A Catholic bishop has refuted a media report about indigenous Christians in his northeast Indian diocese reverting to their indigenous faith.
“It appears to be a ploy to sensationalize religious conversion and target Christians,” said Bishop Paul Mattekatt of Diphu diocese in Assam state.
The news of about 150 men and women participating in “rituals symbolizing their reversion to Barithe Dharma, their original religious practice,” appeared in the Organizer on March 20.
The weekly mouthpiece of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent outfit of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claimed the rituals were held on March 18 in Diphu, the headquarters of Karbi Anglong district.
The event was hailed as a “new chapter in the ongoing ghar wapsi [homecoming] movement in the state” of Assam.
Ghar wapsi is the name given to a nationwide campaign run by the RSS through its affiliate organizations to convert tribal Christians to Hinduism or indigenous faith.
However, Bishop Mattekatt said he had personally verified the authenticity of the report and found no conversion or reconversion of indigenous Christians in his diocese.
“This kind of false news is to create confusion and mistrust among ordinary people who do not understand the reality of such claims,” the prelate told UCA News on Mar. 22.
He said it is wrong to presume that tribal Christians are shallow when it comes to their faith practices.
“It is true our people are poor. That doesn’t mean that their faith is shallow and they easily give it up,” the prelate said.
The news comes close on the heels of some hardline Hindu groups in the state demanding the removal of all Christian symbols including churches or chapels from the premises of Christian schools.
The groups accused Christians of promoting religious conversion through their schools.
They wanted priests, nuns and religious brothers working in schools to stop wearing their habits and adopt traditional Indian dresses.
Allen Brooks, the spokesperson of the Assam Christian Forum, said the Hindu groups may be changing their narrative.
“Until recently they made claims of reconversion of Christians to Hinduism, but now they say return to ‘ancestral roots’ when it comes to indigenous people,” he pointed out.
The RSS and its affiliate organizations claim the indigenous faith systems as part of Hinduism.
Brooks said the Hindu groups will continue to target Christians and their institutions in one way or another.
“The malicious campaigns will continue because the government in power is not taking action against the perpetrators” he added.
Assam is ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Christians form 3.7 percent of the northeastern state’s 31 million people. Hindus are about 60 percent and Muslims are 35 percent of the total population.
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