Indigenous People and Conversion Mafia: Resistance for protecting the roots

It was yet another day of mid spring in the district headquarters of Surguja of Chhattisgarh, Ambikapur when the representative visited Behrapara, a small locality just a few kilometres away from the city named after goddess Mahamaya (a revered deity of the Surguja region).

The small locality has a few mud house settlements and was mostly inhabited by the Oraon tribes, the most affected section of the Hindu society from the ramification of ongoing illegal conversion in the State. The village has a small temple dedicated to lord Shiva which was erected 3-4 years back and has been the centre of Shiv Charcha (a religious gathering where the devotees sing song of bhagwan Shiva) in recent times.

Upon interacting with the villagers, the representative was informed that a number of villagers were earlier visiting local Churches and were practicing Christianity before re-aligning with their bona-fide religion in recent years. “Earlier a number of people from the village were in touch with the local pastors, there were no religious gathering for us those days but now we meet weekly for the Shiv Charcha that has impacted us positively, informed a number of villagers in a chorus voice.”

A handful of those who chose to return

One of the villagers who identified herself as Sheela Kisfota (45) disclosed that it was in the year 2012-13 that she got in touch with the mission people for treatment of his husband, ” I got in touch with the mission people as there is an impression that those who joins the prayers in the Church can be cured, though unfortunately it doesn’t work for me and I lost my husband in a span of few months.”

Oraon tribes’ population of the village, who was practicing Christianity earlier, used to be around 25 per cent but now it stands somewhere over 40 per cent

Another member of the Sheela’s extended family, Kashmir Kisfota said that we were then informed that in Church you don’t have to offer anything to gods as prevalent among the Janjatiye community, only praying there (in Church) can do miracles, so we started holding prayers at our homes and attending prayers at Church. When confronted that were you celebrating Hindu festivals during your associations years in Christianity, Kashmira replied that we were not offering prayers to local deity or Hindu gods, but we were doing everything apart from worshipping, though soon we realised our mistake and returned to Sanatan fold.

Sheela’s son Dinesh further informed that we were practicing Christianity between 2012 to 2016 as my father was not well, he used to visit the local Church where prayers were organised for him, we left Christianity in the year 2016 but members of our extended family who resides on the other side of village are still practicing Christianity. Dinesh recalls that local pastors used to visit our home and convince that praying over there will help us, however after four years of our association with Christianity we realised our mistake and reverted to Sanatan.

Another lady of the village who identified herself as Prabha Kisfota, informed that she too was practicing Christianity for a few months when her husband was grappling with illness. “I called the pastor at home when my husband was battling with his ailment but unfortunately he didn’t survive for long, hence I lost hopes in their methods and now I am once again a practicing Hindu,” informed Prabha.

The residents of Behrapara are not alone who had embraced Christianity for treatment purposes. Kilometres away there are others who shared a similar ordeal. The representative interacted with Kalyan Toppo, who resides a few kilometres away from Behrapara, in his ordeal Toppo informed that he started attending Sunday gatherings at Church after his only son fall sick.

“I started going there as my other relatives were already part of the Christian fold, around 7-8 years ago there were no ‘Prachar wale log‘ (Mission people) but now majority of the people here practices Christianity. Kalyan further disclosed that his son was also admitted under a pastor for treatment where he used to deposit Rs 100 a day for food, however his son didn’t get benefitted by all this and soon started behaving in a similar way as before this triggered me changing my mind and I started attending Shiv Charcha.”

Some distance away where Kalyan resides, lives a Hindu man Srilal, who is an auto driver by profession, when the representative visited his house which is adjoined to a local Church, (A few alleged that it is erected on a Govt land) His son informed that he was out on his daily work. As per the local Hindu activists, Christianity has been spreading its footprints into the area briskly and a number of families of the Scheduled caste community who were earlier Hindus have now embraced Christianity.

When enquired about the portrait of Jesus Christ that was hanging from a wall of a mud house next to the Sri Lal house, his son informed that it belongs to her sister who along with her husband has embraced Christianity. When asked how it feels to be a part of a family where other member’s practices Christianity and you are still a practicing Hindu, he replied “that is how it is here”.

Seeds of Separation

Hours later, the representative reached Kot Panchyat (around 22 kilometres from the district headquarters) under the Raghunathpur police Chowki limits of Lundra Police Station, an area considered a hotbed of conversion for decades. The locals informed that the Panchayat has as many as three Churches that stands within a limit of one-two kilometres.

It was only in the afternoon that the representative got a chance to interact with the former village head of the Kot panchayat, Sitaram Kerketta, who now likes to be called Sitaram Bhagat instead of Kerketta as he believes that the latter surname suits more with his Hindu identity.

Most of the villagers who turned towards Christianity were influenced by the health benefits that have been promised to them

Sitaram informed that the Oraon tribes population of the village who was practicing Christianity earlier used to be around 25 per cent but now it stands somewhere over 40 per cent. Most of the villagers who turned towards Christianity were influenced by the health benefits that has been promised to them, it doesn’t matter whether they get cured or not but the overall impression attracts them. Sitaram further informed that his own brothers have embraced Christianity and that has pained him a lot as the family has been bifurcated in separate religions now and he is the only one who still practices the religion of his ancestors.

“Had I been weak they would have convinced me into embracing Christianity, but I stood firm and informed my mother who often visit the local Church that if you embraced Christianity I would not take you to the father, who was cremated as per the Hindu rituals”, informed a pained Sitaram who emphasises that he will never embraced any other religion until he breathes his last.

Shiv Mandir at Behrapara. People from the Oraon community gather here on regular basis for Shiv Charcha

When enquired that will the misdeed of conversion be stopped anytime soon, Sitaram reply with a firm ‘no’ while asserting that the Hindu community do not gathered for a weekly meet like them so we don’t have unity.

On terms of anonymity locals informed that funds are regularly being channelised for a few churches in the region while the members of the Christian community here also donate to erect infrastructure to further the spread of Christianity. They further informed that dozens of members of Christian community from the village are in government jobs on the basis of reservation provided to Scheduled Tribes, hence there is no shortage of money.

Sharing his Ordeal

Significantly, Sitaram was not the only victim who has been facing the consequences of illegal conversion, the issue of separation between the family members over religion is a common occurrence in the region affected by conversion and the representative came across to a few similar cases that has created rift among the members of a family over conversion.

One such instance occurred in the extended family of Biharilal, a resident of Dhodha Kesara village of Jashpur districts, which lies around 55km from Ambikapur. While highlighting the rampant conversion in the area, a pained Biharilal informed that two of his brothers have almost embraced Christianity. He informed that one of the son of his elder brother had an affair with a Christian girl from Korba who later convinced him for embracing Christianity.

“When the couple got married, the girl’s side insisted that to bless the newlyweds the parents of the groom are also need to change their religion and embrace Christianity, ultimately leading them to conversion, this has been the state of affairs in these areas,” said Biharilal who claimed that more than 7000 people have already been converted in the remote regions such as Kunni, Dhodha Keasara, Jamdara, Karai, Argoti, Liniya, Kirkela and others.

Back on the Raghunathpur- Ambikapur highway the representative interacted with Samplal Ekka, a resident of Sumerpur and a farmer by profession who is a Sarna Hindu follower. Ekka informed that there is a well thought strategy behind all this which is aimed at breaking families for religious interests.

“See if a Hindu man wanted to marry a Christian girl then he has to embrace Christianity before the marriage, though in case of a Hindu girl marrying a boy from the Christian community it’s the girl who changes her religion not the boy, that is how it’s been executed here, said Ekka while recalling that one of his nephew had to change his religion to marry one of the girl from the Christian community.

He further recalled that “it was in the late eighties when the missionaries spread their footprints here, they used to distribute ration especially Dalia among the tribals to woo them, though now they have established infrastructure including mission schools, one of such school is being operated at Raghunathpur.”

“I was studying at a mission school in Ambikapur when the missionaries used to distribute ration over here, however things have been moving at a rapid pace nowadays and the Oraon community in this region is badly hit by the ever growing menace of conversion, almost 70 per cent of people of Oraon community of my village has already embraced Christianity,” informed Ekka while pointing his fingers to a common crematorium used by both the Hindu and the Christian community jointly.

When enquired about weather Sarna sect is different from Hinduism, Ekka replied hesitantly that “in one way it is part of the Sanatan Dharma as we too worship Mahadev and Parvati however some people call it a separate religion but it is connected to Hinduism for sure.

Stringent anti-conversion law

After wrapping up the conversation with Ekka, the representative returned to the district headquarter in the evening where he gets an opportunity to interact with a few Hindu activists who has been working on the ground against the menace of illegal conversion.

A Church near Srilal’s house

During the informal interaction, one of the activist informed that the menace of the illegal conversion has also been augmenting briskly into the Janjati dominated remote areas close to the headquarters as well, as a number of localities earlier inhabited by the Hindu Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes now have a significant population of the Christians.

“You see even in the township they have a firm control on the education system which provides them an opportunity to sow the seeds of alienation in the primary stages of a child, he added. One of the activist (who have been actively participating in separate demonstrations orchestrated against the alarming rate of conversion and in favor of delisting) while recalling the new year incident of Gorra village of Narayanpur where members of the Hindu community was attacked by a mob of evangelist in January last year leading to severe confrontation between the two communities in days to come said “that what unfolded in Gorra of Narayanpur could happen at any place here where the demography have altered given the rampant conversion that has taken place in the Surguja region.”

Srilal’s son standing near the portion of house used by her sister who follows Christianity

“If the government do not react to it immediately then it could be too late for the local Hindu Janjatiye community who has been walking on a double edged sword of conversion. At one hand the missionaries have been converting them cunningly on the other side there are a number of cases of love and land Jihad that have surfaced lately”, he emphasised. “All they need is a stringent anti-conversion law and a de-listing exercise for which they have been hitting the streets in a democratic manner for so long, that is the only ray of hope they have,” added the activist further while the sun makes its way into the clouds one final time for the day leaving behind a soothing breeze on the streets of the town dedicated to Maa Mahamaya.