Vedic Tribals:Secularists left speechless- Pioneer -2-17-06

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from the far Northeastern States to Port Blair and Uttaranchal toKerala - had

arrived. At midnight, they were still reaching from places asfar away as

Itanagar in Arunachal. It's a unique event in the tribal

historypost-independence India, and its magnitude is difficult to measure for

areporter who is able to see only a part of the whole even after a

hecticday-long tour around the five sq km stretch of the venue on the full

moonday of the month of Magh.Why should tribals feel threatened in a nation

whose Constitution providesprotection to their cultural and religious

identity? It is so "because theconstitutional provisions have not been used

effectively so far", says MrJagdeo Ram Oraon, a tribal leader from

Chhattisgarh and president of thelargest NGO working among tribals, the

Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. Mr Oraon whois also chairing the Shabri Kumbh

Committee. "We are

not against anyreligion or institution, but are trying to put our own house in

order.What's the fuss about?" he asks.Later in the evening, I meet the lady

pastor of the local CNI church. Hergrandfather was the first pastor of the

same church established in 1932. Shesays they have nothing to fear from such

gatherings as the tribals arealways non-violent though there are bad memories

of a few incidents thatoccurred in 1998 in this region. This time the

administration has given themfull protection. "It's the media reports that

make us anxious," she said.And she was right. In spite of everything remaining

peaceful, a section ofthe media tried to create fear amongst the Christians.It

is noteworthy that the tribals have fought more than hundred recordedbattles

against the British led by heroes like Alluri Sitaram Raju, BirsaMunda, Sidho,

Kanho Chand and Bhairon,

Pazhsi Raja and Rani Gaidinliu.Without exception, all of them had to resist the

onslaught of Christianmissionaries, too, as the battle against the British also

meant battling tosafeguard their religion.Take the example of Rani Gaidinliu of

Nagaland. She had led a heroicguerrilla war against the British and when

defeated by the mightier army,was rewarded life imprisonment by means of a

"fair trial" -- all this whenshe was just 16. Nehru met her in Kohima jail and

wrote poetically about herheroism calling her "fit to be a Rani", hence the

title of Rani.After independence, it took Nehru more than a year to see her

out of jail.Indira Gandhi awarded her the Padma Bhushan and also a tamra patra

in thesilver jubilee year of independence. But Kohima church and the

Christianleaders of the NSCN opposed vehemently when there was a proposal to

have herstatue installed in

Kohima after her death because she had declared herHeraka and Zeliangrong

movements Hindu and had refused to convert toChristianity.In order to convert

a tribal, his beliefs, customs and deities arecondemned, pronounced "incapable

of providing salvation"; his entireworldview is sought to be replaced with

Romanised concepts and ways ofworship. It was the fear of this aggression that

made Congress leader andcurrent Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh create a

Dony Polo mission. Healso began motivating tribal public educational

institutions so that hispeople were saved from conversion.Shabri, who waited a

lifetime to welcome Ram, is believed to have treatedthe Lord with her

part-eaten wild berries in the Dangs (derived fromDandakaranya) according to

the beliefs of the local tribal population.Surely, she has emerged as the most

powerful icon of

tribal-nontribalharmony, the legend thus helping the evolution of a unique

culturalchemistry.The same place is today witnessing a powerful assertion of

tribal rights toprotect their identity and culture. They have given an

unambiguous call totheir converted brethren to return to their original fold.

"We are notgiving a call to the citizens of Vatican to convert to Hinduism,

but callingour own people back," asserts Morari Bapu, world-renowned preacher.

In thevillage of Shabri, it was an unprecedented sight: Revered

Shankaracharyas,sannyasins and Brahmins were embracing the tribals and seeking

forgivenessif they had been wronged in the past.But the secular Taliban-like

voices refuse to see anything good happeningto Hindus. They tried their best

to ban Shabri Kumbh, some media personssurveyed the venue in advance and the

prophets of doom declared

theprogramme a threat to environment.Those who merrily lauded the fraud of

Benny Hinn, went hammer and tongsagainst a great Hindu event. But all of them

have been silenced by thegrandeur and peaceful conclusion of the biggest

expression of tribalassertion in our history. This is also the beginning of a

new order, whichdeclares: Come what may, obstructionist politics of hate

cannot stop themarch of the indigenous

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