BHUBANESWAR, India (UCAN) -- Christians in violence-marred Orissa state, in eastern India, say Hindu fanatics have issued them a "reconvert or die" ultimatum, forcing some to abandon their religion.

"There was no other way than to convert to Hinduism," Sumant Digal, a Protestant, told UCA News. Hindu fundamentalists threatened to kill him and torch his house if he did not become a Hindu, said the youth, who lives in Gochhapada, a village in Kandhamal district.

The district is based 335 kilometers southwest of Bhubaneswar, the state capital, which lies 1,745 kilometers southeast of New Delhi.

Five days of violence anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal that began on Christmas Eve claimed five lives, and hundreds of others sustained injuries. Hindu radicals also burned some 400 houses, and Christian churches and institutions were attacked and destroyed.

Several people told UCA News in mid-January that although the violence has subsided, Hindu fanatics continue to threaten Christians in interior villages. The radicals want Christians to convert to Hinduism or leave the area, and they threaten to kill those who do not comply.

"Reconvert or die or leave the place was the option given to me and my family," said another Protestant, Pusali Digal, 43, in Kandhamal's Jemapadar village. Digal is a common surname among Christians in the district.

Birendra Digal said that even after he left Mundarigam village with his family and took shelter in another village, he is still fearful because "anything can happen at any time."

Promond Digal, 32, said he too was forced to convert to Hinduism, but he refused to elaborate. "I can't say further ... my life is in danger." Another Christian who changed his religion, explained, "They said if I did not change religion, I should be prepared to leave the village."

Samonary Digal, a Catholic, said Hindu fanatics warned him to "prepare to die or leave the place if I do not want to become Hindu."

According to social worker R. Nayak, about 25 Christian families in Mahasingh village converted to Hinduism on Dec. 25, when some Hindu rituals were performed on them.

A local lawyer, Hitish Kumar Nayak, told UCA News some Christians have filed a complaint with police saying Hindu fanatics had threatened them to change their religion or face consequences. Their complaint sought police protection for their life and property, the lawyer added.

Meanwhile, secular-minded people continued their call to restore peace and religious freedom in the state, now ruled by a coalition of a regional party and the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian people's party). The BJP is considered the political wing of groups that try to make India a Hindu theocratic state.

At a seminar the Institute of Objective Studies conducted on Jan. 19 in New Delhi, two former Indian chief justices said the central and state governments should act to restore religious freedom and remove the sense of insecurity among Christians.

Retired chief justice A.M. Ahmadi said a sense of insecurity among people could jeopardize the peace, prosperity and stability of a country. "It is time to create an environment in which people can live without fear," he said as reported in The Hindu, a daily newspaper.

V.N. Khare, another retired chief justice, called for an autonomous body to probe the sectarian violence and prosecute offenders. "A de facto doctrine of equality should be given to minorities," he reportedly said.

John Dayal, president of All India Catholic Union, was quoted as telling seminar participants that civil society "looked away" when Christians were attacked in Orissa.

Over the past decade in Orissa, Christian houses and churches have been set on fire, tribal Christians have been harassed and boycotted, and pastors and others have been killed.

In 1999, Hindu radicals burned alive Australian Protestant missioner Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons. The killing of a Catholic priest, Father Arul Doss of Balasore diocese, occurred the same year.

END