GUWAHATI: At least one lakh tribals led by Janajati Dharma Sanskriti Suraksha Manch (JDSSM) – an RSS affiliated organisation – are likely to storm Dispur on March 26 against alleged religious conversion of the tribal people in Assam.
The RSS-affiliated JDSSM has been demanding delisting of tribals in Assam, who allegedly underwent religious conversion, as Scheduled Tribes (ST).
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JDSSM also demanded an amendment to Article 342A of the Constitution of India.
“Religious conversion has been posing threat to the ST populace in India even before independence. The conversions of tribals of Assam by foreign religions are not a new event but in the last few decades, the rate has increased drastically,” JDSSM leader Binud Kumbang said.
He added: “The ST people are the easiest prey or victim of conversions in India mainly targeted by the highly communal theocratic foreign religious groups.”
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He said it is because of conversion that the Northeast has emerged as a major region of Christian concentration in India.
Of 2.78 crore Christians counted in India in the 2011 Census, 78 lakh are from the region, including Assam.
“The share of Christians in Meghalaya has continued to rise robustly from decade to decade and reached nearly 75 per cent in 2011. It seems some of the tribes in Meghalaya are still resisting conversion,” he said.
As for Assam, he said the number of Christians has risen by 85 times since 1901.
According to 2011 census data, 87.93 per cent of the total population in Nagaland are Christians, 87.16 per cent in Mizoram, 74.59 per cent in Meghalaya, 41.29 per cent in Manipur, 30.26 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh 3.74 per cent of the total population in Assam are Christians.