This was not the first time we had been in this part of Chota Udepur. In fact, over the years, sometimes working with the Bhasha Institute in Tejgarh and sometimes on our own, Darpana for Development, Darpana’s development communications wing, had worked extensively in the tribal villages. Training youth from the villages, giving them the communications skills to be peer educators, training them as actor activists has been part of our effort at changing attitudes towards health issues, nutrition, educating the girl child and much else.

Raysa village to had been a halt several times earlier. A few months ago our team of actor activists on project SHAKTI, a project to explain women their legal rights, had performed outside the home of the village elder Jaganbhai. Research teams had followed a few weeks later to record the recollection of the performance, its message understanding and behaviour or attitude change if any. So it was with no anticipation of anything but the normal curious and warm reception that the same team arrived at the village at eleven on the morning of the 20th. They parked themselves outside Jaganbhai’s house, set up mikes and props and then walked through the village with drums inviting people for the performance.

As soon as a sizeable audience assembled the team started the performance – this time the theme was about the dangers of early marriage and early pregnancies. Young girls still tend to marry at fifteen and become mothers at 16 here. By the time they are 20 they look forty and feel 60. And becoming pregnant before they themselves are mature physically means huge complications for the mother and infant leading to high mortality rates for both.

The audience comprised all ages and both sexes, with a large contingent of women. Each scene was greeted with the same enthusiasm as the performers had had in the many other villages. As the performers launched into the last scene a large set man from the back of the audience got up and stated screaming at the audience, especially the men.

“You cowards. How do you sit here and let this happen? These people have come to incite our women to go against us. Whenever we get together in our village for a sabha or bhajan, we never mix with the women folk. They know their place and it is not with us. These people are inciting our women to go against our religion and all of you are just sitting here?” The men started getting up. The women sat stricken and looking really frightened. Then an old man started yelling filthy abuses at the performers. The performers approached him to calm him down but the abuses got worse. Before they even knew what was happening the men had pulled out scythes and axes and were lined up to kill our group.

The instigator now yelled that they were from the Swaminarayan sect and didn’t even allow women near them. He grabbed hold of the collar of one of our team, and practically fulminating at the mouth. “What you are showing in your play

(child marriages and early pregnancies) has always happened here and nothing will allow us to change it. Get out of here or else talk of godly things.” By now the young men were ready for the kill and started aiming their weapons at the group. The Swaminarayan man shouted again “Get out now or we will cut you into such pieces that no one will be able to find your bodies”. As the group made a quick but quiet exit the religious Swaminarayan man continued shouting obscenities and threatening to cut them up and hang them if they ever approached the village again. Other villagers later identified him as a staunch follower of the BAPS Swaminarayan sect.

Should someone in that organization be taking note?