Days after Narayanpur violence, a pledge to maintain harmony

The meeting was called after violence broke out over two days (January 1 and January 2) in which seven policemen, including the SP, were attacked.

The tension between the two communities led to villages banishing 500 tribals following Christian faith since November last year. These tribals were kept in an indoor stadium by the district administration and 125 of them are still staying there, while the rest are said to have returned.

The meeting went on for two hours and was attended by 300 people, an administration official said. Speaking with The Indian Express after the meeting, Vasant said: “We made the village leaders understand that progress and development must be our priority. There should be no room for violence.”

When asked when and how the remaining 125 people from four gram panchayats will be taken back, Vasant said: “We will first go to the village and convince the villagers to allow these people stay there. We will ensure they do not face any violence. We intend to send them back in four to five days. Meanwhile, we have arranged teachers from a government school to take care of the studies of 36 children.”

Another issue faced by tribals following Christianity is that they are not “allowed to bury bodies in the village till they promise to give up Christianity”. At least two bodies were brought several kilometres away and buried in the common cemetry in city. Vasant said: “If this issue comes up in future, we will take appropriate action.”

The leaders, too, expressed their views on how conversion is affecting tribal culture and customs. The collector told them that such instances need to be dealt with dialogue and discussion and use of violence tarnishes the image of the village and creates hurdles in development work.

On January 1, a group of tribals following Christianity allegedly attacked majority tribals in Gorra village. When the police tried to stop them, they too were allegedly attacked. In retaliation, around 2,000 tribals vandalized a church in the city . So far, 26 people from both communities have been arrested.