IT HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA

(English translation of the article written by Kannada writer S. L. Byrappa on religious conversions. The article is translated by Shri. Manoj Deshpande. published in Vijaykarnataka, Kannada daily on 16th October 2008.) For the last four decades, Christian missionaries in India have been indulging in religious conversions and this trend has become fairly aggressive and far more pronounced with Sonia Gandhis coronation. However, the mass media have chosen to ignore reporting this. States like Orissa and Karnataka have reacted sharply to the scale of operations of Christian missionaries. This has been dutifully reported by all newspapers and TV channels across India. Self-proclaimed Secularists and Left parties have taken this opportunity to announce that India has met its doom in this backlash and have thereby supported the missionaries! It is certainly a pity that they do not care to recognise that the common man on the street clearly understands what the truth is. Sonia Gandhis sycophants, self-proclaimed intellectuals and secularists have gone to the extent of blaming pro-Hindu organisations, Seers and BJP governments for the situation and are helping Christian organisations bent on getting India censured at the international level by United Nations and other such organisations. The Congress Government at the centre controlled by Sonia Gandhi has initiated steps to dismiss the state governments in Orissa and Karnataka. The only thing hat has stopped them is perhaps the realisation that these governments may be reinstated by popular vote which will not serve their purpose. In order to be seen as taking action the Government at the Centre and Left parties, aided by the English media, are blaming Bajrang Dal for the riots. However, no one has bothered to investigate if Bajrang Dal is really involved in these riots and whether how many of these riots are being instigated in the name of Bajrang Dal. Have they concerned themselves with finding out if these riots could have been caused by the neighbours or communities of those who have converted due to the temptations and misinformation campaign induced by the missionaries? Francois Gautier, a French Journalist residing in India has expressed concern over he conversions that are taking place in India with the tacit support of Sonia Gandhi. He says: I am a Christian by birth and a Westerner by origin. I have studied mostly in Catholic schools. My Uncle Hugh Gautier, who was one of the

noblest men I knew, was a priest in a beautiful church in Paris. My father, who was a famous artist in France, lived his entire life as a devout Catholic. They were regular visitors to the Church. Having come from this background, I get disturbed when I notice the extent to which Christianity is spreading across India under Sonia Gandhis rule. According to Census 2001, there are 23.4 Lac Christians in India, which amounts to about 2.5%, and that is fairly negligible. However, India today has Christian Chief Ministers in five states: Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Most politicians in Sonia Gandhis inner circle are either Christians or Muslims. It seems like she doe not trust Hindus. Ambika Soni, a Christian, is Congress General Secretary and a powerful member of Sonias coterie. Oscar Fernandes is a minister who implements Centres policies. Margaret Alva is entrusted with motivating Maharashtra Congress with fear. Congress in Karnataka is virtually A K Antonys domain and Sonias secretaries belong to various Christian organisations in India. Walson Thampu, a known anti-Hindu, is the head of NCERTs (National Council for Educational Research and Training) Educational Committee. Sonia Gandhi nominated a known Hindu-baiter, John Dayal, to her National Integration Committee. Another anti-Hindu, Kancha Elliah, has implicit approval of the Government to plead to UN & US Congress to look into matters related to caste discrimination in India. I have nothing personal against Sonia Gandhi. However, it is disconcerting to note that the number of conversions have increased exponentially since she has assumed the top-post in India. Approximately four thousand foreign Christian missionaries are actively converting people to Christianity in various states in India today. At the time of independence there were no Christians in Tripura; today, their numbers stand at 1.2 Lacs. Their numbers have risen by 90% since 1991. This is more pronounced in Arunachal Pradesh: it had 1770 Christians in 1921 as opposed to 12 Lacs today. Moreover, there are 780 churches there. A church is built almost every day in the remotest parts of Andhra Pradesh, apart from the plan to build a church at Tirupati. Mizo, Bodo and other such rebellions in the North-eastern states are actively fuelled by Christian missionaries. More than twenty thousand people have lost their lives in the last two decades due to these movements in Assam and Manipur. State-owned Indian Airlines deplaned Swami Avimuktananda for carrying a stick a symbol of his renunciation. It was just a harmless piece of bamboo. This could only happen in a weak state like India where a foreigner like Sonia Gandhi has been allowed to rule. (Francois Gautier: http://www.francoisgautier.com/ 09343538419/09442123255) The Indian media, especially English TV channels and newspapers celebrated The Popes visit to India. The Indian Government accorded hospitality reserved for heads of states to The Pope, who is the religious head of Roman Catholics. The President, The Prime Minister and the cabinet queued up to pay obeisance to him. A few pro-Hindu organisations argued that he is a religious head and his sole mission to India was to encourage conversions and therefore he should neither be allowed to enter India nor be accorded official welcome. These opinions were dismissed as Hindu-fundamentalist diatribes by the self-proclaimed modernists and the English media. And what did the Pope do? He proclaimed with exaltation: Just as we planted the cross in Europe in the first millennium and in the Americas and Africa in the second millennium, we shall harvest the crop of our faith in this powerful continent (Asia) in the third millennium. He did not bother to hide his true intentions. However, the media and the self-proclaimed Secularists who branded Hindu groups as fundamentalists chose to maintain clever silence over this proclamation. The following list details the present population (percentage) of Christians (in countries that had previously been untouched by Christianity) due to the wide-spread activity of Christian missionaries: Angola (90%), Burundi (78%), Cameroon (35%), Central African Republic (82%), Chad (33%), Congo (62%), East Timor (98%), Ethiopia (52%), Equatorial Guinea (94%), Gabon (79%), Kenya (25%), Liberia (68%), Mozambique

(31%), Nigeria (52%), Papua New Guinea (97%), Philippines (84%), Rwanda (69%), South Africa (78%), South Korea (49%), Sudan (30%), Tanzania (20%), Togo (23%), Uganda (70%) and Zaire (90%). The USA contributes USD 145 Billion every year to fund Christian Missionaries across the world. Churches across the world spend USD 1.1 Billion towards research aimed at achieving religious conversions. This is for propaganda material in 300 languages about 180 topics. Books and articles are printed in 500 languages. They total 175000. Every conversion costs USD 3300. It does not mean that this amount reaches the Convert. It is the expense incurred in activities related to administration, planning and implementation of the conversion programme. In 1500 A.D, there were 30 Lac active Christian Missionaries. Their number stands at 64.8 Crore today. 54% of these people are non-Whites. The strategy is to train non-Whites, provide them with funds and involve them in religious conversions. This is similar to the time when the British employed Indians as Soldiers to rule India! What brand of spiritual enlightenment is this? This is an issue that Indians do not understand. That is perhaps because Indians relate spiritual enlightenment to things like living in a hermitage in a forest or in caves in mountains or perhaps in the freezing heights of Snowy Himalayas where people manage to look inward. One cannot preach others until one is enlightened. And what would one preach about? To look inward! To understand oneself! Religion is a form of this enlightenment. Preaching it is called jigyasa. However, this isnt the essence or method of Christianity. To understand Christianity, we need to learn the features of Semitic religions. They are also called Prophetic religions. It means that these religions were established by a prophet each. The roots lie in the Jewish religion established by Prophet Abraham. Christianity, established by Jesus Christ, is a modified form of Judaism. Later, Prophet Mohammed established Islam borrowing various tenets of Abrahams Judaism. The message common to these religions is that God is not directly accessible to Man. You are, fundamentally, Sinners. God is exceptionally terrible and cruel and punishes without qualms. You will have to believe me, your Messiah, and follow my preaching to obtain an opportunity to avoid burning in hell. If you do not pay heed, you are sure to end up in hell. You will have to place faith in this religion. You will have to convert others to this faith. You will have to spread this message and convert people wherever you go, even if it necessitates the use of force. That is Religion; that is the code. Prophet Mohammed taught methods of torturing, killing and enslaving those who did not believe in Islam. These teachings are an integral part of Quran and have been highlighted in several places in the text. Prophets are intolerant towards Gods of other religions. I have described this is my novel AvaraNa. Jesus Christ was one such Prophet. However, it is believed that he taught love and tolerance of a different variety as compared to the one preached by Prophet Abraham. Some Researchers wonder if Christ ever existed; and if he did exist, was he the kind of person depicted in the New Testament of the Bible? This view has found support after the discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls. Saint Paul, the founder of the Christian Church was the one who gave Christianity its present form. In one aspect, the Bible does not differ from the Quran: both propagate the view that if you do not abide by the Holy Scripture, you are destined to be consigned to the flames of hell. Christians (erroneously) believed that Jews had crucified Jesus and subsequently went on to torture and convert them, and those who refused to convert were tortured to the extreme. That is perhaps why Jews have refrained from converting others. Further, Jews have always been victims of torture and still do endure harassment in several parts of the world. Pope Pius XII knew that Hitler was executing Jews in

Gas chambers. Hitler executed 60 Lac Jews in all. Pope Pius XII was notoriously known as Hitlers Pope since he maintained studied silence over Hitlers activities. He could have advised Hitler and perhaps reduced the number of people murdered during Hitlers rule. It is widely believed that the Pope saw this as a sort of vengeance towards the people who crucified Jesus Christ. Christians have not been able to provide a suitable explanation to Popes behaviour during Holocaust. The notorious Goa Inquisition (257 years between 1560 and 1817; 230 pages) conducted by the Portuguese Clergymen documents the persecution of those who refused to convert. The inquisitions presided by Joseph Stalin were modelled on Christs Inquisition. The Goa Inquisition was conducted behind closed doors in a big house in Goa. The priests subjected such men, women and children to torture with the belief that those who do not believe in Jesus must be under the influence of the Devil and therefore must be brought to faith by punishment. The screams of the victims used to echo in the vicinity deep into the night when they were whipped, their limbs ripped, and their eyelids were torn and their bodies were violated in the presence of members of their family. Diego de Bordeaux, a priest and Miguel Vaz, the ruler of the territory had drafted a 41 point plan to torture Hindus into conversion. Under this plan, the then Viceroy of Goa, Antonio de Noronha released a directive to the province of Goa in 1566 that ordered: I hereby order that under the rule of my Monarch, no new Hindu temple shall be allowed to be constructed or repaired, in this province. Permission has to be sought to repair existing temples and the violation of this order will result in the destruction of the temple in case and the material inside such temples shall be confiscated. Other examples of his ordinances: Hindus shall not play musical instruments in their wedding ceremonies. Relatives shall not be invited for engagement. People shall not receive auspicious returns in weddings. There was a blanket ban on following rituals related to weddings, funerals, wearing traditional attire, growing revered herbs like Tulsi and following rituals related to penance and fasting. On September 22, 1570, an ordinance was issued that gave Hindus who converted to Christianity relief from paying taxes for a period of 15 years. They were required to stop using their Hindu names and family names. The Goa Inquisition would fill up several pages. Readers may refer to A K Priolkars THE GOA INQUISITION (Voice of India. New Delhi). Pages 79-84 of his book provide a full account of the Hindu temples destroyed by Missionaries with details of the places these temples belonged to. The book also contains a reference section with accounts by Portuguese authors of those times who have recorded these details. There is no difference between the Christian Missionaries and Muslim Kings who tortured Hindus and destroyed Hindu temples in response to those who refused to convert. Millions of Hindus in Goa fled to neighbouring states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala due to the lack of religious freedom. They call themselves Konkani Hindus. Chief among them were the GSBs (Gaud Saraswat Brahmins) and Saraswats. Renowned Historian K M Panicker states thus in the twelfth chapter (PORTUGUESE RELIGIOUS POLICY IN MALABAR) of his book MALABAR AND THE PORTUGUESE (Voice of India, New Delhi, 1997- Reprint): The Rulers of Malabar never interfered in the ways of life of the Syrian Christians. This has been recorded by the Portuguese themselves. However, at the first available opportunity the Indian Syrian Christians proclaimed their loyalty to the King of Portugal. They submitted their ancient manuscripts and religious artefacts to Vasco de Gama. They also committed themselves to his mission of annexing Indian states. They invited him to build a fortress in Granganoor to accomplish his mission. The Hindu Kings of Kerala ended up

paying heavily for the patronage they afforded to Syrian Christians. The Portuguese Viceroy was eventually ordered to convert the Prince of Cochin. Renaissance was a period in Europe that opened the minds of the elite to the existence of other faiths across the world. The advancement in art, science and technology brought in a modern outlook in people in various nations of Europe and they began to question the methods and practices adopted by the Roman Catholic Church. This awareness resulted in gradual decline in the approach the Roman Catholic Church took in the matter of religious conversions. This also reduced Church sponsored torture for conversion across the world. The Protestants questioned the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church. The awareness created by modern Physics, Biology and Sociology resulted in an eventual rejection of the rule of Roman Catholic Church. The Church turned the tables on them by portraying that these new ideas had foundations in the theories originally propounded by the Church. It began referring to them as Christian Science. It then propounded a theory that Science and Faith are separate and faith cannot and should not be measured by the yardstick of Science. The British who ruled India established their own Church of England. They did not want to destabilise their rule by directly confronting the faiths followed by people in India. They, therefore, began dissociating with the Missionaries outwardly. However, the British Government and the missionaries shared the same goal at one level: to destroy the sense of nationalism in Indians and thereby kill the spirit of resistance against the British rule. Systematically, through Macaulays education policy and dogmas such as Aryan Invasion, biased interpretation of Indian history, misinterpretation of caste system, commentary on Indian socio-political structures, census policy, the segregation of Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists from Hindu mainstream, supporting Muslim separatist movements etc., they injected their own divisive thought systems into University education to evolve a new breed of Indian citizens modelled on the British thought. The Missionaries deployed all these along with a sustained smear campaign on Hindu deities to ease the process of conversions. The Government allowed the missionaries a free growth path by granting their requests to open schools, colleges and hospitals across India and also allowed the allopathic system of medicine to gain wide acceptability. People who converted to Christianity received special favours and gained reservations in jobs and promotions. Converted Christians were indoctrinated into the ways of life of the British to ensure their continued loyalty to the Church and the British rule. The Indians were amazed at the kind of Institutions the British developed and I have seen this in Indians I know (however, we are now building much bigger institutions) However, we must not forget that they used the colleges to provide medical skills to Christians and to ensure their progress. Let us look at the support the British Government extended to Christians in building such institutions: A young man I know was praising the British for their enterprising nature that led to the conversion of forests to coffee plantations. A retired Revenue Official explained to me: A recommendation used to go out to the Kings Government from the resident British Official at Bangalore that some specified people had to be granted land for coffee estates. The recommendation was nothing but an Order. This order would then be passed down to a Taluk Amaldar through the District Administrator. The Amaldar would then appoint a revenue inspector to accompany a horse-ridden White King (all Whites were referred to as King then) who would then go to a mountain top and point out an area of land with the tip of his index finger and demand that that land was needed. The revenue inspector would then obediently measure the land and report to higher officials. Within a week, the British Citizen would get thousands of acres of forests. The man would then employ locals to cut trees which he would sell to raise money for his coffee plantation. The Imperial Bank would lend money to such people (interest free) until the coffee trees

bore fruit and once the crop yielded the interest rate would be one percent. Wasnt it then brave of British citizens to build hill-top bungalows overlooking their vast coffee plantations? Well, how could Indians summon such courage? It is said that the Planters Association at Sakaleshpur bore a sign that read: Locals and Dogs not allowed. These three Prophetic Religions born out of the desert and the religions born in India have one fundamental difference. All these Prophets claimed that their word was the ultimate truth and that Gods word has been sent through them. They demanded absolute submission and the alternative they offered was hell. They also propounded that Gods word, as pronounced by them, ought to be spread across the world as a message using violence if needed. Prophetic religions are basically blind-faiths. Indian faiths that derive their roots from the Vedas state: ekam sat viprAh bahudha vadanti (There is only one truth- the learned men explain it in different ways). This free thought has found echo in several Indian religious channels. In Jain philosophy syadvAda (syat = possibility; existence) holds prime position. It delineates that there is nothing that can claim to be absolute truth including what I say. There is every possibility that the exact opposite may be true or both could coexist. Jains identify the possibility of existence of up to seven truths at one time. This is an expression of the previously stated Vedic philosophy of One Truth. All Indian religious testaments agree on this basic philosophy. They encourage debate. This is perhaps what differentiates Indian religions that encourage exploration of truth from Prophetic Religions that command unflinching obedience to the Gospel. The Sages (Rishis) behind Vedas (texts outlining the basic tenets of what evolved to become the Hindu way of life) and Upanishads (texts containing the essence of Vedas) were not Prophets. Koenraad Elst, a Belgian Scholar on Religious Evaluation, states in his book Psychology of Prophetism: Prophets talk a great deal about themselves. They ascribe special powers to themselves and state that they have a special connection with the Creator of the World. Sages, on the other hand, talk about Universal Truths and that these truths can be divined in a state of awareness which can be achieved through practice. Koenraad Elsts book is a must read for anyone who has a serious interest in the study of religions. The Buddha was not a Prophet but a Sage who indulged in the study of treatise belonging to the age of Upanishads. His insights are not contrary to the ones presented in the Upanishads. One might want to consult R D Ranades A Constructive Survey of the Upanishadic Philosophy (see the second section of the fourth volume. This has been translated to Kannada by R R Divakar, D R Bendre, and S B Joshi within two years of the printing of the original. I have a 2004 edition of the Kannada version printed by Gurudev Ranade Samadhi Trust, Nimbal, Bijapur). Vedic Religions, Jainism and Buddhism use the term Dharma (Way of Life) and not the term Religion, employed by Prophetic Religions. The Vedic philosophy made our spiritual leaders silent bystanders when the prophetic religions annexed India. When the invading Rulers forced millions of men, women and children into submission, torture and conversion, our spiritual leaders saw it as an aberration in their behaviour and not as a flaw with the religion that advised conversion by force. There is a story concerning the then Seer of Shringeri Mutt Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati which is seen to depict the broad-mindedness of Hindus. When a European approached him and requested to be converted to a Hindu, the Swamiji is said to have replied, You become a good Christian. You will then be seen as a Hindu, as well. Did the Swamiji know that a good Christian is expected to convert as many people as possible to Christianity? Or was he ensnared by the magnanimity of the Vedic Philosophy of One Truth? Or was he not able to tide over the mental block of accepting a person of another religion into the Hindu fold? These questions remain unanswered. When Muslims were forcing Hindus to convert, or when the Portuguese were conducting their inquisition in Goa and Malabar, or even

when Christian priests were going around converting people in the guise of social service Hindu Leaders remained complacent instead of proactively analysing the underlying philosophy of these predatory religions. Sri Vidyaranya who was the source of inspiration and Guiding force behind the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire was well-aware of the cultural and political milieu of his times. However, I have not come across any work of his that analyses the issues of his period. To my knowledge, Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Swami Vivekananda were the only Spiritual Leaders who directly approached the task of analysis of predatory religions from the perspective of philosophical and spiritual assessment. The lack of awareness of predatory religions among the Hindu spiritual Leaders of the past and present times is prevalent among most educated Hindus. This predatory philosophy is the driving force behind suicidal Jehadis and missionaries who travel far and wide into the Indian hinterland to convert people. It is natural to evaluate the utility of religion in rendering service to the community in context of economic progress of the state. In the west the concept of Welfare State brought in a social security net that included education, healthcare services, employment guarantee, unemployment support, care for the elderly etc. This brought in the awareness that the Government can protect the interests of citizens and religion, therefore, is not necessary to ensure service. A few decades ago, Indians used to look at the Christian Church and admire the services it extended to the community. Today, many Hindu Institutions have started serving people in the same manner. However, at the philosophical level, is community service the primary duty of religious institutions? It is gratifying to see Hindu Institutions doing community service in the context of failure of corrupt Governments and Politicians to do so. However, to what extent are these religious institutions fountains of spiritual knowledge? Are our religious institutions today equipped to meet the spiritual needs of people, beyond Social needs such as food, clothing, shelter, education and healthcare? If we are to believe that spirituality is the source of our moral enlightenment, then spirituality must not be measured on the scale of community service. In 1975, I had represented India in a one-month conference on Moral Education organised by UNESCO in Tokyo. We visited a few schools in Japan to understand how Moral Education is imparted. One of them was a Christian Missionary School. After a discussion, I asked the Principal, How is your School different compared to other schools in this country? A very good question, he said, about thirty of our students have converted to Christianity after coming of age. To him, morals meant conversion to Christianity. A non-Christian, therefore, is immoral. A Muslim Leader has said this about Mahatma Gandhi: He may be a Mahatma, but he is worse than a sinful Muslim because he is not a Muslim. Such bigots are not sensitive to the fact that morals are not affiliated to religion and that religious conversions must not take place through violence, coercion, torture, temptation or misinformation. I have a question about Mother Teresa, who has great standing in international media and is today on the verge of Sainthood: Did she allow desolate Children who were sheltered by Missionaries of Charity to follow their religions? I had been to her institutions after her death. All children there have been converted to Christianity. Is this not a ploy for religious conversion? The Vatican Church funded such institutions and ensured that their work was glorified in Western media which was promptly echoed by Indian media without question. It is a pre-requisite for a person to have performed miracles during her/his lifetime to be considered for Sainthood. Nuns at Missionaries of Charity at Calcutta gave statements that they have witnessed Mother

Teresa performing miracles. Intellectuals in India observed studied silence to such pronouncements when in the past they had vociferously questioned Sai Babas claims of miracles. Now, I wish to narrate what I have witnessed in a few small villages about six decades ago. Village folk used to come out to see Siddaganga Swamiji (who used to go out in a bullock cart for alms) when they heard drums being beaten. Shivakumar Swamiji who is a centenarian now was about forty years old then. Village folk used to collect grains and vegetables from all houses and send them to Siddaganga which was about forty miles away, in their own bullock cart. Swamiji never used to ask for rations. He used to tell people: Please send poor children from your villages to our institutions. We will provide for them and educate them. Education is very important. The number of children then was limited. Over a period of time, it has grown to about eight thousand. Swamiji followed the path of renunciation and through the process of seeking alms, increased the number of people benefitting from Dasoha by visiting three to four villages every day. He offered shelter to children of all faiths. I have seen even Muslim children there who were not wearing lingas (a sign of conversion to Lingayat caste of Hinduism). Their belief is that religion is a matter of personal preference; our job is to provide them value-based education. He got his dues only recently by the Kannada media when he turned a centenarian. He never got the publicity that Mother Teresa got. It is certainly not a matter of dissonance too that he did not get wide-spread press. It is one of the five principles of renunciation to offer the credit of all good deeds to God. Stating that one has achieved something fuels egotism. Such people cannot reach higher levels of Yogic attainment. Malladihalli Raghavendra Swamiji, Baba Amte, Dr. Sudarshan of BiligiriRanga Hills and several others have dedicated their lives to selfless service. However, none of them have received the press received by Mother Teresa despite rendering greater service since they were not serving Jesus! A lot of people live by the philosophy that they will be true Christians only when they convert at least a few people to their faith. This motivates thousands of people to spend their time in converting people to Christianity in remote corners of India. They receive training, support, funds, guidance and of course political backup (in case of adversity) from foreign missionaries. Hindus know only losing people to conversion and not gaining people. The Judiciary has interpreted a law related to religious conversion. However, who will implement it? When Hindus hand over people attempting to convert others to Police Custody, they are branded as fundamentalists by the media. Police does not take action. People who violate the law do not get punished. People who attempt to stem conversions are targeted by Christian institutions, political parties, self-proclaimed intellectuals and sundry entities of all hues. The Government arrests them on the pretext that they were spreading communal disharmony. Congress is used to sacrificing the interests of Hindus and defending such acts from the time of Nehru. Mahatma Gandhi had lost control over Congress before independence. Nehrus viewpoints were always contrary to the Mahatmas. Today, Congress is being controlled by a lady from the country that hosts Vatican City. It is essential for money-minded Congressmen to toe her line if they wish to stay in Congress. They then do not summon courage to criticise her policy of sponsoring conversions. Non-Congress Politicians like Devegowda, Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad Yadav and others have an eye on the lower-caste vote bank and choose to dissociate themselves from the BJP which has been branded as a pro-Hindu party. Communists swear by anti-Hindu principle. Todays intellectuals are products of Macaulays education system. Most of our politicians are hypocrites who spend their mornings performing rituals in Hindu temples and publicly proclaim that they visit Masjids to pray to be born as a Muslim in their next life! Such politicians sit before statues of Gandhi fasting till noon to oppose people who resist conversions. Dalit Intellectuals oppose the suggestion to ban conversions. They fear that they will lose

the trump card of threatening to convert to Christianity or Islam. The Church is attempting to provide reservations to Dalits who convert to Christianity thus eradicating the barrier for Dalits to convert; this is again opposed by Dalit intellectuals. They do not want to share the Dalit quota with Dalits who convert to Christianity. Y Samuel Rajashekhara Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, is implementing a strategic plan to first provide reservations to Muslims and then extending it to Dalit-Christians. Dalit intellectuals who encourage the Dalit community to convert to Buddhism choose to place themselves under the Dalit category in official records. They also advise Hindu spiritual leaders who oppose conversion to mind their own business. Are Hindu spiritual Leaders meant only to bless self-serving politicians who fall at their feet in full public view during elections? In such circumstances, when a few people oppose mass conversions, the pro-conversion lobby makes a big issue of it. Christian institutions appeal to Christian-dominated international media to stop the doomsday in India! France has prohibited children from wearing religious symbols- especially Muslim and Sikh headgearto bring in a sense of French nationalism. The Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh had planned to submit an appeal on behalf of the Sikh Community (to allow Sikh boys to wear religious headgear) to French President Sarkozy. However, he ended up assuring them that he will take immediate action on the riots in Karnataka and Orissa on his return without bothering to explain the situation. He is now attempting to place these state governments under Presidents (read Congress) rule on the pretext of the anti-conversion riots in these states. Some people may go underground to protect themselves from the backlash they experience when they try to oppose conversion which should actually be stopped by a democratically elected government. Who will be responsible for their acts if they choose underhanded means to oppose conversion in future? Do we not have people who feel that they should react to the situation since the Government and political parties have shown lack of will and capacity in countering Islamic Terrorism? The US has not faced another act of terrorism since September 2001. People die every single day in some part of our country due to acts of terrorism. It is foolish to expect power-hungry politicians will stop this. Terrorists plan to usurp power by continuously committing acts of terror all over the country. Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Prachanda, Naxals have all employed this technique. Wouldnt Hindu people be tempted to tread this path? Would we be able to stop them through public criticism of such acts when this happens? Politicians, Media and self-proclaimed intellectuals who base their power-play on religion will have to reflect on this question today with sincerity and responsibility. Francois Gautier ends his article with these words: Are we moving towards a Christian India under the stewardship of Sonia Gandhi? If yes, then it is a great loss not just for India but for the whole world because spirituality in its truest form is alive only in India today. Suggested Reading: 1. ARUN SHOURIE: HARVESTING OUR SOULS (ASA) 2. ARUN SHOURIE: MISSIONARIES IN INDIA (ASA) 3. MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE: WOMAN, CHURCH AND STATE (VOICE OF INDIA, NEW DELHI) 4. SITARAM GOEL: CATHOLIC ASHRAMS Sannyasins or Swindlers? (VOICE OF INDIA) 5. SITARAM GOEL: HISTORY OF HINDU-CHRISTIAN ENCOUNTERS (A.D 304 TO 1996) (VOICE OF

INDIA, NEW DELHI) 6. Dr. NAVARATNA S RAJARAM: Christ matada ugama mattu sadyah stHiti (hosa sHOdhagaLu) JAGARANA PRAKASHANA, BENGALOORU 7. Dr. NAVARATNA S RAJARAM: DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND THE CRISIS OF CHRISTIANITY (MINERRA PRESS, LONDON) 8. N S RAJARAM: PROFILES IN DECEPTION: AYODHYA AND THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS (VOICE OF INDIA) 9. N S RAJARAM: CHRISTIANITY IS COLLAPSING EMPIRE AND ITS DESIGNS IN INDIA (HINDU WRITERS FORUM, NEW DELHI)

Musings on Religious Conversion in India

Click here to go to the main page of Star Of Mysore. Click here to go to the main page of Sri. K.B.Ganapathy. Please send your opinions, feedbacks, articles to shshenoy at yahoo.com Ever since the invasion of India by Muslims from across the Khyber Pass beginning about the 11th century AD, followed by the British who arrived in 1600 AD, the nationals, those born in this country, specially those who come under the generic term Hindu, have been under the threat of religious conversion by these foreign invaders and rulers. The proof is in the progressive increase in the number of Christians and Muslims unrelated to the natural increase due to natality. This has caused some concern amongst the Hindus who fear that their number may inversely get reduced over the years (According to the CIA World Fact book, as of July 2008, 13.261% out of the total world population of 6,677,563,921 are Hindus) and such conversions might have its adverse impact on the prevailing ancient culture of this country which is rooted in its Vedas, Upanishads, epics like Ramayana, Mahabharatha and Bhagavatam apart from what the Rishis have left behind by way of rituals and traditions.

After all, Hinduism is an evolved religion unlike those that have founders and holy books. No wonder Emperor Frederick II described these founders of the religions as the greatest imposters the mankind has ever seen. In fact, a study of the earliest religions that predate the Christian era like that of the ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and other Celtic, Nordic, also Chinese (Confucianism and Taoism) and Japanese (Shinto) religions tell us that they did not indulge in conversion in order to increase the number of followers for its founders, proponents or the priests. Those religions, like Hinduism, were of the soil of that particular country or region intended, originally, to serve the people of that country or region only. These religions of pre - Christian era did not have any imperial design to propagate or convert people of other countries by military conquest or by means fair or foul that we find today happening all over the world. In fact, there seems to be a competition among religions (including Hinduism) to get as many people belonging to other religions converted into their own religion claiming superiority over each other. In such a scenario, in this age of reason, a thinking person is left wondering if what these religions claim is really true or merely a bluff. No wonder Nietzsche the philosopher declared that "God is dead". Other thinking persons are left wondering that if God has those attributes of mercy and compassion, why there should be so much of hatred and killing of innocent people by the followers of these religions. Why those wonderful virtues like mercy, compassion and love attributed to that God is not being practiced by those who swear by that God - no matter by what name you call Him. It is a travesty of reason to find God is not allowed to be addressed in the way the religion of a certain country addresses God by those belonging to other religions. Mercifully in our country, Hindus seem to have no problem in such matters at all. People belonging to any other religion can address God the way Hindus address - Eshwara, Bhagawan, Paramatma etc. After all, just as it is said all roads lead to Rome, Hindus believe that all religions take us to the same God in the manner all rivers finally flow into the same ocean. Considered in this light Hinduism seems to be the most liberal religion, not being inhibited either by one single book or by one single Prophet. These later day religions destroyed the earlier religions that existed, for example, in Egypt, Greece, Rome, where it was known as Paganism and also their culture born out of their religion. With their religion gone, giving place to the new, their original culture too was gone. You can find them only in books. Hinduism has its own culture in the form of art, literature, music, dance etc., inspired from the religion. Minus the religion, the Hindu culture will become extinct or transmuted instead of Bharatanatyam we may have Salsa, to wit! Karnatak music will give room to Pop music; Hindustani music will be replaced by Jazz. But the question is not whether the religions should be preserved in order to preserve the culture that is inherently born out of that

religion. The question here is of the freedom of an individual to choose the religion he wants. After all, God is a matter between the Creator and the Created. But when it comes to the choice of religion to seek that God, the choice should be left to the individual himself. Unfortunately today we find such choice being denied or being objected or questioned. An individual is already born into a religion and he shall also die in that religion. Fine. No problem. But what happens when a person born in one religion is forced or made to die in another religion? Hinduism being the most liberal among all other religions, its leaders are afraid of the Mission Conversion by other religions. Recently in our city, discussions were held by Hindu thinkers and writers about Religious Conversion staring Hindu society in the face. We have read about it in newspapers and also the controversy it generated unwittingly, among Hindus themselves on an issue unrelated to the question of conversion. It was a clear case of counting the trees and missing the wood. Missionaries of other religions must have had the last laugh. Last week a friend of mine handed me a book titled, "Conversion - An Assault on Truth" which is a collection of articles on the subject written by seven learned persons at the head of whom is Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa, the well - known Kannada novelist, thinker and acknowledged opponent of religious conversion of Hindus. Others whose articles appear in the book are Dr. Navaratna S. Rajaram who writes about Imperial Christianity, Dr. M. Chidananda Murthy who gives a brief history of conversion, Advocate Padma Prasad Hegde who writes about Anti - Conversion Law and Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh tells you what can counter conversion. There is Swami Dayananda Saraswati who says conversion is violence and finally an interview with Dr. David Frawley, ironically, a Christian who became Vamadeva Shastry after his conversion to Hinduism. The epilogue, a summing up, is by Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa. Reading the book, "Conversion - An Assault on Truth," I perceived an undercurrent of contradictions in the thought contents. Does one think conversion to Hinduism from other religion is good? If yes, then why conversion of a Hindu to other religion is bad? If an individual feels the religion which he is born into is good for him for whatever reason, I do not think he would ever contemplate to take the social risk of changing his religion. I also do not think, those who change the religion do so for reason of achieving Salvation or Nirvana and thus put an end to the cycle of birth and death. Well then, what are the expectations of those who take to religious conversion? Some may think going to heaven, where beautiful damsels (virgins) are waiting, is possible by converting into a particular religion. Some may think their unanswered prayers, pending like a file before a corrupt government official for too long, may be answered if they changed the religion and sought help from the new - found God. Some would seek conversion thinking their social status would be elevated, the stigma of caste and being treated as an untouchable under Hinduism, could be erased.

And some to seek better opportunities in the society and lead a quality life. Another may think his job may be secured and career opportunities widened if he converted into another religion just as it used to happen during the rule of Moguls and the English in India. And there are people who change their religion purely for the sake of carnal pleasure. Some call it love. There are instances of Hindu married men, who are restrained by their religion and the law of the land from taking another woman as second wife, who may circumvent the law as also the religious prohibition by converting himself to a new religion which allows taking a second woman as his wife. The law in India makes an exception in this regard to that religion which helps. This goes to show that man is all the time focused on his own salvation, whether spiritual or material. As such he will make his choice of religion, no matter what the Pundits say or who protests. And the question of patriotism has nothing to do with his choice contrary to the claims of the opponents of conversion. There is a school of thought which condemns mass conversion of poor illiterate people promising them social status and material benefits which, according to this school, is not correct, not moral for the reason it amounts to enticing them through allurements. They are not changing their religion on their own volition after understanding the superiority of the religion which they are going to embrace. Now the question is: What's wrong if the conversion is going to benefit him one way or the other? Hence the right of an individual to choose his religion needs to be respected, just as in the case of universal adult franchise where too, the poor illiterate people give their vote to the candidate who gives them money, security or hope. Before I conclude, let me narrate my own experience about conversion of Hindus to Christianity or any other religion. Recently, I had the opportunity to host a dinner at my house to one Dr. Moji Riba from Arunachal Pradesh. He is a highly educated and accomplished person. Yet, so simple and unassuming. Travelled extensively too. He was here to deliver a lecture at Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL). I asked him, not in a brazen manner but in the course of our conversation if he was a Christian. He smiled at this Hindu host with his house embellished with a massive Venkateshwara painting done in Tanjore style. "I am an animist," he said without a moment's hesitation. I smiled. I had heard about Christian priests defending conversion of tribals using this word "animist" on TV channels and newspapers. For a moment I thought here was a potential convert to Christianity or any other religion. Then our conversation veered into defining what exactly is "animism" and who is an "animist". At the end we felt comfortable discovering that culturally speaking we both belonged to the same religion - the original and authentic - "animism" where alcohol and animal sacrifice as a ritual play a dominant role.

However, I did not forget to tell him that no matter we are 'animists' but yet we come under that great, liberal religion of this soil, with a flavour of its national culture, Hinduism. I am happy to report that he agreed with this opinion of mine during his fourth whisky. And I was giving him company. Animists. Not animals! Another experience was at a Coffee Estate in Kodagu. It was at K. Badaga Village in Kutta. It is about Kurubas (not the old Mysore Kurubas). There were two families. Kala and Chami is one couple with one son with a modern Hindu name Vasanta. Another couple - Sannappa and Jaya (again modern Hindu names). We can see the social upgradation in the change in names - from the typical Kuruba names of their own culture to that of the mainstream Hindu names. Good. RSS may take note of this. They had become Christians and were going to Hunsur Church by bus once in a month for prayers. Their names remained same for fear of easy detection by other non-Christian majority who may mock at them. They stopped drinking alcohol to which these people are generally addicted. There was no change in their food habit or dress except they began to wear neat dress at least while going to the Church. The second example is from Besagur, near Ponnampet. There were four men, Eravas, by name Annu, Karku, Mutha and Mani working as labourers in the Coffee Estate. One Sunday, the owner of the Estate in which they were working as labourers saw them getting into Ammathi bound bus and on enquiry found that they had become Christians and were going to "Bendagost" Church (must be Pentecost) every Sunday for prayers. They prayed only to the Cross sans the images of Mother Mary or Jesus. They wore a cross round their neck, abstained from drinking alcohol and dressed better, cleaner than before. They also prayed daily at 7pm in Kannada to the sound of hand cymbals. For nearly four years their new - found faith was kept. And then one day despite their being True Christians and daily prayers their one child died and other children fell sick. With this unexpected turn of events, their faith in this new religion also floundered. They reverted to their old faith! Goodbye Mary Amma, bless us Maari Amma!!! Om Shanthi By K. B. Ganapathy
Courtesy: Star of Mysore

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