Gunpoint Conversions

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>From rediff.com:

 

Tribals unite against conversions in Tripura

Syed Zarir Hussain

 

Tribal Hindus in Tripura have formed vigilante groups to thwart

attempts by separatist militants to convert people to Christianity at

gunpoint, community leaders said on Thursday.

 

"It is a very serious threat to Hinduism with armed militants of the

outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura forcibly converting

tribal villagers to Christianity," said Rampada Jamatia, a leader of

the Jamatia tribe.

 

"We believe up to 5,000 tribal villagers were converted to

Christianity by the NLFT in the past two years," Jamatia told IANS in

Jirania, 25 km east of Agartala.

 

At least 20 Hindu tribals, including a senior priest of the Jirania

Ashram, Santi Kali Maharaj, have been killed by NLFT rebels in the

past two years for disobeying orders.

 

Tribals constitute about 30 per cent of Tripura's population of 3.19

million. Christians form a meager 10 per cent of the total, while the

majority are Hindus.

 

Community chiefs and religious heads of 19 tribes, who met recently,

have now formed the Tribal Culture Protection Committee to counter

the threat posed by the NLFT.

 

"The forum would discuss ways and means to tackle the threat to our

religion and culture," Bikram Bahadur Jamatia, a tribal chieftain

said.

 

The NLFT, fighting for an independent tribal homeland since 1989, has

issued diktats asking Hindu villagers against celebrating religious

festivals.

 

"The NLFT has been trying to foment sectarian tension between the

tribal and non-tribal population in Tripura, a trend that has serious

implications," a senior police officer said.

 

Church leaders, however, deny any forcible conversions in Tripura.

 

"In fact, a number of our priests and missionaries have been the

target of attacks by unidentified miscreants over the past couple of

years," a senior priest of the Roman Catholic church in Tripura said.

 

"We cannot, however, vouch on behalf of the NLFT which is a rebel

group."

 

Insurgency in Tripura can be traced to the massive influx of Bengali-

speaking refugees from east Pakistan following the Partition in 1947.

 

The tribals, who accounted for 95 per cent of the population of

Tripura in the 1931 census, have now been reduced to a mere 30 per

cent.

 

"This change in the demographic pattern has led to serious discontent

among the tribals," Bijoy Hrangkhawl, former chief of the separatist

Tripura National Volunteers told IANS.

 

Radical Hindu religious groups in the region have all along been

accusing Christian missionaries of forceful conversions.

 

Indo-Asian News Service