'Converted Tribals Shouldn’t Get Reservation Benefits': Tribals in Chhattisgarh launch protest, demand ban on the missionary conversion activity
They also demanded that converted tribals should not get the benefits of reservation. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is running a nationwide campaign to make people aware of the fraudulent conversion activities by churches and mosques
The tribal people of Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh launched a movement for a ban on religious conversions blatantly carried out by the Christian Missionaries in their area under the guise of social work.
The poor, nature-loving tribal people were forced to take to the street due to the alleged inaction of the government, administration, and the police in curbing such conversion attempts by the Christian missionaries in their areas. Chhattisgarh has a Congress government headed by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
The movement was started by the tribals of 10 Gram Panchayats in Abujhmad. They have warned the local administration that if the conversion of tribals does not stop, there would be forced to launch a fierce agitation.
The VHP launched a 12-days nationwide campaign on December 20 to make people aware of the unlawful conversions carried out by churches and mosques.
In the just-concluded Winter session of Parliament, the leadership of the VHP met more than 300 MPs (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha) to discuss why the converted tribals should not get the benefit of reservation.
In the ongoing meeting of its Central Board of Trustees and Governing Council in Junagad in Gujarat, the VHP passed a unanimous resolution demanding the Union government to make necessary amendments in the Constitution to exclude the converted tribal people from the list of Scheduled Tribes.
“Many Courts in the country including the Honourable Supreme Court has on many occasions given rulings in this regard. How long will the tribal brothers and sisters be kept deprived of their constitutional rights?”, Shri Alok Kumar, International Working President VHP, said.
In Abujhmad, the villagers held a meeting to discuss this issue. They said that their movement was aimed at saving their indigenous culture, tradition, and religious practices and they will not spare the conspirators.
The villagers said that due to conversion, incidents of disputes and conflicts have increased in their area. Moreover, the converted tribal people continue to get the benefits of reservation at par with those non-converted. Recently, in an incident in Alnar village in Abujhmad, some converted tribals thrashed a Hindu tribal youth. He sustained serious head injuries.
This incident infuriated the local people who gathered in Akabeda village to raise their voices against conversion. They also demanded to stop giving the benefits of reservation to the converted tribal persons.
(Courtesy: NewsBharati)
