Monday Musing
[ Bengia Ajum ]
On 22 January, on my way back home from a morning walk, I saw a school van with children as young as five years old carrying saffron flags and scarves, near Vivek Vihar in Itanagar. The students were from Vivekananda Kendriya Vidyalaya. On that day, the Ram temple in Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, was inaugurated. I don’t know whether the school authorities approved of such a move or if it was an individual decision of the van driver, but in any case, maybe children at such a young age should not be exposed to ultra-religious activities.
The Ram temple inauguration was hugely celebrated in the state with BJP leaders leading the pack. With the election nearing, there was literally a competition among ticket seekers to please the RSS and the central BJP leadership by going around temples and prostrating. Also, rallies were taken out to mark the day in several parts of the state. Looking at the active participation of people, it looks like saffronisation of our state is now complete.
Watching the scene unfold in the state, a dear friend of mine, who hails from the Boro tribe of Assam, expressed his concern. “We Boro are known as a tribe but there is nothing tribal about us now. Our culture, tradition and even our indigenous faith have all been assimilated with the Hindus of mainland India. We are tribal only on paper. I fear the same is being repeated in Arunachal Pradesh,” he said. His concern definitely makes sense. Christian missionaries in Arunachal have already destroyed a large chunk of indigenous faith followers by converting tribals and making them hate their own original faith. Now the Hindu missionaries are diluting whatever is left.
After the Christianisation wave hit the state in the ’90s, now the Hinduisation wave is hitting the state. This shows us tribal in poor light. Are our cultures, traditions and faith so weak that outsiders can come and influence us anytime? Arunachal is a tribal state and it should retain its unique identity. The indigenous faith followed in Arunachal is very unique and everyone should help to save it. In fact, we may be the last generation in the entire world that is still practicing indigenous faith in its purest form.
Also, Arunachal became part of India only in 1947, and in its history it has never been part of Hindu or Muslim rulers. There is no reason for us to hate any religious groups. The tribal people of the state should retain their fiercely independent nature and not become part of either Hindu, Muslim or Christian congregation. This battle for supremacy among these major religions has been going on for many centuries in India. The tribals of the state have nothing to do with them and should remain neutral at a time when India is increasingly witnessing a rise in religious hatred and violence. For us, our tribal identity should be above everything, though, sadly, it is caught between saffronisation and Christianisation.
