Bishops of Christian Churches across India have jointly condemned a film, saying it deroga-torily portrays their religion and faith in the language of an eastern Indian state having a history of anti-Christian violence. The movie Sanatani–Karma hi Dharma, made in the Odia language of Odisha state, was released in cine-mas on Feb. 7, despite calls from Christians and other secular groups to stop it. The movie “misrepresents religious conversion as a criminal activity, undermining the freedom of religion,” said the National United Christian Forum. The forum of Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Evangelical bishops also accused the movie of distorting “key aspects of Christian doctrine.” The bishops said the movie, set in the background of tribal villages, can potentially “fuel divisions among tribal communities.” The movie reportedly revolves around Christian conversion and witchcraft in the tribal villages in the state. The name uses the Sanskrit word Sanatani, which refers to those who follow the Hindu religion. It asserts that for such people, Karma hi Dharma, meaning duty is religion. The eastern state has a history of anti-Christian violence. The worst was in 2008 when Hindu groups attacked and burned down hundreds of Christian homes and churches in the tribal-dominated Kandhamal district, killing some 100 people, mostly Christians. Hindu groups, who work to establish a nation of Hindu hegemony, oppose Christian missionary activities and conversion, particularly in the villages where they say missionaries target the socially poor tribal and former lower caste people. The tribal-dominated Kandhamal has a Christian concentration, forming 20 percent of the district’s 750,000 people, with the majority of tribal people following the Hindu religion or their animist traditions.