Called “traitors to society,” Christian villagers of Gopalpur, Bhagalpur district, were publically told to either convert or leave the area.
Tension gripped the tiny community of Christians in a village in the northern Indian state of Bihar after Hindu nationalists publicly threatened them to “either return to Hinduism or leave the area.”
The announcements were made on Aug. 8 in Gopalpur village in Bhagalpur district through a public address system fitted on a three-wheeled autorickshaw that made rounds of the village.
The 42 Christian families in the village were called samaj drohis, or traitors to society.
The village, located in Sabour block, has a total of 411 families and a population of 2,387, according to the last census held in 2011.
The Hindu nationalists alleged that the presence of Christianity and churches threatened the social fabric of the village and urged the villagers to sever all social ties with Christians.
They argued that “if churches were permitted today, mosques could follow tomorrow,” and would ruin the village.
The speakers asserted that the village had historically been inhabited only by Hindus and only Hindus should continue to live there in the future.
Village residents said the announcements were heard across the village and created anxiety among Christian families.
A local Christian told UCA News on the condition of anonymity that they have been facing such threats for quite a long time.
“But recently, public announcement systems are being used to warn us that we may be punished if we do not abandon the Christian faith,” he said.
“We have placed our trust in the Lord.”
Activists warn of growing hostility toward Christians
Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and rights activist, said this was not merely a disagreement over faith but a direct call for social and economic isolation of a religious community.
“When people are told to abandon their faith or leave their homes, it raises serious concerns about religious freedom and constitutional protections,” he told UCA News.
Father Prakash, who is based in Gujarat in western India, said the incident was not an isolated one, but part of concerted efforts to prosecute Christians across the country.
“Those doing it are very well aware that they have impunity for doing such acts,” he said while adding that civil society should raise its voice against such fanatic groups.
The incident comes amid growing concerns about hate speech and hostility directed at religious minorities across India.
According to data compiled by the India Hate Lab, in-person hate speech events targeting religious minorities reached 1,318 incidents in 2025, a 97 percent increase from 2023.
Some 88 percent of those incidents occurred in states governed by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party or its political allies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies rule Bihar, where Christians are a very small minority of about 0.12 percent of the state’s more than 130 million people.
Rights groups say accusations of forced or fraudulent conversions are often leveled against Christians to justify harassment, disruption of prayer meetings, and legal action against pastors and Christian workers in the state, as in several parts of northern India.
“Public calls for social exclusion can deepen communal divisions besides undermining the right to choose and practice one’s faith as guaranteed by the Constitution,” Shibu Thomas, founder of Persecution Relief, told UCA News.
The developments in Gopalpur reflect broader anxieties among minority communities, and increasingly aggressive public rhetoric is making them feel more vulnerable, he added.
Feature image: A file photo shows thousands of Christians at a rally in Jabalpur, central India, to protest against religious persecution. (OSV News/Thomas Saji, UCAN)
