Our cross to carry

 

 

The innocent smiling faces don’t know much about religion and are unaware their identities can cost them their education. Their school is on the verge of closure, as government wants this land to be returned to its original owner i.e. the tribal who sold this piece of land to the local church. Since the purchaser is a Christian tribal, the government refuses to accept him as one. The students of Loyalpur middle school of Gorapar village, Jashpur district, Chhattisgarh, are victims of this misplaced logic.This is the case of around a lakh children, teachers, workers etc.

The government of Chhattisgarh has ordered that tribal land, which is under the possession of a non-tribal, is to be restored to tribals, especially if it was bought after 2 October 1959. According to Article 170 b of the Land Revenue Act, tribal land cannot be sold to a non-tribal without the prior permission of government officials. The government has issued notices to more than 285 individuals and institutions in Jashpur district. According to sources, “This is for the welfare of the tribals, to save them from the exploitation of outsiders.” Out of these 285 individuals and institutions, almost all are connected to various churches. H. L Nayak, SDM, Jashpur clarifies, “No particular community or institution is targeted. Action has been taken against all those against whom complaints have been received.” Nevertheless, Father Stainy of Pathalgaon block reveals information garnered through the RTI Act. “In Pathalgaon block only, there are around 30 plots that are owned by non-tribal, non-Christians, but no action is being taken against them. In some cases, the court has ordered the administration to get the land vacated, since it belonged to tribals, but nothing is being done.” Governments were not unaware of this section 170 B of the Land Revenue Act and there had been some cases of restoring the tribal land back to its tribal owner since the 1980s. The BJP government has gone that ‘extra mile’ in the ‘welfare’ of the tribal. Rajya Sabha MP Dileep Singh Judev wrote to the government in July 2005 reminding of section 170 B of the Land Revenue Act. Judev wrote, “In my region Jashpur, the Christian missionaries have built many buildings on tribal land. This land should be returned to the tribal.” The government was galvanised into action. Land Revenue minister Brij Mohan Aggarwal wrote to land revenue secretary, R C Sinha, who in turn wrote to the District Collector. TSI tried to contact Judev and ask him why he was interested only in the land owned by church institutions, but he was not available. Ashfaq Ali, a local social activist, said, “As there are no Muslims, BJP cannot play the Hindu-Muslim card in Chhattisgarh. It is targeting the Christian tribal. All this is being done for the polarisation of the polity.” Assembly elections are round the corner, so Ashfaq may not be off the mark. When the TSI team visited different villages, it was apparent that large tracts of land is being owned by non-Christian non-tribals, but no action is forthcoming. According to Josie Kirketta, a villager and husband of the Sarpanch of Sureshpur Panchayat of Pathalagaon, “Non-tribals own around 50 acres in our village and some of this has been forcibly acquired by outsiders. No action has been taken by the administration.” The story of Jamjunvani village is even more interesting where a piece of land had been bought by the villagers collectively from a villager Thomas Lakra. It was for a cemetery and a football ground.

Villagers got it registered it in the name of late Father Pitrus, the then head of the local church. The administration wants this land for Lakra, even though Lakra has written that he doesn’t want the land. The TSI team met a number such sellers who were not desirous to take the land back, but the administration is ignoring their stance. Ruttu of Bandiyakhar village says, “I sold my land and got full payment. How can I take it back? It’s unethical.” Father Theodore Lakra of Amibikapur Bishop House in Sarguja District claims, “Every piece of disputed land has been bought by a tribal. The transfer is between tribals. If these buyers are converted, that doesn’t mean they are non- tribals. Most of these disputed tracts of land are occupied by vocational institutes. Sister Monica of Basic Training Institute Pathalgaon says, “If the government decides to acquire this land and close these institutions, not less than one lakh students, teachers and others will be affected. Can the government afford to take care of them? Most of them are tribals. Will leaving the tribals without schools and jobs not be detrimental to the tribal?”

Only awareness and better quality of life can stem the tide of conversions to other religions. Discontent can tear the society asunder. The other side

The Church alleges that Hindu organisations like RSS and VHP are behind the developments in Chhattisgarh and other parts of the country. The Hindu organisations allege that Christian missionaries are converting tribals. Their allegation is true though the reason and justification for conversions are debatable. When the TSI team visited remote places of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, it chanced upon those who had adopted Christianity. Aasa Ram Bhumia of Ramna village of Pushrajgarh block in Anuppur district of MP had recently converted to Christianity and goes to church every weekend. He says, “I was unhappy with my life. I used to drink a lot. My life was full of sorrows and problems due to poverty and my illness. One of my friends asked me to visit a church. The padre asked me to quit drinking and my life took a new turn. Two years have passed and I am happy.”

Asa Ram reveals that a formal ceremony was also performed in the church. He is motivating others to visit the church. Almost all families of his village have started going to church. At least 500 people do so every week. Acharya Giriraj Kishore of the VHP perceives it as an assault on the cultural moorings of India. It’s a national trend

Harassment is an old tactic. For instance, in Assam there is a systematic edging out of Christians. The latest in a series of incidents involves the orders given a few weeks ago to a 162-year-old-church in the city’s Fancy Bazar area to clear out to make way for the construction of a car park. Other incidents over the past decade have included an attempt to block the entry into a 150-year-old graveyard at Guwahati. Who can one turn to? “Nobody, given that the State Minorities Commission has only one member and given the political equations, quite expectedly a Muslim,” says Allen Brooks, spokesperson of the Catholic Church in the state and former member of the Minority Development Board. The trend is evident from the Northeast to the South. “Minorities in Kerala don’t face a threat from hardliners”, says Fr. Antony Punnassery, Chancellor, Major Archbishop’s House, Kochi.