![\"Mangu](\"https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Mangu-Ram-Podiyami-R-was-beaten-unconscious-in-Gupanpal-Chhattisgarh-state-India-on-Feb.-12-2024.-Morning-Star-News.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMangu Ram Podiyami (R) was beaten unconscious in Gupanpal, Chhattisgarh state, India on Feb. 12, 2024. (Morning Star News)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
NEW DELHI<\/strong>\u00a0(Morning Star News<\/a>) \u2013 A Christian couple in central India have not seen their two young children for more than a month after an attack by followers of traditional tribal religion drove them from their village for refusing to recant their faith.<\/p>\n Aayatu Ram Podiyami, 35, was assaulted twice in Gupanpal village, Sukma District, 31 miles from the Sukma city in Chhattisgarh state, for refusing to recant his Christian faith.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aayatu Podiyami managed to escape into the jungle on both occasions, but his father, Mangu Ram Podiyami, \u201cis not young and swift\u201d and was unable to outrun the second assault, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mob stopped beating him after he passed out, and his assailants thought he was dead,\u201d Aayatu Podiyami said.<\/p>\n He and his wife and father have not returned home since taking refuge at a secure place on Feb. 12. The couple has two daughters, ages 7 and 4. Aayatu Podiyami is the sole surviving son among three siblings, and also remaining at his house are his mother, younger brother\u2019s widow and child, and his older brother\u2019s son.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot go back home to see my children,\u201d Aayatu Podiyami told Morning Star News. \u201cOur assailants are on the watch, eyeing on our house, waiting for me to return. God is our only hope. Please pray for us. I can see no way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n His father was released from a government hospital after receiving care for critical injuries for 16 days, and he is still being treated at a private medical center.<\/p>\n \u201cI still have pain in my chest and breathing difficulty,\u201d Mangu Podiyami said.<\/p>\n Aayatu Podiyami has worked as a daily laborer to survive since the Feb. 12 assault.<\/p>\n Pressure to Recant<\/strong><\/p>\n The village leaders govern both Gupanpal and another village, and on Feb. 6 they summoned the two Christian families from Gupanpal and 10 others from the other village and ordered them to renounce their faith in Christ or be expelled, Aayatu Podiyami said.<\/p>\n All 11 of the other Christian families returned to their animistic, tribal religion, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat have you decided?\u201d the village head asked him. \u201cWill you renounce your Christian faith or leave the village?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI told them, \u2018Where will I go? This is my home,\u2019\u201d Aayatu Podiyami told Morning Star News. \u201cI have been believing in Jesus for four years, and I want to continue believing in Him.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon a mob of about 100 people attacked the Christians with axes, knives and sticks, he said. While Aayatu Podiyami fled to the jungle, his father locked himself in a room in their home.<\/p>\n After hiding in the jungle for an entire day and night, Aayatu Podiyami filed a complaint at Tongpal police station. Officers summoned the village representatives to the police station on Feb. 8 and negotiated an agreement between residents and the village leaders, citing individual right to religious freedom. No formal complaint was registered.<\/p>\n On the morning of Feb. 12, however, villagers gathered in front of Aayatu Podiyami\u2019s house and repeated the ultimatum, questioning him six times. His reply was the same as before, and they told him to relocate to another village.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere will I go?\u201d Aayatu Podiyami responded. \u201cMy forefathers lived in this village, and I am born and brought up here. This is my home.\u201d<\/p>\n The mob then assaulted Aayatu Podiyami, he said. His wife and children somehow managed to free him from the assailants, and Aayatu Podiyami again fled toward the jungle.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout 15-20 men chased me for almost a mile,\u201d he said. \u201cI ran and ran as fast as I could while the men ran after me. I continued to run in the jungle, as the men intently searched for me in the woods. I had foot sores for a week into the incident.\u201d<\/p>\n The mob turned to his father, Mangu Podiyami, and began beating him. They also assaulted those who tried to rescue him, including Aayatu Podiyami\u2019s wife and other family members. Mangu Podiyami was beaten unconscious and left for dead.<\/p>\n Aayatu Podiyami hid in the jungle for several hours, shifting locations as he knew the villagers were hunting him.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so worried for my father,\u201d he said, his voice quavering. \u201cI knew I had left him behind as a soft target. He is old and frail. He cannot run to save himself as I did. All the while in the jungle, I was not sure if my father survived the assault or was killed.\u201d<\/p>\n Police Bias<\/strong><\/p>\n Arun Pannalal, chairman of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, accused police of inaction, saying the Station Head Officer had received written information about the potential for more major attacks after the Feb. 6 assault.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police did not take proper action,\u201d Pannalal told Morning Star News. \u201cMere talks and words were not enough. Police inaction strengthened the assaulters to redo what they had done earlier, but this time with much brutality.\u201d<\/p>\n In spite the use of deadly weapons like axes and knives, after the second attack officers registered only a case under sections for preventative measures such as \u201cabetment of a thing\u201d and \u201cabetment of offense punishable with imprisonment,\u201d Pannalal said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a clear attack with intentions to kill,\u201d he said. \u201cThe mild charges imposed by the police show their bias. Despite severe head injuries and Mangu\u2019s critical condition, immediate medical assistance was not provided by the police.\u201d<\/p>\n The family called for emergency services and an ambulance, Aayatu Podiyami said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe villagers surrounded the ambulance and would not let them transport my father to a hospital,\u201d he said. \u201cMy family begged to let them take him, otherwise he would die.\u201d<\/p>\n Aayatu Podiyami reported the second assault to police, but the First Information Report finally registered portrayed the assault as a mild scuffle, he said. With the help of an attorney, Aayatu Podiyami submitted a written complaint to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate office, Collectorate and police headquarters.<\/p>\n \u201cA complaint is lodged with the National Human Rights Commission about the police deliberately indulging in and supporting attacks,\u201d Pannalal said.<\/p>\n The only other Christian family in Gupanpal village, which came to faith six years ago, returned to tribal religion on Feb. 12, \u201cwhen they witnessed the brutal assault of my father,\u201d Aayatu Podiyami said.<\/p>\n \u201cI will not renounce my faith even if I have to leave my home, my village,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I go back, they will kill me. I have two children, and I have to think of them. If the situation does not improve, I will relocate to a different place and work as a daily-laborer and provide for my family but will not renounce Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n Aayatu Podiyami\u2019s two children had to stop going to school because of the turmoil and danger to their lives, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor several weeks my children could not go to school, and their education suffered greatly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Church worship in the area has ceased. Previously about 50 people gathered regularly to worship at an open structure at a nearby village.<\/p>\n Christian Response<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cChristian society will not tolerate further attacks,\u201d said Pannalal, adding that Christians have formed rapid action teams to promptly reach the sites of reported attacks.<\/p>\n Thousands of Christians on Feb. 28 gathered in Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh, to protest the state government\u2019s refusal to protect Christians. Organized by the Chhattisgarh Yuva Manch, the rally culminated in a peaceful demonstration after foot processions and motorbike processions from all over the state.<\/p>\n Organizers protested violations of basic human rights, targeting of churches, police bias and neglect by media that do not report on anti-Christian attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government will be solely responsible for any untoward situation that arise between the communities in future,\u201d Pannalal said.<\/p>\n Requesting the government to pay heed to the plight of the Christian community and take stringent action against the police, Pannalal said, \u201cWe still have faith and hope that Chhattisgarh government will follow the Indian constitution in spirit and word.\u201d<\/p>\n Sukma, located in the Bastar region at the southern tip of Chhattisgarh, has a population that is 85 percent tribal and is known for a significant Maoist presence.<\/p>\n The hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, against non-Hindus, has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.<\/p>\n India ranked 11th on Christian support organization Open Doors\u2019 2024 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. 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