Mob Attack and Land Threats Leave Last Christians in Indian Village Facing Choice
Morning Star News reports that two of three related families in Bhandardigi, Chhattisgarh, agreed to convert to Hinduism to keep their land, while a third family decided to leave.
See where this is ›KANKER, India —
A mob of about 150 Hindu extremists attacked the last three Christian families in Bhandardigi village on Sept. 21, beating people with sticks and vandalizing homes, Morning Star News reported Oct. 30. The village is in Durgukondal Block, Kanker District, in India's Chhattisgarh state. The three related families number 18 people.
See where this is ›Morning Star News named four people injured: Vikas Salam, 24; his uncle, Somji Nureti; his cousin, Pradeep Uike; and Nureti's 11-year-old son, Rohan. According to the report, police were slow to respond and came only after Salam called the district superintendent of police. Without video of the attack, officers reportedly took no action, and village elders told police, “they just slapped us two or three times and that's all.”
The pressure began before the attack, the report said. The families were summoned six times between Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, were barred from their monthly subsidized government rations and were blocked from worshiping in their homes. A visiting team of officials, including police and revenue officers, pressed them to give up their faith. “You want land or Jesus Christ? You have to choose one,” the officials told them, according to the report.
Salam's father, Ram Salam, 50, and representatives of the other two families agreed to convert to Hinduism to protect their land. “We have to save ourselves, our land and property,” Vikas Salam quoted his father as saying.
Vikas Salam's family refused and decided to leave for a distant city where they can attend church. “We have been following Jesus for the last 10 years,” he told Morning Star News.
Christian leaders describe the “ghar wapsi” campaigns run by Hindu groups as forced conversion, the report said. India ranks 12th on Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List.
What we don't know yet: Morning Star News did not name the police or officials involved and reported no response from the government. Watchman News could not independently confirm the details. The report does not name the city where the Salam family will go.
