Fear haunts Christians in Rajasthan tribal belt

A report sent to the NHRC by the Indian Social Institute said there were several cases of Christians being assaulted and charged in false cases, apart from being humiliated and harassed.

The missionaries listed 13 incidents. Sister Deepika, who worked in the area till recently when she had to moveto Ajmer, fearing for her safety, says the VHP has become particularly vicious since last year, in the months preceding the elections.

The VHP campaign is not confined to attacks on Christians. On August 14, it held a programme in Banswara town which destroyed the age-old harmony between local Hindus and Muslims. Speakers at the function spewed venom against minorities. As a result, at the local Deojurni Gyaras festival some days later, no Muslim came out to greet the Hindus’ procession. Earlier, the procession used to be welcomed with attar and flowers.

The programme’s aim is clear from a pamphlet brought out by the Bajrang Dal.

It declared its resolve to exhort the brave youth of the nation to “terrorise the anti-national non-Hindus” and use its programmes to rouse enthusiasm for this purpose.

The VHP has been active here since 1969, says Ram Swaroop, in-charge of the campaign in the region, when the Vishwa Hindu Kalyan Ashram was set up. Swaroop said it checked the “influence of the Christianmissionaries.”

People were now resisting the missionaries and not allowing them to enter the villages, he said. He said villagers forced the missionaries to vacate a building in Chhoti Pali village in Kushalgarh tehsil. A case is being fought and the building lies sealed.

“We had nothing to do with this. It is the natural anger of the villagers who have seen through the Christians’ conspiracy,” he said. VHP workers say, with satisfaction, that Christians in the area are now a scared lot and live in fear.

Sister Deepika said that, if any of the villagers had become antagonised, it was because of the VHP propaganda.

“They operate in a subtle manner. They rarely come to the forefront, they instigate and incite the people against us by spreading all kinds of rumours,” she said.

Citing an example, she said the VHP told villagers the Christians ate and served beef in the Holy Eucharist, when it actually consists of bread and wine. As for the role of local authorities, she said a convention ofProtestants in Saredi village last year was called off because officials refused permission. The Christians also got into trouble with the local police due to rumoured plans to slaughter an ox. The ox was being brought to Saredi by a villager who had purchased it for his use, said Deepika.

Ram Swaroop said hundreds of people had converted back to Hinduism recently during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, when the VHP organised a ceremony. The festival was introduced by the VHP, seeking to introduce mainstream Hinduism in the tribal area.