A RECENT RESEARCH ON SOCIAL INCLUSION OF RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS AMONG TRIBES IN BIHAR BY - DR. RAMESH KUMAR SHUKLA & RUPA JHA
A RECENT RESEARCH ON SOCIAL
INCLUSION OF RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS AMONG TRIBES IN BIHAR
AUTHORED BY - DR. RAMESH KUMAR SHUKLA
Associate Professor,
CO-AUTHOR - RUPA JHA
Research Scholar,
Department of Law, School of Legal Studies,
LNCT University Bhopal, MP, India
Abstract
It is common for discussion about a
society's religious life to presume that there are two kinds of religion:
"elite” and "popular"1. Elite religion belongs to the
experts, the educated or the clergy, whereas popular or folk religion is that
of the people the ingrained beliefs, customs and values of a society. Research
on the spread of Christian missions in many cultural context has shown that
Christianity typically Blaine in with the local ways of life appropriate local
mythologist make concession to local customs and even appropriate local believe
and superstition. A portion of pre-conversion custom and culture are still
practice by the maturity of Indian Christian communities. The "lived
religion" of Indian tribal Christians and Dalit is composed of various
threads. While dogmatic religion tries to make distinctions more complex and
obvious, practical faith, or lived religion, has always been blended into
different traditions. Baptism is merely the beginning of process of
Christianization, which is full process of religion reform. It was stated that
"raising the cultural level of the people" was the missionaries'
legitimate goal in Bihar.
KEYNOTE -Social inclusion, Religion
conversion, Dalit and Tribal Christian, Human Rights.
1.
Introduction
For followers of Buddhism, Sikhism
Islam, and Jainism Bihar is an excellent hub. The term "Bihar" comes
from the word "vihara" which refers to a Buddhist monastery. At what
is now known as Bodh Gaya, a village in Central Bihar where Buddhism was born,
Prince Gautam acquire enlightenment and become the Buddha. From Bihar the
ideals of nonviolence, human equality, and social justice were taken to Tibet,
Japan, Sri Lanka and others of this Asian nations2.
Bihar is connected to the older Hindu
tales and stories of sanatana Dharma or the eternal religion. Sita was a
princess of Bihar who was born in the little town of Sitamarhi in the
province's north. She was the daughter of Videha's king Janak. This former
Kingdom is now represented by the districts of Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi,
Samastipur, Madhubani, and Darbhanga. Just over the border in Nepal is
Janakpur, the city of king Janak and the location of Lord Rama and sita's
marriage. Hindus so assert that they adhere to the original from of Hinduism.
The birthplace and place of Nirvana
for Lord Mahavir, the founder of Jainism, another monotheistic religion Bihar.
The tenth and final Guru of the sikhs, Guru Govind Singh, was born and became a
saint in Bihar. As mentioned in previous chapters, early 18th century
Bihar also saw the expansion of catholic Christianity in addition to these
other faiths. However, despite the missionaries' hard labour and numerous,
large mission facilities numerous children's homes, development project and
evangelistic and church planting efforts, the reaction in central and north
Bihar was not particularly positive. The primary reason for this was the belief
that Christian missionaries were connected to the colonial authorities.
It is notworthy to mention that
Mahatma Gandhi stated in his renowned Motihari address that following his k
covert meeting with white missionaries at the Motihari Mission House, the
missionaries were decent individuals who came to serve the Indian people and
had nothing to do with the colonial authorities. The population in Bihar
mistook the white missionaries for members of the colonial force despite this,
and they faced opposition at every turn. The gospel received a very low
reaction in Bihar and was unable to gain any traction. After many years of
arduous labour by the missionaries, only a small number of people-mostly
orphans and displaced individuals- become Christians3.
However, Christianity had a
significant role in bringing about socio- religious reform among groups other
than Hindu society as a whole in addition to reforming the lives of converts.
In the beginning, Christian missionaries had a negative opinion about Hindus. There
were repercussions from the missionaries' aggressive assault on the people’s
ancient religious rituals and social practices. Their criticism hand was mostly
focused on Hindu idolatry and the sati ritual. Two basic types of Hindu
reactions were Sparked by the attack on "popular Hinduism":
reformative and conservative. They were both attempting to safeguard Hinduism
against Christianity.
The missionaries were the first
criticize the Sati ceremony and demonstrate that even the Hindu Shastras
disapproved of this barbaric practice. Although infuriated the orthodox Hindu
community, Raja Ram Mohan Rai made and attempt to change Hinduism by
criticizing popular celebrations and rituals. Among the upper castes of
Brahmins, Jesuit missionaries like as Father Roberto de Nobili and John de
Britto4 of the Madura Mission were able to win over sincere
converts. Additionally, it is common to come across other instances of
conversion from various countries that some Christian missionaries have
included in their testimonies, where conversions occurred as a result of a
genuine shift is one's inner conviction and faith. The Raja of betiya's
personal favouritism of Christian missionaries was a key element in the spread
of Christianity in the region. Not only were the missionaries relocated to
Bettiah, but they also received all the resources and support they needed to
spread Christianity throughout his realm and win over Muslim and Hindus as
Converts. Even though he was never converted, the Raja himself seems to have
been greatly influenced by Christianity and occasionally attended Church
services.
The extreme rigidity and orthodoxy of
the Hindu society at the time was the second element contributing to the spread
of Christianity in Bihar. some Christian directly blamed Hindu Brahmin priests
for their harsh and intolerable treatment of the proper members of Hindu
society, which in certain circumstances also resulted in conversion; for
example, widows were not given proper treatment in Hindu culture. These ladies
immediately took refuge with the nuns in the mission converts, where they were
welcomed and given permission to be married and start a family.
The perception of certain early
missionaries, such as Father Joseph Mary, as excellent physicians, was the
third element. There have been cases where Hindus have joined the Christian
faith at the request of Christian friends or missionaries, after long- standing
requests they had for children, a lengthy illness, or something similar wear
granted. In these cases, the Hindus made scared vow before Saint Mary or Jesus
Christ.
There were cases reported where
parents in great poverty' sold' their kids to the missionaries. Orphanages
housed these youngsters, or occasionally Christian families wishing to adopt
them were given them. People from lower Hindu castes, such as the Musahars,
Doms, Lohars, Dusadhs and so on, converted early on due in part to the caste
hierarchy within Hinduism as well as societal injustices or mistreatment
endured by this groups.
In 1850, Four tribal uraons- Nubin of
Hethakota, Ghuran of karandi, and Keso and Bandhu of chintakunitook- were
converted in the chota Nagpur tribal territory. Following some religious
instruction they and their families were converted to Christianity.
2.
Tribal society: Persistence and Transformation
With the exception of the Paharias,
every tribe in Bihar holds is the belief that they unite into the supreme
Being, who is the creator of the Cosmos. This god is referred to as Dharmesham
among the oraons, as ponomesher (parmeshwar) or Bhagwan the Kharias, as candoor
Thakuram among the santhals, and as Singhbonga among the Mundas and Hos. there
are tribal settlements where people worship Mahadev, Kali, and other deities5.
3.
Continuity and Change in Tribal Society
The ab original spring celebration,
Sarhul, is celebrated on the final day of Baisakhi (April- May) village priests
decorate the sarna the Hallowed site of communal devotion, with flowers and
offerings of cocks, goats, or sheep on this auspicious day. It's a time for immense
celebration and joy.
On the final day of Asarh (June-July)
the Naukhia parab is celebrated. On this day the village presiding deity
receives the first fruits of the fresh harvests. The Karma festival is
celebrated by both non-aboriginal people and aboriginal people. A Sal tree
branch is planted in the Akhara during the month of Bahado, which is August
through September 24 hours fast came before this, and people spent the night
singing and dancing around the branch plant. On the day after Diwali people
celebrate Sohrai celebration this is time to honour house pets that have been
groomed and adorned. After the pretty harvest in December and January, the
Sanathals celebrate Sohrai. Although originally indigenous the holidays
observed by the Christians were altered to accommodate their beliefs. Conversely,
many traditional festivals have been replaced with a new set of the Christian
holidays like Christmas Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, New Year's Day, and Dead
Souls' Day.
One significant Dravidian tribe is
the Oraons. Their main hamlet is on the chota Nagpur plateau's Ranchi District.
The Oraons have traditionally believed in a multitude of gods, goddesses,
deities and spirits6.
Many of these supernatural beings are
honoured ceremoniously and on a daily basis at home. These days, there are less
regular religious, festival celebrations in families and communities. Be
celebrations are also less elaborate. Defect that the converted Oraons appear
to have abandoned practically all of their customs and believes is noteworthy
in this context. The observed divide between non-Christian and Christian Oraons
may have resulted from this. There is little social interaction between the two
groups, according to the findings.
The most basic, important,
challenging, and pressing necessity of all the indigenization initiatives was
theological.
The Church most continue to be both
local and worldwide at the same time if the faith is to thrive in the
community. Talk about God is theology. Theological knowledge transcends
translation. For example, all the traditional titles for God where still used
in the Bihari Adivasi language. When a convert became a Christian, their
conception of God did not have to alter; the name of their pagan god did. The
Adivasi Christian lived and died for years without ever being aware that the
English term God even existed. Likewise, Yeshua has been anglicized to become
"Jesus".7 The Adivasis refer to Jesus as
"Yeeshu" or " Yesu". It promoted Christian indigenization
faith.
Additionally, there has been notable
shift in the Converts' religious belief. The last authority in a tribal
village, the indigenous Baiga or Pahan, has been supplanted by a church
employee called a catechist. There is a hierarchy above him that includes the
Pope (sant papa), who is a member of catholic Church and recipes in Rome, and
"Pramukh Adhyaksh," a member of the Lutheran Church in Ranchi. For
catholics, the intermediate authorities above the catechist are known as the
Parish priest, Dean aur Superior, Bishop, A, and Cardinal; for Lutherans, they
are known as the Parish chairman, Illaka Chairman, and Anchal Adhyaksh (or
Bishop). These authorities, who have specific jurisdictions and are priests or
other ordained individuals, offer the people religious, social, and even
economic leadership8.
The level of Christian village's
scared complex is another place where transformations might occur. A Christian
village's scared geography is extended by Parish stations and the mission
Church, which have replaced the scared group and the shrines of native gods and
spirits. Other places of Christian significance, such as the village Church,
Grotto, all locations with large wooden crosses, have also been abandoned9.
Indigenous sacred centres and other
sacred events that were once associated with periodic rituals, sacrifices, and
festivals have also underground changes and, in their place, have emerge new
sacred events such as such services, prayers, sacraments, and Christian
festivals like Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, all saints Day, cross
Sena, Dharm Yatra (religious pairs held at the Parish level), etc.
The group of Christian specialists
that villagers have direct or indirect contact with, such as Parish priest,
villages catechist, and several other types of priests and pastors in the
denominational hierarchy, have replaced the indigenous sacred specialist like
Pahan, Pujari, Susari, Mati, Bhagat, and Guru. Ancestor worship, or paschal
worship, was a religious practice among the non-Christians that was limited to
the senior member of the family or lineage. Thus, they served as religious
exports, but that is no longer relevant because anybody, regardless of age, can
participate in any questions ceremony or observance that defined personally
meaningful.
Another shift is the quality of women's
10 religious status among Christians. It is common to find women
leading their own religious women's groups, such as Mariam Sangat and Stree
Samaj, which meet on Sundays and strive to in still in their members an ideal
Christian way of life.
In the beginning, the Christians in
chotanagpur accepted Latin first name fro Europian Christian, but they kept
their tribal surnames, such as Lakra, Kujur, Tippo, etc. later missionaries
baptized people with imaginative Indian and indigenous names as Prabhudayal,
Mashidas, Enem, Niral, Ohma, Baha, Seteng, Jatom, etc., and gave local names to
their neophytes. They also demonstrated their inventiveness in neologism.
The religious System underwent
numerous modifications. The previous domestic religion was practiced under a
tree, in and open field, around the house, or within. As Christianity spread,
the centres of worship move from villages where Christians lived to the church.
Even the sprits' repositories moved from the ancestral home (siraghar)11
to the nearby Christian cemetery, which the tribes periodically visited.
Furthermore, after conversion, in addition to the newly established festivals,
normal weekly (Sunday) church service also evolved into social events. Prior to
conversion, festivals had served as Venues for social meetings.
A liturgical calendar for Adivasi
catholic liturgy was proposed by Fr. Philip Ekka, SJ, at the Clergy Meeting
(1967). He also gave a design for christianizing native Adivasi customs,
agriculture practices, and life cycle rites. He ran a number of workshops. In
the meantime, the Catholic Major Seminar at Ranchi, St. Albert's College,
started publishing the yearly research journal Sevartham 12 in 1976
in an effort to clarified the parameters of Christian inculturation and
interpretation within the Adivasi community.
Some writers have research sum of the
people, places, concepts, and historical background associated with the
American Baptist denomination's introduction of Christianity to chota Nagpur
and its subsequent dissemination to other areas. Based on the report submitted
by the missionaries, that look at the few of the most notable patterns of the
incidents. Many tribes are thought to have come together after becoming
Christians, creating a single ethnic identity that was reflected in the
political ambition of the Bihari tribes.
The motivation behind the Jharkhand
movement is clear; it is concern for the preservation of language, culture, and
identity as well as resistance to operation and rapacious exploitation. The
native population of Chota Nagpur, an ethnically divorce tribal region, live in
peace and harmony with the natural world. The British government allowed
outsiders to inter the region in the guise of development, and these people
moved in large number and took indiscriminate advantage of the resources.
Approximately concurrently, Christian
missionaries also arrived in the region and attempted to homogenize the various
ethnic groups through proselytising tactics. Christian missionaries brought in much-needed health
and educational programs, yet even with their Newfound religion, the converts'
unique ethnic identities remained.
4.
Religious conversion in India
India does not support any one
particular religion or have a state religion. In essence, religion is a
question of personal preference, faith, or beliefs. Webster's Comprehensive
Dictionary defines religion as a belief that connects man's spiritual
nature to a supernatural being and involves feelings of dependency and
obligation, as well as the behaviors and sentiments that logically follow from
such a belief. Everyone ought to be allowed to practice any religion they so
desire. For this reason, everyone has the freedom to profess, practice, and
spread any religion thanks to the Indian Constitution. Religious conversion is
one of the most heated issues in the society and politics which can be defined
as the adoption of any other religion or of a set of beliefs by the exclusion of
other i.e. renouncing one religion and adopting another. People change their
religion for a number of reasons, including 13:
- Voluntary Conversions i.e. conversions by free choice or
because of change of beliefs.
- Forceful Conversions i.e. conversions by coercion, undue
influence or inducement.
- Marital Conversions i.e. conversions due to marriage.
5.
Conclusion
There are four possible ways of
conversion: 1) by persuasion, 2) due to one's social circumstances, 3) through
inducements, 4) coercion or fraud. A thorough examination of the lengthy
history of conversion in India reveals that the first and last
categories-conversions resulting from a shift in one's inner beliefs as well as
those brought about by compulsion and fraud are extremely few and far between.
Through deceit or coercion, religion can never be taken seriously. When compulsion persist, at most,
a person may convert to a different religion for a short while before returning
to their original faith as soon as the coercive circumstance ends 13.Ultimately
most of the foreign missionaries were forced to depart the nation after independence
because there was not a strong indigenous church or leadership to continue the
mission work that the foreign missionaries had left behind with a few exceptions,
Bihar Mission operations were nearly entirely shut down because the region
lacked a robust indigenous church and leadership.
Reference
1Jose Kalapura, “Margins of Faith: Dalits and Tribal
Christians in Eastern India,” in Margins of Faith: Dalit and Tribal
Christianity in India,eds., Rowena Robinson & Joseph MarianusKujur(New
Delhi: Sage Publication, 2010),75
2S.D. Ponraj, General Secretary of Bihar Out-Reach
Network (BORN) Reach Out Spring, from Graveyard to Vineyard -The Historical
Development (2009), pp-44.
3Ibid, pp-53.
4K. N. Sahay, Christianity and Culture Change in
India (New Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1986), 40.
5R. R Diwakar, Bihar Through the Ages(Patna: Orient
Longman,1959),707,708
6MiriMrinal, ed., Continuity and Change in Tribal
Society (Shimla: Indian Institute of Advance Studies, 1991), 139.
7Fr. Francis Minj, S.J, “Indigenization of Christianity
among the Adivasis of Chotanagpur; A Historical Appraisal,” Indian Church
History Review, Vol. – XLIX, No. 1 & 2: 23.
8Ofcit K. N. Sahay, pp-143.
9Ibid, pp-144.
10Ibid, pp-145.
11Ofcit Jose Kalapura, pp-79.
12Ofcit Fr. Francis Minj, S.J.
13 Ramesh Kumar Shukla and Rupa Jha, A Study of Conversion of Religion in the
Secular State of India: A Few "Side Effects" of Religious Diversity,
Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research, Oct.173-187, 2024.
14Asghar Ali Engineer, Controversy
on conversion and attacks on Christians Secular Perspective, Communalism
Combat, Jan. 16-30: 1999.