<p>Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala-based Syro Malabar Church has strongly flayed the boards placed at some villages in Chhattisgarh banning entry of pastors and converted Christians. </p><p>"It is the most divisive boundary the country has seen since Partition. The fresh moves marked a new form of religious discrimination in secular India," the influential church said in a social media post.</p><p>A recent order of the Chhattisgarh high court in this regard should be challenged in the Supreme Court, the Church urged.</p><p>The fresh developments could further affect BJP's attempt to pally with the Christian community in Kerala for electoral gains. The arrest of Malayali nuns Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis at Chhattisgarh in Chhattisgarh in July and the attack by Bajrang Dal activists had already caused a setback to BJPs efforts to make inroads in the Christian vote banks.</p>.19-year old pushed out of moving train battling for life; poor safety in Kerala trains flayed.<p>The boards banning entry of pastors and converted Christians were placed under the banner 'Hamari parampara hamari virasat' (Our tradition, our heritage) in eight villages. Some residents of Kanker and Bastar districts moved court against it.</p><p>The HC however observed that the hoardings appeared to have been installed by the respective gram sabhas as a precautionary measure to prevent alleged forced religious conversions through "allurement or fraudulent means." The state government had also maintained that the hoardings were intended to safeguard the local cultural heritage and identity of tribal communities.</p><p>The Syro Malabar church called for resistance against such "Hindutva invasion," but cautioned against countering the issue by aligning with other forms of "religious extremism".</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala-based Syro Malabar Church has strongly flayed the boards placed at some villages in Chhattisgarh banning entry of pastors and converted Christians. </p><p>"It is the most divisive boundary the country has seen since Partition. The fresh moves marked a new form of religious discrimination in secular India," the influential church said in a social media post.</p><p>A recent order of the Chhattisgarh high court in this regard should be challenged in the Supreme Court, the Church urged.</p><p>The fresh developments could further affect BJP's attempt to pally with the Christian community in Kerala for electoral gains. The arrest of Malayali nuns Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis at Chhattisgarh in Chhattisgarh in July and the attack by Bajrang Dal activists had already caused a setback to BJPs efforts to make inroads in the Christian vote banks.</p>.19-year old pushed out of moving train battling for life; poor safety in Kerala trains flayed.<p>The boards banning entry of pastors and converted Christians were placed under the banner 'Hamari parampara hamari virasat' (Our tradition, our heritage) in eight villages. Some residents of Kanker and Bastar districts moved court against it.</p><p>The HC however observed that the hoardings appeared to have been installed by the respective gram sabhas as a precautionary measure to prevent alleged forced religious conversions through "allurement or fraudulent means." The state government had also maintained that the hoardings were intended to safeguard the local cultural heritage and identity of tribal communities.</p><p>The Syro Malabar church called for resistance against such "Hindutva invasion," but cautioned against countering the issue by aligning with other forms of "religious extremism".</p>