Hindu fundamentalists prevent "inter–religious" marriage in Madhya Pradesh

A group of Hindu fundamentalists broke into a Marriage Registrar's office in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, preventing the union of a Christian man and a polio–afflicted tribal girl they claim is Hindu even though her family says she is not.

Meena Gond, 36, has threatened to commit suicide if the wedding is not allowed to take place, noting that she and Peter Abraham, 38, of Jabalpur district have been waiting to get married since October, when they had applied for permission to wed at the office of the local authorities.

Opposing the marriage is Dharma Sena (Religious Army), an offshoot of the Hindu radical outfit, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council), because the groom is a Christian and such a marriage would "boost conversions" in the state. After disrupting the ceremony, they declared that anti–Hindu activities will no longer be tolerated on Indian soil.

To add to the woes, Additional Collector Deepak Singh, who is also the district marriage officer, has refused to solemnize the marriage on the three dates given by his office because "the groom is a Christian while the bride is not."

Armed with swords, tridents and sticks, the Dharma Sena activists stopped the marriage, calling it a "part of a larger Christian plot to convert Hindus."

"For more than a century we did not raise any voice against Christian conversions in India. But now we are organized. We will not tolerate any more," said Sudhir Agrawal, leader of Dharma Sena.

"The man lured Meena by offering her money and promising her a better life. This is simply a marriage of conversion to increase the members of their community by stealing them from Hinduism," he said, explaining the particular case.

However, the distraught family of Meena Gond have asserted that she is not a Hindu.

"We have no connection with Hinduism, we have never worshipped any Hindu gods in our house," Meena’s brother, Radhe Gond, said.

Patras Gond, a tribal elder in the area who knows the family, has backed his claim. "Most of us have always been animist and many still are. Missionaries converted some of us to Christianity and others adopted Hinduism, but not them."

The activists, however, remain unmoved and insist that the family are Hindu, but just do not know it.

"The origin of Hinduism is deeply rooted in what the Gonds call ancestral animism. For ordinary tribal people, it is impossible to understand the vastness of Hinduism. Missionaries have taken advantage of their ignorance, simplicity and poverty, and converted them to Christianity. This marriage is just the latest example," explained Dilip Singh Judeo, leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that rules the state.

Meanwhile, Christian leaders of the state have described the incident as "outrageous," saying it revealed how "government and para–government agencies do not want to defend the Christian minority that lives here."

"Peter was the first man who ever loved me and wanted to take care of me. But the Hindu men have shattered my dreams. They have threatened to kill him if we marry in secret. I am fed up. Suicide is the only way left for me," said Meena,dejected.