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First there were conversions. And now, if Rajya Sabha Bharatiya Janata
Party MP Dilip Singh Judeo has his way, there will be "reconversions";
as many as one lakh of them.
The parliamentarian plans to "bring back" that many tribals of the
Chhatisgarh belt to the Hindu fold under his "Operation Ghar Vaapasi
(Operation Return Home)" by the end of this year. Already, Judeo claims,
90,000 tribals have been reconverted.
The MP's move has, not surprisingly, sparked off denials. The area's
Christian leaders have challenged Judeo's "Reconversions" on the ground
that the tribals had never been Hindus in the first place and hence
there was no question of their "gharvaapasi".
Judeo, however, is going about his plan with much fanfare. Unlike the
reported slow and steady approach of the Christian missionaries, his
programmes are grand affairs. Tribals come carrying their traditional
weapons of bow and arrow. Judeo himself washes their feet with water
from the Ganga. After this, the tribals are deemed to have turned to the
Hindu religion.
The latest of such "reconversions" was reportedly organised at Basna,
some 140 km from Raipur, in the middle of this month. Around 200 tribals
are said to have participated in the programme.
Raigarh district, along with Gumla and Ranchi districts of Bihar, is
predominantly inhabited by the Oraon tribe, which has reportedly long
been a favourite hunting ground of Christian missionaries. The biggest
Catholic church of the region is situated at Kunkuni in Raigarh and it
controls a large number of missionary schools in the belt. Judeo claims
to have long been "concerned" at the activities of the missionaries. A
few decades ago, ashram schools were even set up in the region for
imparting education to tribals in "Indian culture" to prevent alleged
conversions. These schools are controlled by the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram,
which has its headquarters in Raigarh.
Judeo has also organised to raise funds for his programme abroad, "like
they (missionaries) do". The MP gets his ghar vaapasi programmes
videographed and sends the cassettes abroad via the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad network. These cassettes are then used to collect money from
Hindus settled in other countries.
Ironically, the tribals are the least bothered by such claims and
counter-claims. Though some of them have indeed embraced Christianity
and even been reconverted, it has made little difference to their lives.
Most continue to live in penury and ignorance, and recognise their own
tribal deities and customs.
Recently, reporter of Raipur-based Deshbandhu met some of these
"reconverted" tribals at Basna. They revealed that they had never become
Christians. According to the tribals, some missionaries had approached
them during crises with help. In return, their names were written down
in registers. "That was our only association with Christianity," the
newspaper quotes then as saying.
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