This is all against the backdrop of an intense volleyball game being played by a group of older children.
According to the police, most of these children, who belong to different villages, were strangers to each other a few months back when their families were forced to go to church and practice Christianity in 15 districts of Chhattisgarh. were thrown out of their homes by the villages. , They now share space in a temporary camp set up inside an indoor stadium in Narayanpur.
According to district officials, 400 people, mostly women and children, were forced to leave their homes in separate incidents of violence from Narayanpur, Kondegaon and Kanker districts of Chhattisgarh in the last two months.
While the situation has made adults tense, for the children – who are too young to understand the seriousness of the situation – the camp is a “happy place” where they have made new friends and are not asked to study or participate. Going to do household chores.
Soni Kavde, an Adivasi woman from Boravan village in Narayanpur district who is now living in the camp, said, “Seeing him also relieves our stress.”
He said: “They are very happy to have new friends. They play all day. Also, they are too young to understand what has happened.”
ThePrint’s national photo editor Praveen Jain captured some lighter moments at the Narayanpur camp where, according to officials, more than 200 church-going tribal men, women and children have been living since leaving their homes.