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Bhavarsinh Hasusinh Suryavanshi is a king. No buts about it. But his subjects
respect another king: Jesus Christ.
Suryavanshi, king for the last 13 years, is the 22nd in the line of Bhil kings who
ruled Linga, a village 28 km from Saputara, in Gujarat. He still receives a
monthly privy purse of Rs 3,400, and the two sipahis appointed by him are paid Rs
1,800 a month by the government. Moreover, he has 48 acres of land allotted by
the government where he grows crops and is the proud owner of a colour television
set - so what if there is no electricity in the village!
Despite all this, Suryavanshi's life is no better than any of his subjects': he
moves around on foot unlike his predecessors who travelled in a palanquin (a
sipahi was seen resting his leg on the. "throne" while the king was seated), and
- gravest of all the ruler doesn't have any powers over his subjects, though once
in a blue moon he holds court in his patio to resolve petty quarrels.
Says he ruefully: "Most of my men [there are about 250 families in his village]
have ditched me. Notwithstanding my plea, every family, except mine, has
converted to Christianity. "
Linga's case is not an isolated one. Traipsing through the tribal villages of
south Gujarat, more incidents of conversion by Christian missionaries came to our
notice. And we found a slow but steady revolution taking place - unreported and
unlooked at.
Keshu Pawar and his family in nearby Malegaon hamlet embraced Christianity two
years ago. What prompted him to do that? "Once when I was suffering from fever
and headache, a couple of Keralite nuns who were on a visit to our village gave me
a white powder. I consumed it and felt better. They told me it was God's prasad
which can cure any illness. They, visited us often, held catechism classes, and
told us about Christ and his supernatural powers. Convinced, we joined them."
Chanduram, Keshu's brother, was next in line. His daughter had some "incurable"
disease and the nuns took her to their monastery, and two weeks later, says
Chanduram, "she came back home walking on her feet". Seventy-five per cent of the
families in the village followed suit.
If a major chunk of the villagers we talked to converted to Christianity as the
church offered them money and free medicines and clothes, some of them were
influenced or intimidated by neo-converts. Soon church bells started tolling in
the village where electricity and primary education are unheard of.
It is not that the church is not doing good to their lives. Says Keshu: "After I
became a Christian, I stopped drinking and chewing tambaaku. They [the nuns] talk
to us so endearingly that we get a feeling that someone is there to care for us...
they help us in all possible ways." A priest who visits them once a week tells
them that "bad habits are Hindus' prerogative and those who reconvert to Hinduism
will fall into the putrefied life again".
Interestingly, Chanduram, who is not as obsessed with Christianity as his brother
is, admitted that he is seriously thinking of reconverting to Hinduism. Why?
After much persuasion he says: "Pandurangshastri Athavale's followers approached
us a couple of weeks ago asking us to reconvert. They said they would give us
more benefits than what the church gave us."
Suryavanshi is optimistic: "My men are lured by cash, kind and help. But I'm sure
they will reconvert to Hinduism if some Hindu group offers the same benefits.
Also, the government should chalk out some measures to curb this practice. "
Surya Goswami, an artist working in the tribal belt for the last 17 years and
founder member of Gandharapur Artists' Village in Saputara, says: "The church uses
weird ways to lure tribals - like giving powdered Crocin or other tablets for
various illnesses, saying it is God's gift to mankind. One of their lures is: a
Hindu idol in a tribal temple will go down under a flood, but not the cross on top
of a church. Then they ask the tribals: 'How do you expect a god to save you if
he is not in a position to save himself?'' And the poor, illiterate tribals, often
failing to find a suitable answer, succumb to the church's exhortation."
Says a confused Suresh Gadvi, a neo-convert: "I'm aware that the church is now
adamant that we shouldn't reconvert, because, as the priest keeps telling us,
Christ will never pardon us if we do. But for us, religion is immaterial - what
is important is we should get basic amenities. "
Is anyone listening?
I have tried to present the facts. But facts don't matter much in the secularist's
dim little world. It's much easier to remain ignorant and much more popular to
jump up and down frothing at the mouth and denouncing everything you don't like in
your shrillest - but oh-so-secular - voice. Especially if you are doing something
as PC as tongue-lashing Hindutva. Facts can be mortifying, so cowards just ignore
them. Courage lies in facing up to charges, examining them critically, and
swimming against the PC stream if needs be. No religion in the world is perfect.
Pretending that ours is won't serve any purpose but it's the only religion we
have, and it's a darn good one, at that.
Bethany says, "The Church cannot afford to wait until caste is not an issue in
India, as that day will probably not arrive until Jesus returns. If the Church
thinks India can reform the caste system by itself, perhaps millions of souls will
perish while the Church waits for the unbelievers to do in the strength of their
flesh what has been hard to accomplish in the Spirit". Can't "afford to wait"...?
Hmmm.... If I was in the crowd when Jesus asked the people who have never sinned
to cast the first stone, I'd have chucked a boulder - provided it was a secularist
in place of the woman: After all, Mary Magdalene prostituted only her own body.
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