The growing attacks on Christian Adivasis in Chhattisgarh took an ugly turn on December 18 as more than 500 people from 19 villages in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts have been forcefully evicted from their houses allegedly by Hindu right wing who for the last few months have been reportedly trying to forcefully convert them to Hinduism in the name of Gharwapsi.
The evicted families with their bare minimum resources then gathered outside the Narayanpur collectorate office. Suman Mandavi (name changed on request), one of the residents of Narayanpur district, tells Outlook , “For the whole night we stayed there in the chilling cold. We were not given anything. Next day, we were assured by the SP and the district collectorate that the FIR would be lodged. And we were asked to go to Benur police station. But even there, we stayed up to night and not a single report had been lodged,”
As per the local sources, they were then given a government quarter where basic water and electricity connection were even not available. They left the place and started staying in tents at Narayanpur jungle area. Upon protests, around 300 of them had been given place in the district Indoor stadium but the police have not yet lodged any FIR.
They have already submitted their application to the district collector (DC) and SP, Naryanpur and mentioned that how local BJP leaders for the last three months have made their lives impossible for their belief in Christianity.
The application accessed by Outlook finds that only in December itself 41 incidents of forceful eviction, beating, molestation, snatching food grains and tractors occurred in the district, while in November the number stands at 15.
The application names 26 people including prominent political figures such as Narayanpur BJP district president Rupsai Salam, Benur BJP district president Fuldhar Kachlam, Zila panchayat member Ratan Salam and RSS functionary Mangaru Ram. However no action has been taken yet.
Vikrant Kumar (name changed on request), a social activist who has been working for the cause of Adivasis for long, tells Outlook , “On 18th December at least 2000 people gathered near the collectorate office for protest. But now people are scattered in different places. In Indoor Stadium around 300-400 people are staying, while the rest are staying in different parts. We are not getting any support from the administration. People don’t even know what to do and what not.
This story was originally published in outlookindia.com. Read the full story here