Incessant attempts by Christian missionaries to proselytize have led patient Hindus to do the unthinkable – ban entry of preachers into their Hindu villages. Yes, you read that right. In 2018, Kesalingayapalli, a village in Andhra Pradesh was in the news for becoming a “Hindus Only” village. 

The villagers erected a board at the entrance which said,

Sri Ram – Om – Jai Ram

Caution:

As all the villagers here are Hindus, other religious faiths should not do religious propagation here. If anyone tries to break this, strict actions will be taken. From Kesalingayapalli Villagers…

“Changing Religion is akin to changing mother”

This was the result of the nuisance created by Christian missionaries who made the villagers suffer for quite a few years. It has been reported that Missionaries entered the village and lured people with money and medicine. 

This is not the first instance where Christian missionaries and preachers have been banned from entering villages in Bharat and abroad. Let us first have a look at some of the cases in Bharat.

Chhattisgarh

In 2014, at least 50 villages in the Bastar region of Chattisgarh banned the entry of Christian missionaries. 

However, the court permitted non-Hindu preachers to enter the village. Thus the villagers took it upon themselves to deal with the issue and have begun boycotting the Christian villagers in their region to put the Christian missionaries in their place.

Gujarat

In 2019, Gandeva, a tribal village located in Gujarat’s Navsari district, hung banners banning the entry of “Christian outsiders”. The action was taken by village leaders after rampant conversion efforts by the missionaries. 

According to The Indian Express, banners displayed in Gandeva village, written in Gujarati, were placed at the entrance to Haripura Street. The banners said, “All the outsider brothers-sisters of Christian religion, should not enter into Haripura Street.” Local Hindu tribals responsible for the banners explained to The Indian Express that this action was taken to deter outsiders from visiting the village with the intention of converting tribal Hindus. Gandeva village, with a population of 7,500, is inhabited by approximately 900 Christians, a significant portion of whom have tribal origins. According to villagers, Christian leaders from outside the village would come and lead worship services every Sunday morning.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

We all remember how Christian missionary John Allen Chau got himself killed by the Sentinelese tribe when he tried to approach them in 2018. The fishermen who took Chau to the island were arrested under the Prohibition of Aboriginal Tribes Act and various sections of the IPC. Chau was attacked with bows and arrows after landing on the island on 16th November. The Sentinelese people, estimated to be 40 in the 2011 census, are known to be hostile and resist contact with the outside world.

Chau tried to reach the island on 14th November but was attacked and dragged by the tribals. Our country’s law protects the Sentinelese people, and any contact or entry into their inhabited areas is illegal. In 2017, the government clarified that the Sentinelese are an “aboriginal tribe” and recording and uploading their videos on social media or the internet is prohibited.

Now here are some instances of bans on Christian missionaries outside Bharat:

Sri Lanka

In 2020, the Eelam Shiva Sena, a Hindu group in Sri Lanka, called on Bharat to prohibit the entry of the Regional Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), alleging that she engages in proselytism among students.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is claimed that the Reg Sec oversaw thousands of volunteers in Bharat targeting post-matric students for conversion. IFES, based in the UK, has an Indian affiliate, the Union of Evangelical Students of India (UESI), accused of receiving substantial donations from various countries. IFES describes itself as a movement of students sharing the message of Jesus Christ, while UESI’s mission is to evangelize post-matric students in Bharat.

It was reported that the Reg Sec, Savithri, and her husband, Sri Lankan Parliament member M A Sumanthiran, are involved in evangelism in Sri Lanka, with Sumanthiran previously serving as the deputy bishop of the Methodist Church. Christian evangelism in Sri Lanka faced scrutiny following the 2004 Tsunami, leading to the introduction of the “Freedom of Religion Act” in 2005 to curb conversions to Christianity. 

The Eelam Shiva Sena sought to prevent the conversion of Shaivaites to Christianity and advocate for the implementation of the “Freedom of Religion Act” in the Northern Province, a move opposed by leaders of parties supporting Lankan Tamils. 

Brazil

In 2020, a Brazilian judge issued a ruling prohibiting Christian evangelical missionaries from contacting Indigenous peoples in the Amazon’s Javari valley. The ban was based on concerns that these missionaries were attempting to acculturate the Indigenous communities and that their presence posed a threat of contagion during the COVID-19 crisis. The decision came after the organisation Univaja, representing several Javari Valley Indigenous groups, filed a lawsuit against the missionaries entering their territory.

Javari Valley is a legally recognized Indigenous territory in Brazil’s western Amazon region, home to both contacted and uncontacted Indigenous peoples. US-based evangelical organization Ethnos360 has been reportedly trying to convert uncontacted tribes to Christianity, a move criticised by Survival International for violating Indigenous peoples’ rights and endangering their health by exposing them to diseases.

Australia

In 2020. Aboriginal elders in a remote Western Australian community were threatening to ban Christian evangelists from visiting their region due to fear of religious conversions. The indigenous community said that the evangelists were attempting to convert them to Christianity and take them away from their traditional culture. Christian organizations had reportedly repeatedly attempted to convert by visiting remote communities across the state, including Kingdom Aviation Ministries and Chariots of Fire Ministries. 

USA – South Dakota

The Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota imposed a ban on visiting churches and missionaries after a pamphlet was distributed by a missionary deemed offensive by the tribe. The pamphlet criticised the creator Lakota people worship, Tunkasila, as a false god and questioned the tribe’s traditional spirituality. The tribe now requires churches and missionaries to register with the tribe before entering the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The ordinance was passed in July 2022 amid concerns over Christian ministries evangelising on the reservation, working with children, and a history of abuse against Native Americans by some churches. The tribe’s leadership insisted it remains open to all religions, but the move demonstrated significant pushback against some Christian missionary groups. The tribe has banned missionary Michael Monfore from entering the reservation.

The Christian missionaries are known for their rabid nature and it demands that more and more such action be taken to keep them at bay. It is time for the Hindu to show the missionaries their place.