Christian Bribery of Hindu Poor

[Guest guest]

Caught between two faiths, village lets food have final say

 

VHP claims success in reconvertion, Dalits say

Christ will return if christians assure meals

 

Amit Sharma

 

Jamua (Jaunpur), April 26: LAST week, Dalits of

Jamua village in Jaunpur district woke

up to their importance in a game of faith.

After promises by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad

(VHP) that their backward village will be

provided with a pucca road, school, and hospital

among other things, they laid down their Bibles

and crosses and proclaimed themselves

Hindus. A week later, they say they're ready to

put Christ back on their mud walls if they're

assured a square meal a day.

 

``We do not know what Hinduism or Christianity

is all about, but one thing's for sure: with a

Jesus portrait in our house, at least we get

our meals,'' says Sadhuram. He and his wife

Ramdhari `converted' on April 17 after a

ceremony that yielded them a signed certificate

from VHP's Kashi unit that they were converting

out of their own free will and a locket.

 

Sadhuram is illiterate.

But he says he will no longer remain a Hindu, a

view that's echoed by other villagers. ``Jaha

bhojan mili wohi rahal jaye, (We will live

there where we get meals),'' says Jaganath, a

neo-convert, in Bhojpuri.

 

The barometer of faith seems to be free

distribution of meals in weekly prayers organised

every Sunday and distribution of bibles

translated into Hindi. Though the Dalits speak of

Englishmen who come in buses to spread the

message of Jesus, the heads of mainline

churches in Varanasi, around 30 kms from here,

deny their involvement in conversion.

 

``Our job is not to force people to covert.

This could be the handiwork of freelance sects

working on their own. No mainstream church is

involved in conversions,'' said Satyanand,

president of the Indian Missionary Society in

the district. Bishop Patric D Souza, head of a

Catholic church a few kilometers away, echoes

similar feelings: ``We don't convert but

spread the message of humanity. Anybody can go

anywhere and sell the benefits of

conversion to people.''

 

The VHP sees a conspiracy. ``They

are working with the sole mission of

converting as many people as possible so that

their religion can spread. But we will not sit

idle. Jamua is just the beginning and we will

continue to expose the conspiracy behind

conversion before illiterates and poor

people,'' said Nandu, a local VHP volunteer. Their now

plan to move to Ratanpur, Murdhi, Parapati and

Sulanipur, all neighbouring villages.

 

It's a long haul for the VHP: the Dalits in

this belt were converted several years ago, and

swapping a cross for a locket is easier done

than meant. ``We will put up photos of Jesus if

we find ourselves uncomfortable with the new

arrangement,'' shrugs Rajaram.