Scheduled Tribes are the foundation of our country, that’s why missionaries focus on them: Prabal Pratap Singh Judev

The “illegal conversion” of tribal people in the heartland of Vanvasi in Chhattisgarh has long been a core issue, Organizer representative Pankaj Singh had a brief chat with the BJP state secretary and pioneer of the Ghar Wapsi campaign Prabal Pratap Singh JudevFragments:

The threat of illegal conversion has haunted the masses of Chhattisgarh since time immemorial.

How serious is the threat?

It is a huge threat you see, firstly illegal conversion is unconstitutional, secondly those who choose to convert continue to practice Hinduism on paper, furthermore a significant number of those who live with a Hindu identity and even follow Sanatan rituals and practices under ‘crypto-Christianity’, they act as sleeper cells for the missionaries who lay the foundation for further conversions which ultimately leads to a change in demography in the long run.

When did the real problem arise and how has it affected the tribe (the Vanvasi community)?

It all started in the Mughal era and then the Europeans moved on, especially the British who invited the missionaries and then started converting the tribals by brainwashing them. They targeted the Vanvasi community because they were the soft targets.

You see historically Vanvasis have always protected the traditions and culture of our society just like soldiers, everyone knows the legacy of Bhagwan Birsa Munda and Alluri Sitaramraju, tell me which community supported Maharana Pratap when he was struggling with Akbar, wasn’t it Vanvasis Bheel. They (Vanvasis) are the bedrock of our country, that’s why they (Europeans) chose to target them and since the community is very solid by nature, they felt the best way to penetrate them was to alienate them from their age old culture and traditions, that’s why conversion. It is undoubtedly a huge conspiracy hatched abroad to break our beloved homeland Bharat.

Is illegal conversion limited to Vanvasis only or are other groups in the state also affected?

No, lately the missionaries are also targeting people from other community like Sahu, Satnamis and even people from Sikh community. They are channeling huge funds for this.

“Besides vanvasis, the missionaries also target people from other communities like Sahu, Satnamis and even people from the Sikh community. There are pastors with Sahu surname, which is widely used by the Teli community, and they incite and lead people to conversion.“

There are preachers with Sahu surname, which is common in Teli community, and they are inciting people to convert. I find it a disturbing trend because when someone chooses to embrace another religion and abandons its roots, he first changes the heart of that religion and then he is brainwashed.

Your father started a crusade against illegal conversion through the Ghar Wapsi campaign. How much impact did that have?

The impact was phenomenal, he himself coined the term “Ghar Wapsi” and started welcoming the returnees by washing their feet. He was a learned man who believed that if a king would wash the feet of common people who were willing to return to the religion of their ancestors, it would definitely have a positive impact on others and so it eventually happened.

Secondly, the timing of the campaign was also very crucial, my father felt that the missionaries and the Maoists had their eyes set on the Jashpur belt, so he decided to revolt aggressively against them. If it had not been for my father and the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram team, the entire Jashpur region would have been in the grip of missionary-backed proselytism and Maoist insurgency, like Bastar, so it was a turning point.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai recently noted that missionaries play a dominant role in the education and health sectors. How are you going to break that monopoly?

Yes, we are opening ‘Eklavya schools’, we are focusing on health and education, which have been the main weapons of those who bargained in the name of service delivery.You have a name on the Sauda card)” and offer money and health care services for conversion.

If you want to serve the people and do it for humanity, that is fine. But why such groups lure them (Vanvasis) to convert, why they incite them to change their religion, that is wrong.

What is your position on conversion issues such as the crematorium skirmishes and other

traditional customs?

See, such clashes were bound to happen, the main problem behind this is the actions of the Conversion Mafia who are leaving no stone unturned to break the society through conversion. They have planted the seeds of separation between families and if not contained immediately, it will lead to more confrontations within the community.

Is illegal conversion in the state limited to Christianity?

No, apart from missionaries there are other elements that have targeted the Hindu community, there are cases of Land Jihad where the women of the Vanvasi community have been targeted and brainwashed and further forced into conversion with the aim of occupying their land. Secondly, there are cases related to cow and ganja smuggling where ganja has been supplied to the Sanatani youth as a tool to further convert them. It is a huge conspiracy that needs to be tackled.

About your own election results: you lost your seat in Kota constituency. What went wrong there?

The entire administration along with the conversion mafia and radical elements had rallied against me, even the four-time MLA from the constituency was hand in glove with the Congress candidate. I got more than 22,000 votes than any other BJP candidate has ever got from Kota constituency, I bow to the people of Kota who blessed me with so much love and affection. “My victory has been stolen”.

Back to the Vanvasi community, do you think the decision to choose Vishnu Deo Sai was meant to convince the community in the long run?

Firstly, he deserves the post of CM. My father had predicted and shown long ago that he was ready to see him as CM. What can be better than someone who ploughs fields and works in forests and becomes CM? He knows the shortcomings and he is well aware of the problems of Vanvasi community.

So I don’t think it’s vote bank policy. He was a worthy candidate and our party believes in representing all sections of the population. He’s the perfect person for the perfect job.

You have followed in your father’s footsteps and made Ghar Wapsi possible for thousands of people. What is your ultimate goal?

Our campaign will continue till I facilitate the return of our last brother who is willing to return to his ancestral family i.e. to Sanatan Dharma. I do not believe in forcing people, I believe that strengthening Sanatan will ensure the strengthening of other minorities too, especially in the Vanvasi dominated regions. When you delve into the depths of Sanatan, you will find that it is beyond caste and sect, it is a symbol of nationality, it is a symbol of Bhartiyata, so yes, I will try to help the very last person who is willing to refocus on the heritage and glory of his ancestral religion.