Catholic activists have refuted a claim by a leading pro-Hindu party leader that large-scale religious conversions are taking place in an eastern Indian state known for its tribal population.
“I am one hundred percent sure that there has been no religious conversion from Hinduism or any other religions to Christianity,” said Ratan Tirkey, a former member of the tribal advisory committee of eastern Jharkhand state where indigenous people constitute more than 26 percent of the population. We are in touch with the local administration as rules stipulate a prior nod from it to change religion, he said. Hindu groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (world assembly of Hindus) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent party of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been accusing Christian missionaries of religious conversions among Jharkhand’s 33 million people. “It is just a claim, there is no truth in it,” said Tirkey, a tribal activist. Jharkhand, currently ruled by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, enacted a draconian anti-conversion law in 2017 and joined 11 other Indian states where the sweeping law is in full force. Tribal people, who follow their traditional worship practices, are grouped as Hindus under India’s census, a practice started by colonial British officials for practical administrative purposes. They make up nearly 9 percent of the South Asian nation’s mammoth 1.4 billion population. To prevent conversion among tribal people and the Dalits, the RSS runs a nationwide campaign called Ghar Wapsi (homecoming). While campaigning for polls in Jharkhand on May 22, Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of north-eastern Assam state from Modi’s party, alleged massive conversion by Christian missionaries in Jharkhand. “Missionaries are blamed for interfering in the life of tribal people. But I would say because of missionaries’ tribal people are able to safeguard their culture,” the Christian leader said.