TN Church blocks road and schools for Hindus as they refuse to convert
Residents of Maruthuvampadi village in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu have asked the District Collector to take on a Roman Catholic church in their village after he built a wall to block the path of villagers.
According to reports, the villagers alleged that the church had built a path because they refused to convert. They also accused the church of refusing to provide an education for their children who refused to convert to Christianity.
More than 3,000 Hindu residents of the village were reportedly denied access to public roads because they refused to convert to Christianity.
The Hindu villagers have submitted a petition to the Tiruvannamalai district collector accusing Father Yesupadam, the administrative head of the Catholic church-run school, of forcing them to convert to Christianity.
While staging a protest against the Roman Catholic church, the villagers also alleged that the Christian cleric had built a perimeter wall to block the public road around the church. The villagers alleged that there was a difference in treatment between Hindu and Christian children in the church-run school.
Residents of the village said the road has been there for over 100 years and people have been using it for a long time. However, as it is now blocked, people are forced to walk a long distance to access public transport. Residents also complained of being happy once the school reopened from nearly two years of forced Covid-19 closure, but Church authorities first asked them to convert to Christianity.
“Hindu students get no concessions. We pay the full tuition and other fees required by the school. However, we asked our children not to come during the exam period. Additionally, locals said only Christian children are now allowed inside the school.
However, the Christian cleric claimed that the land in question belonged to the church and that they had the right to build a wall around it.
OpIndia attempted to reach authorities in Tiruvannamalai district, but they did not respond. The report will be updated when they respond.