by Nikita Jain
Govind Mandavi and his family’s life has turned upside down after they were forced to leave their home and set out elsewhere to start a new life afresh.
Mandavi, 50, a resident of Badeparoda village under Badanji Police Station in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, is a native of the area. However, since 2023 and 2024, Mandavi and his family have been forced to leave their village due to threats from RSS and Bajrang Dal goons.
In 2017, Mandavi, his family, and about 15–20 more families accepted Christianity without any coercion. “Things were better before, however since the last two years RSS and Bajrang Dal have made our lives hell,” Mandavi told Maktoob over the phone.
According to Mandavi, in 2024, he, along with three other families, was forced to leave the village due to continuous violent threats from the radical Hindutva groups.
“They beat us up a lot as well. We were injured and in pain for days because they beat us up so brutally,” he added.
The families belong to the Tribal Christian community and are farmers. “We are mere farmers tending to the land. Our faith is our own choice,” he said.
Forceful ‘Ghar Wapsi’ Allegations
In 2025, United Christian Forum — a human rights advocacy group working to protect the rights of Christians and religious minorities in India — released a press statement expressing alarm over the ongoing situation in Chhattisgarh.
It said that all the cases so far follow a documented pattern of violence and hostility against Tribal Christians.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.