Just another story.
Back in 2001, I was working as an assistant director in a documentary films production house and we had the the opportunity to go deep into tribal territory and film their ways of life for a project being funded by the Ford Foundation.
We were in Jharkhand, deep in forest territory where there were no roads for vehicles. You either parked 100-odd kms away and walked with all your equipment and supplies through jungle and Bush, and the Tribals, called “Adivasis” or “people who have been here a long time”, looked after you along the way for water and grains. Or you used a helicopter.
We were walking. Evangelican missionaries, with relief package’s, had come in choppers, “Freedom” style!
There had been a small flood and we were there to film how the Tribals were coping. It was big opportunity to film a real post-flood situation.
This is also deep communist (Maoist) rebel territory so it’s quite risky unless you had a local known to the people, which we did, or you have military protection, which the missionaries did.
At the missionary tent, the placards about God and Jesus and judgement day and hellfire and heaven, and how they were there to save their souls and what not, and they were ushering the scrawny Tribals into the tent to receive relief packages, and they had placed the Bhagavad Geeta at the doorstep. The Tribals were supposed to convert through prayer and accepting Jesus and some water rituals, and then step over the BG when entering the tent if they wanted the relief package.
Now, it is important to note that these Tribals are not actually the type of Hindus who read the BG. Firstly, they don’t know to read. Secondly, they are nature worshippers. They worship the mother goddess, the jungle, certain types of trees like the neem tree, etc.
However, the local politicians and their thugs are the types of Hindus who would care about something like this. They are from extremist Hindutva groups who have recently become powerful in India. And they have been known to kill for less.
Now, the relief package was a 2 cubic feet cube containing grains like rice and lentils, salt and spices, Chicken, bread and clothes. And a bible and a wooden cross. And a Jesus on the cross chain as jewellery.
The Tribals who hadn’t eaten for days and had been in the same clothes since before the flood had no choice. Noone else was providing relief. The government wasn’t doing a thing besides sending the, paramilitary to make sure the Maoists don’t stir up trouble. They were also using it as an opportunity to move the Tribals away from their lands so they could reassign the land to big companies for mining and such. And the Evangelicans would not provide relief unless you convert, and the only way to prove that you have was to step over the BG.
So the Tribals stepped over the BG and received their package.
This went on for a few days. Then the missionaries left. We stayed on to film the relocation of the Tribals and how they would cope and setup their homes afresh.
The new land they were given was barren. Infertile. No trees. Hot unforgiving sun. Humid like the insides of an intestine. And the government had given some bricks and aluminium sheets for roofing. Very different from their mud and thatch houses in the shade of the trees, near the land that fed them.
Anyhoo.
The local politicians got wind of what had happened. So they landed up. We were forced to turn of our cameras and watch. While they abused the Tribals, threatened them with dire consequences, even beat some of them, especially the ones who were still wearing the cross that the Evangelicans had given. Then they made the Tribals “convert back” by shouting Jai Shri Raam, “victory to the great Raam” and apply paste on their foreheads and such.
The police and paramilitary stood by, like us, watching. We were helpless. The police were working for the politicians. The paramilitary had other orders.
Then, after half a day of abuse, both verbal and physical, the politicians left with a warning.
After that, the Tribals sat about for the rest of day sulking, and by evening had to prep for the night so they began piling the bricks and aluminium. We shared our tents with some of them and talked. The facilitator translated. The Tribals said this is not the first time this has happened. Every year some mission or other comes. Catholics, Evangelicans, other denominations. In return for food, or clothes, or sometimes even money, alcohol, etc. they would ask the Tribals to do various things to prove they are not loyal to Hinduism anymore. And then the Hindu goons arrive afterwards. This is the first time it has happened to their village. But they know this has happened to other villages. They were lucky. The Hindu goons are known to have killed in other villages. We (7 of us, the director, cameraman and assistant, production manager and assistant, our local facilitator and I) were there so nothing happened.
Meanwhile the land is losing fertility. They have less and less food. Monocrop agriculture of palm and soya by large corporations for the purpose of production of all kinds of products, and in the case of soy to feed animals meant for slaughter, and the use of G.M. seeds and chemicals is killing the land for 100s of kilometres around. The government is with the corporations. So what can the Tribals do for food? They gather from the jungle but they have to pay bribes to forest officials to be able to do this. No animals to trap because of deforestation. They will starve unless they take the relief packages. Some of them used to change their clothes and come back for more. The missionaries got wise to this and started marking them with permanent ink that takes several days to come off. And they also cross-verify with photos. So the Tribals are not able to get more than one per head.
They share.
When these run out, they walk 300 kms or more to the nearest major town or city centres for daily wage work, earning Rs. 2 per day. To put this in perspective, the cost of 1 kg of rice is Rs. 100.
And so it goes. They have no choice. They say that either it is Jesus or Raam or Hanuman (monkey god, symbol of masculine power, the local goons worship that), the Tribals suffer. They suffer not one God. They suffer every God. Their humour for the day. They laugh dryly.
Only Goddess is there to protect them, another one adds. Just in case she heard them crack that joke and got offended.
The forest is the Goddess. She provides everything. But now they have been relocated away from her. Away from the sacred groves where they bury or burn their dead and spread the ashes. That land will be upturned by big machines soon.
We left a couple of days after, after getting all the bytes we needed for our documentary called “Folk Wisdom”. 😏
Many of these Tribals converted to Christianity or Islam to escape caste bias. And suffered even more for it. And in the end they had to go to separate low caste or untouchable churches or mosques with separate low caste of untouchable priests. Because upper caste or touchable converts wouldn’t be caught dead sharing the same space.
Religion.
Politics.
India.
People.
I have come to understand that religion and the public sphere should be kept apart at all costs. Religion is a deeply personal experience. You are born into something and you either traverse your beliefs faithfully or challenge them. Either way, it’s a personal journey of discovery. And religion has no business in the public sphere. Governments should be atheistic and scientific. People in government who are unable to compartmentalise their faith with their policies need to be reviewed, regulated or silenced. I’d even venture far enough to say that it should be criminalised.