(The Telegraph
May 26, 2006
Front Page > Jamshedpur )
Families revert to old faith
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Dilip Singh Judeo washes the feet of the re-converted Sarnas. Picture by Prashant Mitra
Ranchi, May 25: Red-white flags, symbolising Sarna, today fluttered among saffron flags in the football grounds of Mahilong, a village under Tatisilwai police station, about 15 kms from the district headquarters.
There was a sense of celebration on the grounds today as more than 50 tribal men, women and children re-converted to Sarna from Christianity in the presence of BJP MP Dilip Singh Judeo.
Drumbeats and prayers by priest Makha Pahan took place as the re-conversion rituals began with the tribals washing Judeo’s feet.
Sunita Munda, a Class IX student, said her grandfather had converted to Christianity because of the fear of being seized by an apparition.
Meanwhile, a kilometre away from the football grounds, a small tribal group protested against the programme and blocked the Ranchi-Muri road for an hour.
Laxmi Narayan Munda, a Sarna leading the protesters, was not happy with Judeo’s presence in tribal life. He felt that the programme, sponsored by the BJP and the RSS, would divide the tribals.
“Had they done it on their own it would have been another matter,” he added.
The Sarna Sanatan Rakshak Samiti, a little known tribal organisation, had organised the “homecoming”.
The Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, a voluntary organisation, and Kendriya Sarana Samiti, an old tribal organisation in the state capital, had extended its support.
Those who re-converted belonged to villages around 30 kilometres from Tatisilwai. Sarna Sanatan Rakshak Samiti workers had identified them over the past two months.