The Kumbh is basically a RSS show. No wonder; the BJP state government is working overtime to ensure its success. The government has already spent quite a sizeable sum — running into several crore rupees — for making infrastructural arrangements for the show.

The objective behind holding the kumbh, sources say, was to spread Hinduism among the tribal community. While the RSS holds the view that the tribals were Hindus, the tribals themselves reject this theory and assert that they had nothing to do with the Hindu religion. The tribals believe that they are the original inhabitants of India and that the Aryans and Dravidians came later. But to challenge this view and to re-iterate its intention, the RSS describes the tribals as “Vanvasi” (inhabitants of the forests) rather than “Adivasis (ancient inhabitants).

The three-day “Kumbh” includes programmes such as Ram Leela and Rasleela. Efforts would also be made to persuade the tribals who have embraced Christianity to return to the Hindu fold. This programme is called “Gharvapsi” (Homecoming) by the Sangh Parivar

The Mandla Kumbh is being organised on the lines of the “Shabri Kumbh”, held in Dang district of Gujarat in 2006. Swami Aseemanand, who is now in jail on the charge of being behind several terror attacks in the country, was the chief organiser of the Shabri Kumbh. It is alleged that rudimentary plans for the subsequent bomb blasts at Malegaon, Mecca masjid, Ajmer Sharif and Samjauta Express were drawn up at Shabri Kumbh.

Mandla is a tribal-dominated district. It hardly has the infrastructure to accommodate 25 lakh persons. Massive funds are being spent on building roads. Thousands of acres of agricultural land has been acquired by the administration to put up tents and provide basic amenities to the visitors. It is reported that agriculture land belonging to some 12,000 farmers has been acquired. They were told not to sow crops and keep their land vacant. Those whose land has been acquired are being compensated at the rate of Rs. ten thousand per acre. But the farmers say that the amount was grossly inadequate. More than one thousand families have been evicted from their homes to make way for the construction of roads etc.

Meanwhile, the tribals, led by their spiritual leaders are opposing the “Narmada Kumbh”. They apprehend that it is a part of the conspiracy to turn tribals into Hindus. It is reported that tribal spiritual leaders held a conclave at Amarkantak — the holy town from where the Narmada originates — to chalk out a strategy to defeat the “Hindu conspiracy hatched by the Sangh Parivar”. Adivasi “Dharmacharyas” from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, who met at Amarkantak, pointed out that the tribals, as a matter of principle, do not participate in the traditional Kumbh mela held at Allahabad, Ujjain, Haridwar and Nasik and that they can’t be forced to participate in the “duplicate Kumbh” being held in Mandla by the Sangh parivar.

Nevertheless, the RSS Pracharaks are making all-out efforts to persuade the tribals to participate in the Narmada kumbh in large numbers. On the other hand, tribal leaders are also going from door to door asking their brethren to keep away from, what they are saying, was a “Sangh Kumbh”. The Adivasi “Dharmacharyas” have also prepared literature, listing the distinctions between the Adivasis and the Hindu. They point out that the Hindu Code bill and other laws exclusively enacted for the Hindus do not apply to them. The Adivasi leaders also warn that the Sangh Pracharaks’ claim that those who take a dip in the Narmada will have their seat reserved in the heaven was against the tribal belief system, which had no place for the concept of heaven and hell. “Instead of assuring a place for us in the heaven, let the BJP government make our life happy while we are living on this earth. At present] even pure drinking water is not available for us. Health care and educational facilities are conspicuous by their absence in the tribal areas. Under such circumstances, heaven holds no temptation for us”, one of the pamphlets says.

The Adivasi “Dharmacharyas” are administering oath to their followers that under no circumstances would they attend the forthcoming Kumbh. Besides the tribal spiritual leaders, the Narmada kumbh is also being opposed by the “Gondwana Gantantra party” (GGP). The party is an exclusively tribal outfit. If the Sangh Parivar manages to strike roots in the tribal areas, it is bound to erode the influence of the GGP.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Congress is maintaining an absolute silence on this issue. It is only criticising the alleged corruption and irregularities in the preparations being made for the Kumbh. It says that public funds should not be spent on a religious-cum-political function. However, the party is making no comments on the real intentions of the organisers of the show. (IPA Service)