India: Dozens of Tribal Christians Forced to Return to Hinduism, “Christians Who Convert From Hinduism Are the Most Vulnerable to Persecution”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Local Hindu leaders have forced more than 100 tribal Christians in eastern India’s Odisha state to undergo a formal ceremony symbolizing a rejection of Christianity and a return to Hinduism, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

On Sunday, July 28, around 120 tribal Christians from two villages in the Koraput district of Odisha state underwent a ceremony known as “ghar wapsi” or “homecoming,” ICC reports. “The ghar wapsi ceremony includes Hindu and tribal rituals to ‘cleanse’ former Hindus who had accepted Christ and wash away any remnants of the Christian faith,” ICC explained in its report.

Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Dharma Prasar, a fringe fundamentalist Hindu group, were reportedly present during the ceremony at a local temple where the ceremony occurred.

The Christians are understood to have reconverted to Hinduism after local authorities stopped providing their families with subsidized food staples, like rice and lentils, ICC said.

“Christians who convert from Hinduism are the most vulnerable to persecution across India, particularly communities who have faced historical oppression or discrimination such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.” the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization notes in a website report.

Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party for nearly 10 years, India ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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