The Hindu : Jashpur: A turf for `holy war'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 21, 2002

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Jashpur: A turf for `holy war'

By Aarti Dhar

JASHPUR NAGAR (CHHATTISGARH) NOV. 20. Tucked away in the extreme northern tip of Chhattisgarh is the tribal-dominated district of Jashpur. The debate here is more about the influence of Christian missionaries on the local population than on the need for development. Having always remained virtually inaccessible -- with some roads having just been laid -- Christian missionaries have taken upon themselves the responsibility of providing education and health facilities to this remote area at a time when hardly any Government official visits here and a transfer to this place is considered a "punishment posting''.

Having seen little of Government infrastructure and more of missionary help, the rate of conversions here has always remained high with nearly 30 per cent of the population being tribals who have adopted Christianity for the past few generations. Little wonder then that Asia's second largest Catholic church is situated in Kunkuri, about 40 km from the district headquarters at Jashpur Nagar. When completed in 1968, it was the largest with a seating capacity for 5,000! The church took 15 years to complete and the iron used in its construction was brought from Rourkela. Designed by Father Joseph R.C. who came from Bombay, the construction was carried out under the supervision of Father Bandustain.

The maximum conversions have been reported from the Oraon tribe, otherwise considered a hard-working and financially better off community. Since Oraons dominate the tribal population here, the percentage of conversions has been high. Most other tribal communities have resisted conversions. "I call it service with a motive,'' says the highly vocal Bharatiya Janata Party MP, Dilip Singh Judeo, who has been very active in his party's "ghar vapsi'' (re-conversion) campaign. If the missionaries claim to do pure service to the poor, they should not promote conversions, Mr. Judeo adds.

Putting across his point, he says there have been instances of forced conversions also. "Re-conversions is a national and religious service. People might change their religion but can they change their ancestors'' he asks while demanding strict action against those indulging in conversions.

There has been a marked check on conversions in the past couple of years, at least no public conversions have come to notice. According to the Collector, M.R.Sarathi, there have been no conversions in the district for the past two years, though the missionaries are active in the field of education and health. ``We have nothing against Christ or Christianity. Our opposition is to conversions,'' says P.D.Sapre, Secretary of Banwasi Kalyan Ashram, a non-governmental organization working for upliftment of the tribal and backward people to bring them into the national mainstream. The ashram has done pioneering work in providing education to the tribal children and attempting to enlighten them about their rich Hindu traditions and culture.

The missionaries came to Jashpur and its adjoining areas of Surguja and Raigarh way back in 1845 when they operated from Ranchi in the Chhota Nagpur region. It was Father Lewis who gave a boost to the Catholic movement in the region in 1885 and built a GEL church in Chhota Nagpur. Within seven years over 69,000 people had adopted Christianity in the region. The oldest church of Jashpur is a little distance away from Kunkuri and it came up in 1906 when the Bishop was based in Ranchi. The first Bishop of this church was Oscar Sevrin who served in Ranchi until 1951 and was made the Bishop of Raigarh and Ambikapur, a responsibility he shouldered until 1957.

Bishop Sevrin was succeeded by Bishop Stanislas Tigger who served until 1970, followed by Bishop Francis. Between 1970 and 1971, Bishop Francis Ekka served for Raigarh and Ambikapur region and after re-organisation he took over as the Bishop of Raigarh. The present Bishop is Victor Kindoh under whose jurisdiction come the Jashpur and Raigarh mission centres. There are 58 mission centres in the region with about 40 in Jashpur district alone. Last year, the church celebrated the golden jubilee of its existence that was marked by a special function in which thousands of catholics from across the world participated.

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Jashpur: A turf for `holy war'