States: Gujarat: Conversion Politics

Protesting against caste abuse, Dalits embrace Christianity, putting the Sangh Parivar on the backfoot even as the state government gropes for answers.

The raging debate on religious conversions in the country seems to have found itself a new focal point. Call it a premeditated act or plain coincidence, around 600 Dalits of Undhai village in north Gujarat's Mehsana district decided to embrace Christianity last week. The move not only sprang the otherwise nondescript village into the headlines but also came as a major embarrassment to the BJP Government in the state, already wracked by the Sangh Parivar's anti-conversion campaigns.

"Going to bed on an empty stomach is no longer an uncommon experience with us," says Punjabhai, a labourer who converted with his wife after the Patels fired him

"Going to bed on an empty stomach is no longer an uncommon experience with us."
Punjabhai, a labourer who converted with his wife after the Patels fired him

The Dalits made no bones about the reasons for their conversion: "to end the social and economic boycott" imposed upon them by the dominant upper caste Patels and to protest against the Government's failure to protect them. The state Social Welfare Department was quick to go on the defensive, echoing the Patels' charge that it was a ploy on the part of the Dalits to create a situation where the Government would be forced to grant them greater financial aid. "The case doesn't qualify as a social boycott on the strength of the evidence we have collected," says Mehsana Collector H.B. Varia.

While the Government is yet to come to terms with the incident, it is clear that the Parivar has been pushed on the backfoot at a time when it is going hammer and tongs over the matter of forced conversions. Admits a Sangh functionary: "No doubt, it has the potential to damage us at a crucial stage."

But more significantly, the issue indicates an unprecedented breakdown in community relations in the caste-ridden village. The simmering discontent between the Dalits and the Patels dates back to a ceremony marking the consecration of a new idol at the local Amba temple in May last year. Though the festivities were funded by contributions from all the villagers, including the Dalits, the lower castes claim that during the ceremonial dinner they were ordered by the Patels to bring their own plates and sit separately. Humiliated, they lodged a complaint with the police, accusing the Patels of untouchability. Failing to effect a reconciliation between the two sides, the police arrested 37 members from the Patel community.

The land-owning Patels who have traditionally used Harijan hands on their farms exacted revenge by refusing to employ them. As a result, the Dalits were left without work, struggling to make ends meet. Says Chimanbhai Chauhan, Dalit leader and Congress worker: "Our brothers here have been virtually starving for the past six months because of the social and economic boycott enforced by the upper castes."

Mafatbhai Keshabhai Vankar is one such Dalit. His family has been in dire straits ever since the Patels stopped employing him and his wife in June and their monthly income of Rs 1,000 ceased. Their milch goat also died last week. Vankar says the veterinary doctor under pressure from the Patels refused to treat the ailing goat . Labourers Punjabhai Vankar and his wife Motiben have been reduced to begging in nearby Shahpur where they are often given flour by a miller. "Going to bed on an empty stomach is not an uncommon experience for us," complains Punjabhai.

A dozen Chamar families among the Dalits who used to subsist on making leather out of the skins of dead cattle are also living in penury. Since the conflict began, the Patels have been disposing of their dead cattle rather than passing them over to the Chamars. Even the petty farmers among the Dalits have been robbed of their winter crop because the Patels who own most of the borewells in the village have stopped releasing water for irrigation. The Patels argue that it is in fear of being harassed by the Dalits that they had stopped employing them. Dismissing the charges of social boycott, they hold up video films which show some Dalits dining with them at the consecration ceremony. Even the welfare department cites affidavits signed by some Dalits saying they sat together with the Patels on that night.

But the Dalits have stood their ground. "Christianity is the only course left for us," says one of them. While the Dalits refuse to disclose from where they drew the inspiration to convert, intelligence reports say the idea was being spread by some militant Dalit groups reportedly working in proximity with Christian missionary bodies.

Seeing this as a blow to its anti-conversion campaigns, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has descended upon the village trying in vain to dissuade the Dalits from converting. VHP leader Kamlesh Trivedi believes that the issue boils down to an ego clash between the Patels and the Dalits, which if addressed, could resolve the larger problem. But if Chauhan is to be believed, the matter has reached a point of no return. "We plan to go from village to village to convince the others to join us in the change of religion. After all, what has Hinduism given us?" he asks, leaving the VHP stunned. And the state Government still groping for answers.