A Hindu nationalist group in India’s Chhattisgarh state has demanded a ban on Christian priests from tribal villages, accusing them of coercive conversions and calling for the demolition of churches and an end to Christian services.

A recent protest by the group Sanatan Samaj in Chhattisgarh, India, has intensified pressure on the state’s small Christian population, with demands to ban Christian pastors from tribal villages and demolish churches.

The protest, held in Bhanupratappur outside the headquarters of the administrative block, followed the release on bail of two Catholic nuns accused of forced conversion and trafficking.

The two nuns were arrested at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh on July 2025.

Despite the lack of evidence, the group called for “stringent punishment” and demanded the state government end Christian services and charity in remote areas, including healthcare and education long offered by missionaries.

Pastor Simon Digbal Tandi, coordinator of the Progressive Christian Alliance in Chhattisgarh, told UCA News that Christians were being falsely targeted.

“The way Christians are demonized is a serious matter, as their life and properties are in danger,” he said.

“The Indian Constitution allows religious freedom, and Christians do not violate anti-conversion laws.”

The protest highlighted growing hostility toward Christians in the state, which recorded 165 incidents of anti-Christian violence in 2024.

Hindu leaders accused pastors of luring tribal people into conversion through social work, despite the Church’s long-standing presence in the region.

Christian leaders warned that the petition’s demands, which include blocking burial grounds and shielding vigilantes from legal action, amounted to a call to erase Christianity from tribal areas.

As government officials signal plans to tighten anti-conversion laws, many believers fear their freedom to practice and share their faith is under serious threat.