Dang and Tapi, two districts in the southeastern part of Gujarat, are deeply affected by the illegal conversion of unsuspecting tribals living in rural areas. Even though missionaries and churches have been active here for years and the conversion of Hindu tribals is happening at a rapid pace, this issue has not caught the attention of the mainstream media, nor has there been any discussion about it. That is the reason why such activities have found a wide field in the last few years. On the other hand, the issue is not getting the attention of the state government, and the local-level leaders are also facing questions. In this situation, the condition of the Hindu community is becoming difficult day by day.
Recently, Hindu saint Morari Bapu stirred up a debate across the state after he pledged to donate ₹1 lakh to every new school to curb religious conversions and also requested the state government ministers to pay attention to this serious issue. The ministers have assured to take strict action on this issue, but the situation on the ground, some statistics and the experiences of the locals indicate that if the government does not wake up or if awareness is not spread in the society, then very soon there will be such a change in the demography that it is even difficult to imagine and the seeds of it have already been planted.
Leaders of Dev Birsa Sena, who have been active against religious conversions in Tapi for a long time, shed light on this entire nexus in a conversation with OpIndia. They have also accused local MLA Mohan Konkani, who is a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Dev Birsa Sena leader Arvind Vasava says that in just a few years, about 1500 small and big churches have come up in Tapi, and most of them are illegal. Moreover, the number of people following the Christian faith here is increasing day by day, but government records do not show this. A war is being waged by Hindu organizations against this issue as well. They said that this vile activity will be controlled only if the converts are delisted.
Conversion is taking place through enticement, temptations and superstition
Arvind Vasava says that the entire Tapi-Songhar is a tribal area. However, 1500 churches have been set up there illegally. He has also claimed that Christian priests coming from different states organize various programs in this area, from public meetings to prayer meetings. His question is that legally, this entire area is a tribal area, no one has legally become a Christian there, yet, why are such programs being organized here?
Vasava alleged that the aim of various groups of missionaries is only to convert the naive tribals here to Christianity. They are converting the tribals to Christianity by giving various temptations, luring them and spreading superstition. No person has become a Christian legally. He says that despite the protection of tribal culture being provided by the Constitution, such a large number of churches have been built in tribal areas, and various programs are being organized.
MLA Konkani himself won the election on a tribal certificate- Dev Birsa Sena
Vasava further said, “Evidence is being repeatedly sought regarding religious conversions, MLA Konkani is also seeking evidence. But people who convert never do it in public. They do this privately in their discussions. But there are tribal communities in the entire South Gujarat, they are not Christians, so why were churches built in villages in districts like Tapi? What is the need for it in tribal areas? There are no legally registered Christians here.”
He further said, “We are tribals, so what is the need for Christian public meetings and big programs in our area? Why do Christian pastors, preachers and big people from different states come to hold meetings only here? There are no legitimate Christians here, so why come here? If there is a Christian in this area, show him a government record that he is a Christian. The country runs based on the Constitution, so if you follow another faith, then mention that in the government record too.”
He further alleged that the people converted to Christianity by missionaries are referred to as tribal Hindus in government books. They are also giving up all tribal culture, traditions and festivals. He said that even during the collection of contributions for tribal festivals, these converted Christians refuse. He sighed and said, “In this way, in the next second or third generation, both we and our culture will be extinct, our very existence will be erased.”
Moreover, he has accused MLA Mohan Konkani of patronizing Christian missionaries. Vasava claims that Konkani is a tribal in the government records and has become an MLA based on a Scheduled Tribe certificate. But currently, he follows the Christian faith. He alleged that Konkani openly encourages Christian missionaries by going to their programs.
MLA Konkani was the chief guest at a public event of Christians
This entire controversy has come to light due to a viral video of MLA Konkani. In the video, Konkani was seen giving a speech as the chief guest and speaker at a public program of the Christian sect. In this video, he was telling the people present there to bring other people to the Christian program as well. Dev Birsa Sena said that the MLA has openly encouraged missionaries in the public meeting and has asked them to bring other people there.
Regarding this incident, Vasava said, “The Konkani MLA himself does not convert people, but he encourages them and creates an atmosphere. There is a village called Haripura next to his village, where a church has been built on a hill and roads and lights have also been provided there. For whose glory is all this happening? In the public meeting of Konkani Christians, they say that if you bring other people here too, then that will encourage conversions.”
Vasava further said, “The video of MLA Mohan Konkani has gone viral, in which he is speaking in a clear Christian language and style. He is a devout Christian, and seeing that, many tribals are also moving towards him. In the Konkani video, words like Jesus Prabhu and Mother Mary are also mentioned. All this needs to be stopped soon, otherwise in 10 years the tribal existence will end in South Gujarat.”
Vasava further said that a big program of Christians has been going on in the Tapi district for three days now. He said, “We have spoken to the Mamlatdar, Collector and all the officials about this and submitted a complaint. We have also told the responsible persons of the BJP, and also contacted the office of Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi. However, the program is going on openly. My society is being destroyed, and the administration is silent.”
Christians illegally occupy the tribal Kuldevi hills by removing the Hindu temple
Arvind Vasava also talked about a Hindu temple located on a hill in Niana Bandharpada village of Songadh taluka. He said that Gidhamadi Aya Dungar was the place of the tribal goddess Mata, and Hindus used to worship there. But over time, due to the rapidly growing population of Christians in this area, the movement of people on this hill gradually decreased and after that, Christian missionaries built their place there called ‘Mary Mata’s Temple’.
Arvind Vasava has said that today, tribals are not even allowed to enter that hill. Tribals cannot even see or worship their clan goddess. Christians have completely taken over the place. He claims that when tribals gather in large numbers to go to the temple for worship, they are expelled. Along with this, he gave the example of Haripura, near the village of MLA Konkani, he said that an illegal church has been built on the hill of Haripura, and it is claimed that it has a direct connection with Konkani.
What do tribal activists expect from the government?
Arvid Vasava of Dev Birsa Sena has urged the government, through OpIndia to stop the efforts of religious conversion in South Gujarat and to remove the illegal structures. He further requests that the government cooperate and listen to them to keep their culture alive. He said, “So that the culture of our tribals, our tradition, our language and our existence survive, you all should cooperate with us and stop such illegal activities at any cost. Today, there are many villages where only 10 tribals are left. The rest have abandoned the tradition of their forefathers and the Kuldevi.”
He said, “The people here have also joined hands with foreign forces to destroy tribal culture. Our only demand from the government is that our culture, customs and the legacy of our ancestors should survive, and our existence should continue. We make a clear appeal to the government to come to our side, help us…We don’t want anything.”
What did MLA Konkani say in the viral video?
BJP MLA Mohan Konkani went to address the Vanvasi community in a large gathering organized by the Christian community. The language used by Mohan Konkani in the viral video is alleged to be similar to that of a Christian pastor. He says at the beginning of his address, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I greet everyone with my love and thank God the Father for allowing me to speak.” He further mentions the word ‘John’ in his address and says, “John (who came before the birth of Jesus Christ, or was sent for the work of Jesus) wrote in the first chapter, “To all who received him and followed him, to them he gave the right to become children of God (Jesus Christ).”
Furthermore, he quotes the New Testament (the Christian Bible that came into existence after the Jewish Old Testament) and says that it says, “Come to me, all of you. I will give you rest. God has come here to do miraculous things, and he has accepted you people.” Finally, he also says, “This program is going to last for two more days, and you people have come, but now bring others too.”
What does MLA Konkani have to say?
Regarding this entire controversy, MLA Mohan Konkani told OpIndia that he is not encouraging any such conversion and if he is, then evidence should be presented and action should be taken. On being asked about going to a Christian meeting and telling the tribals, “You too come and bring others with you,” he said that as a public representative, he has to go to such programs and speak well there. He was asked, since there are no tribals legally in the Tapi area, why do the country’s biggest pastors and Christian preachers come there to hold meetings?
He replied that everyone in the country is free and can hold a meeting anywhere. If the police had permitted it, it would be more appropriate to ask the police about it. He also claimed that no application was given to him regarding this dispute. He was further questioned about the locals’ allegation that he was promoting Christian conversions in Andarkhan. In response, he said that even if it is happening in Andarkhan, evidence should be provided and action should be taken. Further, when we mentioned the Dev Birsa Sena, he said that he does not know of any such army.
Along with this, we gave voice to the local people and said, “Local people say that since the work is done secretly, there is no evidence. But a lot is coming to light even without proof. Your speech in the Christian meeting is also proof of this, in which you ask other tribals to come to the meeting.” Apart from this, the local people also raise the question that if nothing like this happens in Tapi, then why have about 1500 churches been built there and why are all Christian meetings held there? However, during the entire discussion, the MLA only talked about evidence, and instead of clearly denying his involvement, he talked about gathering evidence and taking action.
The sword of conversion looming over the tribals of South Gujarat
However, secretly Christian conversion programs and campaigns have been going on in South Gujarat and especially in Tapi-Dang for a long time. But after the statement made by Morari Bapu, a public discussion has started. Morari Bapu said that most of the teachers in this area are Christians, and they are converting tribal children to Christianity. After this statement, MLA Mohan Konkani refuted Bapu’s statement, and a few days later, he addressed a huge program of the Christian community. Since then, his video has been going viral, and the issue of conversion has gained momentum.
But the reality is that even before these incidents, Christian conversion was taking place on a large scale in the Tapi-Dang area. In December 2022, a Hindu temple was removed from Zarali village of Nana Bandharpada in Songadh, Tapi, creating a controversy. However, after the intervention of the police, Hindus got the right to worship, but they are still unable to go there. Local Hindus allege that they are being threatened by Christians and have been prevented from worshipping.
In the year 2022, 5 members of a family from Tapi were arrested. It was alleged that they had converted Hindu tribals to Christianity by misleading them. Apart from that, in July 2023, Bible readings were conducted on the occasion of Guru Purnima in a government school in Songarh, Tapi. After this incident, local Hindu organizations strongly protested and accused the school of promoting conversion. Apart from that, Christian pastors also visit Nijar, Tapi frequently, and the locals also oppose it.
Not only Tapi or Dang, but also in Navsari in South Gujarat, two Christian teacher couples were recently arrested. They were publicly insulting Hinduism and misleading people to spread Christianity. After their video went viral, the police also took action. Apart from that, in Dharampur-Kaprada of Valsad, there are allegations that big crosses and Christian settlements are being set up on hills and conversions are being done.
Apart from this, churches have been built in many Hindu societies and areas in Surat without any reason, and the Christian community goes there to pray. Ravi Nayak, a tribal activist associated with a social organization in Navsari, told OpIndia that a large-scale religious conversion campaign is going on in the rural areas of Navsari as well.
These are just a few cases that have come to light. Countless cases may have been suppressed somewhere, which may not have received coverage. Hindu organization activists say that if this issue is not addressed at the earliest, serious consequences can arise.
