The West Bengal Government has withdrawn orders
on conversion. It has withdrawn an order on furnishing details on conversion
following strong exception to it from the State Minorities Commission. Why this
forced sterilisation of religious statistics?
The matter was taken up with the authorities
after the Darjeeling district intelligence branch issued a circular asking for
monthly reports on the number of persons converted to Christianity.
Senior police officials had informed the
commission that the step was taken at the instance of the State intelligence
branch to keep track of religious configuration of the State populace (TheHindu,
February 16).
Why should the State Minorities Commission come
in the way of the State police gathering intelligence reports? The commission
was upset by the Darjeeling intelligence branch decision to collect the
statistics. Was it because it was keen not to open up facts and figures to the
prying eyes of the state?
The facts are available from church literature.
``During the last 30 years the Catholic population increased by ninefolds to
nine lakhs,'' brags an official report. The Laussane Covenant states ``we
believe that we engaged in a constant spiritual warfare...''
Why should the official efforts to collect
intelligence be stopped by the State Government, was it with an eye on the
coming by elections in the State? Or something more fishy?
Arms sales
The western powers want social and political
conflicts to continue unabated all over the world in order to justify their arms
sales. Every nation that is having a population of 100 millions is considered a
potential enemy, in order to sell arms, and treat every nation as a business
partner, a curious dichotomy.
The famous Huntington document, which delineates
half a dozen cultural groups as the ultimate actors of the world's political
stage, has placed religious conversion in a new perspective. Christianity was a
state enterprise for all European countries. Well organised religious conversion
can be a potential bomb to explode cultural values, disturb political
affiliations and torpedo national loyalties.
A few major religious conversions located
strategically can work wonders. One Pakistan was carved out of India. One
Jharkhand was added recently. The Niyogi Commission report refers to the role of
Rev. Joel Lakra, the principal of Theological College, Ranchi, who was closely
associated with the WCC pioneered Jharkhand movement for a separate adivasi
State in Bihar. Though India has become independent the missions are suffering
from colonial dyspepsia. Once it had confused the western arms superiority with
the superiority of the Christian creed.
A fraud on humanity
Mahatma Gandhi called
religious conversions a fraud on humanity. ``This proselytisation will mean no
peace in the world. Conversions are harmful to India. If I had the power and
could legislate I should certainly stop all proselytising.''
The Hindus have nothing against Jesus Christ. But
they are definitely against Christianity as a cult put up by St. Paul, which
believes in the St. Caprian's axiom, Extra ecclessiam nulla salus (outside the
church no salvation). Sarva Dharma samabhava is a heathen idea, a doorway to
hell. Evangelising the heathen is the holiest task of a believing Christian.
J. C. Kumarappa who
was a faithful Christian himself exposed the political ambition of the
missionaries: ``Before these Christian missionaries landed in Africa, the
Africans had their land with them, but not the Bible. Now they have their Bible
with them, not their land.''
When C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer was
the chief minister of Travancore, the temples of the State were thrown open to
the harijans and the Archbishop of Canterbury resented the legislation on the
ground that it gave a serious setback to the conversion of harijans into
Christianity.
The very literature produced by the International
Missionary Council and World Council of Churches put in circulation through
evangelical literature societies and proclamations made by Billy Graham and
other evangelists that they must produce at least one thousand million converts,
for this they have to work in Asia, especially India.
``In fact missionary activity is like ideological
warfare. It is systematic, motivated and directed, that looks to establish a
particular religion for all human beings, in which the diversity of human race,
mind and needs is forgotten. The global missionary business is one of the
largest businesses in the world. Not only Catholic church but also various
Protestant organisations have set aside billions to convert non- Christians to
Christianity. Organised conversion activity is like trained army invading a
country from the outside. The missionary army goes to communities where often
there is little resistance to it, or which may not be aware of its power or
motives. It will take advantage of the communities that are tolerant and
open-minded about religion and use that to promote a missionary agenda that
destroys this tolerance'' - David Frawley.
The Christian missions work
through the World Council of Churches and International Council. These
organisations work under the direction and control of the governments of the
United States, Canada, Britain and Australia.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan told an
audience in Oxford that to the Indian Christian, Jesus was the whiteman's god
marching with a sword in one hand and the Union Jack in the other.
In 1956 Rajah Bhushanam Manickham, secretary of
the World Council of Churches and International Missionary Council, landed in
China and met the Prime Minister Chou En Lai. He asked two specific questions:
my friends tell me that there is religious freedom for church in China, I wonder
whether you could reassure me on this score and tell me whether such freedom is
likely to continue in future. My second question is ``what about the future of
religion itself in communist China?''
Chou En Lai's
reply was crisp and categorical: ``There is freedom to serve to China right, but
no freedom to do wrong or upset the Government of China... As for religious
freedom, I must make it clear to you that we have sent away these foreign
missionaries who were really at heart colonists and who did harm to China. They
will not be allowed to come back... The doors are indeed closed once and for all
in China to the imperialistic Christian missionaries.''
On January 31, 1994 Premier
Li Peng of China enforced strict ban on conversion of Chinese
citizens by foreigners through serious of regulations on the management of
religious activities in China and places of religious activities.
What about secular India which is an open
choultry, where the missionary is given royal treatment of the minority status,
whose vote banks are cherished assets for the politicians from West Bengal to
Kerala, hence the withdrawal of the orders of the Darjeeling police to collect
vital statistics on conversions.
The Niyogi Committee report states ``the
separatist tendency'' that has sgripped the mind of the aboriginal.
The growth of Baptist churches in Nagaland page
175 boasts: The Ministers and members of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly,
government officers and employees are active, witnessing Christians in their
individual capacity... Last year some officers of high rank went on a preaching
tour to various places in both Nagaland and Assam. The government officials (not
in their official capacity) gave all possible cooperation... to make the annual
conventions, and important church meetings a great success. All India Radio,
Kohima station, broadcasts church services, Christian messages and Christian
songs... the cooperation of government servants has a great bearing in the
growth of church in Nagaland. This is a rare privilege in India.''
The growth of Baptist churches page 115 claims
``the government of Meghalaya is run by Christian officers. This is a rare
privilege in India. The recent developments are a god given opportunity to the
Garo Hills for the furtherance of his kingdom.'' It is not surprising that
insurgency in Nagaland has not grown. The Indian Express January 25, 1995 says
that a nexus has been established between the Pakistan's ISI and the illegal
Muslim immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
In three out of the seven States, Christians
constitute the majority - Mizoram 85 per cent, Nagaland 82 per cent, Meghalaya
55 per cent. Seventy per cent of the Christians in NE are Presbyterians or
Baptists. Catholics account for one fourth of the Christian population, and 5.7
per cent of India. The Catholic population, less than 60,000 at the time of
Independence in 1947, has increased to 7.2 lakhs in 1990. In Arunachal Pradesh
70,000 people embrace Christianity every year in spite of official resistance
and absence of resident missionaries. Yet the quality of their life has yet to
improve.
The church is terribly vast organisation and with
huge resources to save souls. ``It costs 145 billion dollars to operate global
Christianity,'' records a book on evangelisation. The church commands four
million full time workers, runs 13,000 libraries, publishes 22,000 periodicals
and four billion tracts a year, operates 1,890 radio and TV stations. It has a
quarter million foreign missionaries, over 400 institutions to train them''.
These are figures of 1989.
No state, especially a developing country like
India can cope with such pressure where full time missionaries have increased
from 420 in 1973 to 5,986 in 1998. Any one caring to visit the resource
availability to Christian organisations can log on to http: // www.bethany.com/profile/c
india.html to study conversion plans not only for Arunachal Pradesh but for all
India. India is divided into 186 individual people groups. And a long
description is followed by advice on how to convert each to Christianity.
It is to be noted that that those holding high
ranking positions within the Church councils and missionary organisations happen
to be all war veterans. These veterans use technical war lingo of exporting
revolution to countries. The developed countries are now making serious efforts
to subvert and overthrow governments established by law in developing countries
using churches as their tool. A famous Gandhian thinker
J. C. Kumarappa, himself a good Christian, said the western nations have four
arms - 1. The Army, 2. The Navy, 3. The Air Force, 4. The Church.
The Laussane Covenant states
``we believe that we engaged in a constant spiritual warfare.'' The text
continues in military terms: ``god's army'', ``battle'', ``weapons'', etc.
Panel recommendations
The Christian Missionary Activities Enquiry
Committee, appointed by the Madhya Pradesh Government consisting of six citizens
including Mr. S. K. George, a Professor of Commerce, a devout Christian
belonging to the oldest church in India, the Syrian Christian Church, and
presided over by the retired Chief Justice of the Nagpur High Court, Mr. M. B.
Niyogi which visited 77 centres, contacted 11,360 people from 700 villages,
examined 375 written statements, visited hospitals, schools, churches, leper
homes, hostels, etc. and after 2 years of arduous labour has made the following
recommendations:
(1) Those missionaries whose primary objective is
proselysation should be asked to withdraw. The large influx of foreign
missionaries is undesirable and should be checked.
(2) The best course for the Indian churches was
to establish a united independent Christian church in India being independent of
foreign support.
(3) The use of medical and other professional
services as a means of conversion should be prohibited by law.
(4) To implement the provision in the
Constitution of India prohibiting the imparting of religious education to
children without consent of parents and guardians.
(5) Suitable control of conversions brought
through illegal means should be imposed. If necessary through legislative
measures.
(6) Advisory boards at State, regional and
district levels should be constituted of non-officials, minority communities
like tribals and harijans being a majority on these boards.
(7) Rules relating to registration of doctors and
nurses employed in hospitals should be suitably amended to provide a condition
against evangelistic activities during professional services.
(8) Circulation of religious literature meant for
propaganda without the approval of the State Government should be prohibited.
(9) Institutions in receipt of grants-in-aid or
recognition from government should be compulsorily inspected every quarter.
(10) No non-official agency should be permitted
to secure foreign assistance except through government channels.
(11) Government should lay down a policy that
providing social services like education, health, medicine, etc. to scheduled
classes will be solely by the State Government, and adequate services should be
provided as early as possible, non-official organisations being permitted to run
only for members of their own faith.
(12) No foreigner should be allowed to function
in a scheduled or a specific area either independently or as a member of a
religious institutions unless he has given a declaration in writing that he will
not take part in politics.
(13) Programmes of social and economic uplift by
non-official or religious bodies should receive the prior approval of the State.
It should be noted that even 100 per cent change
of religion does not lead to change of economic prosperity as seen from the
example of Philippines, the most converted Catholic country, which is also the
poorest country in Asia, with the biggest economic divide.
Conversions have to stop. In this context one
would like to remind the Christian missionaries ``that thou shall not convert''
as the eleventh commandment. Theocentric and theocratic eclectics are as
dangerous as nuclear warheads. The church's concept of ``my god is your god, but
your god is no god,'' does not foster harmony and fraternity. This has to be
changed into ``your god is my god and my god is your god and accepted by people
of all religions.''
Secularism should not come to be understood that
Hindus in India could be forced into inaction in the face of dire threats to
their religion.
The Supreme Court of India said in 1977: ``We
find no justification for the view that if Article 22 grants a fundamental right
to convert a person to one's own religion, it has to be appreciated that the
freedom of religion enshrined in the Article is not guaranteed in respect of one
religion only, but concerns all religions alike, and it can be properly enjoyed
by a person, if he exercises his rights in a manner commensurate with the like
freedom of persons following other religions. What is freedom for one is freedom
for the other in equal measure, and can therefore be no such thing as a
fundamental right to convert any person to one's own religion.''
On March 14, 2000 in a fully televised speech
Pope John Paul II asked for forgiveness for the past errors of the Roman
Catholic Church during a solemn mass in St. Peters Basilica: ``We ask for
forgiveness for divisions between Christians, for the use of violence in the
name of truth, and for the diffidence and hostility engaged against followers of
other religions''. In the entire church history he was
the only Pope who asked for forgiveness on 94 counts for all the wrongdoings of
the church. But the activities of the church are continuing unabatedly and have
not been stopped and that is the root of the problem.
(Author of Conversions
in India a Geopolitical time bomb to be published later this year.)
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