Hindu aggressive missionaries attack tribal groups

Sangh's new Kumbh to take Hindutva offensive to the Dangs
Wednesday September 21 2005 09:21 IST
JARSOL (THE DANGS): Far away from the national limelight in this =
interior village in south-east Gujarat, the RSS and its affiliates are =
making preparations on a mega scale for the holding of 'Shabari Kumbh =
mela' early next year.

The mela-expected to be attended by around five lakh (500.000) pilgrims =
from across the country-is part of the RSS offensive against Christian =
missionaries and an attempt to establish Hindutva in this =
adivasi-dominated district, Sangh activists at the site said ('adivasi' =
are non-hindu tribals). The Dangs had hit the headlines following =
attacks on churches and missionary schools in December 1998. Since then, =
no open violence has taken place but the RSS and its affiliate =
organisations-notably the Hindu Jagran Manch and the Vanvasi Kalyan =
Ashram-have been steadily working to ''Hinduise'' the Bhils, Konkanis, =
Varli and other tribes that live in the heavily forested Dangs region.

And just like the Ramjanmabhoomi movement in the 1980s, here too the =
legend of the Ramayana is being used to invent a new tradition. The RSS =
outfits have hit upon the figure of Shabari-the adivasi woman who =
offered 'ber' to Rama and Lakshmana when they were searching for Sita in =
the forest-to bring the adivasis into the Hindutva fold and =
counter-efforts at alleged ''conversion'' by Christian missionaries.

In October 2004, a grand Shabari Mata Mandir was inaugurated atop a hill =
near a place called Subir, 33 kilometres from the district headquarters =
of Ahwa. The temple supposedly commemorates the ''exact spot'' where =
Rama and Lakshmana met Shabari. Several top BJP and RSS leaders =
including RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan and Gujarat chief minister Narendra =
Modi have been regular visitors to the temple.

To follow up on the success of the temple, RSS affiliates decided to =
hold a 'Shabari Kumbh mela'' at a little natural pool formed by the =
Purna river which they claim is the same 'Pampa Sarovar' mentioned in =
the Ramayana.

The ideological 'guru' of the movement is Swami Asheemananda, a =
saffron-robed Bengali ''saint,'' who arrived in the Dangs region in =
1997. Speaking to this website's newspaper outside the Shabari Mata =
Mandir, Asheemananda made no bones about the aims of the 'Shabari Kumbh =
Mela.'

''Hindu samaj faces two big challenges-Islamic jehad and Christian =
conversions. We need to confront both these threats on a global scale,'' =
he said. The four traditional kumbh melas (held at Prayag, Hardwar, =
Nasik and Ujjain) had begun when ''Hinduism was under threat''. ''We =
thought it was time to start a fifth Kumbh to meet the threat posed by =
conversions in this region,'' Asheemananda said.

Proudly taking credit for inspiring the 1998 attacks, Asheemananda, who =
holds the post of Shraddha Jagran Pramukh of the All India Vanvasi =
Kalyan Ashram (the RSS affiliate which converts tribals to Hinduism), =
said over the last seven years, thousands of Christian converts in the =
region had ''returned to the Hindu fold.'' The Shabari Kumbh Mela, =
scheduled to be held for the first time from February 11-13 and then =
every four years, would end missionary activity in the Dangs and =
establish it as a key pilgrimage centre of India, he maintained.

Activists belonging to the RSS, VHP, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and other =
affiliates are working round-the-clock to make that a reality. A camp =
site has been set up at a clearing in the forest, and a kilometre-long =
road is being constructed from the camp to the Pampa Sarovar site.

Busloads of Gujarati tourists as well as RSS swayamsevaks have already =
started coming to Pampa Sarovar. At the camp site, a meeting of =
'karyakartas' was being held when the Express team visited the spot. The =
model of 'nagars' (townships) that will soon be constructed to house the =
kumbh mela pilgrims is ready. A total of 40 nagars, each housing 5,000 =
persons, will be constructed. Apart from 'pucca' arrangements for two =
lakh pilgrims, tents and other facilities will accommodate another =
couple of lakhs, said local activist Shambhu Chavan.

Swami Asheemananda said while food and shelter would be ''provided by =
us'', the government would help in transport, medicine, water and =
electricity.

While Christian missionaries are keeping silent about the RSS' =
''peaceful offensive,'' adivasis in the villages around the temple and =
mela site as well as local activists are far from happy.

Laxman Bagul, who lives in Kangariyamal village opposite the Shabari =
Mata Mandir, said the villagers had already suffered because of the =
temple. The Kumbh Mela would make things much worse. ''We are harassed =
by forest officials even if we cut a single tree. But over 700 trees =
were cut to build the Shabari temple. And thousands more will be =
destroyed to build the 'nagars' near the Pampa Sarovar.''

Ghulabbhai Pawar of the Dangi Lok Adhikar Sangh said the Kumbh Mela =
posed a threat not just to the indigenous beliefs and lifestyle of the =
adivasis but also spelt an ecological disaster. ''The entire population =
of the Dangs is just 1.86 lakhs. The biggest mela we have is the Dangi =
darbar (when the five traditional Bhil rajas are given government =
pension every March) which is attended by just around 10,000. A Kumbh =
mela with lakhs of pilgrims will completely destroy the environment of =
this region.''

The adivasis of the district, activists said, are too poor and ignorant =
to resist the Hindutva offensive. And though the Dangs is dominated by =
the Congress-the MP, MLA and majority of sarpanches belong to the =
party-there is no political movement yet against the long-term =
implications of the Shabari Kumbh Mela on the culture and ecology of the =
Dangs.