Tensions erupted in the village Bhejripadar in tehsil Tokapal of Bastar district, Chhattisgarh this week after the funeral of a Christian woman was protested by local villagers who demanded she should be cremated instead of being buried. The deceased woman, Mate Bekko was a tribal woman earlier who had lately converted her religion to Christianity. The villagers gathered during her funeral and opposed her burial process.
According to the reports, Mate Bekko breathed her last on March 19. The local villagers gathered for her funeral and stated that she shall be cremated and not buried. On refusal by her family members who also had converted their religion to Christianity, the local villagers happened to escalate the protest by pelting stones. The clashes broke when the body of the Christian woman was being taken by her family to the burial ground. After this, the family members of the deceased woman left the body on the street while on their way to the burial ground and returned home.
However, the police was informed by one of the villagers who reached the spot to pacify the matter. The Police officers were also injured as the protesting villagers continued to pelt stones amid the protest. Later, the police controlled the situation and called the family members of the deceased woman to take the body away for burial.
The body was then taken to the private land owned by the woman’s husband, Mosu Bekko for burial on the very same day. The protesters, however, happened to reach there and continued to protest against the burial. They also raised religious slogans and demanded that the body be cremated instead of being buried.
The following day, that is on March 20, the Police took severe cognizance of the protests and deployed heavy police force at the residence of the Bekkos. The woman was then buried in the backyard of her husband’s private land in the presence of the police. Reports mention that the protesters tried to create chaos on the day of the burial, but the police managed to keep them away from the burial ground.
The Inspector General of Police (IG), Bastar issued a statement in the case and said, “A situation of tension arose between the two groups, but the police force and administrative officials present on the occasion managed to counsel the people and end the disagreement. The district collector and senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Bastar have visited the spot. The additional district magistrate and additional SP are present on the spot with the police force. Stringent legal action will be initiated against those trying to disturb the law and order situation.”
Police are visiting communities to warn residents not to believe rumours about religious conversions as tension continues to simmer. The community now has more police presence.
The tribal community existing in Chhattisgarh face the frequent threat of religious conversion to Christianity. Earlier on February 28, the state police had detained around 6 people, including women, for conducting a gathering to forcefully convert people to Christianity. The accused persons had organized a religious gathering under the pretext of curing the diseases of the attendees in the Kurdeg village of Jashpur, Chhattisgarh.
Also, in November last year, a group of non-Christians were seen being encouraged to convert to Christianity by some pastors. The video of the incident had gone viral over the internet in which a group of four evangelists were seen attempting to persuade Hindu villagers to embrace Christianity by offering various kinds of allurements such as money, medicines and the promise to ‘revive’ their deceased family members. The incident was reported from the Rajpur block division in the Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh.
Recently, in January 2023, it was reported that the converted Christians had launched an attack on the tribal sect in Ekda region of Narayanpur. The Christian converts had attacked the tribals with iron rods and wooden sticks. The converts later alleged that the tribals had vandalized the Narayanpur Bangalapara church. Tribals on the other hand stated that the converts had been forcing poor tribals to convert their religion to Christianity.
