Hindutva goons threaten Christians to convert or leave Bihar village
Patna: Hindutva goons have publicly threatened Christian families in a village in Bihar to abandon Christianity and return to Hinduism or leave the area, escalating fears among a tiny religious minority already facing years of intimidation.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the threats were broadcast across Gopalpur village in Bhagalpur district from loudspeakers mounted on a vehicle that drove through the community. Videos of the announcements have since circulated widely online.
The speakers targeted the village’s 42 Christian families, branding them as “traitors to society,” and calling on other residents to sever social ties with them. They said that the village had historically belonged exclusively to Hindus and declared that only Hindus should live there in the future — effectively presenting Christians with a choice between abandoning their religion and leaving their homes.
The announcements also portrayed the existence of churches as a threat to the village’s social order.
Speakers warned that allowing churches would eventually lead to mosques being established. “If churches were permitted today, mosques could follow tomorrow,” the speakers argued, claiming this would “ruin” the village.
Residents said the loudspeaker announcements could be heard across the village and caused widespread anxiety among Christian families.
One Christian resident reportedly said the community had faced threats for an extended period but that the intimidation had recently become more overt. Public-address systems were now being used to warn Christians that they could face punishment unless they renounced their faith, he said.
Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and human rights activist, described the threats as going beyond a dispute over religion because residents were effectively being encouraged to socially and economically isolate an entire community. He said demands that people surrender their faith or leave their homes directly challenged India’s constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, adding that such intimidation was part of a wider pattern confronting Christians across the country.
The threats come amid mounting concern over anti-minority hate speech in India. India Hate Lab documented 1,318 in-person hate speech events targeting religious minorities in 2025, nearly double the number recorded in 2023. It found that 88% occurred in states governed by BJP or its political allies.
