Over 450 Adivasi church-goers across villages in Bastar, Chhattisgarh faced boycott, intimidation and violence in December last year, forcing them to leave their homes and live in refugee camps. 

Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, an alliance of people’s movements and individual activists from all over

Chhattisgarh, prepared a detailed report on violence unleashed on the Church‐going Adivasi Community of Narayanpur and Kondagaon in Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

A 6-member team visited Narayanpur and Kondagaon where the Adivasi communities were driven out of their traditional villages on December 18, 2022 and were compelled to take shelter in the Indoor

Stadium at Narayanpur following large scale violence. Over 450 church‐goers from approximately 16 villages in Narayanpur and Kondagaon, a large majority of whom were women and young children, had sought shelter in the Indoor Stadium.

Some of these had been beaten up and physically driven out of their homes by other villagers; while others had fled their villages out of fear after receiving multiple warnings, beatings and ultimatums to renounce the church, states the report. Reportedly, about 300 churchgoers who had been forced out of their villages assembled in front of the Narayanpur Collectorate in an impromptu protest and capmed out there for two days.

The team of Kamal Shukla, Keshav Shori, Ramkumar Darro, Shalini Gera, Urmila Kange, and Vishwaranjan Parichha found out from the displaced churchgoers that at village meetings they were forewarned to return to their original faith else face social and economic boycott. When they refused, many of them, including women, were even assaulted at such meetings by other men and women. 

Women and children ousted

It was found that the number of women and children ousted far exceeded the numbers of men. The most common reason being that more women go to the church than men do, and hence, they were targeted more. In some cases men [pretended to give up Christianity so that they could continue to earn their livelihood. 

History of conversion

Most of the people the team spoke to had started praying at a church about 5‐8 years ago and most of them started doing so after they were cured of some medical ailment by the prayers. Incidents of violence arising out of this issue was close to zero until last November.

The report noted that “The Christian community in Bastar uses the term “Vishwasi” (Believer) for someone who offers prayers at the Church. A Vishwasi is not necessarily a Christian, since many of them are in different stages of accepting Christianity. However, the community at Narayanpur especially asked us to simply refer to them as “people who offer prayers to Jesus Christ.” They were also amenable to our suggestion of using the term “churchgoers” for people like them.” 

Janjati Suraksha Manch gave open call for violence

BJP‐RSS backed Janjaati Suraksha Manch, which has been demanding the de‐listing of “converted Adivasis” from the category of Scheduled Tribes. (Note: this demand does not oppose those Adivasis who have adopted more Hinduised religious practices.) They raise slogans of “Roko, Toko, Thoko”. exhorting the Adivasis to first, prevent their brethren from going to a different faith (Roko, literally – stop them); if they don’t listen, the next step is to nag or harass them (toko, literally – nag them); and if they still don’t stop, then the advice is to beat them up (thoko, literally – hammer them).

The report further states that most of these rallies and meeting of the Janjati Suraksha Manch are being led by BJP functionaries, most prominent amongst them being Bhojraj Nag (ex MLA from Antagarh, BJP), Rupsai Salaam (Narayanpur District President, BJP), Narayan Markam (Benur BJP), Jhari Salaam (Mainpur BJP). 

However, the victims said that in the village meeting where they were threatened and beaten up, there were no outsiders present. It was the village heads who actively took part in the violence. The report states that many villages interpreted the power of the Gram Sabhas to safeguard and conserve traditional practices and customs under section 4(a) and 4(d) of the PESA Act, and the promise

of autonomy under the Fifth Scheduled of the Constitution as official sanction to the Gram Sabhas for

punishing and excommunicating the churchgoers. 

Inaction of police and administration

It was found that no action was taken to restrain these open calls for violence being made by the Janjaati Suraksha Manch. Many churchgoers had approached the police when they first received threats about 2-3 months ago, however no action was taken. “The response of the Narayanpur Administration in dealing with the massive exodus of the churchgoers from the villages is marked by extraordinary unwillingness, slowness and niggardliness,” says the report. 

After they camped out in the open outside the Collectorate, they were first going to be placed at Benur Panchyat Bhavan which was in a deplorable condition. When the Adivasis refused to live there, they were taken to the stadium. Even there, no arrangements for food rations, blankets, warm clothing, medicines or any other supplies were made by the administration and local Christian groups then came out in aid. 

Further, by December 26, the Adivasis who were camped out in the stadium and in a hostel in Farasgaon were transported back to their villages, accompanied by officials, in the midst of the ongoing instances of anti‐Christian violence from these areas. After this, new ultimatums have been issued to them, many of them have fled to the forests.

Churchgoers of Palna, Gohda and Pavda village were refused entry into their villages, so the revenue and police officials decided to lock up over 70 of these villagers in the Juari Kalar security forces camp, close to Farasgaon, where they were not allowed to meet anyone, the report states. 

In the course of writing of the report as well there were fresh reports of violence on Christmas day from villages of Korenda, Garanji, Amasara, Shirpur, Jhara, Palna, Chingnar and Remavand under the Benur PS, Kasai Farasgaon under Urndabeda PS in Kondagaon, and Farasgaon and Bagjhar under Farasgaon PS in  Narayanpur. 

In conclusion, the report recommends that rallies and meetings of Janjati Suraksha Manch and other such divisive forces be curtailed, Administration should be sensitive to needs of minorities, leaders of Adivasi organizations urgently need to take cognizance and FIRs should be expeditiously registered. 

There were also reports from Narayanpur where an extremist mob vandalized a church over allegations of religious conversions. One senior police official was also attacked and injured by the extremist mob.
 

Location: Narayanpur, Chattisgarh

An extremist mob vandalized a church over allegations of religious conversions.

Over the last three weeks, dozens of anti-Christian attacks have been reported in the region, forcing thousands of Christians to flee their villages. pic.twitter.com/v8tvqCNXiI

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) January 2, 2023

One senior police official was also attacked by the extremists.

More visuals of the vandalism ?? pic.twitter.com/YM4t2vmdr0

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) January 2, 2023

The complete report of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan may be read here:

Related:

‘Forcible Conversions’ in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts in Chhattisgarh – Part II

Church vandalised in Karnataka’s Mysuru, statue of Baby Jesus damaged

‘Forcible Conversions’ in Narayanpur and Chhattisgarh – Part 1

The post 450 Adivasi church-goers faced boycott, violence in December says Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan report appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In the previous article, we saw that forcible conversions were taking place in the Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts of Chhattisgarh, but that of Christian vishwasus to Hinduism, and the state has done next to nothing besides pleading those who were threatening and indulging in violence against the vishwasus, turning them out of their villages, to let the displaced persons return to their villages. Adivasis became, by choice, vishwasus, turning to Lord Jesus. Their numbers were growing since year 2015. The modus was this: small, independent one-Adivasi pastor led churches, having a following of less than 100 vishwasus, and sometimes more, organised prayer meetings wherein those with chronic sickness felt they were cured, and would thereafter also give up their drinking habits. Giving up drinking habit led to some improvement in their lives economic condition and they, thereafter, focussed on the education of their children. The strong fellowship that developed during the prayer meetings and love of Lord Jesus is the sine qua non for prevention of a relapse into drinking habits. The short visit did not enable us to examine the internal social dynamics within the village community, which pushed a section of the Adivasis towards prayer meetings and developing fellowship with other vishwasus within the Church. However, this did not necessarily mean that the vishwasus gave up all Adivasi traditions, customs, culture and way of life. Most of them told us that they contributed to the village festivals and participated in cultural events. However, they did not partake in the offerings to traditional Gods nor participated in the idol worship. 

The Chimdi village sarpanch however said that the vishwasus would not contribute financially in the village festivals or religious rituals. Jaising Potai (45), a displaced vishwasu, told us that he gave his contribution to the village festival, however, Kamu Patel and Kachra Gaita refused to accept it because they were not vishwasus. Patel and Gaita are traditional designations of the village head of the Gond community.

In the village Pawada, Manku Koram, belonging to the Gond community forced out one family with five members including three sisters, after  a meeting was held. The foodgrain stock of the vishwasus was looted on December 18, according to Jaldev Koram (male, 30 years). They were paraded on a tractor and threatened with loss of life if, either they did not convert to Hinduism or, left the village. Jaldev had turned vishwasu in the year 2016. After his becoming a vishwasu in 2016, the village would not accept his contribution to the village festivals. Jaldev was member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and always voted for the Party, even after 2016. A social and economic boycott was declared against Jaldev’s family. This meant nobody would offer their tractor to plough his land and people from outside the village were fined Rs. 10,000/- if they came with their tractors to plough his land. These were early warnings of the impending storm of violence or threat of life that turned out one thousand adivasis in the two districts, out of their villages. These were early warning and similar such episodes took place since the month of October 2022 as well. The vishwasus complained to the police but their complaints were ignored. Seeing the indulgent attitude of the state (to their acts of criminal intimidation) the non-Christian Adivasis were emboldened to scale up the pressures and coercion.

We talked to three victims from Temrugaon – Ramesh Koram (27), Nevru Koram (24) and Shambhulal Koram (27), all from Gond Muria community, belonging to the Maranatha Full Gospel Church, under the leadership of Pastor Mayaram Nag. The Temrugaon vishwasu community has a prayer hall belonging to the New India Church, wherein the vishwasus from Chalka village also would come to pray. The prayer halls we saw are in fact, small mud, bamboo and reed structures. The prayer hall was constructed three years ago, but it has been functional only since last year. The vishwasus in the village converted in the year 2007 and 2008. Twenty seven out of the total, 110 families have converted.

After their Sunday prayer meeting on December 18, a mob from the village led by the sarpanch Rajman Koram, caught them, sprinkled alcohol on them (to break their vow and spirit), beat them up and chased them out of the village. The vishwasus named eight other accused in their complaint to the police for assault on their perdon: 1) Jhelu Karanga, 2) Dhannu Koram, 3) Laxman Koram, 4) Jairam Koram, 5) Bajman Koram, 6) Jagnu Koram, 7) Shriman Koram, and 8) Ramsingh Potayi. The sarpanch was (allegedly) instigated by Ramdhar Suri from the village Chalka, a Gondwana Samaj and BJP leader. They were beaten with lathis and rods. Besides the above-named Ramesh, Nevru and Shambhulal, the others injured in the attack were Kulram Sodi, Ramadhi Koram (35), Shalu Koram (F, 30), Shankar Koram (23), and Jugai Koram (30). Jugai was hit on head. Six of those injured were hospitalised in the district hospital, Narayanpur. Some vishwasus rushed to the police station to report the violence. About 10-15 policemen were deputed in the village. Ramesh, Tularam, Fagu and Sukhlal were all beaten in presence of the police and their uniform was also torn 

There were attacks on the vishwasus in 2009 as well when they were driven out of the village. They were staying in Narayanpur till 2014 on government land. However, there was a settlement and they were allowed to reside in the village once again. The sarpanch changed and the new woman sarpanch – Ratni went back on the settlement. On December 4 this year, Ramadhi Koram was beaten with a burning stick on his back, hands and legs. He was immobilised due to the attack. A Complaint was filed, but the police reprimanded the complainants, turned them away and did not act on the complaints.

From the above, it was obvious to us that when there were early warnings as late as in the first week of December 2022, with low intensity violence targeting vishwasu individuals, the police in particular and the district administration in general turned a blind eye by turning away complainants or ignoring the complaints of violence, breach of peace, social boycott etc. There was another serious early warning of the emerging conflict. The vishwasus were refused permission to bury their dead since about six months ago in the village on their own land on the pretext of maintaining Adivasi traditions and customs. Burial of dead vishwasus was in violation of Adivasi traditions and customs, according to the non-Christian Adivasis. They wrongly invoked the Panchayats (Extension to Schedules Areas) Act, 1996. Even after this the police and the administration did not act to protect them. The vishwasus would have to carry the body of their dead for burial all the way to Kondagaon, sometimes more than 50 kms away to a dedicated cemetery for Christians in a hearse. Those buried in the village were dug out. The non-Christian Adivasis kept escalating their violent actions to the next level until on December 18, about a thousand displaced vishwasus camped in the compound of the Narayanpur District Collector. It is only then that the administration partially woke up, arranged relief centres for the displaced – in the indoor stadium in Naryanpur and Panchayat Bhavan in Kondagaon.

(… To be continued) 

Note by the author: 1) Administrations inaction on the ground that both sides are wrong, 2) Instances of forced conversions, 3) how peace was maintained in Chiprel village and the way ahead, 4) what should the established Church, civil society, human rights organizations and political parties to establish peace.

The original copy has been edited for style and language —Editors 

Also Read

‘Forcible Conversions’ in Narayanpur and Chhattisgarh – Part 1

Forcible Conversions in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts in Chhattisgarh – Part III

Related:

Anti-Conversion Laws: The trope of forced religious conversions

False allegation of Conversion leads to the continuing Abuse against Christians

The post ‘Forcible Conversions’ in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts in Chhattisgarh – Part II appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Hindu ‘nationalists’ have quite successfully propagated that Christians are converting Hindus with either inducements, fraud or through coercion on such a large scale that there would be a demographic imbalance in the population, sooner rather than later. My visit to villages in Narayanpur and Kondagaon in the state of Chhattisgarh as a member of fact-finding team constituted by CSSS, UCF, AIPF and AILAJ showed once again that the shoe fits but on the other foot. It is the Christians who are being subjected to violence, threats and forced displacements if they do not convert to Hindu religion. Some Christians have been converted forcibly, while others who resisted were forced to leave their villages and seek refuge from violence elsewhere.

According to Adv. Sonisingh Jhali, All India People’s Forum, based in Jadalpur and who has been helping the displaced Christian Adivasis, more than one thousand of them have been displaced from their villages. According to the District Collector & Magistrate of Narayanpur, 250 have been displaced from the villages in his district and have sought shelter in an indoor stadium of the district. However, another about 150 persons who have been displaced are in the Kondagaon Panchayat Bhavan, while many have sought refuge in various churches.

We met Ram Poyam (35 years) and 16 others, including 6 children, 8 women and three men, on 22nd December in the Nayapada Church in Pharasgaon. Two children were studying in Standard VII. According to Poyam, a Halba Adivasi, there was a death in their  village – Chalka – on December 9,  for which all the villagers had assembled. The assembled villagers, about one hundred in number, marched towards the homes of Christian Adivasis after the funeral and asked them to convert to Hindu religion. The Adivasis call themselves “vishwasu” (those who have faith in Jesus Christ) and not Christian because, according to them, they have not yet converted to Christianity, in as much as they have not declared themselves to be Christians through an affidavit for the purposes of government records. Those who have filed affidavits are called ‘paper Christians’ as against the term ‘vishwasu’ When the vishwasus refused to give up their faith in Jesus Christ, led by the sarpanch of the village, Sevakram Netam, the villagers heaped abuses and threats on the vishwasus and issued two alternative threats – either face death or leave the village. Besides the sarpanch, they were abused by Chandulal Netam, Samluram Netam, and the traditional leader Jigru. All of them belonged to the Gondwana Samaj, an organisation of Gond Adivasis. One hundred (approximately) villagers stood there surrounding the homes of the 17 vishwasus until they then decided (were forced) to leave. As they left on foot and some on motorbike, they were not allowed to even lock their homes. However, according to the information that the vishwasus have, their homes have not been damaged. They filed a complaint with the police, but no FIR has so far been registered. The Town Inspector (TI) took them to their village to plead with the villagers to allow them to stay in the village. The villagers refused and the TI simply returned, rather tamely, not behoving of an official of the state charged with the duty to maintain law and order and protect rights of all, especially vulnerable citizens.

The Vishwasus would contribute their share for the traditional village festivals but would not partake in the prasad offered to the traditional gods. They otherwise lived their lives as other Adivasis – they lived by collecting tendu leaves, Mahua flowers, fishing, farming their small land holdings. These 17 persons had become vishwasus at different points of time after the year 2015, mostly because they suffered from some “incurable” illness. They believed that they were cured by praying to Lord Jesus. 

Sugri Nag (F-27 years) and her mother Shanwari Nag (60) had come to the Church. Both of them converted, even as their relatives strongly opposed them, as Sugri’s father suffered a paralytic stroke on February 15, 2021. Her father converted too, but Sugri’s brother did not convert. The three of them live in peace with their choices and themselves.

If in Chalka the vishwasus left the village without being physically assaulted, all vishwasus were not as lucky. In Chimdi village, 12 houses of vishwasus were demolished along with their prayer centre. With the obvious inaction of the state, the attacks became more and more violent by the day until, finally, one thousand of them were displaced from nearly 40 villages.

There was one thing common among all the vishwasus we met during our 3-day visit to Narayanpur and Kondagaon, though they belonged to different churches – they would not touch alcohol with a barge pole. Giving up their drinking habits, they could now spend the money saved on this consumption (on an average, Rs. 3,000/- per month) on their education of their children and wearing better clothes. 

The 17 vishwasus of Chalka belong to the “New India Church”. Different villages had different and independent Churches. Independent Church means one pastor centric Church. The pastor of the Church too was from among the Adivasi community not trained in any well-established seminary. The pastor would attend prayer meetings in other towns and would pick up doctrines of faith in those meetings. A confident vishwasu who was a fast learner in the prayer meetings and could gather his own following and had the ability to stand up to the opposition from other villagers would/could become a pastor. The vishwasus themselves faced various challenges in retaining their faith. Becoming a vishwasu not only ‘helped healing of a disease’ and improvement of one’s life by giving up drinking, it also meant developing leadership qualities, having followers and becoming more confident. Normally, Adivasis are forced to live a subdued life in presence of non-Adivasis as they are treated as backward, uncivilized, and what not, even by the administrative machinery of the state. The displaced 17 vishwasus from Chalka village whom we met in Nayapada Church told us that the TI as well as Kondagaon district collector told them that they (the vishwasus) were also ‘at fault’ as they had abandoned their age-old traditions, and that they would not partake ‘prasad’. The TI and the Kondagaon district collector both told them to convert to Hinduism to be able to return to their villages. The vishwasus, however, were firm in their faith and refuse to embrace Hinduism now. They have confronted these mighty powerful officials of the state and told them to take legal action against those who had turned them out of their villages and they would be able to return to their villages. It is their faith that gives them this confidence to stand up to the mighty state officials, to sort of remind them of their duties and assert their faith in the face of opposition from the huge majority within their village. It is because of this that number of Christian vishwasus are growing in these districts and not because some established Church is/are propagating Christianity and seeking conversions – material improvement in their lives by giving up drinking, fellowship with other vishwasus, leadership opportunities as pastors and development of confidence as Lord Jesus resides within them/stands with them. In fact, established churches have completely ignores them. We did not find them coming to their help as they faced eviction from their homes, or speaking up for them. 

Aren’t the Adivasi vishwasus Christian enough or important enough for the established Church to speak up for them? 

(to be continued) 

The original copy has been edited for style and language —Editors 

Also Read

‘Forcible Conversions’ in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts in Chhattisgarh – Part II

Forcible Conversions in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts in Chhattisgarh – Part III

Related:

Anti-Conversion Laws: The trope of forced religious conversions

False allegation of Conversion leads to the continuing Abuse against Christians

The post ‘Forcible Conversions’ in Narayanpur and Chhattisgarh – Part 1 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
A recent news report (‘Now, RSS plans to launch a Christian outfit’; The Times of India, January 4, 2016) has taken the Christian community in India by storm. The report quotes Indresh Kumar, senior pracharak, member of the national executive and margdarshak (guide) of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch as saying: “On December 17, 4-5 Archbishops, 40-50 Reverend Bishops from across 10 to 12 states met and it was decided to build a movement. This is preparing the ground to lay the seeds for an organisation.” According to the report, the proposed organisation, likely to be named Rashtriya Isai Manch, is to work along the lines of the Rashtriya Muslim Manch. The supposed aim is to build “goodwill” among India’s Christians.
 
The report also mentions that while addressing a Christmas celebration organised by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India in December, Union home minister, Rajnath Singh assured Christians that he would not let any "injustice" happen to them. Singh added that he was deeply hurt by the attacks on churches in the year before. This was followed a few days later by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley hosting clergy and professionals from the Christian community at a gathering which was attended, among others, by Cardinal Oswal Gracias, who is a member of Pope Francis' advisory council.

In short, Indian Christians are being wooed simultaneously by the RSS and top ministers in the government led by Narendra Modi, the sangh parivar’s preferred candidate for the the prime ministerial chair. It is curious, to say the least, that the man chosen by the RSS to be the face of the proposed Christian outfit, Kumar, is the same person who stands accused of instigating the most widespread and vicious anti-Christian violence in 300 years – Kandhamal, Odisha during 2007-08 and whose name has also figured in ‘saffron terror’ cases.
 
What’s going on here? Why this sudden love and affection for a community which has been demonised and repetedly targeted, especially since the late 1990s? Is this a fresh RSS hoax or a case of naivete among a few church members? How does RSS propose “to build bridges of goodwill with the Christian community”? What, if any, was the outcome of the several dialogues with the Church in the recent past? Does RSS have some hidden agenda behind such dialogues? How does the Church respond to the idea of an RSS-inspired Christian outfit? While the top Church leadership is yet to respond to the proposal of launching an RSS-friendly Christian outfit, let us try to understand what is behind the proposed launching of this outfit and the possible options before the Church.

The series of attacks on adivasi Christians in Gujarat in 1998 rattled and unnerved the peace-loving Christian community in India. The Church leadership did not know how to respond to these diabolical attacks. The Church leaders’ prime concern for the protection of the members forced them to have direct talks with the leaders of the perpetrators rather than the state actors (the latter, in many cases, were hand-in-glove with the former).

 
Talking peace with the bully
The Church in India has and continues to contribute to nation building, especially in the sphere of education and health care of the marginalised groups. The Church’s humanitarian response to all disasters, whether man-made or natural, remains unparallelled. Yet, in recent years the sangh parivar has repeatedly targeted the community with hate campaigns, physical attacks and intimidation, questioned the intention behind the services provided by the Church for the marginalised groups as never before.
 
The series of attacks on adivasi Christians in Gujarat in 1998 rattled and unnerved the peace-loving Christian community in India. The Church leadership did not know how to respond to these diabolical attacks. The Church leaders’ prime concern for the protection of the members forced them to have direct talks with the leaders of the perpetrators rather than the state actors (the latter, in many cases, were hand-in-glove with the former).
 
Thus began the story of dialogue between Church groups and the sangh parivar in December 1998. Those who participated in the first conference included the then BJP president Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre, RSS joint general secretary KS Sudershan, BJP general secretary Narendra Modi on one hand and Catholic Bishops Conference of India president Archbishop Alan de Lastic of Delhi, Archbishop Aruldas James of Madras, Evangelical Fellowship of India general secretary Richard Howell, the Church of North India's Sushma Ramaswamy, All-India Association of Christian Higher Education director Mani Jacob, Indian Social Institute director Father Ambrose Pinto and All-India Catholic Union national secretary John Dayal on the other.
 
A vicious cycle
Archbishop Alan De Lastic who led the first dialogue with the BJP-RSS for the protection of the community was quick to realise the futility of the talks. At a meeting immediately after the dialogue, he told the then home minister LK Advani: “The dialogues with the sangh parivar would serve no purpose unless there was an immediate end to the physical and verbal violence against the community, particularly in Gujurat”. “What I have noticed is that ever since this government (BJP-led NDA) came to power at the Centre, the attacks on the Christians and Christian missionaries have increased,” he added.
 
Of equal concern was the NDA government's wilful refusal to condemn the violence, the fact that as home minister Advani was not living up to his oath of office (do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will). But the official response was: “There is no law and order problem in Gujarat”. Alan de Lastic’s untimely car accident in Poland in June 2000 left a void.
 
The chart below clearly shows how dialogues between the Church and the sangh parivar have not resulted in any let up in the attacks against Christians:
 

 
As indicated above, dialogue after dialogue continued over the years at different levels. But it meant nothing for the Christian community which was under relentless attack even, as the RSS laid claim to ongoing dialogues with the Church. Chaos was evident among the Church groups as some unknown faces with varied interest holding dialogues with the RSS and claiming positive outcomes. But for the RSS, it was simply a joy ride. Meeting a few self-serving individuals/fronts and Church associates at different locations, billing them as Church-RSS meets were too part of their strategies. The only use of these dialogues was to lend credence to the pretence of BJP leaders in government that the attacks on Christians were the handiwork of anti-social elements unrelated to the sangh parivar. As the dialogue drama unfolded, Christians who had participated in them despite their reluctance and apprehensions realised that the RSS was not at all serious and that it could not meet the community expectations.
 
In 2002, the Kerala Council of Churches, affiliated to the National Council of Churches of India (NCCI), urged its parent body to reassess the process of dialogue. “The strategy adopted by the RSS for a dialogue with churches, the committee observed, “appeared to be intended to divide the churches”.
 
A year earlier, Bishop Thomas Mar Athanasius, president, Ecumenical Study and Dialogue Centre flayed the move for a dialogue between the CBCI-NCCI and the RSS arguing that those entering into a dialogue with the RSS were only weakening their credibility to speak on behalf of the Christian community.
 
Seeing through the hidden agenda
Fr. Ambrose Pinto, former director of Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, one of the delegates for the first-ever meeting between top Church and RSS leaders held in 1998 sees the future of any further Church-RSS meet thus: “First of all, we need to know:  a) what RSS stands for, b) why is the RSS saying what it is saying? c) the difference between its propaganda and facts, and d) in case Christians join them, do those Christians represent us? Understanding the nature of the fascist organisation, we should resist them as a community in solidarity with the prople of goodwill”. Would he like to be part of any future dialogue? “I was a reluctant participant. I did not want to be there. Even at that meet, I was one of those who spoke against their designs. I shall never join any kind of dailogue with RSS. You cannot dialogue with fascists”.
 
Says John Dayal, one of the delegates for the first Church-RSS dialogue: “To the parivar, there is only one mantra. Stop Conversions, and everything will end. To the sangh parivar, a dialogue is a monologue in which it speaks its mind, and the other has to take it or lump it. After all, Christianity is all about dialogue, both within the church and outside. Parivar spokespersons keep on repeating the same old manufactured lies like a Goebblesian zombie. If any single community, Sikh or Christian or Muslim, thinks it can reach a bilateral peace with the sangh parivar, it is only deceiving itself, and allowing the parivar to buy time”.
 
As the above chart shows for the RSS dialogue was mere pretense. The dialogues were punctuated with increasing violence year after year. The worst ever violence against Christians in India in 300 years was in Orissa in 2007-08 which continued unabated for over four months. It took nearly four years for the displaced adivasi and dalit Christians to return to their homes; even today there are several villagers where the forcibly displaced are not able to return eight years after the carnage.

The only use of these dialogues was to lend credence to the pretence of BJP leaders in government that the attacks on Christians were the handiwork of anti-social elements unrelated to the sangh parivar. As the dialogue drama unfolded, Christians who had participated in them despite their reluctance and apprehensions realised that the RSS was not at all serious and that it could not meet the community expectations.
 
While the dialogue was underway, the sangh parivar stepped up its hate campaign and violence against the Christian community. It is important to reflect why the earlier dialogues have failed to yield results. What are the issues that the RSS and the Church bring to the table? The RSS is quite clear about its agenda as has been articulated both in words (media) and actions (violence). As for the Church, it is still debatable whether it does or does not want any further dialogue. If yes, for what purpose and towards what end?
 
No one should be confused about what the RSS stands. There are certain key issues on which the sangh parivar’s stand is consistent and clear. The real agenda behind the so-called dialogue it seeks with Christians is to browbeat the community into meekly concurring with its ‘non-negotiable’ stands on these issues. These are repeatedly articulated through its mouthpiece, the Organiser. Here below are just a few examples:
 
Hindutva on conversions: ‘anti-national’ act
 

• Ram Madhav, spokesperson of RSS and general secretary of BJP calls for dismantling the evangelical establishment in the Organiser, November 2, 2008)

 
“Evangelists are subverting Indian culture… conversion, especially in tribal areas, leads to demographic disturbances which in turn lead to resentment and violence.”

• (Late) MV Kamath, sangh parivar ideologue in the Organiser, November 2, 2008.

 
“Conversion is an act of violence… Religious conversion destroys centuries-old communities and incites communal violence. It is violence and it breeds violence.”

• Swami Dayanand Saraswati in an ‘Open Letter’ to Pope John Paul II in the Organiser, October 1999.

 
“Conversions ban [are] a national necessity… Conversions are resorted to for political reasons and not for faith. There is, therefore, absolute justification for imposing a ban on free conversions. Lawlessness in India has taken place whenever the governments have failed the people to satisfy their legitimate feelings”.

• Swami Asangananda Bharati, director, Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, in the Organiser, January 9, 2005.

 
“They went away (to other religion) because of some allurement and thus there is nothing wrong in bringing them back to original fold… It is like a thief who steals our valuables. The thief is caught and we will get our valuables back. They are ours.”

• RSS Supremo Mohan Bhagwat, in The Hindu, December 21, 2014.

 
“Is conversion necessary? Will any country allow changes in its demographic character?”

•  Union home minister, Rajnath Singh signalling the central government’s willingness for an anti-conversion law, PIB release, March 23, 2015.

 
“An aggressive campaign is required for ghar wapsi of those Hindus who had converted to other religions in the past.”

• BJP’s Lok Sabha MP, Yogi Adityanath, at a conference ‘Dharmantaran Rashtranataran Hai’ (Religious conversion is the same as change of nationality) at Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. It was announced that BJP MPs Yogi Adityanath and Tarun Vijay will introduce private member bills in the the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively to stop religious conversions and debate the issue in next session of the Parliament, in The Indian Express, September 27, 2015.

 
Hindutva on affirmative action for minorities: vehement opposition
 
The denial of justice to the Dalit Christians and Muslims goes against the letter and spirit of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 25 of the Constitution of India on equal justice, equal opportunities and freedom of religion. Both Ranganath Mishra Commission and Sachar Committee reports address the anamoly in denying reservation meant for Scheduled Castes to Christian and Muslim Dalits. The sangh parivar however remains vehemently opposed to any affirmative action, as is evident from the writings and statements of its leaders, spokespersons and ideologues:
 
“The Ranganath Misra Commission’s report is… a sinister, treasonous conspiracy… it is the UPA’s gift to the Vatican and the Pakistani-Arab sponsors of jehad. It is on the verge of capitulating to a notorious paedophile organisation, masquerading as a religious dispensation and the licentious, Islamist criminals enthroned by the British… For quite sometime now Christian evangelists and Islamist jehadis have been working overtime to subvert the Indian judiciary. They want to disempower it and for real decision-making authority to reside with suborned politicians ready to facilitate the rapid ensnaring of Indian society… If reservations (for Scheduled Castes) are extended to Christians and Muslims a no-holds-barred campaign of bribery and chicanery will commence to entice underprivileged Hindus into their political fold. At present Hindus are harder to lure because Hindu society legislated reservations to help them overcome historic disadvantages. The Islamo-Christian calculation is that an extraordinary opportunity to finish Hindus off is at hand”.

• Dr. Gautam Sen, member, steering committee, World Hindu Economics Forum; president, World Association of Hindu Academicians in the Organiser, January 31, 2010.

 
“If perverted reports like those of Justices like Sachar and Ranganath Misra indulge in travesty of justice, who will save the law of the motherland? Ours is a nation governed by the will of the people. These justices may come and go, the nation is inexorably an essential unity, adhering to only one global ethic – dharma.  Sachar and Ranganath Misra have done a signal disservice to the integrity and unity of the nation by promoting a sectarian view, which will not achieve an integrally developed Bharat with equal opportunities for everyone to realise his or her full potential”.

• Dr S Kalyanaraman, in the Organiser, January 31, 2010.

 
“Minorities cannot ask for caste quotas. If either Christians or Muslims accept and practice caste discrimination amongst themselves, the conversion process among such groups or individuals should be legally declared to be inadequate and incomplete. In other words, they may be declared as non-Christians and non-Muslims and asked to either complete the process of their transformation to the new faith, or return to the Hindu fold. There can be no half-way house in this matter”.

• Sandhya Jain, Hindutva ideologue, in the Organiser, July 23, 2006.

 
“The need to strip converts of quota regime: The Kendriya Sarna Samiti (KSS) asserts that tribal converts no longer belong to the Scheduled Tribe as they have renounced their traditional identity as a sine qua non of the conversion process”.

•  Sandhya Jain, Hindutva ideologue, in the Organiser, September 3, 2006.

 
Cannibalizing Hindu society: Evangelicals have jealously sought access to the caste-based reservation benefits of Hindu depressed classes. They saw their chance when the Mandal Commission listed some ‘Muslim castes’ among the OBCs. Political parties were too short-sighted to challenge this dangerous opening, and Christians began to lobby for SC/ST benefits for ‘Dalit Christians’.”

• Sandhya Jain, Hindutva ideologue, in the Organiser, June 3, 2007.

 
“Enough is enough! Stop looting! Don’t try patience of Hindus: Why should Hindu tax-payers pay for vicious design by Islamic fanatics? Why should Hindu SCs, OBCs and STs and other meritorious Hindus allow Muslims and Christians to snatch their school/college seats, jobs, loans, lands and political rights?… STs converted to Christianity should not be allowed to retain and enjoy their ST reservations. Articles 25 to 30, minority privileges should be cancelled”.

• Pravin Togadia, VHP leader, in the Organiser, January 31, 2010.

 
“It is the story of another anti-Hindu policy of Orissa government, which is going to create an explosive situation… Levinus Kindo, IAS, the member of state board of revenue, has issued a circular to all the collectors that during his last tour of the tribal areas, he found that the tribal Christians (tribal converted to Christianity) are being deprived of getting proper benefit as they are being recorded as only Christians in the government records and in their respective Record of Rights (RoR) too… ‘Such an illegal and anti-national circular of Orissa government will encourage the missionary to undertake more conversions in the tribal areas. Christians will enjoy double privilege as tribals along with their present religion, says Sarat Chandra Sarangi, state general secretary of VHP, Orissa while expressing his reaction on the issue’.”

• Debasis Tripathy, in the Organiser, May 15, 2005.

Hindutva on secularism: ‘a façade for anti-Hinduism’
 
For the ideologues and votaries of Hindutva, secularism is a dirty word:
 
“Secularism has degenerated as the backbone of terrorists & evangelists: This India had to be a Hindu India. The ideology of Indian secularism, misconceived from the very outset, has become the backbone of Islamic jihad and fundamentalist evangelism. The one is committing mass murder, the other attempting to transform India’s cultural and political landscape in order to reimpose foreign rule over it”.

• Dr.Gautam Sen, president, World Association of Hindu Academicians, in the Organiser, November 2, 2008.

 
“Secularism: A facade for anti-Hinduism: We became enamoured of the word secular because of our contact with the Britishers during their 150 years rule or because of our association and appreciation of the British polity… Why are not Pakistan and Bangladesh secular states?”

• MG Vaidya, all-India Prachar Pramukh, RSS, in the Organiser, October 12, 2008.

 
“For RSS, secularism is irrelevant in India: The perversion of the concept of secularism has resulted in the terming of nationalists as communal and people with communal thinking being hailed as secular. Saffron should have been the only colour on the national flag as other colours represented a communal thought.”

• MG Vaidya, all-India Prachar Pramukh, RSS, in The Indian Express, September 20, 2015.

 
“Rajnath is right. Secularism has become communal”.

• Shyam Khosla, on the then BJP president, Rajnath Singh calling for  a national debate on secularism, in the Organiser, June 15, 2008.

 
“Secularism is the most misused word in the country…This must stop. Because of the rampant misuse of the word, there have been instances of tension in society.”

• Rajnath Singh, Union home minister, NDTV, November 26, 2015.

 
Issue after issue of the Organiser is splashed with headlines such as ‘Secularism as insulting Hindus’, ‘Obnoxious application of secularism’. The media and secular groups who ‘dare’ to spoke out against anti-Christian or anti-Muslim atrocities are severely castigated for alleged “minority appeasement” and “pseudo-secularism”.
 
 
Hindutva on India’s minorities: ‘Your Safety lies in our goodwill’
 
“Hindutva is facing severe jolts all over the world. Muslim fundamentalists and Christian missionaries are the age old enemies of Hinduism. Next to them the communists have come forward to squeeze the throat of this great way of life. They have also walked a long way in this deadly mission”

• Jagadguru Swami Sri Nischalananda Saraswatiji of Puri (Odisha) Govardhan Peetham, one of the four Sankaracharyas, in the Organiser, June 18, 2006.

 
“Minorities must have good relations with the majority for their safety”.

• (Former) RSS Chief KC Sudarshan, talking to the media after a dialogue with Christian leaders, in The Times of India, March 22, 2002.

 
“Unravelling the poisonous power of discourse: The UPA government made a great communal leap when it formed the Ministry of Minority Affairs… The creation of National Commission for Minorities is another instance of communalism… The Sachar Committee’s functioning needs to be probed… it has violated not only its terms and references but created a poisonous atmosphere. The recommendations are not [only] communal and divisive [but] a complete retreat to hey days of the Muslim Leagues’ politics”.

• Rakesh Sinha, RSS ideologue, in the Organiser, January 31, 2010. 

 
Hindutva on the Vatican: Pope a ‘dacoit’
 
“Conversion to Christianity in the pretext of service, health, education and co-operation is an insult and devaluation to the service itself and a crime against humanity… It proves that your services are selfish motivated and expansionist as well as intolerant… In all the states, districts, areas where the Christian missionaries are active and powerful, the hatred, crime, social unrest, separatism, addiction are on the increase and the environment of peace, harmony, brotherhood and happiness are fading away”.

• Indresh Kumar, in an open letter addressed by him to Pope Benedict XVI, reported by the Organiser, October 19, 2008.

 
“The pontiff, who is a dacoit, cannot be India’s guest”.

• VHP vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore in a scathing attack on Pope John Paul II, in The Telegraph, October 29, 1999.

 
“Christianity inherited this [Roman] instinct of cruelty. The Pope wants to convert us Hindus into Christianity. The West wants to have control over our destiny. Can we allow these things to happen?”

• MSN Menon, in the Organiser, March 20, 2005.

. 
Hindutva’s advise to Christians: set up Indian nationalistic churches 
 
“Indian Christians must free themselves from from the stranglehold of foreign countries by setting up Indian nationalistic churches."

• KS Sudarshan, RSS sarsanghchalak (chief), at an RSS rally in Agra. A few days earlier, Sudarshan had argued that this was essential in the interests of national security; in The Washington Times, October 18, 2000.

 
“Church is an arm of the West's defence forces. It has been used to guide Christians into domestic as well as international politics”.

• KS Sudarshan, RSS sarsanghchalak (chief), at an RSS rally in Agra, in the Fontline.

 
“An Indian Christianity not just desirable, it is a must: Indian Christians must purge their faith of… imperial distortions… Indian Christians must leave this tradition of violence. They are legatees of the Indian (Vedic) tradition of love (of humanity as a family) and the Buddhist tradition of compassion. But this also happens to be the tradition of Jesus. Christianity was born as a religion of love. Today it is a religion of hatred. This must be a matter of concern to Indian Christians. Only the guidance of a lofty world view such as that of Vedanta can release them from their predicament. Only they can save Christianity’.

• MSN Menon, in the Organiser, July 29, 2007.

 
The above quotes are just a few examples, taken mostly from the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser, which clearly shows the hostility of the sangh parivar towards the principles and values enshrined in the Indian Constitution, demonisation of Christianity and Islam, animosity and hostility towards’s the country’s Christians and Muslims. There is nothing new here.
 
The term Hindutva was coined by Vikram D Savarkar leader of the Hindu Mahasabha a century ago. In his book with the same title, he had argued that India belongs only to those for whom the country was both a pitrubhoomi (fatherland) and punya bhoomi (holy land). Madhav S Golwalker, the second and the longest serving sarsanghchalak (chief) of the RSS (1940-1973) in its 90-year-old history, till date remains the most revered ‘Guru’ of the sangh privar. In his book We, or our nationhood defined first published in 1939, had also asserted that non-Hindus may at best aspire to continue living in his imagined Hindu Rashtra as second class citizens. In the early 1960s, he had identified Muslims, Christians and communists as the three “internal enemies” who are far more dangerous than external enemies and Hindus must guard against them.  
 
Thus, what the leadership and the ideologues argue of the sangh parivar argue today, as may be seen from statements and writings such as those referred to above lie spring from the core ideas of Hindutva formulated a century ago. Even today, the sangh parivar remains committed to turning secular-democratic India in to a Hindu Rashtra.
 
As in case of the Rashtriya Muslim Manch, through the institution of the proposed Rashtriya Isai Manch, the sangh parivar wants to create a forum of RSS-friendly Christians to legitimise its anti-Constitution, anti-secular democratic, anti-minorities world views. It is important to recall that the Rashtriya Muslim Manch was floated in the aftermath of the anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002 in Gujarat under the watch of then chief minister Narendra Modi and the proclamation by the RSS top leadership that Muslims must have cordial relations with Hindus in the interests of their own safety. It is no less important to remember who Indresh Kumar, the man who is being projected as the RSS face for the proposed Christian front, is. For the Survivors Association of Kandhamal (SAK), Odisha, he along with VHP leader, PravinTogadia are the masterminds of the 2008 mass crimes against the state’s Christians. 
 
Church for combating Fanaticism and fundamentalism
Contrary to the sangh parivar’s baseless allegations of forced or induced conversions, the Church promotes the idea of “building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions, in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole”. But it also warns against the dangers of religious intolerance, fundamentalism and extremism.
 
In 2013, Cardinal Tauran, president of Justice and Peace Commission affirmed that religious freedom was a sacred and inalienable right, convinced that to deny or limit religious freedom in an arbitrary fashion means cultivating a reductive vision of the human person and rendering impossible the affirmation of an authentic and lasting peace for the whole human family.
 
During his visit to Turkey in 2014, Pope Francis stated: “Fanaticism and fundamentalism, as well as irrational fears which foster misunderstanding and discrimination, need to be countered by the solidarity of all believers. Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue can make an important contribution to attaining this lofty and urgent goal, so that there will be an end to all forms of fundamentalism and terrorism which gravely demean the dignity of every man and woman and exploit religion.
 
Cardinal Parolin, Vatican’s secretary of state is not quite optimistic about the dialogue with fundamentalists: “I don’t think that it’s possible to dialogue with fundamentalists. One can offer to dialogue, but I don’t see many opportunities of establishing a dialogue”.
 
Final Comments
Should the Church join hands with those who believe in a just, equitable and diverse world or should they seek security from communal, hate-filled and violent groups that demonise other religious traditions? This is a very important moment in history when the Church could and should join eminent writers, thinkers, academicians, film makers and civil society who speak for the overwhelming majority of all Indians and who believe in a secular democratic polity which protects and promotes the equal rights and freedoms of all citizens, including the right to freedom of religion. Of course, the Church could and should also engage in dialogue with Hindu religious leaders too. But nothing is to be gained in cozying up with the wolves of the sangh privar parading about in sheep’s clothing.
 
ajaysingho@gmail.com

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