Shabri Kumbh mela fizzles out

It’s a battle won against endless odds!

From our correspondent Dr. George Karimalil

 For the first time since Christianity arrived in India, the Christian community has risen as one body to face the mighty onslaught of Hindutva forces in Dangs district of Gujarat. The unity with which the community has risen to the occasion, the precision with which it has neutralised every calculated anti-Christian move, the confidence with which it has outmanoeuvred the enemy – it is something that has never happened before.  

The united resistance has taken the Sangh Parivar elements by surprise. The Christian community has been known for its meekness, refusing to hit back. All that the community used to do is to hold protest marches and send innumerable petitions to the higher-ups and then keep quiet. And for the first time it has changed.  

Dangs had all the trappings of a major battle. The Hindutva forces were out to seize the innocent tribal community in the district, most of them being Christians, and re-convert them to Hindu faith. Full-scale preparations were made in advance with their leaders monitoring the situation on a minute-to-minute basis. Their frenzied activists went around, posting saffron flags on all places belonging to their supporters. It was an easy way to target all those who were not part of their group. This was also done to instil a sense of fear in them.

 
More than 60,000 people (not the projected 500,000!) arrived for the three-day mega Shabri Kumbh mela. They were brought in from different parts of India, mainly from the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. They were an indoctrinated crowd. One provocative word was enough to make them go berserk. It was a volatile situation, ready to explode any time.  

But the Christian leaders under the leadership of the All India Christian Council did not remain as mute spectators. They went around, meeting top leaders of the nation and put them on the alert. They met the Union Home Minister and made him act by sending Central forces to Dangs and also issuing instructions to the Gujarat Government to safeguard the interests of tribal Christians and their properties. They called upon the ministers in Gujarat and put pressure on them. They briefed the police in the state of what was happening and made them take care of all security needs with active support from the central forces.  

The aicc units from different states also gave a representation to the Union Home Minister through their respective chief ministers to put pressure on him to act. In Maharashtra, a delegation of aicc leaders called on the Chief Minister and appealed to him to respond to the urgency of the situation. He immediately issued instructions to have all the areas bordering Gujarat sealed to check infiltrations to Dangs and imposed Section 144. 

A special mention needs to be made about the support given by Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh. An aicc delegation met him, seeking his intervention in defusing the situation. True to his secular credentials, he moved fast, putting pressure on the Gujarat Government. Narendra Modi was so offended by the gesture that he openly attacked the HRD Minister for his intervention in the matter.  

The Christian Council simultaneously filed an appeal before the High Court in Gujarat to issue   guidelines to the State Government on protecting and safeguarding the tribal Christians in Dangs. Although the High Court did not stay the Shabri Kumbh, it gave several directions to the Gujarat Police and the administration, which included keeping a close watch on Viswa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader KS Sudarshan. 

The Christian Council also sent its people to different parts of Dangs, expressing solidarity with the fear-stricken tribals. They got the central as well as state security forces to span out to protect the minority community and their institutions. They put their men at every sensitive point in the district to keep a watch. The print and electronic media played their vigilant role to perfection.  

Countless were the forces that worked hard to make it happen. Things would not have happened this way but for the alacrity with which the SC/ST 
Confederation took various initiatives to safeguard the interests of the Tribal Christian community. The Confederation also made a representation to the Governor of Gujarat. Similarly ANHAD's initiative to file a case in the Supreme Court against the distribution of CDs containing anti-Christian material served as a blow right on the face of the Sangh Parivar.  

Equally matching was the support extended by various Christian bodies across the world. On its part, Christian Solidarity Worldwide secured international intervention to encourage the Indian Government to take all precautionary measures to safeguard fundamental rights of hapless tribal Christian community in Dangs.

So much so that the Sangh Parivar, fully backed by the Gujarat Government, could not do anything, except spit venom on the Christian community. There was nothing more left for them to do except to make some carefully worded statements to save their skin. Launching a tirade against alleged conversions, firebrand Viswa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader KS Sudarshan gave a clarion call to the tribals to awaken and counter those who “are carrying out attacks on the Hindu society''. In his opening address, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said time had come for converted tribals to go back to Hinduism. Stating that he would not tolerate conversions, the Chief Minister targeted Christian missionaries, saying medical services were an allurement to convert poor and illiterate tribals.

Some might still wonder if the situation was exaggerated by the human rights groups.  It was not certainly exaggerated as tribal Christians from several villages around Shabri were very scared, fearing attacks any time.  Some of them, especially the men folk left the villages during the mela, leaving their wives and children behind. The bitter memories of what happened in the district eight years ago were still fresh in their mind. Around Christmas in 1998 the Hindutva forces went around attacking tribal Christians and their properties in the name of protecting Hindu culture and religion – something that shocked the conscience of the nation.  

The Hindutva forces are indeed upset now. Their years of planning and calculations and huge spending have been spoiled by the pro-active stand taken by the Christian leadership and their secular allies.  Naturally they are not going to sit quiet.  They are bound to do something else to 'recover' the lost tribals to Hindu fold.  

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