HVK Archives: BJP leader plans reconversion of one lakh tribals
BJP leader plans reconversion of one lakh tribals - The Indian Express
N D Sharma
()
28 April 1997
Title : BJP leader plans reconversion of one lakh tribals
Author : N D Sharma
Publication : The Indian Express
Date : April 28, 1997
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
"ghar vaapasi".
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 returned 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, a 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 them as saying.
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