Cross to Bear

Tribals, who adopted Christianity, face the threat of violence in Bastar nine months after attack on churches in Narayanpur

- Rakhi Bose Raunak Shivhare

TWENTY-one-year-old Sudhman Gowde had been in a cheery mood a day after the New Year festivities on January 1 when news of violence started pouring into the remote Chinnari village in Narayanpur district on the northwestern border of Bastar where he lives. Violence had broken out across nearby villages where Adivasis were attacking the homes of Vishwasis (tribals following Christianity). Churches had also been attacked. Gowde felt nervous but he was not too worried. “I grew up in this village and I have been practising Christianity since 2016,” he says. “I’ve never felt any animosity before. It was only since last year that tensions began.”

On January 1-2, violence broke out across the villages of Narayanpur including the district centre where Adivasis attacked and clashed with Vishwasis. Both sides clashed in places like Gorra village. Christian tribal families were asked to renounce Christianity or leave the village by village elders and religious heads like the Patels, Gayetas and Parmas. If they refused, they faced the threat of violence. There was no room for negotiation. “Mobs were arriving armed with self-styled weapons and swords. There was no choice but to leave,” says Gowde, who has a disability in his legs. He and his family, including his children, ran into the cold January night and took shelter at a relief camp in Narayanpur town. They returned in March, only to be attacked again. “I have four sisters. Villagers instigated by outside mobs beat up two of my elder sisters,” he says. 

Mangal Gowde, one of the village authorities and a practising Hindu Adivasi, has yet again issued a dictum against the ‘