India
Sukma gram sabha bars burial land for 21 Christian families
The Indian Express··6d ago
A Punpalli gram sabha resolution bars burial land for tribals who follow Christianity. That affects 21 families with 75 members in a village of about 2,000 people, The Indian Express reported. Families may travel over 13 kilometers to Dhornapal or over 40 kilometers to Sukma headquarters. The October 2 meeting cited the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Christian families in Punpalli may need burials more than 13 kilometers away.
- Four Sukma villages have passed similar resolutions, Janpat member Madkam Bhima said.
- The gram sabha also barred conversion events and outside religious preaching.
What's Happening
- The board posted resolutions after the October 2 gram sabha.
- Bhima said the village follows PESA because it sits in a Fifth Schedule area.
- Only 21 families among 2,000 residents identify as Christian in Punpalli.
PESA in Fifth Schedule areas
- Advocate Sudeep Shrivastava has challenged similar restrictions in the region.
- A banner listed 12 gram sabha decisions including conversion-related events.
- Errabore and Polampalli villages adopted comparable measures earlier, Bhima said.
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