Brij Lal, a converted Christian, says his community does not hold Sunday prayers for fear of violence. Last December, Narayanpur, about 250 km from state capital of Raipur, had become the epicentre of violence between tribals and converted Christians or vishwasis (believers), which had a ripple effect in neighbouring Kondagaon, Antagarh and Chitrakote areas.
The white-coloured single-storey church in Borpal village has been locked for 10 months. Ten kilometres from Narayanpur district headquarters, there is an uneasy calm in the village ahead of the assembly elections, with the divide between the tribal and Christian communities emerging as an important electoral issue.
Brij Lal, a converted Christian, says his community does not hold Sunday prayers for fear of violence. Last December, Narayanpur, about 250 km from state capital of Raipur, had become the epicentre of violence between tribals and converted Christians or vishwasis (believers), which had a ripple effect in neighbouring Kondagaon, Antagarh and Chitrakote areas.
Borpal village has a population of about 1,000, with Gond tribals outnumbering 200 Christians. On December 18, 2022, Brij Lal says, Gond tribals from 12 villages came to Borpal and gathered vishwasis in front of the church. “They threatened us and beat us up. They vandalised the church and locked it. We went to the collector but the matter was not addressed,” he says. Days later, there was a skirmish between Gond tribals and vishwasis in neighbouring Gorra village where the tribals were beaten up. On January 2, tribals from across the region, supported by right-wing groups, staged a protest at Narayanpur district headquarters, and the protest turned violent. The church at Narayanpur was vandalised and then superintendent of police Sadanand Kumar suffered head injuries. Fearing violence, the vishwasis took shelter at Narayanpur indoor stadium. About 100 persons from both communities were arrested by the police for violence and instigating violence.
“We returned to our homes after a day or two but we still can’t offer prayers at the church,” says Brij Lal.
About 10 km from Borpal village, Rajman Karanga, pastor in Terdul village, says there have been no Sunday prayers in his church since the January violence. “The incidents started way before the December-January violence,” he says, adding it is usually because of the reluctance of the Gond tribals to part with land to bury the dead of vishwasis. “On October 2, there was a death in a vishwasi family in Bhatpal village. They weren’t allowed to bury the dead for three days. They came to Benoor police station but even then they could not bury. Finally, the dead was buried in the Narayanpur cemetery. This incident led to skirmishes between the two communities and it hasn’t stopped,” he says.
While Christians feel they should be allowed to follow their religious practices, the tribals fear they are shunning the age-old practices. Raju Dugga, a Gond tribal in Narayanpur, says, “They do not realize that they are being fooled by the missionaries. Our ancient practices are very close to us and teach us a way of life. They are shunning that for easy money.”
Narayanpur’s superintendent of police SP Pushkar Sharma tells ET that the police holds regular interactions with villagers to ensure there are no skirmishes. “The two communities are encouraged to work out a solution acceptable to both sides. In many villages they have reached an agreement against holding Sunday prayers,” he says.
The divide between the two communities is impacting the upcoming polls in Narayanpur and neighbouring constituencies. Though vishwasis are small in number, elections in this region are known to be very close. In Narayanpur, sitting MLA Chandan Kashyap had defeated the BJP strongman and his uncle Kedar Kashyap by 2,647 votes. In neighbouring Kondagaon, former Congress state unit president Mohan Markam had won by 1,796 votes. However, this time the vishwasis are irked that the incumbent Congress did not protect them despite the support of the entire community. “The party has not come out openly for us,” says Paul Gawde, a resident of Narayanpur.
The CPI candidate, Phool Singh Kachlam, is reaping the benefits of this now. Campaigning extensively across the vast constituency, he says, “All the candidates in Narayanpur are outsiders. An outsider can never understand what the local people want. The vishwasis face discrimination in their own villages and are driven out almost every week.”
The Narayanpur assembly segment, which is spread across three districts of Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Bastar, has nine candidates, including from AAP, Democratic Labour Party and Janta Congress Chhattisgarh. Congress votes could get fragmented here, benefiting BJP.
