Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh): On November 2, 13-year-old Sunita from Brehebeda village in Chhattisgarh died of typhoid at Narayanpur district hospital.
When her body was brought home, a large number of villagers arrived and stopped the family from burying the teenager’s body on village land using Christian rituals. Instead, they insisted that the family bury the body according to traditional Adivasi customs and traditions.
“We are Adivasis just like them, but they (villagers) don’t want us to go to church or follow church ways. They want us to respect traditional (Adivasi) rules and customs. They said if we abandoned Christianity they would allow us to bury it. This problem is now rampant in every village here,” said Manupotai, 18, Sunita’s elder brother. Thread.
Sunita was finally buried on Thursday evening (November 2), far from her village, in a cemetery near the center of Narayanpur district. The village of Brehebeda is located about 10 kilometers from the district center, in the heart of a forest.
Sunita, 13, died on November 2. Photo: Sravasti Dasgupta
Just like Manupotai and Sunita, many people in the Adivasi-dominated Bastar region converted to Christianity. However, these people were confronted increase in attacks other villagers, some of whom are supported by Hindutva groups. They equate Adivasi customs and traditions with the Hindu religion and therefore prohibit non-Hindu practices.
“If the government changes (after these elections), it will be good if it listens to everyone. All we want from this election is how the government supports everyone, they need to support us equally and listen to our problems. We have rights but we do not get them in our villages. They should guarantee our rights,” Manupotai said.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Santuram, a member of the Dev Samiti who looks after religious affairs in the village, said Christians must return to “Mool Dharma“.
“If you do not remain in Sanatan Dharma, then you are violating dharam reeti (religious customs). We want our village to follow proper customs and traditions. Dev Reeti must be followed in the village. I don’t oppose anyone. They are our brothers and sisters. We want them to come back Mool Dharma and let’s return to our Dev Reeti. This is what PESA also allows.
The first phase of elections is expected to take place in Chhattisgarh on November 7. Twelve of the 20 assembly constituencies fall in the tribal belt of Bastar division. Narayanpur, which will vote on November 7, has become the epicenter of the BJP’s claims that “forced conversions» by Christian missionaries in the tribal areas of the state.
In September, Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that “a wave of religious conversions was unleashed” in the state under the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.
Congress, on the other hand, characterized these allegations unfounded and said that the BJP had no issues to highlight and was therefore polarizing the people.
Aftermath of Narayanpur church attack
On 20 cases of anti-Christian violence were reported from Narayanpur district in December last year alone, Thread reported.
Things came to a boil at the turn of the new year when the Sacred Heart Church at Viswadeepti High School in Narayanpur was vandalized on January 2, 2023. The attack took place shortly after police held a meeting with the tribal community regarding religious conversions in the area.
The attack took place while school was in session, with children inside the premises. The incident left a police officer injured. Following the attack, five people, including BJP district president Rupsai Salam, were arrested.
Father Jomon Devasia, pastor of the church and principal of the school, said Thread that in his four years of work in Narayanpur, he had never anticipated such violence.
The church is currently being rebuilt. However, the scars of the attack remain, with several windows still damaged and unrepaired. It was once a place visited by hundreds of people.
The statue of Mother Mary inside Viswadeepti School was vandalized in the attack. It has not been reinstalled yet. Photo: Srivasti Dasgupta
Describing the day of the attack, Devasia said: “The police told me there was a meeting, so don’t leave the premises. They approached the church and started throwing stones. They sang in Gondi Maaro (knock) and burst into the church. About 200 to 300 people entered the church, but at least a thousand stood outside the door. All the teachers and I rounded up the children with the help of the police and let them go out to their parents from the field behind the church. The children did not have to see the violence.
He said his church, which falls under Jagdalpur diocese, has been providing services to hospitals and schools for over five decades in seven districts. However, during this period, he never witnessed any violence.
“We have nothing to do with politics. We are here only to spread education in our schools and help people in our hospitals. It does not matter to us which party is in power, whether it is the BJP or the Congress,” he said.
However, far from the district center and inside the villages of Narayanpur, in the dense forest areas, the villagers are paying the price for their faith.
On March 6, Santernag’s older brother, aged 36, died of a heart attack in Sulenga village. Like Monupatai, Santernag (32) brought his brother’s body back from the hospital and wanted to bury it. However, around five to six people blocked the family from accessing the cemetery, saying they would only allow it if the family followed traditional Adivasi customs.
“Previously, there was a piece of land inside the village where we Viswasis (as Christians are commonly called) could bury our dead. But now they don’t allow us. We even asked the police to intervene. I filed a complaint against these villagers, which is still ongoing. Eventually, my brother was buried in a Christian cemetery near the town,” he said.
Santernag in his house in the village of Sulenga. Photo: Srivasti Dasgupta
Sarita, 24, who lives in Kokodi village, was boycotted by her family because she adopted Christianity in 2012. Her parents died when she was young. She lives in the family home, while her brother and his family have moved away. Standing outside her house, Sarita said Thread that she goes to work in different villages, doing odd jobs for other Vishwasis in their fields.
“My brother is not a Vishwasi, he doesn’t talk to me and wants nothing to do with me. He doesn’t want me to work on the family land. The villagers pressured him not to have any connection with me. They asked him to convince me to leave Christianity, but I refused. They removed my name from the MGNREGA lists, so I was forced to go out of the village and work,” she said.
Sarita said her parents took her to church after a long illness when she was young. After meeting with several doctors and going to the hospital, she said, it was when she went to church that she started to feel better.
“They say we started following the church because we had money or because someone forced us to. But that’s not the case. I became Vishwasi because it helped me during my illness.
Junai, who also lives in the same village as Sarita, said she too adopted the Church’s methods after a lump on her foot became infected. She said she had tried all kinds of treatments. Some Vishwasis advised her to visit the church and after she went there and started praying, her leg improved.
“After a week after praying and applying coconut oil, my leg improved, so I started praying regularly. »
Sarita and Junai in front of Sarita’s house in Kokodi village. Photo: Srivasti Dasgupta
“Give us our rights and a separate cemetery”
“There is no strength here. We adopted the Christian faith because of our free will and our beliefs,” Santernag said.
“All we want is for land to be allocated to the Vishwasis of 4-5 neighboring villages so that they can bury our dead with dignity. The Congress assured us that if they came to power, they would give us land. But if the BJP comes, we don’t have much hope.”
For these villagers who are struggling to ensure a dignified burial for their loved ones, all they want from this election is assurance that their rights will be respected.
“Either they should let us bury on our own land or they should give us land in every village so that the Vishwasis can bury our dead. Congress says it made a mistake (by not upholding its rights), but we’ll help you this time. But the BJP said no such thing. We don’t want another government like Congress that will make empty promises. There are also fears that there will be violence if the BJP comes to power here,” Manupotai said.
“All I want is for us not to be boycotted in this way or prevented from working. We should be able to live peacefully in our villages and not be stopped from working in MGNREGA and other government works,” Sarita said.
Manupotai. Photo: Srivasti Dasgupta
Conversion is a ‘social problem’, says BJP
As villagers pay the price for the specter of ‘conversions’, Congress and BJP leaders in the district are pointing fingers at each other.
Chandan Kashyap, the Congress candidate from Narayanpur, who is also a sitting MP, said the BJP is only talking about “forced conversions” as it has no other issues to highlight.
“Please ask the BJP where all the churches were built and how many conversions took place during its 15 years of rule in the state. Since the Baghel government came to power in 2018, there have been no conversions; instead, vikas (development) has occurred. They have no problem to show. They have done nothing for the Adivasis and now they are talking about conversions. But we have canceled loans to farmers and we are buying paddy at over Rs 2,600 per quintal. That’s why this conversion issue which they say will not affect these elections. We have built roads, schools, hospitals,” he said.
“Yes, an incident took place in Narayanpur in January, but we also took immediate action. This entire incident was planned in advance by the BJP. If the government had not acted, children’s lives would not have been saved and police officers would not have been beaten up. They have no issue to fight on in the elections and that is why in the Adivasi belt those who converted earlier are being targeted. Let them show the work they have accomplished during their 15 years in power.”
Rupsai Salam, who was arrested in connection with the Narayanpur church vandalism in January, however, said conversion was not a “social issue”.
“Conversion is not just a BJP problem but a social problem. Adivasi conversion is a major social problem. The Congress says it is the BJP that is doing this, but it is a social issue. »
Thread also contacted Kedar Kashyap, the BJP candidate from Narayanpur, but did not get a response.
