In a village close to Raipur in Chhattisgarh, locals protested after some missionaries were found using devious tactics to enter villages to promote their conversion camapaigns. The main target of such rampant conversion attempts is the tribal areas, where the unsuspecting people are being tricked into becoming Christians.
Christian preachers reportedly arrived at Raipur’s Pathari hamlet in an autorickshaw with a saffron flag and started distributing pamphlets. Material related to Jesus was disseminated in various residences. Young men from the area and Bajrang Dal workers became active as soon as they learned about the development. They strongly opposed the missionaries after which the latter absconded from there. Rashtriya Bajrang Dal has submitted a memorandum to the collector and demanded strict action against the culprits as well as regarding the attempts of religious conversion across the state.
According to the information, this incident transpired a few days prior when a group of people reached Pathari village in an auto. A saffron flag was fluttering on their auto, due to which people did not object. These missionaries went to houses and preached about the glory of Jesus Christ and handed out pamphlets. The village’s youths came to know about this when they reached their home, however, the missionaries absconded as soon as they sensed resistance from the former. They reported this incident to the local police station, although no named complaint could be lodged against anyone.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party government is planning to introduce a law that will punish those who convert others by coercion, inducement or deceit. According to the legislation, religious conversion must be reported to the District Magistrate first so that its voluntariness can be verified. The judicial system will impose penalties on the offenders in these cases.
Meanwhile, the Bajrang Dal has also objected to a religious program to be held on 1st November. The memorandum stated that the program is being organised by the pastors through “The Indian Pentecostal Church of God 18 Convention” in Hebron Nagar Sasaholi in Tilda. They charged that it was a concealed effort to manipulate people into embracing Christianity. The Hindu outfit has urged the administration not to allow this event. It further warned that they would take action to prevent it if permission was granted.
