Vellore Villagers Allege Harassment By Missionaries Over Temple Construction On Govt-Allotted Land

In a troubling incident in Vellore district, Christian missionaries have allegedly been threatening a group of poor, unsuspecting villagers, insisting that they cannot build a temple on government-allotted land.

The villagers, devout followers of the Goddess “Om Sakthi,” had secured the land and planned to construct a small temple. However, when they began the construction, it is claimed that local Christian missionaries initially warned them against building the temple. The situation escalated when the missionaries reportedly confronted the villagers with beef, further threatening them and insulting their religious beliefs. The villagers, many of whom are illiterate, expressed their distress, explaining that they revere the cow as sacred and were deeply offended by the actions of the missionaries.

One of the village leaders who spoke to the media said, “We have been living here for forty years, and the government has allocated separate land for us. We want to build an ‘Om Sakthi’ temple on this land, which is what we are fighting for. Two hundred fifty people are living here, and I am their leader. Recently, Christians have come to the area to take over the land. They have been bringing cow’s leg meat and showing it to us as a threat. We have always revered cows as sacred, but they are using this to intimidate us and drive us off the land. The people here have long dreamed of building this temple, but now they are coming to provoke a fight and threaten us. We ask for your help to protect our land and our right to build the temple.”

In response to these threats and intimidation by missionaries, the villagers have submitted a petition to the Deputy Collector of Vellore urging the government to intervene and allow them to build the temple on their land to continue their religious practices without fear or interference.

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