This Christmas, fear rules Tantray146;s village

The Tantray home reflects this tension. An atmosphere of uncertainty hangs within its humble walls. Bashir Ahmad Tantray8217;s two brothers, their ailing, bed-ridden father and baffled, frail mother, have become adept at verbal restraint. Words come out only in whispers through half-open lips and sentences are left incomplete.

8220;Our brother was a genuine social worker. He helped the poor with money and facilitated education of their children. He was not a real Christian. He joined the Christian groups to help people,8221; says Bashir8217;s brother Ashraf. Ashraf says they were sore over their brother8217;s 8220;social commitment8221; and had tried hard to dissuade him from it, but in vain. 8220;He didn8217;t pay heed to us,8221; he says as the groans of their sick father Abdul Jabar fill the stuffy room.

Jabar, though long ailing, hasn8217;t been able to rise from bed after his son8217;s death. However, the sense of being targets isn8217;t limited to the Tantray household. Across the village, people appear withdrawn and feel their religious bonafides were under the scanner. The word Christianity seems to have become taboo in the village and many of the villagers blame Bashir Tantray for bringing a 8220;bad name8221; to Mamoosa.

8220;Life has become difficult for us. Maybe some have converted in our village but all of us have to bear the brunt,8221; says Abdul Salam, a resident.

The fear is not unfounded.

Across the Valley, the resentment brewing against conversions is feeding the larger political cauldron already exhibiting signs of paranoia over a perceived 8220;demographic threat to the majority community8221;. There are fears that any further politicisation of conversion could end up making it a side issue of separatist militancy.

In fact, separatists, backed by Muslim religious leaders, are unsparing. 8220;It is a systematic exploitation of poverty in Kashmir. We will not tolerate it,8221; says hardline separatist leader of the Hurriyat faction led by Syed Ali Shah

Geelani. But after Tantray8217;s killing, the state Government has become wary. A 8220;secret advice8221; had already gone to Christian groups in the Valley to maintain a low profile and 8220;not do anything to draw attention8221;, sources reveal.

So this Christmas, there will be no ceremony to pay tribute to Tantray, the first convert in the Valley to have been directly targeted in the anti-Christian violence.

Last year, a woman teacher from West Bengal was killed and another injured when a grenade was lobbed at a south Kashmir missionary school.

Tantray was killed on November 21 while standing outside Mamoosa8217;s grand mosque, talking to some villagers. He had returned to the village after a long time.

Tantray8217;s mother Shahmal, sitting in a corner of the room, is oblivious to the larger dimensions of her son8217;s death. Her tragedy is private and deeply personal. 8220;I lost my eldest child, my breadwinner,8221; she murmurs to herself.

The only sign of her strength are thick braids of grey hair clustered about her shoulders. She is anxious about Tantray8217;s wife and his four kids.