Christian piety and the emergence of Hindu nationalism in central India Dr. Peggy Froerer, Brunel University In ‘Mohanpur’, a mixed Hindu/Christian adivasi village located in rural Chhattisgarh, post-Vatican II inculturation measures, manifested most prominently by the infusion of Christian themes into traditional myths, rituals and festivals, have had limited effect on the piety of the local Oraon Catholic community. Aimed at redressing this situation, more stringent strategies employed by local priests as part of a contemporary ‘civilizing mission’ have sought to transform ‘backward’ Oraon adivasis into ‘proper’ Christians. These strategies combine a sort of material ‘diabolization’, where a system of ostracism and fines is imposed against those found guilty of participating in shaitan ka kam (Satan’s work) and other ‘un-Christian’ activities with a mechanism of excommunication or ‘outcasting’, where errant members are excluded from the sacrament and their children are expelled from school. Such strategies, which go beyond the more benign inculturation tactics traditionally employed by the Church, are comparable to those instituted as part of the ‘civilizing mission’ carried out in other parts of Chhattisgarh by 19 th century Christian missionaries. While they have gone some way toward the betterment of the Oraons’ Christian faith and practice, these strategies have also had more insidious consequences. By drawing attention to the Oraons’ Christian status and distinguishing them more visibly from their Hindu neighbours, such strategies have succeeded in amplifying the cultural distance between local Christian and Hindu communities, thereby contributing to the emergence of Hindu nationalism in this area. This paper is an ethnographic examination of the manner by which this has happened. I begin with an overview of the history of Christian missionization amongst adivasis in central India and a brief introduction of the contemporary Church mission in Mohanpur. This is followed by an examination of the notion of ‘civilizing mission’ and a discussion of the historical relationship between the British colonial project and Christian missionization, on the one hand, and the contemporary Church, on the other. I then consider the increasing attention directed toward adivasi communities by the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and other Hindu nationalist organizations. Finally, I turn to the specific strategies that have recently been employed by the local priests to transform their ‘backward’ flock into ‘proper’ Christians. During the course of this examination, I consider the broader mimetic relationship between the RSS and the Church. In the concluding discussion I explore the contribution that the Church has made to the rise of Hindu nationalism locally. Ethnographic Setting This paper draws on research that was carried out between 1997-1999 in Mohanpur, a village of roughly 900 located in one of the more densely forested districts of Chhattisgarh. At the time of my fieldwork, Chhattisgarh made up the eastern and south-