Sukma (Chhattisgarh): Multiple tribal Christian families from Chitalnar village in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district have been assaulted and forced to leave their homes following pressure from local Hindutva groups. The local gram panchayat has now issued a formal written notice barring these families from returning to the village.
The harassment began in March 2026, when a mob attacked around ten Christian families during a “ghar wapsi” campaign aimed at reconverting them to Hinduism. Two people required hospitalisation following the attack. The affected families filed written complaints with police immediately after the assault. However, according to community organizers, police took no action, forcing the displaced families to seek refuge in Sukma town.
In July 2026, the Gram Panchayat of Chitalnar submitted an official letter to the Station House Officer at Puspal Police Station formally declaring that Christian families were barred from re-entering the village. The letter, signed by the Upsarpanch and backed by the Gram Sabha, claimed the families had voluntarily left after refusing to renounce Christianity. The notice stated that the village administration would not allow Christians to return and disclaimed responsibility for any violence if they attempted to do so.
Civil rights observers describe the document as an unprecedented instance of a formal civic body issuing a written order endorsing religious exclusion. Police received and stamped the letter without initiating any legal action.
Activists monitoring the situation attribute the campaign to the Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM), an organisation established in 2006 with ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. Led in the region by a former Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, JSM frames Christian conversions as a threat to indigenous identity. The group advocates for constitutional amendments to strip Scheduled Tribe reservation benefits from Adivasis who convert to Christianity or Islam. In May 2026, JSM held a large national rally in New Delhi, after which its representatives met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to present their demands.
Local opposition figures, including Narendra Bhawani of the Chhattisgarh Yuva Manch and the Aam Aadmi Party, have threatened public demonstrations outside police facilities if authorities continue to delay action on the assault complaints and the discriminatory panchayat order.
