpIndia reported about a woman health worker of Jamdih village of Gumla district of Jharkhand approached the police with a complaint against the Christian villagers, accusing them of torturing her family members to accept Christianity. The complainant, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste, had also alleged that the assailants even sexually abused her daughter to mount pressure on the family to adopt Christianity. She had also said that accused persons instigated the villagers against her family.
