The Hindu : Making inroads into the tribal belt

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Thursday, Mar 18, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

Making inroads into the tribal belt

Tribal students at the school run by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in Chhatisgarh. - Photo V. Sudarshan.

Aarti Dhar

JAGDALPUR (CHHATTISGARH)

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh has woven an intricate network through its numerous affiliates to reach out to the tribal villages of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to promote `Hindutva.' Operating as social workers under different names, the members of these organisations work towards "inculcating a feeling of self-respect and confidence among the tribal people and bringing them back into the Hindu mainstream."

These groups have been persuading the people to "go back to their roots in Hindu culture," and this translated into votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the last few elections. The shift in loyalty by the tribals, who have traditionally voted for the Congress since Independence, catapulted the BJP to power in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. "It was an experiment that has succeeded and will now be promoted on a large scale," says the Vishwa Hindu Parishad State president, Ramesh Modi.

The RSS first set up Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams and now, the VHP's Ekal Vidyalayas are catching up fast. "Ekal Vidyalaya is a single-teacher primary school where the tribal students are given lessons on Hindu culture and religion besides the normal academic course," says Mr. Modi. These schools were started to counter the Christian missionaries who were providing the tribals with the four `As' — Akshar (education), Anna (foodgrains), Arogya (healthcare) and Aradhana Sthal (place of worship) — but were often accused of promoting conversions. Since it was felt that the tribals were drifting away, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams adopted the `Indianised' version of the same principle to lure them back. The latest addition is the opening of `satsang kendras' in villages where people come together to practice their `dharma sanskriti.' The Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams are spread over 32 districts, covering 32,295 villages and 68,252 families.

The VHP and the RSS and the VHP decided to provide the four As through a network of `social organisations'. The political results are there for all to see. This Hindukaran (Hinduisation) of the tribals includes celebration of the Ganesh festival, Ramlilas and Geeta Paath besides making them use `Ram Ram' to greet each other. Even in Ekal Vidyalayas — run by the Friends of Tribals Society — some time is devoted for education on culture and religion.

An Ekal Vidyalaya teacher was killed by naxalites for taking classes on culture despite their opposition. Begun four years ago, over 600 Ekal Vidyalayas are now functional in the tribal districts and are expected to churn out "totally Hinduised products who will be nationalists to the core."

It has been planned to open 10,000 Ekal Vidyalayas across the country. As many as 4,000 schools are already functioning in the tribal belts and the target is 50,000 schools by 2005.

Chhattisgarh has been chosen for the VHP's activities due to the large number of conversions here. The VHP's central committee has sanctioned two mobile hospitals, to be based at Dantewada in the south and Pathalgaon in the northern tip, to provide state-of-the-art treatment.

While things seem to be working well for these `social organisations', the leaders still feel that if the construction of a Ram Mandir at Ayodhya is not raised during the elections, the positive results for the BJP could see a reversal.

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