RSS affiliates Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have demanded a thorough inquiry into the incident of killed Christian missionary John Allen Chau approaching the Sentinelese tribe to convert them as reported by Economic Times.
They have reportedly demanded that all those people who were aware of his visit and intention should be charged with sedition. The organisations have approached the tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, requesting him to look into the nexus of officials and evangelists.
In a letter written by them, they have stated that the Sangh Parivar has been working with the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar islands since 1985, but it has never tried to go to the North Sentinel Island as rules didn’t permit them.
The letter further reads, “The intrusion of foreigners in the reserved areas of A&N islands has increased, particularly those having religious motives. The tribal groups of these islands, except the Nicobaris, practice primitive animism (Hinduism). The Christian missionaries, therefore, find it easy to exploit the cultural vulnerability of these tribes and, in evangelical zeal, go all out to convert them to Christianity”.
The letter also points at the failure of the intelligence agencies and the possibility of Chau being a spy. The organisations have sought a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard and have planned a rally on December 1 to protect the culture of Andaman and Nicobar Tribes.
The Sentinelese people, whose population was estimated to be 40 in the 2011 census, are known to be hostile and resist contact with the outside world. Khagen Soren, who is in charge of the working of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in the Andamans, said the network of Sangh karyakartas have been mobilised to keep tabs on evangelical activities in the region and groups have been made to facilitate visits of Sangh volunteers to tribal households.
The Sangh Parivar has also convinced some members of the greater Andamani tribe that they have been working with for the past few years to present their culture and beliefs at the Bharat Gaurav national conference of the ABVP to be held in Gujarat next month.
