NEW DELHI (CDN) — Responding to a petition by the state Catholic Bishops Conference, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh yesterday directed the state government to ensure the safety of Christians during a massive Hindu nationalist rally scheduled tomorrow through Saturday (Feb. 10-12) in Mandla.

Organizers of the Maa Narmada Samajik Kumbh (Mother Narmada Social Kumbh, with “kumbh” literally meaning, “pot”) on the banks of the Narmada River hope to draw 2 million pilgrims to the event. Christian leaders said that the Kumbh is the latest in a series of anti-Christian propaganda events that Hindu nationalist organizations have held in recent years.

“We are worried about our safety and security, as our attempt to get adequate protection from the state government received a very cool response,” said Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur.

A similar event in Dangs district, Gujarat state in 2006 was filled with hate speech against Christians and attempted mass “reconversions,” and area media in Mandla district have already begun carrying false stories of “forced conversion” and other malicious accusations against Christians.

A local tribal party known as the Gond Mahasabha (Great Assembly of the Gonds) has vehemently opposed the Kumbh. The Gonds, whose origins predate Hindu presence in the area, have stated that they are not Hindus and are against the proposed ghar wapasi or “homecoming” ceremony – a “reconversion” drive by the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS umbrella group of hard-line Hindu extremist groups asserts that all people born in India are Hindus, and that therefore anyone who believes otherwise must be “reconverted” back to Hinduism.

The Gonds have delivered an ultimatum to the RSS threatening violence should even one case of “reconversion” occur at the Kumbh. They have called for a protest tomorrow (Feb. 10), and clashes are expected.

The former chief minister and general secretary of the Congress Party, Digvijay Singh, has also protested the event, accusing the RSS of “brainwashing the people.”

Dr. John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council (AICC), told Compass that the Sangh Parivar (the RSS and its affiliates) “has left no one in any doubt” that the main reason for the Kumbh “is to purge the region of ‘Christian missionaries’ they accuse of carrying on large-scale conversions of tribals, mostly Gonds, in this part of the country.”

Dayal and Vijayesh Lal, secretary of the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, made a recent fact-finding trip to Mandla and compiled a report. In a press statement, Dayal said that they supported the freedom to hold large-scale religious events.

“But, we fear that, even if there is no violence or a forcible conversion of Christians to Hinduism during the Kumbh, the Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] campaign has poisoned the atmosphere in Madhya Pradesh,” Dayal stated. “This will negatively impact relationships between Christian and other tribals in the hamlets, villages, and townships of the region.”

The activity of hard-line Hindu nationalists in Madhya Pradesh could damage freedom of religion in the region, he added. “It may also negatively impact the continuing social work of Christians, including schools and medical centers in under-developed districts.”