Religious Tensions Rise as Christian Man Remains Unburied for 3 Days in Chhattisgarh's Tribal Region

Many villagers in Chhattisgarh consider Christian burial practices as challenging their traditional tribal customs.

A significant controversy has emerged in Kodekurse village of Chhattisgarh's Kanker district where locals refused to permit the burial of Manish Nishad, a 50-year-old Christian convert. His family has been transporting his remains between different villages for three days, unable to conduct funeral rites due to community opposition.

Nishad, who had converted to Christianity, passed away during medical treatment in Raipur on Tuesday. When his relatives attempted to bury him on their private property, villagers protested, stating that individuals who abandoned traditional beliefs could not be buried within village boundaries. Law enforcement intervened but could not resolve the conflict. Subsequently, members of the Christian community gathered around Kodekurse police station, insisting on their burial rights. Authorities then moved the body to the Kodekurse hospital mortuary.

By Friday, the family, escorted by police, transported Nishad's remains to Charama, hoping for an uncontested burial. However, representatives from a Hindu organization intercepted the vehicle, threatening to prevent the funeral. As tensions escalated, the body was taken to Raipur, where it remains unburied three days after Nishad's death.

Mohan Gwal, who serves as pastor at Anugrah Prayer Hall in Charama, explained, "We simply wished to bury him on his private land. No alternative arrangements exist. The administration has taken no initiative. Though this isn't the first such incident, unless suitable land is provided, we will not bury him elsewhere."

District Panchayat member Devendra Tekam defended the villagers' position: "Kodekurse observes traditional customs. The community maintains its own burial protocols. If burial must occur, it should follow village traditions; otherwise, it must happen outside the village."

Villager Raghunandan Goswami further stated, "He abandoned his original religion. We informed the administration that unless they return to the traditional faith, burial here would not be permitted. This is a Fifth Schedule area, and we are adhering to our customs."

This situation mirrors several previous incidents throughout Chhattisgarh's tribal regions. In July 2025, violence erupted in Jamgaon village of Kanker when residents opposed the burial of another Christian man. Mobs vandalized churches and attacked homes. Earlier this year, a comparable conflict in Bastar regarding a pastor's burial reached the Supreme Court.

In January, NDTV reported on Ramesh Baghel's father, a pastor from Bastar whose cremation dispute elevated to India's highest court. Baghel wanted his father buried near ancestral graves in their village, but villagers objected. On January 7, the Supreme Court ordered the pastor's burial in a cemetery in Jagdalpur, approximately 35 km away.

A two-judge panel was divided – one justice supported burial in the ancestral village, while the other maintained that funeral rites should occur in designated cemeteries. The village comprised various tribal communities: Kalhar, Raut, Kumhar, Maria, Bhatra, Halba and Dhurva, alongside Dalits from the Mahara caste. Panchayat officials contended that the issue extended beyond religion to tribal identity and reservation rights.

Citing the Fifth Schedule (a framework governing Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes administration) and the PESA Act [Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act], they maintained that burials can only occur in designated community areas. In February 2024, the gram sabha enacted a resolution declaring that individuals abandoning traditional religion for another faith would forfeit their right to village cemetery burial.

Many villagers perceive Christian burial customs as challenging orthodox tribal practices, intensifying divisions between faith and tradition in the state's heartland.

Progressive Christian Alliance state coordinator Simon Digbal Tandi explained that although two Christian cemeteries exist in Kanker – one Roman Catholic and one Mennonite – they no longer accept burials due to space limitations and gram sabha objections. A plot allocated to the Christian community in 2023 also remains disputed.

"Even where land was allocated, local panchayats have raised objections. The administration has failed to implement a lasting solution," Tandi concluded.