Assam: Tension over religious conversion amid Christmas celebration in Majuli

Majuli, the world's largest river island and a major seat of Vaishnav culture in Assam, is witnessing a tussle between the influence of Christianity and the people who are looking to resist further conversion there.

Yesterday, Christmas was observed in all 65 churches on the river island which was attended by lots of devout Christians, most of whom are from the Mishing tribal community. 

While Christians were seen gathering at the churches and singing carols to mark the occasion of Christmas, a resistance was witnessed among the other group as 'Swadharma Suraksha Diwas was observed by the Dakshinpat Grihasrami Satra and the Vishwa Hindu Mahasangha Assam. 

These two institutions observed the Swadharma Suraksha Diwas, which was observed as a mark of resistance to conversion, which has caught on to certain sections of the populace of Majuli. The event saw the holding of a yagna and ritualistic worship of the tulsi plant. 

Speaking on the need to hold the 'Swadharma Suraksha Diwas, head of the Dakshinpat Grihasrami Satra and the president of the Vishwa Hindu Mahasangha Assam, Janardan Deb Goswami said that the fact that Majuli has 65 churches as opposed to 36 Vaishnav Satras is something to be worried about.

"It is quite unfortunate that the place where Srimanta Sankardev and Madhavdev has met, the place where Vaishnav Dharma shone bright, today the fact that compared to 36 Satras there are 65 churches is proof that the people of Majuli and Assam have not been sensitised to the issue. In Majuli, instead of Vaishnav music like bhor-taal if you get to hear the sound of carols, instead of hearing the mantras from the Vedas we are hearing carols from 65 churches, then we feel that the people of Majuli have been weakened. Had we been alert, then Christian missionaries would not have cajoled our brothers and sisters into conversions. And we the people of Majuli must resist it together. We must come forward to protect our religion," said Janardan Deb Goswami.

Meanwhile, even as people from the Christian community were busy celebrating Christmas, they were not oblivious to the resistance that is coming from the other side. 

Commenting on the holding of the event by the Hindu side, principal of St Paul's High School, Father Joy said that the fears and apprehensions of the other side are unfounded as the Christian presence in Majuli is not as great as is projected to be. 

"If you move from one side of Majuli to the other, how many churches will you see? The Satras are there and people go there. But the churches are quite less. There are small churches in villages, especially among the Mishing people. They are coming to our fold because they believe in Jesus. We have nothing to fear. Of the two and half lakh population of Majuli, the Christians are not more than four thousand. What is the need to be so scared of? But we have an influence here through educational institutions and serving the people," said Father Joy.