Although it did not make headlines, 31 poor tribal girls,
all minors, from Assam brought to Delhi on June 11 last year have ended
up in RSS-run schools in Gujarat and Punjab, as Cobrapost finds, which
is part of a well-orchestrated conversion programme targeting children
from poor minority communities to initiate them into Hinduism at a young
age. Given the resources and reach the RSS and its sister organizations
command, what Cobrapost investigation reveals may just be the tip of
the iceberg.
New Delhi: On June 11, 2015, 31 tribal girls deboarded the Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express (Train No. 12501) at about 7.40 p.m. at the New Delhi Railway Station, tired and disheveled. However, no sooner had they touched down personnel from Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, Government Railway Police (GRP) and other agencies swooped down upon them and their two women handlers, Korbi and Sandhya, both associated with Sewa Bharati, a social service organization of the RSS. The agencies had been tipped off by Child Line India Foundation, an NGO working for the protection of child rights in India since 1996, alleging that these poor girls, all minors aged between 8 and 14 years, were being trafficked. The girls were to be picked by one Ramanikbhai of Halwad in Gujarat and Bina of Patiala in Punjab, both working for the RSS, and before the authorities could establish a case of trafficking and rescue the girls from their handlers, a mob of about 200 descended on the station. Within hours the girls were handed over to their new handlers, who would take them to their respective towns, after the authorities conveniently found the reason of their movement from Assam valid: education. The event did not make any headlines as the authorities pushed the matter under the carpet.
However, the motive of the alleged trafficking is least altruistic,
as a Cobrapost investigation finds. Although some authorities and
individuals involved in this case whom Cobrapost met tried to brush the
allegation of trafficking aside and even claimed that the girls had been
moved out of Assam for their own good, their new guardians have no
qualms in admitting with a sense of pride that the girls have been
brought in with the sole aim of converting them to Hinduism. In other
words, it is proselytization at work, or Ghar Wapasi as the RSS and its
affiliates would like to call it, disguised as social service.
The first authority to raise a stink was Sushma Vij, Chairperson of
the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Mayur Vihar, Delhi. Apart from Sushma
Vij who was, contrary to what her official report says, quite critical
of the way the girls had been moved out of Assam to Gujarat and Punjab
and questioned the motive behind it, Cobrapost reporter met and spoke
with all the major players in this episode. He visited Halwad in Gujarat
to meet Ramanikbhai at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir he runs where 20
girls out of 31 are receiving education RSS style and Patiala in Punjab
where he met Bina, the caretaker of the Mata Gujari Kanya Chhatravas
where the rest of the girls have been put, and Jyotika, an RSS
Pracharika. Curiously enough, this girls’ hostel had already been
shifted to new premises in an innocuous place and the Cobrapost reporter
had a tough time locating it. In order to complete the investigation,
Cobrapost reporter visited Nakheda village in Chirang district of Assam
and met some of the parents who had been persuaded by the RSS workers to
give away their darling daughters on the pretext of providing them free
education, and, yes, as the parents claim they had been offered money
as well to part ways with their daughters.
Our investigation into the alleged trafficking establishes the fact
that these poor tribal girls from Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Gopalpara and
Chirang areas of Assam were taken away from their homes without properly
informing the appropriate authority of the state and seeking their
approval. Written consent of the parents was not obtained either. The
Child Welfare Committee and other such agencies of Assam, Delhi, Gujarat
and Punjab, which ought to be duly informed under the child protection
and anti-trafficking laws that govern the movement of children from one
state to another, were bypassed. Ending up in the RSS-run shelter homes
and educational institutions, these girls are being initiated into or,
in other words, converted to Hinduism to serve its cause. However, what
our investigation reveals may just be the tip of the iceberg as the RSS
and its affiliates have been working overtime on this agenda for many
decades across the country.
Pursuing a tip-off about this alleged trafficking by RSS workers,
Cobrapost reporter called on CWC Chairperson Vij at her Mayur Vihar
office under whose jurisdiction New Delhi Railway Station falls. In her
report to her counterpart with the Assam State Commission for Protection
of Child Rights, Vij alleges the GRP at the New Delhi Railway Station
did not inform her office of the girls rescued by them because the
officials concerned did not find it a case of trafficking as the girls
were being sent to Gujarat and Punjab to receive education. The report
says that Vij also spoke to her CWC counterpart at Surendra Nagar and
her visit to Halwad shelter home, where 20 girls have been put, and the
Saraswati Shishu Mandir where they are receiving education, satisfied
her. Although her report sort of exonerates the persons involved in the
alleged trafficking, it nonetheless says that the children were not
produced before the child welfare body. The report alleges that the
persons who had taken charge of these girls did not have written consent
of their parents, as required under law, and the CWC of the concerned
areas should have been informed when transfer of children takes place
from one state to another.
Her report may be a tad tame but when Cobrapost spoke to her she was
no less critical of the way the poor girls were taken away to an
entirely different culture. At the outset, she says she should have been
informed by the police: “Karna chahiye hum interview unka lete hum unka counseling karte (Yes,
they [the police] must [have informed us] … we could have interviewed
them … could have rendered them some counseling).” Nonetheless, Vij
followed up the case and visited Halwad in Gujarat where 20 girls have
been kept at a sprawling ashram run by Ramanikbhai. The girls have been
admitted to Saraswati Shishu Mandir. She says that the rest of the girls
were sent to Patiala, Punjab. In one breath she says there was no
trafficking but in the next she questions the motive: “They are comfortable staying there but our objection is that why from Assam to Gujarat … Poora
culture change karne ki kya zaroorat hai … bache abhi Boda [sic]
language ke alawa kuch nahi jante unko poocho na tumhara naam kya hai
toh wo nahi bol pa rahe hain toh ye mera objection ye tha ke itni door
la ke rakhne ki kya zaroorat hai maa baap mein se ek maa baap toh hain
na to unko Assam mein hi rakha jana chahiye bees bachiyon ko tum yahan
se yahan lake unko Gujarati sikha ke poora culture unka change kar doge
(Where is the need to change their culture totally … The children don’t
know anything other than Bodo language. They even can’t tell their
names. My objection is that where is the need to take them that far.
Some have either mother or father. So, they should have been kept at
Assam itself. You have brought 20 girls here and by teaching them
Gujarati you will change their culture entirely), and ultimately they’re going back to Assam only.” Nothing can be more indicting than what she says: “Jab
wo wapas jayengi toh kya karengi … ya toh idhar hi settle karo yahin
shadi karo … likh doh likh ke batao mere ko .. bolte nahi atharah ke
baad hum toh de denge maine bola matlab kya hai unko Gujarati sikha aur
Patiala wale Punjabi sikhane baith jayein toh bachiyon ke toh zindaki se
khelte ho na tum toh. Assam mein reh ke unka ache se kara jaye toh unko
maine bola hai ki aap pehle CWC Assam se baat karo ki unka kya vichar hai agar (What
will they do when they go back home … I asked them they should help the
girls settle here [in Gujarat] itself … I asked them to give me this
undertaking in writing. They refused and told me that they will restore
the girls back to their parents after they turn 18. I asked what they
meant by it … by teaching them [these girls] Gujarati and teaching
[those girls] Punjabi in Patiala, you are playing with their lives.
Better give them education in Assam itself? I even advised them to seek
the opinion of the Assam CWC and if) they are ready to take the children [back] immediately, [we shall] send them back …”
Our conversation with Vij made it clear that either she has not been
briefed correctly by the police officers on duty that day or she has not
investigated the matter in detail and leaves something to be desired.
For instance, she does not have the details of the girls staying that
evening in Delhi and she did not visit the Patiala shelter home where
the rest of the girls had been taken to. Piqued with the shoddy handling
by the police, Vij expresses her displeasure in no uncertain terms: “Haan
aisa hai ki police ne toh dekha hai ki parhne jaa rahi hai karke unhein
bhej diya lekin hum jab main wahan se paper layi hoon poore bunch of
paper hai mere paas usmein yahan ke CWC ne wahan transfer kiya na toh
usmein ek ke chairperson ke sign nahin interstate ek ke sign nahi chalti
kum se kum doh ki sign honi chahiye (Yes … the point is the police
found that they were going there to study and they simply allowed them
to go … but I have got papers from them … whole bunch of paper[s] and if
the CWC has transferred them there, there is one chairperson’s sign on
it whereas in interstate transfers [of children] it should carry signs
of at least two).” Asking the Cobrapost reporter not to blow the issue
out of proportion, the CWC Chairperson says that all five members of her
CWC want all the girls to be sent back to Assam and restored to their
parents. Says Vij: “Let them worry about the children rest of the children … and unko wapas Assam bhejna toh hum wapas bhej denge (Now let them worry about the children, rest of the children … and if need be we can send them back to Assam).” Adding further she says: “Humari icchha hai hum paanch jano ki icchha hai (We want [to send them back]. We all five members want [to send them back]).”
By now, we knew there was something more to the matter than met the
eye and began our investigation in all earnest. We knew that contrary to
the brief that Vij got from the officials, the girls were not sent to
Gujarat or Patiala the same day. The girls were taken to a Delhi-based
ashram for the night. After many visits to the Nigam Bodh Ghat, Delhi’s
largest cremation ground, and scouring surrounding areas for many days,
Cobrapost finally managed to locate Swami Narayan Mandir at the Majnu Ka
Tila, famous for its Chang, a Tibetan brew, and met its in-charge
Dalipbhai, posing as someone who runs an NGO working for the cause of
Hindu faith and wants to foot the bills for the girls who had been
brought from Assam and had stayed there.
It took some convincing to make Dalipbhai talking, and as he starts
talking we come to know all girls brought from Assam had stayed at his
ashram on the night of 11th June 2015: “Tees ladkiyan ayi thi … Assam se (Thirty girls had come from Assam).” His colleague seconds him: “Haan New Delhi station se jo leke aye the (Yes, they were brought here from New Delhi [railway] station).” Dalipbhai too confirms it again: “Haan haan wo yahan thehri thi
(Yes, they stayed here overnight).” These girls were brought there at
about 11–12 o’clock that night. They were taken to Gujarat the next day
after morning meals. He even knows what happened at the station to say:
“Assam se jog ladki ayi thi … police walon ne gher liya tha
(The girls who had come from Assam … Police had captured them).” He then
divulges who the man was who took the girls and to where and what he
does, after making some effort to recall the name. “Ramanikbhai.”
According to Dalipbhai, Ramanikbhai raises poor girls, who are
sometimes orphans, educates and marries them off when they attain
adulthood, and all the expenses are borne by some rich Gujaratis there.
But the real motive of this altruistic enterprise is not social service.
While trying to get Cobrapost reporter in touch with Ramanikbhai over
phone, we get some idea from Dalipbhai how the girls brought to them are
taken care of before they are initiated into Hinduism: “Toh humare
mein kya hai ye trust mein kya hai ki ladki ko parhate hain nahlate hain
nashta karate hain sar mein poora saaf karate hain achi tareh karte
hain poora ye log aur achi tareh kapdon ki vyavastha karte hain toh wo
log badi hoke jana nahi chahti ladki … Gujarat mein aise log pade hain
toh usko ladki ko god le lete hain (The trust educates the girls,
washes them, feeds them, gets their heads tonsured, gets them proper
clothes, so much so that the girls don’t want to leave the place … and
then there are many in Gujarat who adopt them).”
The ritual that Dalipbhai is describing is what is known as shuddhikaran in Hindu religious terminology. This purification
ritual is performed when a person is considered defiled, thus outcast,
to bring him or her back to the community fold, and Hindu missionaries
perform this ritual before admitting those who gave up Hindu religion in
recent or not-so-recent past. Tribal people who in the past have
converted to Christianity and Dalits who leave Hinduism for its
dehumanizing caste system are the primary target of this Home Coming
campaign and at times has led to violent clashes ending up in brutal
murders. For instance, Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines
and his two minor sons were burnt alive by a mob led by Bajrang Dal thug
Dara Singh in Orissa’s Keonjhar district on 23 January, 1999. On 23
September a year earlier, three nuns were allegedly raped in Jhabua in
Madhya Pradesh. RSS has made it its cause calibre to bring such converts back into Hindu fold.
Meanwhile Dalipbhai has been able to get through Ramanikbhai in
Surendra Nagar, Gujarat, and after preliminaries tells him about our
reporter who purportedly runs an organization which wants to help the
girls they have brought to their ashram in Gujarat. Our reporter also
speaks with Ramanikbhai.
Our next port of call was Halwad, 60 km from district headquarters of
Surendra Nagar in Gujarat, where Ramanikbhai runs an ashram and a
school for children. At this Saraswati Shishu Mandir, hung on a wall is
now the most familiar portrait of Mother India, holding a trishul
on her left hand and a Saffron flag on her right, flanked on her right
by a roaring lion, with its geographical contours including almost all
corners of once undivided Hindustan of its heydays.
Here we first meet the woman caretaker, Varsha Gavande, who tells us some more about what happened in Delhi: “Do din pareshan ho gaye the. Police walon ne bahut pareshan kiya tha
(For two days we had a tough time out there. The policemen troubled us a
lot).” She lets our reporter into the class room where the girls
brought from Assam have been put and lets us speak with them. Language
is a barrier and most of the kids are not able to tell theirs and their
fathers’ names, and their body language does not give you a reassuring
feel that they are at home. At present, there are 100 kids at this
shelter home.
Varsha tells us how the alleged trafficking was coordinated by Korbi, an RSS prachalika from Gauhati: “Main
Delhi gayi thi Assam nahi Assam se toh wo Korbi didi hai na wo Assam ko
Assam se Delhi chhodne tak ayi thi … Humne kaha ki wo Delhi tak tum aa
jao hum wahan pe tumhein chhod denge toh hum Delhi se lekar yahan aye
the (… I had gone to Delhi, not Assam. It was Korbi from Assam who
came to Delhi to drop the children there … I told her to come to Delhi
from where I took over and brought them here).” According to Varsha, of
the 100 girl children they have, 20 are from Assam and 15 from Surendra
Nagar. Ghansyambhai and Ramanikbhai are the trustees of this school.
Varsha tells us that Ramanikbhai was there in Delhi on that day along
with her and her husband: “Main aur Ramanikbhai saath mein the … main aur Ramanikbhai aur mera husband hum teeno aye the
(I was there and Ramanikbhai was with me … I, Ramanikbhai and my
husband, we all three had been there).” They had a very tough time,
especially Korbi, while satisfying the police that they were taking the
girls to Gujarat with bona fide intent.
We get the names of some of the girls brought from Assam while
talking to them: Sunila, Babita, Motila and Surgi. They are being
tutored in Gujarati. Varsha tells that of the 31 girls they have 20, and
the rest were sent to Punjab.
Varsha got our reporter in touch with Ghanshyambhai, one of the
trustees of the ashram that is now home to the girls brought from Assam.
We could not meet with the man as he was in Bhuj.
However, as we were talking with Varsha came in Ramanikbhai. A
fertilizer seller in Halwad, Ramanikbhai also runs a booming nursery
business. There are six–seven businessmen like him who support Seva
Bharati’s programmes.
In fact, he has been involved in this work for the past 20 years. He
corroborates the facts of the day when he was there to receive the girls
brought from Assam: “Bees saal se kaam kar rahe hain toh abhi
bees–pandrah ladkiyan humare yahan aur hain Gujarat ki pandrah ladkiyan
hain aur bees ladkiyan wo Seva Bharati ne nahi rakha tha Delhi mein …
toh hum wahan aye the (We are working for the past 20 years. Right
now we have about 15 girls from Gujarat itself. Seva Bharati had brought
20 girls to Delhi … I had gone there to receive them).” He had been
told that some girls were to arrive at Delhi from Assam, some of which
were to be sent to Punjab. He told the Seva Bharati people to give him
all the rest of the girls and he will raise them. “Ek din wo phone
aya ki bees ladkiyan hain abhi toh hum chalo aate hain kab aane wale
hain list de do humko leke toh wo din hum lene ke liye aaye the
(One day I received a phone call telling me that they have 20 girls. I
told them all right I will come there and tell me when they are coming
and send me a list. So that day I had gone there to pick them).”
However, the authorities got the wind and trouble broke.
What should we do with Muslims and Christian girls and boys? Asks our reporter. “Humare paas bhi hain
(We too have [both Muslims and Christian girls and boys),” pat comes
the reply as Ramanikbhai describes how they are initiated into Hinduism
and how they have to follow all daily rituals of Hindu tradition.
Talking of the girls who were then into a month learning Gujarati,
Ramanikbhai says one year into this training is enough to make them
proud Hindus: “Ek saal ho jayega na toh wo poora ka poora aisa
barkat ho gayega Hindu hain hum garva se ho jayega … wahi hum kar rahe
hain … ek baar usko dilse ho jayega hum Hindu hain bas (One year
into the initiation, they will fully identify themselves as Hindus and
they will begin to take pride in it … exactly this is what we are doing …
once they realize from the core of their hearts they are Hindus … our
job is done).”
When Cobrapost reporter asks him to help his organization work for
the mission of Ghar Wapasi in the same manner as they all have been
doing, Ramanikbhai reveals that Ghanshyambhai, another trustee of this
school, will do whatever is required: “Apne sangathan se baat karwa
denge sangathan ka kaise kaam karna hai wo sikha denge wo admi barhiya
hai humara Ghanshyambhai hai na usko sabhi … wo apko iss tareh se samjha
denge kaise karna hai documents mein kya karna hai wo sabhi karte hain
wo … wo apko samajha denge (We will get you in touch with our
organization. Our Ghanshyambhai is a fine man … he will tutor you in all
aspects including preparing documents which is what he does. He will
explain it to you).” When our reporter suggests that he wants to bring
kids back into Hindu fold, Ramanikbhai tells us this is what they are
doing: “Wahi sab chal raha hai (This is what is going on).”
In our conversation with Ramanikbhai, his comrade-in-arm
Ghanshyambhai emerges as the main resource person who will fix
everything related to conversion or reconversion. Here Ramanikbhai
speaks highly of his fellow Hindu missionary: “Hum aapko milenge wo
aapko poora poora iska dhyan denge aur kaisa karna hai kaise aage barhna
hai kaise Hindustan mein Hindu ka wo danda kaisa lekar wo saksham
banana ka hai wo sab wo poora dhyan wo Ghanshyambhai hai na usko barhiya
bana denge … bahut barhiya admi hai wo aapko aisa sikhayenge aisa
documents karna hai saisa karna hai aap kabhi bhi kahan fansne wala nahi
hai (I will take you to him. He will pay you enough attention to
teach how you should move and how you should be able to hold the staff
of Hinduism in Hindustan, Ghanshymabhai will make you capable of that.
He is a fine man and he will teach how you should prepare documents in
such a manner that you will never have problem whatsoever).” So, are you
running the Ghar Wapasi programme? “Haan wo chala rahe hain
(Yes, we are running that),” says Ramanikbhai. You have to bring all
Muslims and Christians back to Hindu fold? Ramanikbhai reaffirms what he
has already revealed: “Haan hum wahi kaam kar rahe hain (Yes this is what we are doing).”
Prodding him further, Cobrapost reporter asks him how he should go
about getting Muslim and Christian kids, especially girls, back to Hindu
fold. Ramnikbhhai begins to tell us in detail: “Kaise shuru karna
hai wo aapko wo jab hum ayenge na toh aapko kahan se shuru karna hai aur
kya kya documents chahiye ki kaise karna hai wo sab (When he comes he will tell you how you have to do all that and what kind of documents you not to prepare).”
But our area is dominated by Muslims, and the Christians you know are
educated, and they can create trouble? Brushing our fears aside,
Ramanikbhhai reassures us: “Christian ka lete hain ladkiyan .. pata
hai sab lekin aise system chalna hum dikhaa denge wo Ghanshyam poora
poora power wala hai wo system poora poora laga denge aapko koi bhi
kissi ki humara kuch bhi nahi kar sakta aisa aisa kar sakte (Yes we
take in Christian girls … we know all that … but we will show how the
system works. Ghanshyam is a powerful man. He will employ the system for
you and he can do things beyond our imagination and nobody can touch
you).” Our reporter tells him that we have many kids from Muzaffar Nagar
who have been left orphan in the wake of Hindu–Muslim riots last year
and we have to initiate them into Hinduism. Ramnikbhhai tells us: “Haan
haan wo pata hai humko … wahan aisa hai Delhi mein aisa hai aisa admi
ke saath apko mila denge wo admi aapko sab kuch kar denge aur aapko bas
aisa humari tareh se hum kahan bhi ho kaam chalta rehta hai waisa ka
denge aissa kaam karte hai … wo kaam pichhe chalega. Aap koi bhi jageh
chale jao tumhara kaam chalta rahega (Yes, we know that. We will
associate you with a man in Delhi who will do everything for you in such
a manner that if, like me, you are somewhere else, the work will go on.
He will help you set up such a system which will work even when you are
not there).”
Next, Ramanikbhai gives us an idea of the numbers he has converted or
reconverted to Hinduism in the past two decades as an RSS worker. You
must have reconverted at least a thousand kids to Hinduism this way? He
laughs at our suggestions saying: “Arre yaar bahut … hazar kyon (Oh man, many more, why a thousand only).” How many? “Lagbhag fandrah–bees hazar (About 15000–20000).” These include both Christians and Muslims. He says with a sense of pride: “Mussalman
aur Christian aur jo koi pehle Hindu the aur baad mein … parivartan jo
ho gaya wahi hissab se bahut ladkiyan humne jo wahan se utha utha ke
layin hai kal unko parha parha ke wo saksham kar di hum bhi Hindu hain
aise aise (Muslims and Christians who were Hindus earlier … but who
converted … you are right, we have picked many girls and raised and
taught them to become Hindu … made them capable).”
These girls thus brainwashed into Hindu ideology join this mission upon attaining adulthood to create a domino effect. “Wo
jakar wo uska jo mohalla ho uska jo gaon ho toh wahan jakar wo
panrdrah-bees ko aur lekar ye … haan aisa karte rehte hain hum bhi Hindu
hain aap bhi Hindu hain humare saath chalo fir bhi aise aise saksham
banate hain (These girls would go to their areas or villages and
bring in another 15–20 girls to us telling them we are Hindus and you
too are Hindus, so join us. This is how we make them capable).”
We get a sense of reach of the network of Hindu missionaries like
Ramanikbhai which can be pressed into service right in the capital city
of Delhi.
There might arise some communal trouble in our area while we are
working in this mission? Before we could ask if his people will help us
at such times, Ramanikbhai reassures us with confidence: “Tumhari
taraf hoga toh wahi sangathan hai Delhi mein ab humara … wo sangathan
turant aa jayega. Wo din hua tha na hum ladki lekar aate the toh Delhi
mein jo sangathan wala tha na wo sabhi log aa gaye the wahan do sau …
do sau log aa gaye the … akar mujhe bol diya chacha aap idhar baith jao
hum sab nipta lenge humne bol diya tha un logon ne … humne bol diya tha
turant Railway ko bol diya tha uska ticket confirm karwa do chaubees
ghante mien confirm ho gaya (If trouble occurs in your area, we
have our organization in Delhi. It will come to your rescue immediately.
You know what happened that day in Delhi when I was there to receive
those girls. All the people from our organization reached there. About
200 workers reached there [at the railway station] and asked me to
breathe easy. They will take care of everything, they told me … I asked
the railway authorities to get our tickets confirmed within 24 hours and
it was done).”
CWC Chairperson Sushma Vij might not have deemed it to be in order to
visit Patiala and see if the girls taken there were doing well, but it
was in order for Cobrapost to visit Patiala and piece together all the
threads of investigation. However, locating the shelter home at 1723/5
in Ramnagar area of Patiala where the girls had been kept as per the
information available to us proved to be no less daunting. For Cobrapost
found locked the two-storey rented building housing the Mata Gujari
Kanya Chatravas where the girls brought from Assam were supposed to have
been kept. Peeping through the gates of the building, sign boards and
other paraphernalia could be seen kept inside the building. It was
obvious that the building had been vacated only recently and the
caretakers had left the place almost without any trace. Thanks to a
postal worker who took us to this address and then to a neighbour who
promptly gave us the phone number of its caretaker Laxmi. The woman
neighbor also gave us some idea where we could locate the hostel.
Fortunately, there was a meeting of the RSS leaders in the evening that
day and taking us someone coming from Delhi they opened the doors for
us. Laxmi is not present. Here we meet first Bina and then Jyotika who
is a RSS prachalika of Patiala.
The moment we tell Bina and Jyotika that we have come from Delhi
Swami Narayan Mandir where the girls brought from Assam stayed for the
night, they begin to talk. “Wo Korbi ji … (Oh that Korbi ji),” exclaims Jyotika. Bina adds: “Wo jab Delhi gaye the toh aapke yahan thahre the … hum bachon ko lene gaye the … Main aur doosri ladki gayi thi
(When we had gone to Delhi to receive the children, we had stayed there
[at Swami Narayan Mandir] … I and another woman colleague had gone
there).”
As our conversation around the mission of Ghar Wapasi progresses, Bina confirms the events of that day: “Haan
… ye mujhe pata hai wo thahre the uss raat ko jiss raat bachon ko
station par pakda gaya thaw toh wahan se Sangh ke koi aye bhi the wahin
se … Gujarat wahan se the Guahati se (Yes … I know that they had
stayed that night after the children had been rounded up at the station …
then someone from the Sangh had come there … he was from Gujarat).” She
continues: “Jiss din station pe jo hua tha na kaand … uss raat
Korbi ji un bachon ko Gujarat mein dene ayi thi lekin wo Swami Narayan
Mandir mein thehri thi Delhi mein (That evening when problem arose
at the station at Delhi after Korbiji had brought children to send them
to Gujarat, she too had stayed at the Swami Narayan Mandir).”
Jyotika is sharp and asks the Cobrapost reporter if he too is from
the RSS and what responsibilities the Sangh has charged him with. Yes, I
am a bird of the same flock, our reporter tells her, and working on the
same mission. According to Jyotika one Vijay Sharma is working on this
mission in Punjab. Here we also come to know that Korbi is a
Guahati-based Pracharika of the RSS. Jyotika is heading the mission in
Patiala district.
How many girls you have brought here from Assam? Bina tells us: “Humari toh aath thi apni … apni chhutti gayi thi … chaar bache aur aye the (Among them eight were from our own hostel who had gone home for vacation. Four more children have joined us).”
Catch them young is this mission’s catch phrase, and we get the feel
of how they condition the young, impressionable minds when Jyoitka
explains us: “Itni si jo bachi hai na usko samjhana asan hai jo iss
age mein aa gayi na aath, matlab athvin lelo nauvnin lelo dasvin lelo
unko samjhan mushkil hai par unko iss cheez mein lana sabse asan hai
kyonki unki baat ko pehle sunana wo kkya kehna chah rehe hain fir unke
baat se … (It is easier to make smaller girl children understand
but when they reach at the age of, say, eighth, ninth, tenth standard it
is not easy to make them understand something. But it is easy to bring
them into our religion. You have to understand what they want to say and
then speak to them …).” Bina chips in: “Wo bache tab set hote hain
wo jab wahan se torture hote hain ye bache kai bache aise hain Christian
jo ussi mission mein torture huye hain yahan aake set ho gaye
(There are many children who get tortured at their Christian mission,
they don’t take much time and effort to set[tle] down with us).” While
Jyotika tells us many pracharikas were working on this missions under a
sanchalika on national level, Bina tells how the senior pracharikas work
to bring the Christian children: “Wo hain jo badi pracharika hain wo nikal ke lati hain bachon ko isai dharma ke
(It is the senior pracharikas who bring Christian children to us).”
These children are conditioned in such way that they follow all the
rituals and the ways of the Sangh wherever they go, even if they choose
to leave its fold. Jyotika puts it philosophically: “Unke andar mala
ke sare manke chale gaye wo jab bhi agar wahan bhi jayenge na toh ye
din time yaad zaroor karenge wahan subah uth ke kya karte the sham ko
kya karte the (It is like the beads have slipped into the garland
and then if they go back to their fold they will sure remember these
days, the times [they have spent here], what they used to do in the
morning and what they used to do in the evening).”
Now, it was pertinent for us to know who the parents were and if they
knew where their daughters were. Therefore, the Cobrapost reporter
visited Nakheda village in Chirang district and met the parents or
relatives of Sushmita, Sunita, Surgi Mardi, Lukhi Murmo, Motila Kisko
and Sunila, who the RSS workers had lured away with promise of cash and
free education. Living in abject poverty, life is a hard grind for these
tribals for they have to bear the brunt of the ethnic strife that has
pockmarked the otherwise beautiful and bountiful landscape of Assam for
the past five decades that has spawned dreaded outfits such as the ULFA
and Bodoland Liberation Tigers Force. Interacting with locals was not
easy as they did not know Hindi well and our reporter could not speak
Assamese or the local tongue. Someone introduced us to a young boy of
about 20 years, named Sunny Murmo, who could speak Hindi and agreed to
take us around in the area. During our conversation with the parents of
girls, we came to know that the RSS workers had promised them money. But
neither they were given any money nor were they told where their
daughters are.
It has been more than four months since the RSS workers took away
their daughters, yet they did not have any word about them. Says Surgi’s
father Parchu Mardi: “Pata nahi hai (We don’t know [anything about them]).”
Cobrapost had managed to get photographs of some of the girls and it
was in order to get them identified by their parents who in earnest
brought their photographs curious as they were to know if our reporter
had seen them. In their paternal eagerness they huddle around our
reporter. They identify Motila Kisko and Surgi Mardi. When the reporter
asks them why did not they file a complaint with police or local
authorities, they fall silent. Sensing their unease, the reporter asks
them about the activities of RSS and VHP, says Kisko’s father: “Zyada din toh nahi hua doh saal se aage hai thoda
(They have been active here for not more than two years).” Did they get
the money they were promised for giving away their daughters? “Nahi nahi … kuch nahi (No … nothing),” says Kisko Senior. “Jtina hai Gosaingaon se le gaya tha toh udhar mein thoda itna karke … doh hazar karke
(They paid Rs. 2000 to those of Gosaingaon from where they took away
girls).” Here not a single penny was paid to these parents. When asked
who is involved in this racket, Kisko has this to say: “Idhar ka toh Devsiri ka Vishwa Hindu Parishad ka un logon ko le gaya (The Vishwa Hindu Parishad man from Devsiri took away our girls).”
Why they don’t protest? Kisko tells about the terror the Bodos have
been unleashing on them and the promise of educating their children: “Kuch
nahi bola khali bola toh Gujarat mein Vishwa Hindu Parishad ka parhne
ke liye le jata hai hum bahut aage mein bhi le ke gaya tha fir aaker aur
toh upay nahi hai jo Bodo ka gundon se hum log … khane peena ka taka
paisa nahi income nahi hai … nahi nahi upay nahi hum logon ka business
ka koi parhne ka bacha log parh nahi sakta (They did not tell us
anything except that Vishwa Hindu Parishad people will take them to
Gujarat for education. They have taken children away earlier too … No we
don’t have any choice … we cannot fight the Bodo goons … No, we don’t
have any choice … we don’t have any money to get two square meals … we
don’t have any business … we don’t have any means to get our children
educated).”
We met a young woman hardly in her thirties, who is running a small
shop made of tin shed. When our reporter asks the woman if she got some
money as promised by those who took away her daughter, she says “Nahi (no).” After our reporter asks her a couple of times if she knew her daughter’s whereabouts, the woman replies: “Pataye nahi hai
(I don’t know).” But after she is shown the photographs of some of the
girls, she identifies her daughter with the curiosity and promptness of a
mother. “Yeh hai (Yes this is [my daughter]).” She has a name:
Sunita. A look at her somber face is enough to know the helplessness of
a mother who does not know about the fate of her child, and how tragic a
tale life has become for tribals like her. Talking in monosyllables,
Sunita’s mother understands that parents like her have been taken for a
ride but is unable to express her anguish. She simply gazes at the earth
pensively, with pain writ large on her face.
At the same shop is sitting her brother-in-law Bhim Toppo, who upon a
little goading comes forth. In our conversation with the parents or
local tribals, we found them reticent while talking to us which shows
that they are living with fear. In fact, it took a lot of prodding to
get them talking to us. So, logically our reporter asks Bhim Toppo why
you all tribal people so terrified? Is that because of Bodo militants?
Bhim simply confirms what we have observed: “Bodo ke dar se (We
are afraid of Bodos).” The reason is obvious as the Bodos are armed to
teeth and it is their writ which runs far and wide in this area. “Hum log khali haath hoga un log ke hathiyar hoga … issiliye thoda dikkat hota hai (We don’t have any arms whereas they are armed … that is why we have tough times).”
Sunny Murmo, our guide, turned out to be an RSS worker who has
studied at the Kanhaiya Lal Saraswari Shishu Mandir of Kannauj in Uttar
Pradesh. It is Sunny who tells us that his uncle Shiv Charan Varma is
Devsiri RSS head, who is also involved in trafficking tribal children to
convert and initiate them into Hinduism. When Cobrapost reporter asks
him if his uncle knows about how children are being trafficked from this
area, he says: “Haan, jante hain (Yes he knows about it).” Is he involved in this racket, wonders our reporter. “Haan (yes),” replies Sunny. The young RSS worker also tells us the Bodo militants kill the tribals. “Haan adivasiyon ko marte hain
(Yes, they kill the tribals),” he says, corroborating what Bhim Toko
tells us about the reign of terror that Bodos have on this area.
Kisko’s words of utter helplessness “Nahi nahi upay nahi
(No, we don’t have any choice)” sum up the fate of a community caught
between insurmountable poverty and the ethnic and communal strife since
the 1970s that began with All Assam Students’ Union movement against the
outsiders. With the emergence of dreaded terrorist outfits such as ULFA
and Bodoland Liberation Tigers Force, the spate of violence continued
unabated. More often than not, poor minority communities such as
Christian tribals, Dalits and Muslims bear the brunt of this violence.
Natural disasters like floods, coupled with this violence, only
accentuate the existential crisis for vulnerable sections of population,
particularly children, leaving them open for manipulation by human
traffickers. There is no surprise then if more than 4754 children,
including 2753 girls, have disappeared since 2012 according to a report
that the Assam Crime Investigation Department had released in October
last year. There is no surprise then if under such circumstances, poor
parents have to make such compromises as giving away their children to
RSS pracharaks for their own good, as claimed by authorities, little
realizing that they have sacrificed their children at the altar of Hindu
faith.
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