Delegates Participating in ISKCON's 'Janajati Sammelan' in Mayapur Highlight Foreign Missionaries' Role in Erosion of Tribal Culture

Amid allegations from the Adibasi Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (AVKA), an organisation ideologically aligned with the BJP, that foreign missionary groups are actively converting tribal communities across Bengal and other parts of India, the three-day Janajati Sammelan (Tribal Convention) at ISKCON's headquarters in Sri Dham Mayapur became a platform for voicing concerns against such activities.

- RAJIB CHAKRABORTY

Tribal delegates from Eastern, North-eastern, and Central India attended the convention, raising alarms over the erosion of their indigenous culture. The event, organised by ISKCON, aimed to empower tribal communities through education, women's development programmes, economic upliftment, and health-care initiatives.

Representatives from various tribal groups—Santhal, Oraon, Munda, Ho, Bhumij, Kharia, Birhor, Mahali, and Shabar—spanning West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, as well as regions in the Northeast and Central India, participated in the gathering. Many attendees voiced their resentment against missionary organisations, accusing them of exploiting poverty and illiteracy to convert tribal populations.