Publish Date: | Tue, 01 Mar 2022 09:05 AM (IST)
Raipur. When the attention of the whole world is focused on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Christian missionaries are actively engaged in converting the tribals. The incidents that came to light in three districts of Bastar on Monday itself are alerting about the seriousness of the situation. The pressure of invisible forces on the police can be easily felt in these sensitive cases. The action is not progressing towards a settlement.
On the one hand, the point of lack of evidence is raised and on the other, the ground reality is that leniency is exercised towards gullible children and those who mislead the villagers. In the Naxal-hit Dantewada district, when the police and administration officials have to work cautiously, Christian preachers are trying to instill in the soft minds of school children that their God is the most influential. They are explaining the importance of prayer by taking them to church in the time of examination. In the church, they are telling about the cure of diseases like cancer.
Missionary’s schools have been continuously taking advantage of the innate greed for English medium school among the common people conscious of the future of the children. This is the reason that when the children returned home and told that they were being taken to church and prayed, the parents could not stop themselves from protesting. The police became active only after the video of the female principal of the school went viral.
A similar case also came to the fore in Bhanpuri police station area of Jagdalpur district, where villagers were being tempted to convert by offering one thousand rupees each along with religious literature. After protests by villagers and some organizations, an FIR was registered against two people, but it cannot be ensured that such activities will not be conducted in the area. Conversion has immediate as well as long term impact.
The struggle among the villagers of Kondagaon district regarding the last rites of dead bodies is making them aware of this. The villagers are opposing the Christian burial of dead bodies citing tradition and culture. On the other hand, the converted people say that if they are building a tomb on their own private land, then others should not be troubled. Villagers of all the six Naxal-affected districts are facing such conflicts.
This conversion took place when due to the influence of Naxalites, the entry of security forces and administration into the area was almost stopped. These conditions are telling that what kind of nexus there is between the Naxalites and the missionaries. Even though it is too late, yet the vigilant people have to come forward for public awareness to save the tribal culture from conversion.
Posted By: Kadir Khan