To convert or not to convert?

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Jan 6, 2006, 5:23:56 AM1/6/06

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1. What is the essence of Hinduism? What does
tolerance mean?

The essence of Hinduism is its pluralism, in
which tolerance is
a by-product. This pluralism is expressed in a shloka
made famous by
Swami Vivekanand during his tour of the West at the
time of the World
Parliament of Religions in 1893. The shloka goes as
follows: ekam sad
viprah bahudda vadanti. It is translated by him in
English as follows:
"That which exists is One, sages call It by various
names".
In short it means that each person has a unique
way towards
salvation, which is best suited for him/her. To be
able to do this, each
person has to generate his own spiritual experience.
One may take advice
from gurus, friends, books, etc. But, one has to apply
one's own mind and
come to a conclusion of suitability of a path for
one's ownself, and
one takes the responsibility for the decision.
Tolerance means that while one has chosen a path
for oneself, one
accepts that another may chose a different path, and
that eventually
both will meet at the same place in salvation. This
tolerance is the
reason why there have been infinitesimally small
religious strife in India
throughout the ages.

2. What is the essence of Christianity?

Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is the
ONLY son of god.
He is supposed to have been sent to earth to wash away
the sins of the
people, and so redeem them. Of course, this happens
only to those who
accept him as the ONLY son of god. All the others do
not get the
benefit, and so will be consigned to that place where
one is eternally
barbecued.
Christianity says that it has a unique path to
salvation, and all
the other paths are false. While there is supposed to
be some
modification in these views, the acceptance is that
all the other paths may at
most be second best. Therefore, it is better if people
accept
Christianity and not take a chance.
Christians believe that they have been commanded
by Christ to go
and convert the people of this world. This is also
supposed to give them
special merit when it comes to the day of final
judgement.
Christianity is an hierarchical religion, and the
commands of the
clergy are supposed to be final. It is also this
clergy that is
supposed to be a link between man and god through
Christ. So, if a person has
sinned, and wants god to forgive him/her, he/she has
to go to a priest,
to ask him to speak to god on his/her behalf.
While there are many Christians who today do not
believe in this
exclusivity, the statements of the clergy leave no
doubt that the clergy
believes in exclusivity, and the concept of saving
souls.

(See also Q. 10)

3. If people convert due to spiritual reasons,
should there be any
objection?

When there is true spiritual conversions,
there is no
objection. This happens when the person does it on his
own inquiry, and not
motivated by another to make a study. For example, a
person who has some
emotional problems, may make a change if approached by
a missionary. This
cannot be called a spiritual conversion.
True spiritual conversion implies that a person
not only
understands the new religion well, but also that he is
well-acquainted with his
present one. In this way, he will be able to
understand why the
religion of his forefathers does not give him the
spiritual satisfaction that
he will find in his new religion. At the same time,
since a man or a
woman is always seeking to go on a higher spiritual
plane, such a change
becomes an enlightened one.
Such an inquiry can be done by one who is
materially contented,
and one who has the necessary education to make the
inquiry. It was in
this context that Mahatma Gandhi said to the
missionaries that before
converting the poor, they should first convert him.
They did not pick up
the challenge because they knew that the Mahatma had
done sufficient
study of Christianity and had found that his own
dharma was adequate for
his purpose.

(See also Q. 7)

4. Hinduism is a pluralistic philosophical concept.
Why should there
be an objection to conversions?

In a pluralistic society - one that believes
in multiple paths
of salvation - accommodating another religion is not a
problem. In this
respect, Hinduism has a unique record. It was only in
a Hindu land that
Jews were never persecuted due to religious reasons.
Similarly, the
holiest place for the Parsis is in a Hindu land. The
earliest Christian
arrivals in India in the 4th century were what are
called Syrian
Christians. All of them came because of religious
persecution in their land of
origin.
Followers of all the three religions prospered
not only in terms
of their religion, but also in social and economic
terms. This happened
because they accepted the civilisational norms of the
Hindu society,
and worked within its parameters. They did not try to
convert, or
propagate that their system was better than the ones
of their host. The
tensions started when first Islam and then
Christianity came here with the
power of sword, and tried to subjugate the Hindus of
the land.
A pluralistic society works in harmony only when
all the members
accept the norms of pluralism. However, when one tries
to dominate
another, then the problem starts. Conversions is a
method of trying to
dominate.

(See also Q. 5)

5. If Hinduism believes in "Sarva Dharma Samabhava",
why is there an
objection to conversion?

The concept of "Sarva Dharma Samabhava" is one
of the many gifts
that Hinduism has given to mankind. It means that
Hinduism accepts that
all religions are equal, and that there are multiple
paths to
salvation. Thus, new systems always keep evolving, and
this has added to the
dynamism in Hinduism. Thus, perhaps at a logical
level, there should not
be objection to conversions.
There is in fact no objection if the conversions
takes place due to
spiritual reasons. However, other forms of conversions
will have to be
resisted.
At the same time, Hindus would like to ask
followers of the
monotheistic religions, like Christianity and Islam,
whether they believe in
the concept of "Sarva Dharma Samabhava". And, if they
do, why do they
go about converting? After all, the process of
conversion is to save
souls - that is going to heaven instead of hell. And
if the follower of
another religion also goes to heaven, his soul is also
saved, making
conversion redundant.
According to our reading of what the clergy of
these two religions
say about themselves, they do not accept the concept
of "Sarva Dharma
Samabhava", and so there is an objection to their
conversion activity.

See also (Q. 1) (Q. 4) & (Q. 33)

6. Is there a legal right to convert?

This is a subject that is coming up for
discussion quite a lot.
There is a Constitutional provision which gives a
right to propagate
one's religion. The proponents of the conversion
programme say that this
also implies that there is a right to ask people to
convert. However,
all rights are subject to maintenance of public order,
and if there is a
threat to it, then the right has to be restricted.
This is the way all
civil societies function.
The issue of conversions due to force, fraud and
inducements was
debated at the time of framing the Constitution
immediately after the
independence in 1947. A specific provision was not put
in, since it was
said that such conversions are immoral - a fact
accepted by the Christian
members of the Constituent Assembly. In the aftermath
of the Niyogi
Committee, Madhya Pradesh, followed by Orissa and
Arunachal Pradesh, had
to enact a law specifically prohibiting such
activities. In all the
cases, the governments belonged to the Congress party.
In 1977, when these
acts were challenged, the Supreme Court ruled that the
states had acted
legally and within the spirit of the Constitution.
Thus, a fundamental
right to convert has been denied by the Supreme Court.
While a person cannot be denied a right to
convert himself on his
own free will, and after his own study of the religion
he wishes to
adopt and the one that he wishes to leave, the right
to ask someone else
to change should be questioned. At the same time,
conversions due to
force, inducements and fraud have to be determined as
illegal. While today
the use of force (in physical terms) is limited, given
that the
proselytising religions do not have the state power to
back them while being
in a minority, conversions due to inducements and
fraud are quite
rampant. Mass conversions, the so-called faith healing
programmes,
conversions in the guise of offering social service,
etc., will fall in the
illegal category.
When discussing the legal provisions on
conversions, it has to be
understood that it causes tremendous social tensions.
Thus, conversions
have to be looked at from a social angle and not
merely a legal one.

See also Q.21

10. It is said that after the meeting of Vatican
Council II in the
late 1960s, there is a change in the exclusivist
thinking of the Catholic
church.

Hindu believe in pluralism, and will welcome
any relaxation of
the changes in the theological thinking of the
exclusivist faiths. Many
Hindus have tried to build bridges with the Christian
theologians to
get them to change their rigid thoughts. Due to
changes in the
intellectual environment, even the Christian churches
have felt the need to
change. What has to be seen is whether the change is
genuine and enduring.
The change in the Catholic thinking is supposed
to contain in the
following sentences in the document of Vatican II:
"The Catholic Church
rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these
reli-gions. She has a
high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the
precepts and
doctrine which, although differing in many ways from
her own teaching,
nevertheless, often reflect a ray of that truth which
enlightens all men."
These are the only sentences that are said to
reflect the changes
in the thinking. However, 'rejects nothing' is
qualitatively different
from 'accepts everything'. The latter is part of the
Hindu ethos, which
accepts that salvation can be achieved even by an
atheist. The grudging
manner in which even these sentences try and project
the change is
clear when the Catholic church says that the other
religions 'often reflect
a ray of that truth which enlightens all men.' When
one says 'a ray of
truth', one is not accepting that there is a complete
process. At best,
the Catholic church seems to accept that other
religions are second
best.
This conclusion is confirmed when one reads the
sentences
immediately following the ones quoted above. It goes
as follows: "Yet she
proclaims and is duty bound to proclaim without fail,
Christ who is the way,
the truth and the life (Jn 14:6). In him, in whom God
reconciled all
things to himself (2Cor 5:18-19), men find the
fullness of their
religious life." Thus, while other religions 'reflect
a ray of truth', it is
only in Christianity that 'men find the fullness of
their religious
life.' In Vatican II, at many other places the ethos
that Christ is the ONLY
son of god is reaffirmed. Statements of the Catholic
clergy subsequent
to Vatican II, and even in the last few years, attest
that the change
is really not there. Christ is held to be supreme and
unique.
This Catholic view of the uniqueness of
Christianity is confirmed
by other churches as well. In June 1994, Prince
Charles of the UK
expressed a desire to change his oath if he ever
became the monarch. He
wants to be the defender of all faiths, instead of
only the Anglican
variety of Christianity. In response, one senior
member of the clergy said,
"If (the Prince is) saying Christianity is equal with
other religions,
we should differ profoundly with him. As men we're all
equal before God,
but are you talking about religions and saying one is
as good as
another? I hope he is not saying that."
There have been cases of where there is a
disobeying by members of
the church of the exclusivist ethos, leading to
excommunication - that
is, throwing the person out of the church. This has
happened to a Sri
Lankan priest, who took the so-called liberal
interpretation of the
Vatican document produced in 1969 literally. His
excommunication was
revoked only after he apologised. Also, there is the
case of an Italian
priest, Dom Mario Mazzoleni, who said that following
the teachings of Satya
Sai Baba gave him a better meaning to his belief in
Christ. He was
excommunicated, and since he did not apologise, the
excommunication has
remained in place. The books of the Indian priest, the
late Fr Anthony de
Mello, have been determined to fall outside the
purview of the official
teachings of the Catholic church.

11. So many of the intellectuals have gone through
missionary
schools, and there does not seem to be any attempt to
convert them.

It is not correct to say that no attempts were
made at
conversions. It has always been the practice of the
Christian missionaries all
over the world to try and convert the elite in the
society first. This
too was attempted in India - but it failed.
The intellectuals go to missionary schools located
in urban areas,
where an overt attempt to convert will create a
controversy. So, the
missionaries have to show a 'sophisticated' face in
the cities. The
reason why the Christian attempt failed is the
resilience of Hinduism. In
the early 1800, some missionaries thought that Raja
Ram Mohan Roy was
'ripe' for conversions, because he gave an impression
that he found
nothing wrong with Christ. A priest was allotted the
task of bringing him to
the Christian fold. Not only did the priest fail in
his task, but,
under the influence of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the priest
became a Hindu.

See also (Q. 36)

12. Why do Christian missionaries undertake social
service?

The objective of the social service is to get
an access to the
people who are targeted for conversion. Once the
missionaries come
close the people, and the latter become obligated to
them, the 'benefits'
of believing in Christ is explained to them. This is
done not on the
basis that there is any special merit in the new
system, but because
Christ is supposed to have told them that praying to
any other god will make
them go to hell.
This social service is of many forms - education,
medical
facilities, etc. In the past these services were
concentrated in urban or rural
areas. During the colonial times, these services were
financed mostly
by the taxes that were levied on the local people. In
many cases, land
and facilities belonging to Hindu organisations were
appropriated and
given to the missionary organisations. Also, Hindu
organisations were
discouraged from starting social service projects.
Hence, the social service was done by utilising
the money of the
people who are Hindus. Even today, many of the
established social service
activity is funded by the state. For example, all the
colleges, whether
run by the missionaries or the Hindus, get state aid.
Many of the other
projects also receive government support through
grants being given to
those registered as NGOs. The funds received from
outside India are
then used for setting up the organisation for
conversions.

See also (Q. 15)

13. If someone does a benefit to me, in terms of
undertaking a social
service, what is wrong with it being used as a vehicle
for conversion?

True social service should be done without
expecting anything
in return from the recipient. Otherwise it becomes a
debased and at best
can have an accidental redeeming value. If the motive
is bad, then the
social service has no real merit. There are many
organisations that are
doing noble service without expecting anything in
return. And in
offering such services, the Hindus are very actively
involved.
During his meetings with the Christian
missionaries, Mahatma Gandhi
had said that they are doing social service with the
ulterior motive of
conversions. He asked them to give up this offensive
programme. He also
said to them that if this situation continued in a
free India he would
ask the foreign missionaries to leave the country.

See also (Q. 31)

14. What is wrong with receiving foreign funds for
service activity,
since they come as a grant and there is no outflow for
repayment?

The flow of foreign funds should not be viewed
from only an
economic perspective. The objective of sending the
funds is of prime
importance. If this objective is to work against the
interest of the nation,
then there has to be objection to the flow of funds.
When the service
activity is used a guise for conversions, then the
funds are coming here
for an ulterior purpose.
The flow of funds from these missionaries is quite
huge. They have
well documented fund-raising programmes, where the
main lure for the
donor that is offered is the number of people
converted. This is supposed
to give special merit to the donor, on the day of
final judgement.
Given the vast funds, it is obvious that the donors
will have a control on
the organisation that receives these funds. Since the
headquarters of
the churches are all outside India, this control has
been used in the
past for activities which are inimical to the interest
of our nation. It
has also ensured that an independent leadership in the
Indian churches
has not developed.
The Niyogi Committee went into the issue of how
the foreign funds
have been used for ulterior purposes. Many of the
aggressively
proselytising churches figure still receive foreign
funds, as reported in an
English national weekly. The use of foreign funds for
subversive
activities has also been documented in the Northeast.

15. Why do Hindu organisations not do social
service, as a counter
measure to what the Christians have done?

It is an anti-Hindu propaganda that Hindus do
not undertake
social service. If one looks at the post-independence
period, one will see
that the Hindus have come forward in substantial
numbers to undertake
social service. This is not only in terms of
establishing educational
facilities, but also health service, and other noble
causes. However,
such institutes are not identified as Hindu
organisations - as per the
practice of secularism in our country. Social service
organisations like
Rotary and Lions are manned by Hindus in very large
numbers.
During the colonial times, Hindus were restricted
from undertaking
charity which is an integral part of Hindu culture.
Simultaneously, the
colonial masters gave large assistance to the
missionary institutes,
both administrative and financial. The latter was from
the taxes that
were levied on the people of this country. Given that
the prosperous
section of the society was Hindu, obviously it was the
Hindu money that was
provided for the missionaries. In addition, land and
institutes
belonging to the Hindu temples were appropriated and
given to the
missionaries.
In the post-independence period, these missionary
institutes
continue to receive state aid for much of their
activities. In quite a few
cases, because the infrastructure was built and in
place, the missionary
institutes were not disbanded or replaced. A Hindu
sees nothing wrong
in this, and rightly so. But, to call such state
funded institutes as
missionary is a misnomer.
To give an example of the work done by the
Rashtriay Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) in the field of education, the number of
schools in the Vidya
Bharati fold is 10,945, and 55 colleges. The total
number of teachers
in these schools in 74,000 and there are 17 lakh
students. In addition,
there are more than 2000 one-teacher schools being run
in the tribal
areas.
Other projects of the RSS amount to 17,071, with
and involvement of
nearly 50,000 volunteers. The number of beneficiaries
is more than 50
lakhs, of which 23% are from the rural areas, 42% in
tribal and 35% poor
urban. The Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, a unit promosted by
the RSS to
service the tribal population, runs nearly 10,000
projects, out of which half
are in education and others in social-cultural areas.
There are 1200
full time workers, besides thousands who devote part
of their time.
As part of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad itself, there
are more than
1390 service projects all over the country. There are
other Hindu
organisations that are running education institutes,
like Ramkrishna Mission,
Swami Chinmayanand Mission, etc. In addition, there
are Hindu
philanthropists that are also doing similar work all
over the country.

16. Does Christianity use force to convert the
people today?

When one talks about force, it is commonly
assumed to be the
use of the sword, that is a weapon. The use of force
to convert people in
the past was the standard practice wherever in the
world Christianity
went. India was no exception. This was possible
because Christianity
went along with the programme of colonising
non-Christian lands, and hence
had state support. Thus the force was provided by the
secular arm of
the country, namely the colonial administration.
With this support no longer available, it is rare
that force is
used. However, one does find cases of use of force now
and then. In the
Dangs district, the nephew of the one of the former
tribal raja was twice
beaten for not falling in line with the desire of the
Christian
missionaries.

(See also Q. 17)

17. Does Christianity today use inducements and
fraud to convert
people?

With conversions by force not being possible,
the methods that
are applied are inducements and fraud. Inducements are
the so-called
social service activities, and these have been
documented by the Niyogi
Committee. In most cases, the social service benefits
was provided only
to those who agreed to convert. A loan given to a
tribal is cancelled
if he, along with his family, becomes a Christian.
While the commission
dealt with Madhya Pradesh only, the practices that
have been narrated
are the ones that are a common practice all over
India, and indeed in
the rest of the world.
The fraud that is done is to pretend that a person
has become well
because of the 'power' of Christ. While treating an
illness, a
missionary gives medicine of no value and asks the
tribal to take it while
offering prayers to his present deity. Of course,
there is no cure. Next,
the missionary gives real medicine and asks the tribal
to take it while
offering prayers to Christ. The recovery is attributed
to Christ and
not to the medicine.
Fraud also takes place when there are programmes
of what are called
faith healing. 'Lame' people are said to be cured, and
'blind' recover
their sight. These 'miracles' are used to establish
the superiority of
Christ.

18. Since the Christian population is only 2.6% of
the total , how
does Christianity become a threat to India?

One has to look not only at the overall
percentage of Christian
population, but how it is dispersed. The concentration
of Christians is
in a few pockets like the states of Kerala and Goa,
and four of the
seven north-eastern states. In Kerala and Goa, the
churches have utilised
the numbers to interfere in politics all the time. A
prime opponent of
the alignment of the Konkan Railway was the Catholic
church in Goa.
This caused delays as well increased the cost of the
project.
In the north-east, the involvement of the churches
in the
secessionist movements has been well documented.
During the reign of Jawaharlal
Nehru some foreign missionaries had been asked to
leave the country
because they supported these anti-national movements.
Another area which is targeted is the tribal belts
all over the
country. These conversions have created a lot of
social problem since the
converts are asked to deny their past and not
participate in the
ancient social rites of the area. The Niyogi Committee
stated that it was due
to the influence of these missionaries that a demand
for an independent
Jharkhand nation was made.

(See also Q. 19)

19. The share of the Christian population in the
country has come
down by 0.3% over the last ten years. Does this not
prove that there is no
conversion?

The main reason for the fall is the steep
decline in the growth
of the Christian population in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Goa
and Maharashtra, which constitute 65% of the Christian
population of
the country. Due to improved literacy and economic
prosperity, the size
of the families has come down drastically.
What this fall in the share of the Christian hides
is the large
increase that has taken place in the Northeast. In
Manipur, the share has
gone up from 12% in 1951 to 30% in 1991. In Meghalaya,
the share has
gone up from 23% to 63%. In Nagaland, the share has
gone up from 46% to
90%. In Mizoram, the share in 1991 is 90%. (The 1951
figures is not
available.)

20. If the issue of conversions is to deal with the
attitude of the
churches, why is the Christian community being
targeted?

It is wrong to say that the Christians are
being targeted. The
theological issue is being addressed to the churches.
Unfortunately,
they do not respond. Except for one missionary, no one
has been killed in
the recent attacks. There has been no wanton attacks
on the community.
Secular property of Christians have not been damaged.
Also, one has to
see that there has been a lot of provocation.
Unfortunately, most of
the Christian laity do not wish to address this issue,
and they refuse to
forcefully admit that conversions do create social
tensions

21. There has been violence against Christians in
Gujarat. What are
the reasons for it?

Much of this violence has been due to the
provocation by the
Christians. It is, of course, not a justification for
the violence, which
has to be condemned. However, unless one understands
the reasons behind
it, a sane society will not be able to prevent the
future occurrences
of the violence. If the violence is wanton, then there
is one set of
solution. But if there is a provocation, then, unless
the provocation is
removed, the violence will continue.
We will deal with three cases here. The first is
the desecration
of the Bible in Rajkot. The provocation was the
distribution of a
Gujarati (the local language) translation of the book.
In addition, a pledge
was taken from each student that he/she is a sinner,
and that Christ is
his/her saviour. This is a clear sign of arrogance on
part of the
authorities of the school with more than 95% Hindu
students. When the
parents protested, the school agreed to take the book
back. Some parents, in
their anger, did tear up the book and burn some
copies. It is pertinent
to note that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has
immediately condemned
the incident of the desecration. While the school
authorities admitted
their mistake, other churches have not condemned the
distribution of
the Bible. Even when the provocation has come out in
the open, this
incident is still listed as an attack on Christianity
in India.
The second is the alleged exhuming of a dead body
of a tribal
Christian. In Kaparvanj town of Kheda district of the
state, next to a
temple there is an open plot of land which was used by
the Hindus for
religious, cultural and social functions. The
converted Christians claimed
that this has been allotted to them for burial
purposes, and the dispute
has been going on for a long time. On July 19, 1998,
all of a sudden a
dead body of a Christian was brought, and an attempt
was made to bury
it. This was resisted by the Hindus, and there was a
tussle. The
Christians left, leaving the body behind. When it was
returned to them by the
Hindus, a cry was raised that it was exhumed and then
brought. No
burial had taken place at all.
The third is the violence that has happened in
South Gujarat in
the last week of December 98. It has been the practice
of the Christian
missionaries for the last five years to hold what are
called Christmas
mass on December 25. However, this event was also used
to lure Hindus to
attend the programme and an attempt was made to
convert them. For the
last three years, the Hindu Jagran Manch has been
holding a function for
Hindus, to prevent them from going to these public
masses. In 1998, the
missionaries instigated the Christians to throw stones
at the Hindu
rally, and even made a physical assault on the
participants. This was the
provocation for the subsequent violence.
It has to be remembered that in all the violence
that took place in
Gujarat, there has not been a single death, and very
few injuries. In
fact, the one time there was private firing, it was
indulged by a
Christian, when nine Hindus got injured. Even in the
late December violence,
the estimated damage has been less than Rs 5 lakhs.
The whole event has
been blown out of proportion.

See also (Q. 26) & (Q.27)

24. What are your views on the burning of the
foreign missionary in
Orissa, along with his two young sons?

All violence has to be condemned. Like rape,
killing of children
is also a heinous crime, going against the Hindu
tradition. The
perpetrators of the crime have to be identified and
the maximum penalty should
be imposed on them. On this issue, there can be no
second opinion.
However, one has to inquire if the activities of
the missionaries
have caused any social disturbance. It has been
reported that due to
the missionary activities, there has been a social
divide between the
converts and those who have retained their ancient
traditions. For
example, the local tradition says that it is
inauspicious to plough land on
the day of Makar-sankrant. But, the converts used to
do the ploughing,
apparently under the instruction of the missionaries.
As in other events, the Sangh organisations have been
charged of the
crime right from the beginning, and without any basis.

25. Is there any concerted plan to attack
missionaries?

There is no programme of any Hindu
organisations to attack
missionaries, either singly or on a concerted basis.
It is not part of the
Hindu cultural values to indulge in violence. At the
same time, Hindus
have to protect themselves, at the physical and
civilisation levels. If
the Christian missionaries are creating harm to them,
then the Hindus
have every right to defend themselves. All legal
methods will be first
employed. If the missionaries persist in their efforts
of creating
tensions, then some sort of reaction will always take
place. Most of the
physical reactions has taken place in the tribal
areas, where the Hindus
are probably more sensitive, and the missionaries more
aggressive. It
does not take place in the urban areas, where access
to legal remedies is
more easy.
Ultimately, the prime cause of the violence is
the action of
conversions. One Christian writer said, "Whatever may
be the merits of
proselytism, there are demerits also. Foremost, is
that it keeps the Hindus
irritated, annoyed, angered and responding violently
from time to time,
because simple arithmetic tells them that more
Christians means less
Hindus, which is absolutely true. Christians, under
the same
circumstances, everywhere, have also felt likewise -
irritated, annoyed, angered
and have responded violently."

26. Has the issue of the attacks on Christians been
politicised? If
so, why?

That there have been attacks on Christians is
not denied. What
has to be inquired if these attacks have been for
communal reasons or
for secular reasons. In case of the former, there is a
further need to
inquire if there was a provocation or not. Analysing
the cases, one will
find very few which have been of an unprovoked
communal type. Thus,
making an accusation that the Hindus are attacking the
Christians
deliberately, is a clear sign that there is an attempt
to politicise the issue.
The media, particularly the English variety, has been
a willing tool in
this game. When Hindus in Kashmir were under a genuine
threat, with
hundreds being killed, and three lakh having to become
refugees in their
own country, the same media has been a silent
spectator, or treated the
events as not being significant.
The Christian organisations, both clergy and
laity, have blown the
incidents way out of proportion. Even when it has been
well established
that there were no Hindu organisations behind some of
the most
publicised attacks, these events are still listed as
attacks on Christianity.
One event of the past that is listed under this list
is the killing of
two nuns in Mumbai in 1989. It had been established
then that this was a
secular crime, and yet it is still listed as an attack
on Christians.
The Christian organisations have no hesitation of
taking the help
of Islamic fundamentalists, like the Naib Imam of the
Jama Masjid of
Delhi, to take the protest to the streets. The
intriguing part is that
the so-called secular media finds nothing wrong in
this collaboration.
The reason for doing this can only be speculated.
The Defence
Minister, George Fernandes of Samta Party, has alleged
there is a conspiracy
to defame the BJP-led coalition in the centre. There
could also be a
programme to defame Hindus.

See also (Q. 27)

27. Has the issue of attacks on Christians been
internationalised? If
so, why?

The use of Christianity by western powers for
their diplomatic
games is well known all over the world. In the past,
during colonial
times, this was done openly, and the missionaries used
to evaluate their
work in terms of the commercial benefits that the
colonial masters
obtained. In the recent past, the association has been
more covert. In 1982,
in a secret document, the American Vice-President
said, "The Catholic
Church has ceased to be an ally in whom the United
States can have
confidence." This was revealed by an American
missionary in the Philippines.
With the nuclear tests of May 1998, and a growing
independent
stand being taken by the BJP-led coalition in the
centre, there have been
reports of exasperation by some of the diplomats in
the western
countries. While many have expressed sympathy to
India's position, some felt
that the new situation will not enable them to play
the games that they
have been doing. The programme of the Christian
churches of calumnising
the Hindus coincided with the western governments
anti-India programme.
These governments have lent a hand to the Christians
in India for
taking up the issue at the international level.
These western governments have double standards.
In Indonesia,
hundreds of Christians have been killed, obviously on
a communal basis and
mostly without provocation. Yet, the international
community has not
raised even 10% of the noise that they have done in
case of India were
only a handful have been killed. The churches are also
in the same game
plan, and have made frequent announcements down
playing the killings in
Indonesia.
The western countries should also look at within
their own borders
as to what is happening. In the United States, more
than 100 churches,
belonging to the Black community, have been burnt by
the White
supremacist. The racial picture in the United Kingdom
is not something that the
country is proud of. The German government's treatment
of the Turkish
guest workers has been adversely commented upon even
by those within the
country. Less said of the treatment of the Aborigines
in Australia the
better.

28. Is it only in India that Christians are being
attacked?

Christians have been on the receiving end in
many countries.
Indonesia is one such example. In Sudan, there is a
major problem for the
Christians living in the south. In Nigeria, the
Christians of the
Southeast are under continuous pressure. The Coptic
Christians in Egypt are
frequently attacked. (In many other countries, it is
the Christians who
are the aggressors.)
Christians are also under attack in China, where
the Communist
government has set up its own Christian hierarchy
different from the one
by the mother churches in the west. Some of the
Christian magazines have
reported that the Chinese government has used
prostitutes to blackmail
the Christian priests.
Christian organisations are not allowed to
practice, let alone do
their so-called social service in almost all the
Islamic countries. In
Russia, a bill has been passed that prohibits the
different Christian
sects, except the Russian Orthodox, from functioning
in the country. In
Israel, a bill banning conversions was dropped only
when 50 Christian
organisations gave an undertaking that they would not
undertake such an
activity.

29. Why should violence be resorted to even as a
provocation? Are there
no legal remedies?

If violence is resorted to immediately after a
provocation,
without trying other remedies, then condemning such
type of violence is
justified. However, when the provocation persists, and
the provocateur
does not listen to reason, then the violence has to be
seen in a
different light. This is particularly the case in
rural and tribal areas, where
the legal system moves at a lesser pace than in an
urban area. So while
any society would like violence not to exist,
condemning the violence
alone does not solve the underlying problem.
When violence takes place upon a provocation, the
scale of both
has to be seen. The provocation has been substantial,
and continuing for
a long time. Except for the murder of the Australian
priest, there has
been no loss of Christian lives in the recent
incidences. Damage to
property is also small. And about the murder of the
priest, all the
details are yet to come out. Many reporters have
mentioned about party
politics also being a factor in it.

30. Have there been attempts to have bills to
regulate conversions?
What is the view of the Christians towards such bills?

At the time of the debate in the Constituent
Assembly, all the
gamut of issues relating to conversions were
discussed. Given the
record of vandalism in the name of Christianity in
India, and the strong
objections of Mahatma Gandhi towards conversions, many
members wanted to
put restrictions on conversions. There was also a
strong sentiments to
even leave the provision of propagation out of the
section of
fundamental rights. However, after discussions, and
due to various compromises,
no specific provision was made with respect to prevent
conversions due
to force, inducements or fraud. It was assumed that
such tactics would
not be possible in an independent India. Also, due to
various
definitional niceties adopted, the word propagate was
kept as part of the
fundamental rights.
The record of Christianity in an independent India
does not conform
to the expectations that many thinking persons had of
them. The Niyogi
Committee documented the improper activities of the
missionaries, and
made scathing remarks about them. In this state,
followed by Orissa and
Arunachal Pradesh, bills were introduced to prevent
conversions due to
force, inducements and fraud. The Supreme Court in
1977 upheld the
validity of these bills.
In 1978, there was a private members bill in Lok
Sabha to enact a
national legislation on the same lines as the three
states. The
Christian churches, aided by the laity organisations
and the English media,
mounted a sustained campaign against the bill. The
introduction of the
bill did not become possible, and with the changes in
the political
dispensation, the bill lapsed. The fact that the
churches object to the
regulation of conversions is a clear sign that they
wish to continue their
practice of conversions by inducements and fraud, and
apply force in
subtle ways.
See also (Q. 6) & (Q.31)

31. Please give the summary of the recommendations
of The Niyogi
Committee Report On Christian Missionary Activities,
1956.

This committee was set up in 1954, because of
serious concerns
being expressed by various people about the activities
of the Christian
missionaries in the tribal areas of what is now Madhya
Pradesh. It went
about its task in terms of meeting people, as well as
doing field work.
It also perused the printed material of the Christian
missionaries, to
understand the way they set about doing their task.
Though one of the
members of the committee was a Christian himself, the
Christians have
criticised the report as biased. However, most others
have commended the
report. The whole process of the work of the committee
was during a
time when there was a Congress government both at the
centre and the
state.
It is pertinent to note that the methods of fraud
and inducements
that the committee came across, continue even today.
It would appear
that the methods of the missionaries have not really
changed. The
following is a summary of the recommendations which
have been made:

Those missionaries whose primary object is
proselytisation should
be asked to withdraw. The large influx of foreign
missionaries is
undesirable and should be checked.

The use of medical or other professional services
as a means of
making conversions should be prohibited by law.

Any attempt by force or fraud, threats of illicit
means, grants of
financial or other aid, by moral and material
assistance, by exploiting
any person's necessity, spiritual (mental) weakness or
thoughtlessness,
should be banned.

Any attempt or effort, whether successful or not,
directly or
indirectly to penetrate into the religious conscience
of persons whether of
age or underage, of another faith, for the purpose of
consciously
altering their religious conscience or faith, so as to
agree with the ideas
or convictions of the proselytising party should be
absolutely
prohibited.

Government should issue an appeal to the
Christian missionary
organisations, and the Christian community, to lay
down in clear terms the
policy they will follow in respect of propagating
their religion, the
methods to be followed in conversions, the type of
propaganda which will
be promoted and the attempts which will be made to
confine their
evangelistic activities within the limits of Indian
Constitution.

An amendment of the Constitution of India may be
sought, firstly
to clarify that the right of propagation has been
given only to the
citizens of India, and secondly that it does not
include conversion brought
about by force, fraud or other illicit means.

Suitable control on conversion activities brought
about through
illegal means should be imposed. If necessary,
legislation measures
should be enacted.

Circulation of literature meant for religious
propaganda without
approval of the State Government should be prohibited.

No foreigner should be allowed to function in a
Scheduled or a
Specified areas either independently or as a member or
a religious
institution unless he has given a declaration in
writing that he will not take
part in proselytisation.

32. Some of the reported incidents of attacks on
Christians have turned
out to be without any basis. Why has this happened?

We will deal with three incidents here. In
case of the rape of
the four nuns in Jhabua, the Sangh parivar was held as
being guilty of
the crime without any foundation. Subsequently, out of
the 24 people
arrested, the local police said that 12 are
Christians. No one who had
accused the Sangh came forward to apologise to the
organisation.
Moreover, this incident is still listed as an attack
on Christians.
After the dastardly killing of the Australian
missionary, in the
same state of Orissa there was a report of a nun being
raped after
accepting a lift from a taxi which had men disguised
as women. Right from
the beginning, the story had full of holes. However,
the English media
lapped it up, and highlighted it as another incident
of attack on
Christianity and implied that it was the Sangh that
was behind the attacks.
The Christian churches organised a rally in the state,
protesting the
rape.
Within a few days a medical report stated that
there was no rape,
and that the other injuries sustained by the nun were
of an earlier
date. The holes in the story became more apparent,
because the sequence of
events in the incident were obviously false. After all
this came out,
the papers that wrote editorials, holding the Sangh
indirectly
responsible, did not find it necessary to have a
follow-up editorials admitting
their mistake, and deliberate perversions. Neither did
the church
apologise for trying to fabricate an event.
On Feb 2, 1998, the Associated Press, an American
news service,
put out a report that an American missionary, Dr John
Sylvester, had been
forced by 'Hindu fundamentalists' to close down his
school and clinic
in Allahabad and take sanctuary in a Baptist Seminary.
It turns out that
Dr Sylvester is an Indian citizen, not a priest, does
not run a school,
and never met the AP correspondent. One does not know
what action AP
has taken to punish their correspondent for sending an
obviously false
report.
These incidents reinforce the impression of a
conspiracy, both
national and international. It also reinforces the
feeling that the
Christian churches are involved in it. The 'rape'
incident in Orissa, reflects
poorly on the morality of the church, which has no
feeling of remorse
in getting a lady member of the organisation to
humiliate herself in the
public.

33. Are only Hindutvavadis concerned about
conversions?

Here the definition of Hindutvavadi in the
narrow sense, to
identify those who are the supporters of the Sangh
parivar.
Many Christian writers have found that the whole
Hindu samaj is
concerned about conversions. One saw an 'anger'
against conversions
amongst her Hindu husband and their Hindu friends, who
she says are
'educated, perceptive adults'. She also says, "They
just don't see Christians
as Indians; they see us as an alien 'other', minions
of a white,
Christian world that is synonymous with spiritual and
racial chauvinism."
Another writer said that his Hindu friends asked
him, "Why doesn't
the Church confine itself to socially constructive
functions like
running hospitals and schools? Why do you have to
preach your religion and
make converts?" While saying this, he said, that there
is reproach in
the voices of his Hindu friends.
It is time that the churches hear these voices, and
realise that what
the Hindutvavadis are saying is nothing different from
what the Hindu
samaj is saying.

34. The tribals are said to be animists and not
Hindus. Is the
reconversion programme not an attempt to create a
homogenised (in the wrong
sense of the word) Hindu society?

Animists are those who believe that natural
phenomena occur due
to spirits and that all animate and inanimate objects
have such spirits.
They attribute conscious life to nature, and that
organic objects have
a soul. Of course, in each area, different tribal
groups have
additional beliefs which are not defined as being
animistic. Although these
practices may appear to be primitive, for the animists
they are true and
valid.
The controversy of whether the tribals are not
Hindus has been
going on for ages. The attributes stated above are
also part of beliefs of
many who are recognised as being Hindus. For example,
Tulsi puja and
Nagpanchami are important Hindu festivals. Tribals
participate in the
Hindu festivals, wherever they are celebrated nearby.
The genesis of the
controversy is that the missionaries wanted to divide
the Hindu society,
and claim that certain sections do not fall within the
fold of
Hinduism. During the time of the British, efforts were
made to identify who are
animists for the purposes of census. And each time,
the census officers
said in strong terms that it is not possible to
differentiate between
an animist and a Hindu. The fact that the controversy
continues is an
indication that the old policy of dividing the Hindus
still continues.
The Hindu tradition is so vast, that all the
indigenous faiths
fall within the scope. Each tradition, either regional
or started by
persons, borrows from other traditions. At the same
time, they are all
rooted in the essential ethos of the Hindu tradition
of tolerance. For
example, the Bhils and the Rajputs interact at the
social and cultural
levels.
However, what is clear is that animism has no
convergence with
Christianity. So, if a tribal is made a Christian,
then a conversion definitely
takes place. What the Hindu organisations are doing is
to ask the
tribals to come back to their traditional faith -
whether one calls it a
Hindu faith or an animist. There is no attempt to
either impose upon them
something different from what their ancestors
practised or to
homogenise the Hindus into one unique way of belief.

35. What about the Hindu temples that are coming up
in the Christian
countries?

There is a qualitative difference between the
Hindu temples
coming up in Christian countries, and the Christian
churches coming up in
India. The Hindu temples come up only when there is a
significant Hindu
presence in an area. They are set up with the
initiative of the local
people, and funded by them as well. The objective,
therefore, is to
fulfil the spiritual needs of the Hindus residing in
the area and not built
with an objective to convert.
The Christian churches are first set up by the
missionaries in
areas where there are no Christians, and where they go
to offer their
so-called social service. They are funded from
outside, if not the country,
at least outside the area of operation. The objective
is to convert the
people to Christianity.