Lingering anger from Narayanpur communal clash may sway Bastar

It is 10am, and in the densely forested district of Narayanpur, around a dozen tribal youth -- one carrying a traditional axe and the others saffron Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flags --march towards Edka village. The man carrying the axe, 23-year-old Nanu Nag, is in charge, barking out orders to the rest on where to install the party paraphernalia.

- Ritesh Mishra

The Narayanpur seat has always had a peculiar politics.

It is home to the hills of Abhujhmad, where the top echelons of the banned CPI (Maoist) live in hiding in an area of 4,000 square kilometres only just beginning to be mapped by the government. But outside of Abhujhmad, there is a vibrant election, with two old candidates up against each other -- the Congress MLA Chandan Kashyap, and former BJP state minister Kedar Kashyap -- and one searing issue, new in its ferocity. “There is a wave for Kedar Kashyap,” Nag said. Next to him, Raju Dugga, flag in hand, identifies why. “The Congress has supported vishwasis (tribals that have converted to Christianity) and not tribals in the dispute between the two. Now they will pay,” he said.

The clash 

Fourteen kilometres away from the district headquarters of Narayanpur is the village of Gorra, inside a dense forest. The majority of the villagers are Gond tribals, but 80 of the 200 families are Christians. It’s a split that has festered tension in the area. On December 31, 2022, there was a minor altercation between the two communities, with some villagers suffering injuries. The next day, the issue snowballed. The tribals called a meeting of the two communities, with the Edka police station in-charge also in attendance. Despite the police presence, there was a fresh altercation, this time much more serious. Police officers said that the tribals were outnumbered, and were beaten with sticks.

The following day, on January 2, the tribal community and right-wing groups held a protest at the Narayanpur district headquarters. Hundreds of young people from nearby villages, and even districts such as Kondagaon, Kanker and Bastar collected, and the leaderless mob turned violent, attacking churches, and in the melee, superintendent of police Sadananad Kumar suffered head injuries.