People's Democracy

DELEGATION of women visited Jhabua on February 10 to assess and understand the impact of the ‘Hindu Sangam’ organised there by the VHP on January 18. The delegation comprised members of the Ambedkar Institute of Indore, Aarti Joshi of Social Sciences Institute, Indore district JMS’s joint secretary Dorothy Francis, its secretary Kiran Chauhan and state JMS secretary Sandhya Shaily.

The citizens of Jhabua, a tribal-preponderant district of Madhya Pradesh, were forced to stay indoors on the ‘Sangam’ day because of the prevailing tension and fear. They displayed mixed reactions. Some of the local shopkeepers and employees termed it as an attempt to eradicate the evil practices prevalent among the Adivasis. They also wanted such programmes to be held regularly as it would help the Adivasis to get rid of liqour. But when questioned whether this issue found a mention during the ‘Sangam,’ their reply verged on the negative. A number of citizens felt that while the Congress had earlier been fooling the people, it was the BJP’s turn now to do so.

There was no hope for the Adivasis who had come all the way from a number of villages. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 people participated in the event. Besides Indore, Dhar, Ratlam and Khargaun districts in MP, busloads of people were brought from Dahod in Gujarat and Banswara in Rajasthan. Adivasis from the neighbouring villages, in a radius of about 8-10 km, came walking down all along to attend the Sangam. The delegation also learnt that two days before the event, two people turned up in Kuria village and assembled all the villagers with the help of the Sarpanch. They distributed porridge and pictures of Lord Hanuman, and impressed upon the villagers that they have to come to Jhabua for some governmental work. It was also rumoured that a very big-sized Hanuman would appear at the Sangam. But when, travelling on foot, the villagers reached the Sangam venue, they found to their dismay that no Hanuman appeared, nor was any official work being done for them. Only some of the villagers got food packets. Villagers from Balwant, Rotla, Phulva, Aamakhodra, etc, had had more or less the same story to narrate.

In sum, the Sangh Parivar’s effort to spread communal poison amongst the tribals by using the name of Hanuman failed to achieve the desired result. Had it not been for the sponsored crowd mobilised from various districts, it would definitely have been a flop show, just like the recent programme in Dindori Mandala. In fact, the Sangh Parivar did its utmost to mobilise a crowd this time because the very RSS chief K Sudarshan was to be present on the occasion.

But all said and done, the Adivasi participation was only one tenth of the total gathering. The use of Hanuman was a clever ploy to mobilise the tribals who clearly identify the BJP as a party that has misused Ram’s name and do not want to associate with such a party.

According to Father Thomas of Jhabua Church, some participants tried to damage Mother Mary’s statue that happened to be near the programme venue. But a timely complaint to the police and resistance from among the participants did not let the situation go out of control. Father Thomas accused the Sangh Parivar of trying, in its usual violent and ghastly tradition, to use the mobilisation against the Church and other minorities. The speeches made by Sudarshan and others also reflected this intention. They in fact wanted to use this occasion to whip up communal frenzy with an eye on the UP elections. But the restraint exercised by the minorities and the indifference displayed by the Adivasis dashed their hopes to the ground.

The delegation conveyed its strong protest to the MP government against the lax attitude of the administration and police in dealing with such events and their inability to strictly control the communal organisations. Many in the police and administration even collaborated with the RSS outfits. The RSS cadres even prevented police and administrative officials from reaching the programme’s venue, and the administration accepted all this meekly. The delegation also learnt that an RSS camp was then being held in Meghnagar. Clearly such camps are being organised to mislead the Adivasis, divert their attention from real issues and turn their struggles into communal fratricide.

The conditions in Jhabua, one of the most backward districts in the country, are pathetic. Despite the Congress party’s long rule and the BJP’s stints in power in the state, 90 per cent of the peasants of the district grow only one crop a year, and 50 per cent of the population moves to other states for 6 to 8 months for employment. The female literacy rate is a mere 6.8 per cent and the child mortality rate is 144 per 1,000 --- highest in MP atleast. Even basic amenities such as water, food and health are scarce. It is indeed shameful that even in a situation like this, the BJP and Sangh Parivar are seeking to mobilise people in the name of religion. However, the Adivasis have foiled the first such attempt in this area.

But the danger remains. The BJP and Sangh Parivar are continuing their attempts to convert the tribals to Hinduism. But this also means that they would be deprived of their distinct identity and culture, and relegated to the lowest rung of the caste system. The state government’s muddled attitude towards secularism and the negative attitude of the administration are only helping these RSS outfits. Hence if the Adivasis are not organised for struggles aimed at an amelioration of their problems, there is a real danger of the RSS succeeding in spreading communal poison in the tribal belt.

Thavaria Damor from village Kutia: The Sarpanch said it was an official meeting. So we came.

Mrs Valma from village Phulwa: They distributed Hanuman’s pictures in the village. Promised to give each a mala in the meeting and said Lord Hanuman would appear there.

Mrs Ramabai Bhagat from village Aamakhodra: Some people came to the village and said they were holding a meeting to rid the tribals of liquor. But they said nothing about it in the meeting. We sat for some time and then came back.

Ban Singh from village Totla: First the Congress made a fool of us; now it is the BJP’s turn.

Father Thomas: Missionaries have been working in Jhabua for the last 100 years and there are only 30,000 Christians in the district. Then, how the RSS got converted 50,000 to Hinduism? Cannot understand this arithmetic.

Rafiq Nizamuddin from Jhabua: In Jhabua, the Hindus, Muslims and Christians have been living together peacefully. But the RSS wants to make them fight among themselves.

Mrs Solanki from Jhabua: I was highly disappointed after this show. They said they were organising it to rid the tribals of their habit of liquor. But they said nothing of the kind.