Raipur: Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai led Chhattisgarh government has ordered an investigation of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) receiving foreign funding under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in the state.
According to a report, a total of 153 NGOs registered under the FCRA are being operational in the state. Out of the total such 153 non-government bodies, as many as 52 have already declared their associations with the Christian community before the Registrar of Firms and Societies.
Separate agencies of the Central and the state have reportedly started an investigating into the activities and financial transactions of the NGOs receiving foreign funds under the FCRA.
Working in the field of education, health and other social works, the activities of such NGOs are found to be suspicious. Further, most of these FCRA-registered NGOs have reportedly preferred opted to work in tribal (Janjati) areas where large scale conversion has said to be taken place.
According to the report, 9 out of such 19 FCRA-registered non-government bodies in Bastar and 15 out of 18 such institutions in Jashpur of Surguja are being operated by the Christian missionaries. Both Bastar and Surguja are reported to be marred by illegal conversion heavily.
Read more at: From research initiative to conversion activities, all about “Joshua Project” which is being linked to caste census
It is to be noted that while frequent altercations between Hindus and the Christian community over burials have reported in Bastar division lately, the Jashpur region of Surguja on the other hand has been grabbing the headlines over alleged conversion of Janjatis since long. The region has the maximum number of institutions being run by the Christian missionaries.
Reports in the media suggest that a significant chunk of population of the Jashpur district (around 35 per cent) is estimated to be converted to Christianity. However an RTI application in March 2024 revealed that only 210 people converted to Christianity in Jashpur and none of them are alive. The revelation surprised many as around 22.5 per cent of the district population reportedly marked Christianity as their religion in the last census held in the year 2011.
Notably, the Janjati community in Surguja has already taken out several rallies demanding a de-listing exercise to identify those who have converted to other religion but are still posing as Janjatis on papers, largely with an aim to avail benefits of reservation.
It is worth mentioning here that incidents related to conversion of Janjatis through illegal means such as lure and inducement are keep surfacing from separate parts of the state, more particularly from the tribal dominated regions. These incidents have often led to skirmishes between the local Janjatis and those from the Christian community. Further, the role of Christian missionaries in funding such illegal conversion has also been debated for long.
Notably, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai himself on many occasions has cautioned the people of Janjati community in the state asserting, that efforts are being made to break the community.
Highlighting the menace of illegal conversions through lure and other tactics, the Chief Minister in January last year had said that missionaries are in dominance force in education and healthcare and its ramification are that they promote conversion under the pretext of providing healthcare and education facilities.
Read more at: “Conversion takes place under guise of mission backed education and healthcare,”says CM Vishnu Deo Sai.
Significantly, many other senior leaders of the party in recent months have also raised the issue at separate platforms, vowing to enact a stringent law to deal with the issue.
If reports are to be believed the state government is likely to introduce an anti-conversion law in the budget session. The said legislature was reportedly being prepared after studying the laws of three state and will include a provision to ensure that prior information be given to concerned authorities before conversion.
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