Jharia, Jan. 15: An uneasy calm prevails in the Jharia coal fields following yesterday’s confrontation between Christian missionaries and a section of the Hindu right-wing organisations.

On Wednesday, a team from the Calcutta-based Christ Mission Ashram had organised a programme at the Ram Chandra Dal Akhara Colony. The 20-member team had 16 Koreans. However, the show was called off when right-wing activists stormed the venue. The team left for Calcutta immediately. These organisations —particularly the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) — have warned Christian missionaries against conversions.

The developments have sparked off panic among the few Christian families in various bustees of the coal township. The Bajrang Dal has accused Christian missionaries of launching an “organised campaign” to convert Hindu families living below the poverty line and has threatened that “kuch bhi kar sakte hain (we can do anything)” to put a check on the missionaries.

Trouble over the conversion issue started brewing after a vegetable vendor, Dasrath Sao, and his family converted to Christianity. “We had never been to a church nor did we know any priest. There is no church in Jharia. My husband was bedridden for nine months and my daughter was diagnosed with a tumour. It was then that we came across a magazine called Parmeshwar ki Ore Raasta (Path towards God). It was after reading that magazine that we were drawn towards Christianity. Gradually, the physical suffering in our family got reduced,” Urmila, Sao’s wife, said.

The Bajrang Dal and the VHP have accused Urmila of “playing into the hands” of missionaries and “being instrumental” in carrying out many conversions in her locality near Poddar Para of Jharia. Activists from the Sangh Parivar had stormed Sao’s house a fortnight ago. “The RSS people came to our house and threatened us. They asked us to convert back to Hinduism. We feel unsafe as the administration has done nothing to protect us,” Sao said.

Bajrang Dal’s Jharia unit chief Uma Shankar Tiwari said the Christian missionaries were alluring the poor with money and other sops.

Christ Mission Ashram spokesman Tapas Dixit said: “The only objective of the Christ Mission Ashram is social work. We never carry out conversions and the allegations of the Sangh Parivaar are baseless,” he said before leaving for Calcutta.

Jharia-based social organisation Institution for National Amity (INA) has condemned the right-wing move. INA spokesman Pinaki Roy said: “No one can stop anyone from professing or preaching a religion. It’s an individual liberty.”