Ranchi: A forum of indigenous people in Jharkhand has burnt the effigy of a top Catholic leader in the eastern India to protest the Church stand on amendments to tenancy laws.
The members of the Adivasi Sarna Sabha (Sarna tribal council) on March 6 torched Cardinal Telesphore Toppo’s effigy at Albert Ekka Chowk, the heart of Ranchi, the state capital. Cardinal Toppo, 77, is the archbishop of Ranchi, the nerve center of the tribal Church in eastern India.
The group’s protest came two days after a Church delegation led by the cardinal met state Governor Droupadi Murmu to request her not to ratify amendments to two laws that govern land rights in the state.
The state legislative assembly had approved the amendments to the Chhota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SNT) Act during the budget session in late 2016.
The state is ruled by a coalition headed by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian people’s party).
The amendments that now await the governor’s ratification have divided the tribal community in Jharkhand.
While the tribal-Christian community supports the demand raised by Catholic bishops; Kendriya Sarna Samity, a socio-religio-political outfit of the tribals, oppose the Church stand.
The outfit organized a procession against the cardinal and Bishop Nirmal Minj of the Church of the Ranchi-based Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church and burnt their effigies on a main road in the city.
BJP state president Laxman Gilua, who is also a tribal leader, criticized the Christian missionaries and the cardinal for what he said was interference in a “political issue” and urged them to abstain from interfering in governance.
“Catholic Bishops should take care of their religion and religious activities instead of interfering in the decisions of the legislature and the government,” he told reporters in Ranchi.
Joining the protest, Kendriya Sarna Samity president Foolchand Tirkey accused Christians of trying to hijack tribal culture and religious distinction. “The churches are interfering in the socio-religious outfit of tribals and the Sarna Samity was divided on religious lines,” he bemoaned.
Samity executive president Bablu Munda accused the cardinal of encouraging religious conversions by “using foreign funds to lure innocent tribals.” The leaders accused the Churches of grabbing tribal land and owning property everywhere in the state, The Times of India reported.
Meanwhile two prominent tribal-Christian organizations, Akhil Bharatiya Aadivasi Mahasabha (ABAM, All India grand council of triabals) and Rashtriya Isai Mahasabha (National grand council of Christians) issued separate statements.
ABAM vice-president Mukesh Birua said Jharkhand is a Schedule V state where tribal protection law supersedes any other Act or law. “The governor is the custodian of the rights of the tribal in Schedule V state and everyone has the right to appeal to her if the government tries to violate the law of the land,” he said.
Expressing similar views, Isai Mahasabha president Deepak Tirkey criticized Gilua for dictating the cardinal and the bishop’s conference. “Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression and under no circumstances the bishops or the cardinal can be stopped from giving a representation to the governor,” he added.