RAIPUR: In a shocking revelation that has come to fore from the state of Chhattisgarh, claims pertaining to use of a portion of ration distributed by the government in funding for conversion related activities has emerged. If reports are to believed, the missionaries have been allegedly generating a fund of over Rs 100 crore per/annum by securing a portion of ration (rice) from each Christian household of the state to further their activities.
According to a report of a prominent media conglomerate, the missionaries have been receiving a small portion of rice from around 7 lakh Christian families of the state on daily basis, supplying it in the market subsequently to raise funds for conversion activities. As per an estimate, funds over Rs 100 crore are being raised on yearly basis by securing donation of rice from the Christian families.
A few activists claimed that the rice was donated under the “Ek Mutthi Chawal Yojna” being run by those involved in carrying out conversion-related work such as luring people by organising Changai Sabha, a religious gathering aimed allegedly at converting people into the Christian fold. The details linked with the said scheme have been reportedly confirmed by a few missionaries arrested by police in Jashpur.
The strategy to raise funds through donation of rice has reportedly been adopted after the incumbent Union Government enforced the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 2019, resulting in halt of massive foreign funding earlier received by a number of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) alleged to be involved in promoting illegal conversion in separate states.
The report claimed that after the law came in effect there were huge scarcity of funds and the mission groups were even not able to pay salary to the missionaries, working across villages. It was only then that they came up with a strategy to generate funds through donations of rice.
The report further suggests that the strategy to generate money through government scheme is being carried out across the whole state spreading across districts like Jashpur and other adjacent areas in North to Bastar in South where the Christian community has a strong presence.
It is being speculated, that around 35% population of the Jashpur districts practices Christianity. Though the officials figure of the latest census (2011) put the percentage of the Christian community in the district to approximately 1.89 lakhs i.e. around 22 Per cent of the total population, it is being speculated that the practicing numbers of Christians in the district stands over 3 lakhs, given majority of the converted Christians remain Hindus on paper with an aim to avail reservation benefits given to the Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Reacting to the scheme applied by the missionaries to generate funds, Satyendra Tiwari an activist associated with Kalyan Ashram, a revered body working for the welfare of tribal in remote areas said “Missionaries could now receive foreign aid as a self-service group only for schools and hospitals in such rice provided under “Annapurna Yojna (Scheme)” and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna (PMGKY) has become a tool to collect funds for them.”
Notably 35 kg rice is provided to each family of the state consisting of at least four members under the Union Government free ration scheme. The scheme has now become a prominent source of income for the missionaries who are supplying the donated rice in the market at Rs25-30 per kg, generating crore of funds.
Following the revelation, the Food and Civil Supplies Minister of the state, Dayal Das Baghel however has promised a thorough enquiry into the allegation of misuse of rice distributed under the government scheme. “The Union Government has been providing rice to poor people and if a few people are misusing it for conversion then we will conduct a thorough enquiry into the matter,” said Baghel.
It is worth mentioning here that the state of Chhattisgarh has a significant population of tribals, a community affected heavily by conversion. News pertaining to conversion related activities from separate corners of the state keep coming to the fore, underscoring the grave threat of conversion particularly in remote regions inhabited largely by people hailing from marginalised economic background.
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