By ICC’s India Correspondent

12/08/2016 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Radical Hindu nationalist groups, such as the RSS and VHP, continue to impose widespread social boycotts and instigate violent attacks against the Christian minority in Chhattisgarh, India. This combination of physical and social persecution often costs Christians their livelihoods, forcing them to either relocate from their homes or sink into poverty. A village in Chhattisgarh called Kugard is just one example of such persecution.

In Kugard, Mankumar and Jaivathi Nag converted to Christianity 10 years ago and eventually led two other families in the village to Christianity. Since their conversions, the Christian villagers have been beaten and ridiculed on multiple occasions. Now, these Christians are facing social boycotts as other villagers denied the Christians their right to live in the village, demanding that they denounce their Christian faith.

“My wife, an elementary teacher, has not received her salary for ten months now,” Mankumar told International Christian Concern (ICC). “My crops, worth more than 50,000 rupees, [approximately $750 USD] were forcibly harvested and taken by the Hindu radicals. All this because we refused to deny our Christian faith.”

“Neither the police nor the government [are] listening to us,” Mankumar continued. “Where else can we go?”

This isn’t the first time Mankumar and Jaivathi have faced persecution because of their Christian faith. In September 2013, Hindu radicals attacked the couple and dragged Mankumar and Jaivathi more than half a kilometer from a Dokri Mandir, a Hindu temple, and forced them to worship the idols since they were the first ones to become Christians. After physically assaulting Mankumar and Jaivathi, the radicals took their house keys and stole all of their furniture. Mankumar and his wife were forced to spend the night in a nearby forest.

In Kugard, Mankumar and Jaivathi have faced the brunt of the radicals’ wrath, but the other Christian couples have also been attacked. Sohan and Saritha Marapi were tied to a pole and brutally beaten in 2015 because they refused to deny Jesus.

Most recently, radicals threatened to kill the Christian families in Kugard if they did not “leave the village as early as possible,” Jaivathi told ICC. “Christians are very scared of the situation, as we cannot think of going anywhere, leaving the house and land behind, as those are our means of survival.”

Kugard is just a snapshot of the persecution and social boycotts occurring throughout Chhattisgarh. In other villages, pastors, like Hemanth Kandpan, have to hide themselves in Christian homes after attacks. Pastor Kandpan was attacked by Sanaru Ram Nag, a known Hindu radical, who swore to kill the pastor at a village gathering.

In Cheniya village, more than 100 Hindu villagers gathered on November 15, 2016 to warn the Christian villagers to cease building a church, reject all outside preachers, and abandon Christian meetings. The Hindus also mandated that all taxi drivers are no longer allowed to carry Christians as passengers which inhibits Christians’ transportation options.

“Christians are worried about tomorrow, as the harassment of Christians continues, despite continued government claims of religious freedom,” a local Christian activist told ICC. Social boycotts affect Christians’ ability to work, earn sustainable incomes, provide housing and food, and educate their children. This is the price these Christians pay for their faith, but it could also be a “price [that] is unbearable, especially for the poor, rural, and vulnerable Christians.”