Government schemes are meant to uplift the downtrodden and support those in need. At one such government-organised programme in Chhatisgarh, the unthinkable happened. At the mass wedding programme organised under the Chief Minister’s ‘Kanya Vivah Sceme’ a Hindu Tribal girl, Basanti was married to Haroon Mohammad. The government in general literally married a girl against her parent’s wish.
The authorities approving their documents for marriage say the girl is not a minor and the wedding took place with her consent. This means the Bhupesh Baghel-led Chhatisgarh government is promoting ‘interfaith’ marriages.
Hindu activists say the government is endorsing ‘Islamic conversion’ as a cleric solemnised the wedding. They also demand the marriage to be registered under the special marriage act as it is illegal. Efforts are being made to bring the girl back who is still living with the boy.
The tribal villagers on the other hand want a ‘bulldozer trial’ against the accused and his family as they have been doing this (taking away their daughters) for generations.
Haroon Mohammad marrying Basanti
On March 13, a mass wedding programme under the ‘Chief Minister Kanya Vivah’ scheme was organised at the Kot-Patna village in the Surajpur district of Chhatisgarh. At this event, 85 couples were listed for the marriage. The twenty-eighth couple on this list was Basanti and Haroon. All the other couples listed were Hindus (both the bride and the groom) except Haroon and Basanti.
The pictures from the event show that a cleric is solemnising the wedding. This means Basanti was converted to Islam before the marriage in front of the authorities and with their permission. It is understood that any cleric will not allow a Hindu woman to marry a Muslim boy without conversion. Conversion is the first thing needed to be done before ‘Nikah’ in Islam.
None of Basanti’s parents was there at the function.
After the marriage, Haroon brought her to the village, the villagers told her parents about the wedding. Before this, they had no idea about the wedding at all.
The disillusioned parents with local Hindu activists reached the office of the Superintendent of Police after three days to register a complaint against the boy and the authorities but no FIR was registered. The SP only accepted an affidavit.
The Victim’s father held authorities responsible for this forced ‘Nikah’
As per the complaint letter submitted before the Superintendent of Police, Surajpur the victim’s father 70-year-old Devnarayan Uike said, he is a resident of Barbaspur village of the Ramanujnagar tehsil in Surajpur.
The letter dated March 17 stated that;
Devnarayan comes from the Gond jaati which falls under the Scheduled Tribe category and believes in the Hindu religion. He is a father of three daughters and a son. Two of his daughters Kaushalya and Moharmaniya are married to men coming from their tribe. While their son Uday is also married to a woman coming from Hindu religious background. Whereas his daughter Basanti was unmarried.
On March 13 at the government-organised mass marriage event his daughter Basanti was married to Haroon Mohammad without any prior information to them. She was lured by him and was forced to have this ‘nikah’ at this event.
The ‘Nikah’ took place under the supervision and with the permission of the officials. Not only this the local tribal leader and legislator Khelsai Singh was also present at the event. With administrative protection, the boy managed to have ‘Nikah’ with Basanti which is otherwise illegal.
Devnarayan demanded strict action to be taken against the accused Haroon and the officials involved in the matter.
The ‘Kanya Vivah’ scheme
The event was organised by the Women and Child Welfare department of Chhatisgarh. As per the official website of the department under the ‘Chhatisgarh Kanya Vivah’ scheme the government marries daughters of families holding the ‘Khadyan Card’ or are below the poverty line. Couples as per the scheme get an amount of 25,000 after the wedding.
Notably, the Anganwadi workers mark the potential families and talk to them about the scheme and the wedding. After the initial marking is done the Aganwadi supervisor makes a round of the village and then finalises the couples. A list is then prepared and the block development project officer (BDO) approves it then one of the officers at the women and child welfare department also cross-checks the list and then these couples are married at the event.
They also need to present their identity cards and other documents including an Adhar Card, ration card, domicile certificate, income certificate, age proof, photo and their mobile numbers with marriage certificates in case of re-marriage.
Long story short, Basanti and Haroon underwent this strict approval process and then get married at the event. Not a single authority called out the fact considering how serious it is.
The ground visit revealed that Haroon was already married to a woman from his community and they are not even separated yet
This correspondent visited the village and met the victim’s family on March 20.
The village of Barbaspur falls under the Surajpur district and is surrounded by coal mines with maximum forest cover. It almost feels like one is moving into the forest with every passing kilometre. The nearest coal mine to Surajpiur is the one at Manendragarh (the Khongapani mines, 85 kilometres), readers may recall the recent bifurcation of Manedgarh from Koriya district done by Bhupesh Baghel in September 2022.
The correspondent took the route Anuppur–Manendragarh–Bisrampur to reach Surajpur. It took more than four hours by road. Upon reaching Ramanuj Nagar (earlier Srinagar) crossing the Surajpur market, I travelled another twenty kilometres to reach Devnarayan’s house in Barbaspur.
Barbaspur though resides more than 200 families but the houses are far apart from one another. There are a number of fields in between the houses, one cannot see more than three or four houses in one place.
As soon as I entered the boundary, made out of bamboo sticks and wood, Kunti Uike, Devnarayan’s wife told me that officials from the Anganwadi visited them this morning and took their thumb impression in a document. They have not told them what was written into it.
Let’s dig into the background of this document
Soon after Devnarayan gave a complaint to the SP against the officials and Haroon the women and child welfare department and the Anganwadi members are trying to prove that everything was done with the consent of the parents.
Rajlal Rajwade, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad district head said that the administration with the help of this signature will procure a document in front of the investigating committee that the parents agreed to this marriage. But how are they going to justify the interfaith marriage, added Rajwade.
Devnarayan who was out rearing his cattle returned home and said, it was the ‘Panchnama’ stating they gave their approval for this marriage. When the activists called up the Anganwadi members they declined the allegations.
Talking with Organiser Weekly Devnarayan said, ‘The boy Haroon was behind my daughter for more than two years now. He took my daughter and forcefully had nikah with her’.
‘The Anganwadi workers and the officials should have informed us so that we could have discussed it with our elders and educated people in the village. I agree it was a government programme but they should have informed us before. We are her parents and we have all right to know about her wedding.’ added Devnarayan.
Asked what does Haroon do for a living, he said nothing. Haroon lives almost two kilometres from where Devranarayan lives. This correspondent went to Basanti’s house but they were not ready to talk to her as some Hindu activists were also there.
Devnarayan told Haroon is already married to a Muslim woman. The woman is currently living with her parents but they are legally not separated yet. The ‘Talaq’ is not done. Basanti is the second wife of Haroon.
He added the same family took one of his aunt (bua) and another relative who is no more but never married them.
Basanti’s mother said, Basanti was the youngest of all the siblings and studied till class 9. They wanted to send her to higher studies but as her son, Uday is mentally unstable, they had to look after him, it was Basanti who take care of the house. That is why they could not send her to school again.
Devnarayan is a labourer by profession and does farming. They also have some cattle, all cows so they have to look after them as well.
The Hindu activists say this is an Abrahamic government that is promoting conversions under their flagship schemes, where authorities are saying ‘Miyan biwi razi, to kya karega kazi’
Babulal Agarwal the district head of Bhartiya Janta Party who is closely working with the family, in this case, told Organiser Weekly that, the ceremony was organised for the ‘Kanya Vivah’ not ‘Kanya Nikah’. How can a person holding a government post allow such marriage to take place? it is illegal.
He recalled the provisions of the special marriage act, 1954 saying, ‘The couple should have filed a Notice of Intended Marriage to the Marriage Registrar of the district before thirty days to the marriage. Did Haroon give any such notice? no.’
Shockingly the government called a cleric in the mandap and he recited ayat from the Quran in front of the authorities, are they promoting ‘Love–Jihad’? Questioned Agarwal. He also pointed out the ‘red dupatta’ on the grooms head saying, are they willing to hide this ‘Nikah’?
He added, now the officials are saying they are adults and they have done it with their consent. Some of them quote ‘Miyan Biwi razi to kya karega kazi’, Will they allow a Muslim girl converted to Hinduism with ‘Shuddhi’ to marry a Hindu boy at the government-organised programme saying it was all consensual?
Will they repeat the same saying, ‘Miyan Biwi Razi…’, added Agarwal.
Bhulan Singh Maravi, BJP leader said, this is not the first time, Haroon’s family has been doing this to the Gond tribe and especially Devnarayan’s family for more than three generations now. Idmohak Khan took a girl from the Gond tribe and kept her with him, he never married her. The same man (Idmohak) eloped with another Hindu woman from the ‘Rijhan’ tribe. Idmohak’s son Pahalwan Khan also took a Hindu woman with him but never marry her.
Bhulan and Babulal Agarwal with the locals have been holding protests and are running from post to pillar with the family to make sure the culprits are booked.
When the correspondent was still at the victim’s house the investigating team visited the family. The team included the SDM and the other three officials. They made no comments saying the investigation was at the preliminary stage.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the whole basti where Basanti lived, there lives only one Muslim family, the rest are either Gond, Uraon, Rijahn, Yadav or people from other Hindu castes. Fifty per cent of the village population are Christians, some of them are converted from the tribes said the locals.
The locals informed that there is a school and a church in the village actively converting tribals but they did not share much about the church.
Some of the locals including Fulsa Rajwade, Brijlal Uraon and others all from the scheduled tribe caste demand a ‘bulldozer trial’ against the accused saying the ‘Miya’ community should be thrown out of the village or else they will keep taking their daughters away.
What Basanti is telling the media?
Basanti while speaking with the local media said, she loves Haroon and has married him out of her own will. She was in a live-in relationship with him for the past eight months and they finally decided to marry at this government event.
Devnarayan says he and people from his tribe tried convincing Basanti a lot when she was seeing Haroon as this may lead to a social boycott.
‘He is a Muslim we are Hindus how can my daughter go with him’ says Devnarayan.
But in the end, she left. In front of the whole village, she said that even if he kills her she will remain with Haroon only.
Devnarayan says, ‘even if she was not living with us, the government should have taken our permission first. We are her parents and they cannot force my daughter into a ‘Nikah’ like this’.
He added, ‘Humne bhi duniya dekhi hai, par is tarah ke kanoon nahi dekhe madam’. (I have seen the world but never saw such rules Mam)
Since Basanti left home, Devnarayan and his family is being boycotted by the whole tribe. No one calls them to the family functions. This is when they are against their daughter. For instance, if Haroon leaves Basanti for another woman, she will have no place to go as the tribe will never accept her, he added.
Why is delisting important?
Maravi the BJP leader while speaking with Organiser Weekly said, people like Haroon are taking away daughters of the Gond tribe for their benefit only. They are not doing it out of love. He can make Basanti fight the sarpanch elections with the same Tribal quota, as she still owns a Gond caste certificate. The Panchayat and other local body elections have seats for the Scheduled Tribe for the village, tehsil and even the division and that is why Haroon and his family are doing this for generations.
However, Haroon’s family is not holding any political posts as of now. The current sarpanch of the village comes from the Christian community.
Maravi also said that Haroon will ask Basanti to claim her parent’s property under the Hindu property succession Act. He will then transfer it to his name to sell it off to others. For readers who don’t know, only a tribal person can buy or sell land belonging to the tribals. No other caste person can buy or sell their property.
Well, Basant still has documents showing she belongs to the Gond jaati even if Haroon made him to convert to Islam.
I met this Gond family in Surajpur, Chhatisgarh.
The @bhupeshbaghel government married off thier daughter Basanti with Haroon Mohammad at a government organised wedding programme.
The parents say they were totally unaware about the wedding, watch: pic.twitter.com/I6dGJIEQHb
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) March 20, 2023
Notably, the tribals, once converted, neither behave in accordance with tribal values nor do they keep faith in tribal gods and goddesses. Article 342 of the Indian Constitution is to protect and preserve a tribal’s way of life, culture, customs, rituals etc. As a whole and to uplift the listed Scheduled Tribes’ socio-economic conditions by giving them reservations in education, jobs, elections etc.
Article 371 prevents even Parliament from making laws which may affect the way of life and cultures of certain tribal areas. The fundamental purpose of the tribal reservation becomes meaningless when the people reject their original faith, culture, customs and convert to another religion. It is but natural that a person who changes his/her faith will also change his way of life and adopt the cultural values of the new faith.
With this comes what gods and goddesses do Devnarayan and his family worship?
I asked him this question and he said, ‘we believe in nature gods. We consider the Dulha Devta as our parents and Budha Devta as our main deity. There were plants of tulsi in his house. One was in front of the house and the other was inside the house.
I asked him to show their place of worship but it was scattered as Devnarayan’s son would throw them out. So they have kept all their deities at a safe spot until he gets well.
Devnarayan said, ‘Once in a year the Budha Devta comes to their house by entering someone’s body. His father was the man in their family, after him they have not been into Budha Devta’s worship much. Every year they keep a coconut in his name’.
Earlier they would offer the devta prashad and other dishes prepared in the home. The devta would tell things they should do in the year and they believed him. He did not share much as he was shy of the camera.
Notably, after all of this, not a single case has been registered in the case against any government official. This correspondent will keep updating the readers with every development in the case.
A cleric is called at a Hindu wedding event where a special couple gets married under special circumstances. All of this shows the intent of the Bhupesh Baghel-led congress government in the state.
If they are not endorsing an interfaith marriage at a time when their neighbouring states are bringing laws against conversion then they are surely protecting such couples.
The story of Haroon marrying Basanti in a small tribal village will not stop here. Citing such protective behaviour of the government, others will also take inspiration. Now boys will bring Hindu girls to Chhatisgarh after elopement to have a ‘Nikah’ at a government programme.
Is Chhatisgarh safe enough for Hindu girls and their parents, well the readers can decide on their own now.
For interested readers, watch these pictures to understand the strong roots of conversion and such activities. In this remotest area where there is no network, no roads, least connectivity to the city but conversion is a serious threat there. Missionary works are rampant, such conversion ‘Nikah’ is taking place and tribals are converting. The situation on ground is alarming.
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