(International Christian Concern) In Late-January, seven Christian families from northeast India were displaced from their village after refusing to recant their Christian faith. The displacement was the culmination of months of tensions that had been building after the Christian families constructed a small building to conduct worship services in the village.
Approximately two years ago, seven families from Padmpur village, located in India’s Odisha state, converted to Christianity. For years there were no objections to the seven families’ new found faith. However, tensions between the Christians and other villagers began to escalate after the Christians built a small house where they would gather for worship in October 2020.
After the construction of the worship center, villagers accused the Christians of abandoning the traditional faith of the village and demanded the families renounce their Christian faith. As punishment, the seven families were disqualified from receiving government benefits set aside for local villagers and other community resources.