Conversionanactofviolence

CONVERSION
AN ACT OF VIOLENCE
(A Selected Compilation from Various Sources)
* * * * * *
“This proselytization 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 proselytizing.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
(Father of the Nation)
* * *
“Conversions are to blame for some of the religious violence that erupts in the country.
Conversions lead to animosity among religious groups. They also lead to retaliation
by re-conversion. As a result, communal rioting, arson and looting follow.
Induced conversions are a grave threat to national and world peace and harmony.”
-- R. Venkataraman
(Former President of India)
* * *
“Conversion is an act of violence:
Aggressive religions have no God-given right to destroy ancient faiths and cultures.”
-- Swami Dayananda Saraswati
(Head of Arsha Vidya Gurukula)
* * *
“Well-organized religious conversion can be a potential bomb
to explode cultural values, disturb political affiliations and torpedo national loyalties.”
-- Laura Kelly
(Author of “Conversions in India a Geopolitical time bomb”)
* * *
“Attempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be
totally banned. Conversions are forbidden by law in China. Here we take a lenient view of
conversion and Christian bodies have been taking advantage of the Hindu sense of tolerance.”
-- M. V. Kamath
(Renowned Journalist and Author)
* * *
Religious leaders from around the world call organized conversion
a form of cultural imperialism and describe it as
an aggressive act against indigenous cultures:
1
-- First World Congress for the Preservation of Religious Diversity
PROLOGUE
Why Religious Conversions are Wrong
In the first week of July 03, I received an e-mail message captioned: “RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS ARE
WRONG!” from Sri Girish Parikh, (E-mail: <girish116@yahoo.com>), an NRI, residing at Chicago. A
staunch devotee of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda, he is an author and journalist. Recently, he wrote a letter to
the Editor of the TIME (USA) Magazine, a copy of which was forwarded to me. It read as follows:
“The cover story of TIME (USA) Magazine (Web site: www.time.com) ‘Should Christians convert
Muslims?’ [RELIGION, June 30] raises the question: Why should Christians convert non-Christians to
Christianity? The basic premise of any religious conversion movement is wrong! When Christians try to
convert those not belonging to Christianity, they usually assume that non-Christian religions are false.
Indeed, it is a wrong assumption. The other religions are equally true as Christianity. Hindus, who are also
the target for conversion, not merely tolerate but ‘accept all religions as true’ as Swami Vivekananda
revealed at the World’s Parliament of Religions on Sept. 11, 1893 in Chicago. The time is long overdue that
other religions also accept all religions as true. ‘As many faiths, so many paths’ leading to the same God,
taught Sri Ramakrishna, the guru of Swami Vivekananda, from his own experiences. The result of such
understanding and practice will be lasting world peace and prosperity.”
But the fact is that the aggressive religions are dogmatically wedded to the credo of “superiority” and
“uniqueness”. They harp upon it day in and day out, respecting no other religion than their own. They
therefore love to indulge in the competing game of increasing their numbers by winning and saving the
souls of ‘Kafirs’ and ‘Heathens’ -- these being the two designations they have conferred upon all those who
do not subscribe to their one-way traffic to Heaven which lies far away, beyond the clouds. The aggressive
religions have thus taken it as their God-given right to destroy ancient faiths and cultures. Consequently,
individuals and societies are the victims of violence brought about by conversions, the world over.
In this context, I am reminded of a very thoughtful observation made by a statesman of India. Sri R.
Venkataraman, the former President of India, rightly pointed out: “Conversions are to blame for some of
the religious violence that erupts in the country. Conversions lead to animosity among religious groups.
They also lead to retaliation by re-conversion. As a result, communal rioting, arson and looting follow.
Induced conversions are a grave threat to national and world peace and harmony.” This, in a nutshell, is the
adverse consequence of conversion, which should be noted well.
Laura Kelly, the author of “Conversions in India a Geopolitical time bomb”, warns: “Well-organized
religious conversion can be a potential bomb to explode cultural values, disturb political affiliations and
torpedo national loyalties…” Therefore, he says that the “Conversions have to stop”. Further, he goes on to
say, “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 Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was forthright when he stated the obvious: “This
proselytization 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 proselytizing.”
“In fact missionary activity is like ideological warfare,” reminds the renowned Vedic scholar of the U.S.A.,
David Frawley. According to him, “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.”
Further, “The global missionary business is one of the largest businesses in the world. Not only Catholic
Church but also various Protestant organizations have set aside billions to convert non-Christians to
Christianity. Organized conversion activity is like trained army invading a country from the outside. The
2
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.”
As noted by the renowned Journalist and Author, Sri M. V. Kamath, “Attempts at conversion should be
considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally banned. Conversions are forbidden by
law in China. Here we take a lenient view of conversion and Christian bodies have been taking advantage
of the Hindu sense of tolerance."
The Religious leaders from around the world who participated in the “First World Congress for the
Preservation of Religious Diversity”, held at Delhi, called organized conversion a form of cultural
imperialism and have described it as an aggressive act against indigenous cultures.
Hindu seers have strongly condemned religious conversions. For them “Conversion is an act of violence”,
and they have categorically declared that the “Aggressive religions have no God-given right to destroy
ancient faiths and cultures.” They have therefore welcomed the recent promulgation of the ordinance by the
Government of Tamil Nadu to ban religious conversions ‘by use of force or by allurements or by any
fraudulent means’. The Kanchipuram Sankaracharya, HH Sri Jayendra Saraswati, has also supported the
Tamil Nadu Bill banning forcible conversions.
In the words of a legal luminary, Sri M. N. Rao, the former Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh,
“When the highest court of this country has upheld the constitutionality of laws prohibiting fraudulent
conversions, any criticism that these laws are aimed at depriving the rights of minority religions is
absolutely baseless. Attacking the Union Government or the State Governments on the ground that they are
failing to uphold the Constitution by allowing the above laws to come into existence, is clearly motivated
and aimed at gaining cheap publicity in international fora. What is surprising is that no responsible
functionary from the government or major political parties so far has presented a correct picture as to the
entire controversy. The United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights must be apprised of the legal
position obtaining in this country before further damage is done by ill-informed critics”.
Citing laws to prohibit forcible conversions, the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF) had concluded that there was no religious freedom in India. Referring to this wrong
conclusion of the USCIRF, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, head of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, recently
said that India should set the record straight. The inclusion of India by the USCIRF in its list of Countries
of Particular Concern is unfair, pointed out the Swami. The Indian Government should therefore constitute
a similar commission to present before the world the country's highly accommodative multi-religious
society, he stated. India was a place of refuge for other religions and yet all of them were accommodated.
We should have our own set of paradigms for religious freedom and others cannot judge us. The Indian
commission, comprising leaders of all religions, should study the situation across the country and give a
report to the USCIRF which was oblivious of the sentiments of the Indian people while compiling its report
but which will definitely respect the factual report of another nation's commission. Swami Dayananda
Saraswati said the Indian commission should have members who could view the situation dispassionately
and submit an authentic report.
Referring to the observation made by Pope John Paul II to Indian bishops in the Vatican recently that free
exercise of the natural right to religious freedom was prohibited in India, Swami Dayananda Saraswati said
it was a serious charge, which deserved an appropriate response from the citizens and religious leaders. In
this context, he appreciated the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalitha's criticism of the Pope's remarks.
She had stated that Pope had no business to comment on the anti-forcible conversion law recently enacted
either by her Government or any other State in the country. “The Pope has no authority to talk about any
legislation passed by democratically-elected governments in India,” Ms. Jayalalitha told the media, reacting
to the concerns expressed by the Pope over laws against conversions in India.
A Word about this Brochure

Under the circumstances, this small compilation is being placed before one and all, particularly the elders
and perceptive readers, for a careful perusal, reflection and deliberation on the subject matter. The contents
hereof are selected from various reliable and authentic sources, which are mentioned at the end of each
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item in the brochure. They provide a lot of information and food for a serious thought, to initiate a public
debate on the menace of conversions.
Aptly titled: “CONVERSION, AN ACT OF VIOLENCE”, this brochure, a labour of love, seeks to draw
the attention of one and all to the dangers of conversions. Also, it clearly explains how conversion is an act
of violence against the individuals and the society, and strongly urges the authorities to take all possible
steps to check conversions effectively and constitutionally, with a view to maintain public order, peace and
harmony in the country.
The compiler hopes that his humble attempt would go a long way in initiating a public debate on the
subject matter, in order to educate and enlighten one and all, including the members of the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom who have come to a wrong conclusion about the religious
freedom in India.
Comments and suggestions from the esteemed readers to rectify the defects, if any, in the compilation, and
to make its contents more effective, useful and comprehensive, will be thankfully received.
Finally, the compiler would like to take the opportunity to repeat and underline the thoughtful words of the
former President of India, Sri R. Venkataraman, highlighting the adverse consequences of conversion:
"Conversions are to blame for some of the religious violence that erupts in the country. Conversions lead to
animosity among religious groups. They also lead to retaliation by re-conversion. As a result, communal
rioting, arson and looting follow. Induced conversions are a grave threat to national and world peace and
harmony."
* * *
Conversion is Perversion
Swami Vivekananda
===========================================================================
“The Christian is not to become a Hindu or Buddhist, nor is a Buddhist or a Hindu to become a Christian.
But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to
his own law of growth…. Holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in
the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exaltedly character. In the face
of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the
other, I pity him from the bottom of my heart.” (-- Swami Vivekananda, in the final session of the World’s
Parliament of Religions at Chicago, September 27, 1893).
“Hinduism, he said, did not believe in conversion, calling it perversion…. How foolish it was for an
exponent of one religion to declare that another man’s belief was wrong…. In the matter of religion there
were two extremes, the bigot and the atheist. There was some good in the atheist, but the bigot lived only
for his own little-self.” (SV, remarking about conversion and bigotry in the course of his lecture on the
“Divinity of Man”, at the Unitarian Church, as reported by “Detroit Tribune”, on February 18, 1894).
“Christian missionaries come to offer life but only on condition that the Hindus become Christians,
abandoning the faith of their fathers and forefathers. Is it right?…. If you wish to illustrate the meaning of
‘brotherhood’, treat Hindus more kindly, even though he be a Hindu and is faithful to his religion. Send
missionaries to teach them better to earn a piece of bread, and not teach them metaphysical nonsense.”
(SV, in the course of his speech “Religion not the crying need of India”, delivered in the evening session of
the tenth day of the World’s Parliament of Religions at Chicago, October 11, 1993).
“I have often been asked in this country if I am going to try to convert the people here. I take this for an
insult. I do not believe in this idea of conversion…. We tolerate everything but intolerance.” (SV, speaking
at the Central Church, November 27, 1893).
I am proud to belong to a religions which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We
believe not only in universal tolerance, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation
which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations on the earth. I am proud
4
to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of Israelites, who came to Southern India
and took refuge with us in the very years in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman
tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the
grand Zoroastrian nation.” (SV, in the course of his Historic Chicago Address, September 11, 1893).
===========================================================================
CONVERSION
AN ACT OF VIOLENCE
Contents
I
THUS THEY SPOKE – 9-14
India should set the record straight – 9

* * *
The Pope has no authority to talk about any legislation passed by democratically
elected governments in India – 9
-- Jayalalitha
* * *
I support Tamil Nadu bill banning forcible conversions – 9

-- Kanchipuram Sankaracharya
* * *
I welcome the promulgation of the ordinance by the Government of Tamil Nadu

to ban religious conversions 'by use of force or by allurements
or by any fraudulent means' – 10
* * *
Religious leaders from around the world call organized conversion

a form of cultural imperialism and describe it as
an aggressive act against indigenous cultures – 10
* * *
Hindu seers condemn religious conversions in India – 11

* * *
5
The Conversion Law and Vote Bank Politics – 12
* * *
Religious Conversions in India -- For a few dollars more – 13

* * *
II
THUS THEY WROTE – 15-48
1
CONVERSION IS AN ACT OF VIOLENCE – 15
Aggressive religions have no God-given right to destroy ancient faiths and cultures
By Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Head of Arsha Vidya Gurukula)
2
CONVERSION IS VIOLENCE – 16
Open letter to His Holiness the Pope John Paul II
From Swami Dayananda Saraswati
3
THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT: 'THOU SHALL NOT CONVERT' – 17
Well-organized religious conversion can be a potential bomb to explode
cultural values, disturb political affiliations and torpedo national loyalties
By Laura Kelly
4
PUTTING AN END TO CONVERSION ACTIVITY – 23
By M V Kamath
(Renowned Journalist and Author)
5
MEETING THE THREAT OF CONVERSION IN INDIA – 25
6
PROSELYTIZATION IN INDIA: AN INDIAN CHRISTIAN'S PERSPECTIVE –36
By C. Alex Alexander
(Naturalized US citizen and a retired physician executive)
7
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM -- LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON CONVERSIONS – 47
By M. N. RAO
(Former Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh)
6
Appendix:
1. CHURCH BACKING TRIPURA REBELS – 49
2. SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS IN NORTHEAST INDIA DERIVE SUPPORT
FROM FOREIGN MISSIONARY GROUPS – 50
“This proselytization will mean no peace in the world….”
“This proselytization 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 proselytizing.”
-- MAHATMA GANDHI
“To the Indian Christian, Jesus is the whiteman’s god marching with a sword in one hand and the Union
Jack in the other.”
-- DR. S. RADHAKRISHNAN
(Speaking to an audience in Oxford)
“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 organizations have set aside billions to convert non- Christians
to Christianity. Organized conversion activity is like trained army invading a country from the outside. The
religion and use that to promote a missionary agenda that destroys this tolerance.”
-- DAVID FRAWLEY
“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.
-- “The growth of Baptist churches”
(Page 115)
“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.”
-- CHOU EN LAI
“Well-organized religious conversion can be a potential bomb to explode cultural values, disturb political
affiliations and torpedo national loyalties… 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 church is terribly vast organization and with huge resources to save souls. “It costs 145 billion
dollars to operate global Christianity,'' records a book on evangelization. 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 organizations can log on to http: //
www.bethany.com/profile/c india.html to study conversion plans not only for Arunachal Pradesh but also
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.
7
“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…But the activities of the
church are continuing unabatedly and have not been stopped and that is the root of the problem.”
-- LAURA KELLY
“…. Herein lies the potential for violence.”
“The Western nations have four Arms: The Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Church.”
-- J. C. KUMARAPPA
(A famous Gandhian thinker, and himself a good Christian)
“Conversion of every Non-Muslim to Islam is the duty of every Muslim. The day I would succeed in
converting Gandhiji to Islam would be a golden day in my life.”
-- MOHAMMED ALI
(Close associate of Gandhiji)
“A nation that believes in the Christian religion, which does not believe that other religions can also offer
salvation, is as bad as the Islam it seeks to fight. Or as good, not better. It is unlike Hindu India, which
believes that what Hinduism does to ferry a Hindu to heaven can be equally well accomplished by
Christianity and Islam. A religion like Hinduism, therefore a nation like Hindu India is unknown to the
Abrahamic faiths. The fault of these two Palestine cousins is that they claim the exclusive wisdom to
salvation and so, only their followers can reach heaven. Consequence, others should change their faith. As
Swami Dayananda Saraswati put it, herein lies the potential for violence in both.”
-- S. GURUMURTHY
(Columnist)
“MAYNARDVILLE, Tennessee (USA): Fourteen-year-old India Tracy said she was harassed and
attacked by classmates for nearly three years after she declined to attend Baptist Pastor Gary Beeler's
annual Evangelistic Crusade because of her family's pagan religion. Her family has filed a federal lawsuit
against Union County schools, claiming the crusade, prayers over the loudspeaker, a Christmas nativity
play, a Bible handout and other proselytizing activities in the rural school system have become so pervasive
they are a threat to safety and religious liberty. India said she was called "Satan worshipper" and accused of
eating babies when it was revealed she was a pagan. She said she was taunted, found slurs painted over her
locker and was injured when classmates assaulted her and slammed her head into the locker. After
Christmas break in early 2002, India said three boys chased her down a hall at Horace Maynard Middle
School, grabbed her by the neck and said, "You better change your religion or we'll change it for you." She
broke free and fled into the girls' bathroom. A teacher stopped the boys from following her, the lawsuit said.
"That was pretty much the last straw because she was terrified," said India's father, Greg Tracy. The Tracys
took India out of school on Feb. 26, 2002.”
Courtesy: <HINDUVOICE.NET>
“If you had the same positive felling for your own religion, the true mother of our country, you could
never bear to see any Hindu brother converted into a Christian. Nevertheless you see this occurring
everyday, yet you are quite indifferent. Where is your faith? Where is your patriotism? Everyday Christian
missionaries abuse Hindusim to your faces, and yet how many are there amongst you who will stand up in
its defense, whose blood boils with righteous indignation at the fact? Forget not, -- ‘One Hindu Brother
going out of our fold is not just one Hindu less but it is one enemy more’. ”
-- SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
(The Hindu Monk of India)
“Foreign funds are flowing into our slums through foreign agents with the sole ulterior and anti-national
motive of converting our innocent Hindu brethren to foreign religion. The innocent but devout Hindu living
in slums are constantly being bombarded by the propaganda of foreign funded alien outfits which entice
their victims into anti-national activities, causing immense misery to the hapless lot. Defeating such
attempts and liberating our downtrodden brethren from the grips of the Professional Proselytizers is the
need of the hour…. After attaining independence, the national spirit and spiritual oneness have again
8
weakened, and narrow-minded ness tries to envelop the whole country. At this critical juncture, our
objective should be to strengthen the national spirit, spiritual outlook and unity. ”
-- VINAYAGHAR V. MURALI
(Fonder-Organiser, Vinayagha Chathurthi Movement in Tamil Nadu)
Ref : Vinayagha Chathurthi Mass Appeals from 1984 to 2002
CONVERSION
AN ACT OF VIOLENCE
I
THUS THEY SPOKE
INDIA SHOULD SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

The inclusion of India by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in
its list of Countries of Particular Concern is unfair. The Indian Government should constitute a similar
commission to present before the world the country's “highly accommodative” multi-religious society,
Dayananda Saraswati, head of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam here, said today.
Citing laws to prohibit forcible conversions, the USCIRF had concluded that there was no religious
freedom in India, he told presspersons. India was “a place of refuge for other religions” and yet all of them
were accommodated. “We should have our own set of paradigms for religious freedom and others cannot
judge us”.
The Indian commission, comprising leaders of all religions, should study the situation across the country
and give a report to the USCIRF, “which was oblivious of the sentiments of the Indian people while
compiling its report but which will definitely respect the factual report of another nation's commission”.
Sri Dayananda Saraswati said the Indian commission should have members who could view the situation
dispassionately and submit an authentic report.
Referring to the observation made by Pope John Paul II to Indian bishops in the Vatican recently that free
exercise of the natural right to religious freedom was prohibited in India, he said it was a serious charge,
which deserved an appropriate response from the citizens and religious leaders. In this context, he
appreciated the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's criticism of the Pope's remarks.
---------------------
Source:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/06/24/stories/2003062405830400.htm
June 24, 2003
===========================================================================
THE POPE HAS NO AUTHORITY TO TALK ABOUT ANY LEGISLATION

PASSED BY DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENTS IN INDIA
-- Jayalalitha
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, today "bluntly" asserted that Pope John Paul II had no
"business" or "authority" to comment on the anti-forcible conversion law recently enacted either by her
Government or any other State in the country.
9
"The Pope has no authority to talk about any legislation passed by democratically-elected governments in
India," Ms. Jayalalithaa told the media here, reacting to the concerns expressed by the Pope recently over
laws against conversions in India. When a scribe pointed out that the Pope was the supreme pontiff of the
Christian community, the Chief Minister shot back: "So what?"
-------------------------------------------
<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/06/14/stories/2003061405001100.htm>
Jun 14, 2003
============================================================================
I SUPPORT TAMIL NADU BILL BANNING FORCIBLE CONVERSIONS
-- Kanchipuram Sankaracharya
While denying that he was instrumental in bringing the Tamil Nadu bill banning forcible conversions, His
Holiness did say that he supported the bill. At present there was no bar on people carrying out charitable
activities and religious organizations had every right to do so. The bill objected to it only when it was done
with a motive to convert people, he said.
----------------------------------------------------------
[<http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/1...720400.htm>]
October 31, 2002
I WELCOME THE PROMULGATION OF THE ORDINANCE BY THE

GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU TO BAN RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS 'BY
USE OF FORCE OR BY ALLUREMENTS OR BY ANY FRAUDULENT MEANS'
INDIA, October 21, 2002: Excerpted from an article by Swami Dayananda Saraswati: "I welcome the
promulgation of the ordinance by the Government of Tamil Nadu to ban religious conversions 'by use of
force or by allurements or by any fraudulent means.' This is a long-awaited step. A step that ensures for the
citizens of Tamil Nadu the most basic of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human rights adopted
by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) in December 1948, holds in Article 18 that 'Everyone has the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or
belief.' While the article endorses each person's right to change his or her religion, it does not in any way
allow for another person to change a given person's religion. On the contrary, a systematic coercive effort to
impose one's religion on another 'by use of force or by allurements or by any fraudulent means' is a clear
violation of this basic human right. The denigration of one's religion and the humiliation that accompanies
the conversion experience are violations of the dignity ensured to every human being. With the conversion
experience come shame, isolation, deep personal conflict and ultimately, the seeds for discord. History
testifies to the devastating loss of rich and diverse cultures, gone forever in the aftermath of religious
conversion. I appeal to the political leadership of all other States in India to promulgate similar laws and
make sure that all possibilities of religious conflict are avoided, and the tradition of religious harmony in
India is maintained."
-----------------------------------------
[Source:
<http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat/cat/WorldNews/32564/5/collapsed/5/o/1>]
11/29/02
===========================================================================
RELIGIOUS LEADERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD CALLED ORGANIZED

CONVERSION A FORM OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM AND DESCRIBED IT
AS AN AGGRESSIVE ACT AGAINST INDIGENOUS CULTURES
10
Religious leaders from around the world and from many faiths convened in New Delhi, India on November
15-18 for the first world congress for the preservation of religious diversity. The purpose of the congress
was to call for the abandonment of organized and planned convergence and for the protection for religious
traditions that have been targeted for proselytization. Religious leaders see this as an important preliminary
step for the fostering of mutual respect and better cooperation among religions.
Several hundred religious leaders participated in the world congress, which produced steps outlining
greater religious cooperation. The Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and His Holiness the
Dalai Lama opened the congress. The Dalai Lama spoke about the need to preserve religious diversity,
which is one of the greatest treasures of the human heritage. The Prime Minister stressed that religious
tolerance is the basis of every great religious tradition.
Religious leaders from around the world called organized conversion a form of cultural imperialism and
described it as an aggressive act against indigenous cultures.
“Organized conversion has brought pain to the individuals involved and great harm to their culture and
tradition”, said Swami Dayananda Saraswati, organizer of the conference. “Individuals should have the
freedom to choose their own religion but they should not be subjected to outside pressures”.
The congress called for a redefining of those theologies that promote organized conversion and called for a
5-year moratorium on proselytization to create a more open and positive arena for dialogue.
A planning committee is being established to form a global commission for the preservation of religious
diversity. The commission will organize dialogue around the world to foster better inter-religious
cooperation.
Shri Shri Dayananda Saraswati is a traditional teacher of Vedanta and an eminent scholar of Sanskrit. He
has established three institutions of learning and culture: two in India, the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in
Anaikkatti and the Swami Dayananda Ashram in Rishikesh; one in the USA, the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam
in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.
--------------------------------------------------
Source:
[<http://www.millenniumpeacesummit.org/news011119.html>]
November 19, 2001
HINDU SEERS CONDEMN RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS IN INDIA

"If a person is converted by proselytization, he's uprooted from his tradition. There's a need to see we all
live in harmony and mutual respect,” Swami Dayananda Saraswati told a conference on preservation of
religious diversity.
"Conversions are neither advisable nor desirable. The religion into which a person is born is the best for his
spiritual upliftment," a Hindu seer from southern India said. "Forced conversions will never be tolerated.
Different religions should coexist and live in mutual harmony," he said.
Hindu religious leaders and scholars voiced strong opposition on Thursday to religious conversions in India
and urged different faiths to live together in harmony instead. Participants at the congress said different
faiths should respect each other's traditions rather than try to destroy them
Hindu seers at the conference did not single out any particular religion. But conversion is a sensitive issue
in India where Christian missionaries are accused of using lures such as schools and health care to get poor
people to join their faith.
"You should not try to convert by force, fraud or inducements," former President R. Venkataraman told the
conference. Venkataraman said conversions were to blame for some of the religious violence in the country
that erupts in the country. "Conversions lead to animosity among religious groups. They also lead to
11
retaliation by reconversion," Venkataraman said. "As a result, communal rioting, arson and looting follow.
Induced conversions are a grave threat to national and world peace and harmony," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------
[Source:
<http://in.news.yahoo.com/011115/64/18vhe.html>] November 15, 2002
===========================================================================
THE CONVERSION LAW AND VOTE BANK POLITICS
Even as an eleven-member Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of India is seized with deciding
upon the definition of "minority educational institution" for months, the Tamilnadu Chief Minster J.
Jayalalitha did last week something unprecedented. She snubbed the managers of the Church-run
educational institutions in Tamilnadu with threats of unleashing ESMA on them, when they bandied that
well-worn weapon of "in protest, we shall close down minority institutions" on October 24. They did. With
bated breath, the state, nay, the entire country awaited the follow-up action on the CM's warning. Which
came thick and fast. On October 25, Jayalalitha Government slammed notices on over 400 institutions run
by minority outfits demanding explanation for the unauthorized closure on October 24.
The managers, as is common knowledge now, were protesting against the 'Tamilnadu Forcible Conversions
Prevention Ordinance' slated for tabling as a Bill in the State Assembly now in session. Pathetically
enough, the protest meeting on October 24 with an assortment of Padris belonging to several
denominations - with Muslim League's Sulaiman Sait and his ilk thrown in - seated on the dias was
hijacked as it were by a jittery Karunanidhi and his cohorts in the Left. Leaders of Congress and Tamil
Maanila Congress gleefully found themselves there. They are never tired of pleasing their leader. Later
State Congress President S. Balakrishnan mouthed his fears thus: "they (Christians) run so many schools,
hospitals and orphanages. If they are antagonized thus, it is the Hindus who will be the sufferers because
most of the beneficiaries of these institutions are Hindus". Ahoy! Hindu society has at last discovered a
Hindu leader - with what sort of a mindset!
Positioning themselves in the precincts of a church - St.Andrews Church,Egmore, in this case - this secular
brigade chose to spit anti-Hindu venom, thus: 1. DMK's Karunanudhi, in particular, roared "we shall not
permit a national legislation banning conversion" as it had been demanded by Kanchi Sankaracharya! (Late
O.P. Tyagi who tabled in Lok Sabha a private member's bill demanding ban on coversions might smile
wryly from heavens!) 2. The meeting religiously adopted a resolution demanding "a ban on the VHP, the
RSS and the Sangh Parivar", in addition, of course, "the withdrawal of the ordinance"("We shall continue
to fight" said Karunanidhi putting the managers of the Christian institutions right there in a still more
awkward position!).
Karunanidhi has more than one reason to be jittery. One: this year, "the Cauvery problem" failed to yield
adequate dividends in terms of political mileage, what with the monsoons, albeit delayed, literally watering
down emotions in both the riparian states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. This left Karunanidhi with no issue
to fight for. A state wide bandh called by the DMK's labour union and the left wing ones proved to be a flop
just this week. So he promptly hitched his political fortunes to this blatantly communal anti-Hindu
bandwagon. Two: the Jayalalitha government last fortnight resorted to playing 'the raid card' in the same
fashion as the earlier DMK regime: it tried to show former Public Works minister of the DMK government
Durai Murugan, in bad light by unearthing "unaccounted assets" totting up to Rs.4 crores in a series of raids
by the state government's anti - corruption sleuths.
Meanwhile, Hindu society expressed its displeasure at the state Opposition's betrayal in no uncertain terms:
the week long demonstation of its solidarity with the Jayalalitha government bore it out: The Hindu
organisations quickly entered the scene. Though the massive anti - conversion conference in Madurai in
which over 22,000 people participated and listened to a wide spectrum of Hindu religious leaders including
Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Maruthachala Adigalal of Perur Adeenam, Swami Kamalatmananda of
Ramakrishna Math and the swamis of Mata Amirthanandamayi Ashram and Chinmaya Mission,
Thiruvaduthurai Adeenam, Dharampura Adeenam, Sri Ramakrishna Thapovanam etc., who exhorted Hindu
parents of school going children to boycott Christian institutions found to be indulging in proselytisation
12
and organized Hindu schools. Dr. Praveen Togadia of VHP and Shri Rama Gopalan of Hindu Munnani and
Sri Jayadev, Dakshina Kshetra Pracharak of RSS warned Hindus to beware of the Christian - Muslim gang
up in Bharat to the detriment of Hindu interests, while Christians and Muslims were at each other's throat
elsewhere.
Hindu Munnani's thousand - strong procession marched along Anna Salai, the artery of Chennai, raising
slogans hailing the ordinance. The series of demonstrations organised in turn by VHP and BJP, as well as
the poster campaign of ABVP helped keep up the tempo. Sadhus and Matadhipatis did not lag behind. The
proposed Harijan rally in support of the ordinance on sands of Chennai beach next Thursday (Oct. 31) is
bound to correct the notion that conversion is justified because the evil of untouchability persists. Elite of
the city irked by the World Bank's eerie move to directly fund "faith related NGOs" in countries like
Bharat, are to meet under the Vigil banner early next month to sort it out. All the 234 MLAs and all 60 MPs
of Tamilnadu were alerted through a 8 page document containing conversion records in the state as well as
instances of Hindu population asserting and putting up Hindu educational institutions.
Jayalalitha eyes on the Hindu vote bank, with Karunanidhi angling for the other, is the routine comment on
this development. It is only half true. The former has already tasted victory in this by putting up as
AIADMK candidate a Hindu in Vaniyambadi, always a Muslim - represented constituency, in the Assembly
byelections a couple of months back and saw him get through. Karunanidhi cannot be so sure of his new
friends having their own axes to grind. But better he dives, as he himself has recently announced, headlong
in rooting out Hindutva "lock, stock and barrel" from Tamilnadu for which, as a BJP functionary put it,
Karunanidhi is too small. A tall order indeed, even for the tallest of Tamilnadu political leaders!
-------------------------------------------------------
<http://www.hvk.org/articles/1002/225.html>
============================================================================
RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS IN INDIA -- FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE

Fringe church groups are converting scores of Hindus to Christianity across South India, reports, George
Iype
In many villages across South India, religion is turning out to be a question of money. Flush with funds
from their headquarters in the United States, a number of evangelical and Pentecoastal church groups are
converting hundreds of Hindus, especially belonging to the low castes, to Christianity. Similarly, Muslim
scholars are touring villages in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to lure locals to Islam.
Hindu nationalists leaders claim that despite the hue and cry they have raised against conversion all these
years, `forced conversions are taking place at a brisk pace in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka.
"Christianity has firm roots in these southern states, which may be why some church groups have seized
forced conversion as their mission," says K. Radharkrishnan, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist in
Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Last week VHP leaders from South India sent an urgent appeal to the federal government asking to prevent
appeal to the federal government asking it to prevent Christian and Islamic missionaries from indulging in
forced conversions. "These missionaries are spending dollars to convert people here. We want the
government to arrest them for creating social and religious upheaval." Radhakrishnan said.
Church and Muslim leaders concede that his charge is not entirely baseless.
Consider the following:
August 22, some 250 villagers - all of them poor Dalits - in Madurai underwent baptism by water and
converted to Christianity. The ceremony was conducted by the Seventh-Day Adventists, a U.S. based
13
Pentecostal church, which has missionaries working across India. Over the last six months, reports say,
Seventh-Day pastors have converted as many as 200 Hindus to Christianity in the Madurai region.
In July, the Covenant and High Land Trinity, an evangelical church group working in Andhra Pradesh's
Guntur district, converted 70 Hindu villagers to Christianity. Reports said that all the converts were paid
money and given jobs for changing their religion. Last fortnight, two dozen Hindus in a poor mason's
colony outside Pathanamthitta town in Kerala were converted to Christianity allegedly under the influence
of a charismatic Christian prayer group called Master Ministry of Jesus. Ì did not have any work and I
could not feed my three children and wife. Now I go for Bible teaching and we are living as a happy
family,' says P K. Krishnankutty, who has since changed his name to Joshua Davis. Intelligence reports
sent to the A B Vajpayee government reveal that the Deendar Anjuman, an Islamic sect that follows an
eclectic theology, has been converting poor Hindu villagers to Islam in the rural areas of Hubli and
Gulbarga in Karnataka and Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. The Deendar Anjuman was outlawed two years
ago after it masterminded a series of bomb blasts in churches across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Church insiders admit that evangelist groups with plenty of foreign money have mushroomed all across
South India with conversion as their main agenda. "They have exotic names like Exodus Church, New Life
Evangelists, Covenant and High Land Trinity, Master Ministry of Jesus etc. They reject church rituals.
They are very Westernized and fundamentalist," a senior Syro-Malabar Church official revealed.
--------------------------------------------------------
[Source:
<http://www.hvk.org/articles/0902/147.html>]
============================================================================
14
CONVERSION
AN ACT OF VIOLENCE
THUS THEY WROTE
1
CONVERSION IS AN ACT OF VIOLENCE
Aggressive religions have no God-given right to destroy ancient faiths and cultures
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(The aggressive religions) are zealous in their mission of preaching and conversion. ...From the day
if Inquisition, every attempt recorded in history to stop their program of conversion only stocked
their flame of zeal. As a result, many religions with their unique cultures (like Incas) have
disappeared, leaving behind only mammoth relics like the ones in Greece and Mexico. (Instead of
feeling guilt and remorse for this loss, they feel achievement and pride.)... Religious conversion by
missionary activity remains an act of violence. ...It generated violence. …Religion and culture are
not often separable. (Therefore, conversion destroys culture also.) … Religious conversion should
stop -- the aggressive religions should realize that they are perpetrating violence when they convert...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Religious conversion is a widely discussed topic in the Indian media these days. I think this issue needs to
be thoroughly understood by all the people that count in every religion.
The world's religions can be categorically said to be either aggressive or non-aggressive. Each religion has
a certain promise in the form of an ultimate goal. Their faithful people try to live the prescribed life and
reach the promised goal. Neither they nor their clergy are out to bring the people of other religions to their
flock. Zorastrians follow their religious tradition without attempting to convert anybody to their religion.
This is true with the followers of the Jewish tradition, Vedic religion (now known as Hinduism), Shintoism,
Taoism and the many other religions of various tribes in the world. I call these religious traditions non-
aggressive because they do not believe in aggressive conversion.
Then there are religions like Christianity, whose theologies, containing a number of basic non-verifiable
beliefs, advocate conversion. Evangelism and proselytization are sacred commitments of the entire cadre of
the highly organized clergy. The clergy-inspired laity are not any less committed to conversion. They are
zealous in their mission of preaching and conversion. In their zeal, the end more often than not justifies the
means. From the days of the Inquisition, every attempt recorded in history to stop their program of
conversion only stoked their flame of zeal.
As a result, many religions with their unique cultures have disappeared, leaving behind only mammoth
relics, like the ones in Greece and Mexico. The loss of such great living cultures of the world is the mark of
success for the zealous of the aggressive religions. The truth is that where there should be a sense of guilt
15
and remorse, there is a sense of achievement and pride. Many leaders of non-aggressive traditions think
that the charity of the missionaries is designed to neutralize any protest from the native religious
community. One cannot totally dismiss their thinking.
Religious conversion by missionary activity remains an act of violence. It is an act of violence because it
hurts deeply, not only the other members of the family of the converted, but the entire community that
comes to know of it. One is connected to various persons in one's world. The religious person in every
individual is the innermost, inasmuch as he or she is connected to a force beyond the empirical. The
religious person is connected only to the force beyond he has now accepted. That is the reason why the hurt
caused by religion can turn into violence. That is why a religious belief can motivate a missionary to be a
martyr. When the hurt of the religious becomes acute, it explodes into violence. Conversion is violence. It
generates violence.
Aggressive religions and non-aggressive religions are not on the same plank. Conversion is, therefore, a
rank, one-sided aggression. The genius of the non-aggressive traditions cannot change, and therefore, they
cannot be asked to do the same thing as the aggressive religions do.
Humanity cannot afford to lose any more of its existing living religious traditions and cultures. We want to
enjoy the religious cultures of both Christianity and Islam as we also want to enjoy the cultures of Jews,
Parsis, Taoists, Shintoists, Hindus and others. Humanity will not let a pyramid be razed to the ground by the
Egyptian government to create a housing complex. Even though they are in Egypt, the pyramids are too
ancient to be the property of that country. They are standing monuments of human genius--they belong to
the whole of humanity. So, too, are all the monuments of the past lying all over the world.
Religion and culture are not often separable. This is especially true with the Hindu religious tradition. The
greeting word, namaste, is an expression of culture as well as religion. Even though a religious mark on the
forehead is purely religious, it is looked upon as a part of Hindu culture. Rangoli [patterns drawn on the
ground with rice flour] at the entrance of a Hindu house is not just cultural; it is also religious. Indian music
and dance cannot separate themselves from the Hindu religious tradition. There is no classical dance,
bharata natyam, without Siva Nataraja being there. The classical, lyrical compositions of Meera, Tyagaraja,
Purandara, Dikshitar and many others are intimately connected to the Hindu religious traditions. Therefore,
conversion implies destruction of this entire culture. A committed Christian will not wear a tilakam, much
less have rangoli in front of the house. If there is no rangoli at the entrance to a Tamil Nadu house, we
immediately know that it doesn't belong to a Hindu. A converted Christian woman ceases to wear Indian
traditional clothes, like saris, etc. No Christian woman will wear a nose ring. It is amazing how easily
cultures disappear by the program of conversion through various means, leaving only dead monuments to
be preserved for posterity. The living religious traditions, intimately woven into the fabric of their
respective cultures, have to be allowed to live and thrive. Religious conversion should stop--the aggressive
religions should realize that they are perpetrating violence when they convert. We want them to live and let
others live.
------------------------------------------------------
Swami Dayananda, 69, a Sannyasin of the Adi Shankara and Veda Vyasa Tradition, Founder of Arsha Vidya
Centers in US (<www. arshavidya.org>), India, Canada and Australia, has taught throughout the World for
over 30 years.
-------------------------------------------------------
Source:
<http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1999/11/1999-11-15.shtml>
16
2
CONVERSION IS VIOLENCE
Open Letter to His Holiness the Pope John Paul II
From
SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASWATI,
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
October 29, 1999
His Holiness
The Pope John Paul II
The Holy See
The Vatican City State.
E-mail: <pyclub@SPARC.isl.net>
Your Holiness,
On behalf of many Hindus whom I know personally, I welcome your visit to Bharat. This is a country with
an ancient civilization and unique religious culture which accommodates many religious traditions that
have come to this country throughout the centuries.
Being the head of the Vatican State and also the Catholic Church with a great following all over the world,
you enjoy a highly venerable position and can play a significant role in diffusing religious conflicts and
preserving the world’s rich cultures. You have in your Apostolic Letter tertio millennio adveniente, 38 (10
November 1994) voiced your intention to convoke a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia.
After seeing the report of the Pre-Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops Special
Assembly for Asia appointed by you, I want to bring to your kind notice the concerns of many Hindus in
this country about religious conversion. In the second Vatican council, the status accorded to the world
religions was that of a means for preparing them for Christ. We all understand that the Catholic religion
does not accommodate other religions, except in this context. But I am appealing to you here to accept that
every person has the freedom to pursue his or her own religion.
In the recent past, you mentioned that reason should be respected. On the basis of reason, no non-verifiable
belief is going to fare any better than any other non-verifiable belief. Therefore, according to reason, there
is no basis for conversion in matters of faith.
Apart from reason, there is another important issue, which I request you to consider. Among the world's
religious traditions there are those that convert and those that do not. The non-converting religious
traditions, like the Hindu, Jewish, and Zoroastrian, give others the freedom to practice their religion
whether they agree with the others' tenets or not. They do not wish to convert. I would characterize them as
non-aggressive. Religions that are committed by their theologies to convert, on the other hand, are
necessarily aggressive, since conversion implies a conscious intrusion into the religious life of a person, in
fact, into the religious person. This is a very deep intrusion, as the religious person is the deepest, the most
basic in any individual. When that person is disturbed, a hurt is sustained which is very deep. The religious
person is violated. The depth of this hurt is attested to by the fact that when a religious sentiment is
violated, it can produce a martyr. People connected to a converted person are deeply hurt. Even the
converted person will suffer some hurt underneath. He must necessarily wonder if he has done the right
17
thing, and further, he has to face an inner alienation from his community, a community to which he has
belonged for generations, and thus, an alienation from his ancestors. I don't think that can ever be fully
healed. Religious conversion destroys centuries-old communities and incites communal violence. It is
violence, and it breeds violence. Thus, for any humane person, every religious sentiment has to be
respected, whether it is a Muslim sentiment or a Christian sentiment or a Hindu sentiment.
Further, in many religious traditions, including the Hindu tradition, religion is woven into the fabric of the
culture. So, destruction of a religion amounts to the destruction of a religious culture. Today, for instance,
there is no living Greek culture; there are only empty monuments. The Mayan, Roman, and many other rich
cultures are all lost forever, and humanity is impoverished for it. Let us at least allow humanity to enjoy the
riches of its remaining mosaic of cultures. Each one has some beauty, something to contribute to the
enrichment of humanity.
In any tradition, it is wrong to strike someone who is unarmed. In the Hindu tradition this is considered a
heinous act, for which the punishment is severe. A Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew, are all unarmed, in that they
do not convert. You cannot ask them to change the genius of their traditions and begin to convert in order to
combat conversion. Because it is the tradition of these religions and cultures not to convert, attempts to
convert them is one-sided aggression. It is striking the unarmed. I respect the freedom of a Christian or a
Muslim to practice his or her faith. I do not accept many of their beliefs, but I want them to have the
freedom to follow their religion. You cannot ask me to respond to conversion by converting others to my
religion because it is not part of my tradition. We don't believe in conversion, even though certain Hindu
organizations have taken back some converted people. Thus, conversion is not merely violence against
people, it is violence against people who are committed to non-violence.
I am hurt by religious conversion and many others like me are hurt. Millions are hurt. There are many
issues to be discussed regarding conversion, but I want to draw your attention to only the central issue here,
which is this one-sided violence. Religious conversion is violence and it breeds violence. In converting,
you are also converting the non-violent to violence.
Any protest against religious conversion is always branded as persecution, because it is maintained that
people are not allowed to practice their religion, that their religious freedom is curbed. The truth is entirely
different. The other person also has the freedom to practice his or her religion without interference. That is
his/her birthright. Religious freedom does not extent to having a planned program of conversion. Such a
program is to be construed as aggression against the religious freedom of others.
During the years of your papal office, you have brought about certain changes in the attitude and outlook of
the Church. On behalf of the non-aggressive religions of the world, the Hindu, the Parsi, the Jewish and
other native religions in different countries, I request you to put a freeze on conversion and create a
condition in which all religious cultures can live and let live.
-----------------------------------------------------
Source:
<http://www.hindunet.org/conversions/pope99/to_pope_from_swami_dayananada_sa.htm>
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2104/conversion_violence.html>
18
3
THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT:
'Thou shall not convert'
By Laura Kelly
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well organized religious conversion can be a potential bomb to explode cultural values, disturb
political affiliations and torpedo national loyalties, says the author.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 sterilization 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 (The Hindu, 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.
19
A fraud on humanity
Mahatma Gandhi called religious conversions a fraud on humanity. ``This proselytization 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 proselytizing.''
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.
`Ìn 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
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.
20
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. `Ìt 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
21
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 proselytization 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 organizations 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.
22
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.
LAURA KELLY
(Author of “Conversions in India a Geopolitical time bomb” to be published later this year.)
-------------------------------------------------------
[Source: <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/03/13/stories/13130613.htm>]
============================================================================
4
PUTTING AN END TO CONVERSION ACTIVITY
By M. V. Kamath
On the night of January 22/23, Christian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two young sons were
burnt to death in Manoharpur, a remote village in Orissa. On September 1, another Christian priest, Fr Arun
Doss was killed at Jambani village, also in Orissa. In the past month, several incidents of burning of
churches have been reported, almost all of them in tribal areas in Orissa and Gujarat.
Some time ago, church authorities released a long list of atrocities perpetrated against Christians in
different parts of India and at different times. The cumulative impression sought to be driven home is that
minorities are no longer safe in India. This is an ominous development. Orissa's director-general of police
Dilip Mahapatra has been quoted as saying that Fr Doss had received a "number of complaints and
evidence" to the effect that the priest was involved in "illegal conversions" in violation of the Orissa
Freedom of Religions Act, 1967.
Under the Orissa law and a similar law passed in Madhya Pradesh, missionaries are clearly under an
obligation to inform the authorities of their conversion efforts. Incidentally, these laws were upheld by a
five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the Rev Stanilaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh (AIR
1977 SC 908). The law makes it mandatory for the concerned religious priest to give a 15-day notice for the
"ceremony of conversion" and intimate the time and place along with the names and addresses of those
intended to be converted.
Far from Prying Eyes

Christian missionary efforts at conversion under the guise of social work do not take place in places, say,
like the Brahmin-dominated ward of Mylapore in Chennai. They are conducted in poor, illiterate and
innocent tribal areas and in remote jungles far from the prying eyes of authority. Now a reaction seems to
have set in. Writing in The Statesman (March 12, 1999), Mr B P Saha made the point that "growing
enlightenment has been provoking them (tribals) to dislike conversion and look askance at the foreign
missionaries, the so-called benefactors".
23
Attempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally
banned. Conversions are forbidden by law in China. Here we take a lenient view of conversion and
Christian bodies have been taking advantage of the Hindu sense of tolerance. According to Mr Jon Stock,
New Delhi correspondent of the British paper The Daily Telegraph, "put simply, the Indian subcontinent
has become the principal target for a wide range of western Christian missions which are determined to
spread the gospel to India's 'unreached' people before the year 2000".
Writing in The Spectator, Mr Stock says: "There is little doubt that the current communal tension in India
would not be serious if foreign-funded missionaries had been content with giving Indians the choice of
Christianity and left it at that."
According to Mr Stock, "hundreds of thousands of dollars are being channelled into India through well-
organised, America-based evangelical missions", the meticulously researched ethnographic data they are
compiling on the region ensuring that funds are being directed "with military precision to the right area,
even to specific pin codes in remote tribal districts".
Mr Stock quoted a statement from a Colorado-based Group of World- wide Christian Missions calling itself
AD 2000 and Beyond as saying: " 'Flashes of light' seen all around the North India-Hindu belt, particularly
among the tribal groups, are encouraging us to believe that the Sum of Righteousness is indeed ready to rise
upon these unreached peoples."
Violence Justified
AD 2000 and Beyond described Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city as full of temples dedicated to Shiva "an
idol whose symbol is a phallus", and as a city whom many (?) consider the "very seat of Satan". One Rev R
V Paricha has been described (Observer, March 24, 1999) as having authored a plan, on behalf of 94
Christian organisations, to target Orissa for conversion efforts, on the grounds that the caste structure of
Orissa lacks the polarisation of the high-and-low caste characteristics of South India.
The Constitution clearly says (Article 25, Freedom of Conscience etc) that "all persons are equally entitled
to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion" but what is
forgotten is that this right is "subject to public order, morality and health". If conversions or attempts at
conversion lead to public disorder, the government has a duty sternly to deal with guilty missionaries. If the
government does not step in on liberal pretenses, then violence can be predicted even justified by insulted
citizens. It is time that Christian missionaries understand that India -- and Hinduism -- cannot be taken for
granted.
It is pertinent to record what Christian missionaries did in Goa during the Inquisition. All the Inquisition's
activities were conducted in strict secrecy, replete with "impenetrable arcane terminology fiendishly
discrepant logic and autonomous questioning?" Paul William Roberts in Empire of the Soul, Some
Journeys in India (Riverhead Books, New York) says,"Children were flogged and slowly dismembered in
front of their parents whose eyelids had been sliced off to make sure they missed nothing. Extremities were
amputated carefully, so that a person could remain conscious even when all that remained was a torso and a
head...Those subjected to diabolical tortures could also be counted in the thousands and the abominations
continued until a brief respite in 1774...The evil resumed (four years later) continuing, almost incredibly,
until June 16, 1812. At that point British pressure put an end to terror, the presence of British troops
stationed in Goa enforcing it".
Mere Apology
The Church had a special way of dealing with converted Hindus who were suspected of not observing
Christian rites with appropriate rigour and enthusiasm, or even of covertly practising their old faith. They
were the revertidos, the alleged backsliders with their cut-out idols and furtive cremations. According to
Roberts (p.89), "the culprits would be tracked down and burnt alive".
The Church archives should be able to produce instances of all the ghastly atrocities that missionaries
perpetrated in Goa in the name of Christ. These archives should be opened for study -- and publication in
full. A mere apology is not enough. The Pope owes it to Goa, Hindus in general and India in the larger
24
context to give a full account of what Christianity had perpetrated in our country. Above all, a total stop
must be ordered of conversion activities.
------------------------------------
[Source:
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2104/kamath_challenge.html>]
October 13, 1999
============================================================================
5
MEETING THE THREAT OF CONVERSION IN INDIA
EFFORTS AIMED AT reducing the Hindu population through proselytization by Muslim and Christian
agencies have remained, even after the British left, a source of grave threat to our national security and
integrity. However, the growing awareness of this threat over the years, has put the Hindus on the alert. For
the first time in history, huge Hindu conferences organized by VHP and allied Hindu bodies have been
demanding that the Government impose a ban on conversions through illegal and immoral means. Public
pressure also is mounting for the expulsion of foreign Christian missionaries and an immediate ban on the
flow of foreign money for such proselytizing agencies working under various humanitarian garbs.
It is noteworthy that some time ago, at the Consultative Committee meeting of the Central Home Ministry,
representatives of all parties except the Muslim League demanded a legislation to stop the flow of foreign
funds into the hands of private agencies.
Islamic Mass Conversions Averted

Many conversion-prone areas in the country have already started experiencing the impact of Hindu
resistance to conversion. To give the most talked-about instance of recent times: the country was shocked
with the news of Islamic mass conversion of about 800 Hindus in February 1981, in Meenakshipuram in
Tamil Nadu. In the wake of Meenakshipuram euphoria, the Isha-ad-ul Islam Sabha of South India which
had engineered the conversions there claimed that over a hundred thousand Harijans in Tamil Nadu were on
their toes to walk into their parlour.
The wave of conversions sweeping the southern parts of Tamil Nadu at that moment was indeed alarming.
Hindu organisations like the Sangh, the Hindu Munnani, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Arya Samaj, the
Hindu Samudaya Valarchi Manram, the Hindu Temple Protection Committee and other Hindu social and
religious organisations immediately swung into action. They formed themselves into 'Hindu Ottrumai
Maiyam' (Centre for Hindu Unity). Soon an RSS study team visited and surveyed all the affected villages
in the four districts of Tamil Nadu; and on the basis of that report, the HOM decided to launch a widespread
movement for stopping further conversions and to reclaim to the Hindu fold all those who had been
converted.
In the meanwhile, a shocking piece of news reached the Sangh workers at Madurai, that a large number of
Harijan Hindus - a hundred thousand from all over Ramanathapuram district—were scheduled to assemble
at Mudukalattur to take a decision on embracing Islam en masse. The Harijan leaders of Tirunelveli and
Madurai districts were also invited to the meeting where a call to embrace Islam was intended to be given
to the Harijan community in general. They had invited Swami Ramdas, a highly respected mathadhipati
from Malaysia, to guide their deliberations. The Swami, hailing from the same Mudukalattur tehsil and the
same community, was well versed in the Tamil lore and Hindu scriptural texts. He too was in a tormented
mood over the predicament of Harijans. He was at a loss to know how best to guide his followers.
The Sangh and VHP leaders, who had overnight hastened to his place, explained to him the various
constructive measures initiated by the Hindu organisations and several prominent mathadhipatis to secure
justice to the Harijans and accord them a status of equality and dignity in Hindu society. All this was highly
gladdening and reassuring news to the Swamiji, who later on succeeded in considerably assuaging the
inflamed tempers of the Harijan leaders. He convinced them of the sincere efforts being made by the
workers of the Sangh and VHP and many mathadhipatis to accord honourable treatment to them.
25
The Swamiji himself later on participated whole-heartedly in the Hindu Solidarity Conference at
Ramanathapuram. Having personally experienced absolute equality of treatment with the other traditional
Hindu mathadhipatis and senior Sangh and VHP workers at the conference, he agreed to the latter's request
to postpone his return journey to Malaysia and join them in the tour of the villages. This was followed by
Hindu Unity Conferences, attended by leaders and representatives of all castes and sects in large numbers.
Equality and harmony became the one stirring note of all their exhortations. Religious and social leaders
began visiting the neglected brethren. They enquired about their problems, and comforted them by assuring
them of equality and dignity in social life. Most important of all, they refurbished their faith in Hindu
Dharma.
As a result of these efforts, the spectre of mass conversion was laid low in Tamil Nadu even though stray
cases are still being reported from far-flung villages. But whenever such news leaks out, alert Hindu
workers reach there promptly to stop further mischief. For example, in Sivakashi, there was to be a mass
baptism. When the news reached the Swayamsevaks they rushed to the place and saw to it that not a single
Hindu left the Hindu fold. A most encouraging feature was that the local Hindu population also stood by the
Swayamsevaks as one man in this attempt to save their Hindu brethren.
In Kerala too, the rising Hindu awareness is at work. Ponani, a coastal town in Kerala, is a notorious centre
of Islamic conversion for the entire south, where the headquarters of Munavar Ul Islam Sabha is situated.
Men, women and children are lured, kidnapped and brought there for conversion. With the spread of
Shakhas, however, the Swayamsevaks and other Hindus have started apprehending them at the railway
station or bus-stand and thwarting such attempts.
Thwarting Christian Missionary Moves

In the wake of quitting of the British, the foreign Christian missions had in fact felt that their game was up.
They even began making preparations to leave Bharat, but soon the Government's 'secular' policy came as
an unexpected boon. They were not only allowed to carry on their activities as before, but even new areas
so far forbidden to them, like those of certain Hindu principalities were thrown open to them. With the
result, Christian missionary efforts at proselytisation have now become far more widespread and insidious.
In all, about 100,000 missionaries - 9,400 foreign and the rest local - are now engaged in divisive and
subversive activities under the mask of various kinds of service projects.
The vanavasi areas in the country can roughly be divided into three parts: the North-East, Chotanagpur and
the rest. Out of these, the dangerous fall-out of missionary activities is particularly felt in the North-Eastern
region where small states have been carved out under the pressure of separatist movements engineered by
the foreign Christian missions. While some of them like Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya have already
become virtually Christian States' insurgent movements have been taking on more aggressive forms all
over the North-Eastern region with demands for newer states.
Nailing the life of ‘Aminimism’

The sense of alienation from the national mainstream that the janajatis (the 'tribals') now feel is mainly due
to the handiwork of the British. Those areas were declared as 'protected' and kept out of bounds for all
others except the Christian missionaries. The geographical isolation of the janajatis residing in those deep
jungles and valleys has added to their difficulties in facing the hostile religious and cultural onslaught of the
missionaries. Further, the janajatis are themselves divided into 182 groups. They speak different dialects,
live in different environments and face different problems. As such, among themselves also there is little
communication.
Unfortunately, even after Independence, the Government has been treading in the same footprints as those
of the erstwhile British rulers. While the converts from janajati Hindus are designated in the census as
Christians, the rest are enumerated as merely various 'tribal' entities as distinct from Hindus. Government
its led by the assumption, insidiously set afloat by the foreign missionaries that since the janajatis worship
trees, stones and serpents' they are 'animists' and cannot be called Hindus.
26
Gandhiji had said, "We are strangers to this sort of classification — animists, aboriginals, etc. — but we
have learnt it from the English rulers. These tribes have from time immemorial been absorbed in Hinduism.
They are like the indigenous medicine of the soil and their roots lie deep there." Even Census
Commissioners like Herbert Rislay (1901), Census Officers P.C. Talents in Bihar and Sedgwick in Bombay
(1921) had stated that no line of demarcation could be drawn between 'Hinduism' and 'animism' and that
separate mention of tribal religions should be done away with and tribals joined with the rest of the Hindus.
Shri Guruji nailed the pernicious propaganda of 'tribal separatism' squarely on the head. He said, "The
argument of 'animism' is something which only an ignoramus who does not know the a, b, c of Hinduism
would advance. The word 'animus' means the principle of life that is immanent in all creation. Whatever be
its form of expression, it is that Inherent Spirit that is worshipped. Do not the Hindus all over the country
worship the tree? Tulasi, Bilva, Ashwattha are all sacred to the Hindu. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Shri Krishna,
while naming the forms in which the indwelling spirit is more manifest than in others, has pointed to
Ashwattha among the trees. He has also spoken of the serpent and various kinds of animals and birds, and
so also of mountains and rivers. Shri Krishna closes the series of such manifestations saying: 'Every such
element as is endowed with glory, brilliance or power, know that to be a manifestation of a spark of My
Divine Effulgence.'
"The worship of Nag, the Cobra, is prevalent throughout our country. In the South there are huge temples of
Lord Subrahmanya, the name given to Nag there. Then, should we term all these devotees and worshippers
as 'animists' and declare them as non-Hindus?" - Shri Guruji challenged.
How the Hindu Appeal Works

There is an interesting instance of how this Hindu appeal basic to all janajatis works wonders. When Rani
Ma Gaidinliu, the celebrated Naga freedom fighter and leader of Zeliangrong Heraka Movement, was
invited to the World Hindu Meet at Prayag organised by the VHP in January 1979, she was taken aback.
How could she, an 'animist' and not a 'Hindu', be invited to an avowedly Hindu conference? — She
questioned and pleaded her inability. However, when the Parishad workers explained to the Rani the Hindu
viewpoint, it appealed to her immensely. She participated in the conference along with her devoted
disciples. In her short but emotion-filled speech, she reminded the audience of the immense sacrifices made
by the past freedom fighters including those from the Nagaland. At the end she appealed, "But the foreign
missionaries are nibbling away at our freedom. Preachers of Hindu Dharma should reach those parts in
large numbers to defeat their designs." The Rani was so greatly impressed that she has now become a
source of inspiration to the Hindu resurgence movement in that region.
The remarks of an old Khasi lady from Meghalaya who attended the conference were significant: "When
we live here (i.e., in Shillong) we feel ourselves overwhelmed by the growing number of Christians all
around us. We are also falsely told that the rest of the country is already totally converted to Christianity.
But, at the Vishwa Hindu Sammelan at Allahabad, I realised that Hindu society is like a great ocean. If a
wave of that ocean comes rising over Meghalaya, the speck of Christianity that is here would be submerged
in no time."
Here is another instance of how the chaste Hindu atmosphere strikes a sympathetic chord in the hearts of
such sections. N. C. Jaliang, an MLA from Nagaland, had come as a guest to the training camp organised
by the VKA in 1981 at New Delhi. In his inaugural address, he had mooted the idea of forming a non-
Christian Front to face the Christian manoeuvrings in his State. However, at the close of the camp, he said
that he was feeling himself very much a Hindu, instead of being a mere 'non-Christian.'
The Impact of Cultural Renaissance: Among Nagas

The wave of cultural renaissance generated by the efforts of Sangh Swayamsevaks has given birth to the
Bharatiya Janajati Samskritik Manch (Indian Tribal Cultural Forum) in the NorthEastern region. It seeks to
tackle both types of isolation of the janajati brethren - that from the mainstream of Bharatiya ways of life
and that among their own several different entities. Even while trying to pull down these artificial barriers,
it encourages, in the true spirit of 'unity in diversity' of the Bharatiya culture, the formation of separate
27
tribal bodies for each tribe to deal with its own particular problems, maintain and refurbish its own
religious practices and its traditional ways of life and popularise its literature.
The last mentioned programme has been found to be effective in loosening the octopus-like grip of
Christian missionary propaganda. At present, the Bible, translated into the local tribal languages (using the
Roman script), is taught to the janajatis in all their educational institutions. As for the Government
institutions, only secular education is imparted. As a result, the janajatis have been denied the opportunity
to instruct their children in the fundamentals of their ancestral faith. The void created in their hearts by the
absence of such faith makes them fall a prey to Christian proselytizers.
As a result of the Forum's endeavours, regeneration of their pristine spiritual and cultural values among the
various janajati groups has been quickened. Under Rani Ma Gaidinliu's guidance, the three main branches
among the Nagas—the Jemi, the Rengmai and the Zeliang - are coming together in a common movement.
They call it 'Heraka', i.e., 'the Pure Faith'. The Heraka Conference, organised in January 1981 by the Heraka
Council with the support of the ITC Forum, proved historic. The three-day conference was attended by
more than 2000 Naga delegates drawn from 81 villages of the three States of Assam, Nagaland and
Manipur. Some of the delegates had to walk for six days to reach Kokairam, the Naga village in North
Cachar Hills district of Assam, where the conference was held, and had to walk back again all the way. This
was also the first occasion when the Khasi religious leaders mingled with their Naga brethren and
recognised their common spiritual bonds.
The Heraka Council has, at its annual conference held on 1-2 February 1988, put its official seal of sanction
on the growing Hindu awareness among the Heraka followers by resolving that "Heraka, which in reality is
Hindu, is the only religious faith amonz the Nagas to preserve Naga traditional beliefs, customs and culture.
Heraka Association will work as a part of Hindu organisation in all matters."
The Saraswati Shishu Mandir at Haflong, having mainly Naga boys, has won the hearts of the village
elders. A few years ago, when the Government officers and the Governor himself tried to persuade them to
part with a particular piece of land for a fruit-juice factory, they rejected the offer and instead allotted the
eight bighas of that plot free to the school. They said, "A school for our children run by a Hindu mission,
with our own mother tongue as the medium of instruction, is of more value to us than some economic
benefits."
The village Tayning has a school and a medical centre run by the VEÀ with the assistance of Heraka Naga
leaders. For a population of 3,000, the village has two huge residential schools, one of the Roman Catholics
and the other of the Baptists. The Ashram school has a substantial number of Christian children of the
Baptist Church. The Vice-Chairman of the Town Committee, a Baptist Christian, explaining why he
preferred to send his wards to the Hindu school instead of to his own Church school, said, "I know that in
the Ashram school, prayer to Saraswati is offered. Samskrit and Hindi are taught. However, while in the
Baptist and the Catholic schools more stress is laid on Bible-teaching, more attention is paid here to the
studies and behaviour of the children."
In fact, the elders find nothing amiss in the assimilation o the traditional Hindu modes by their children in
the Ashram school. Once a teacher of the school on his morning stroll heard 'Ya kundendu-tushara-hara-
dhavald....' emanating from a hut. He peeped in and found a boy of his school sitting in padmasana with
palms joined in the namaskar posture reciting the Saraswati stotra that he had learnt as part of the school
prayer; the picture before which he was sitting was of Jesus. Needless to say, he was a boy from a Christian
Naga family.
The vanavasi parents in Nagaland and North-Eastern States have started gladly sending their wards to
hostels run by the VKA in provinces like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Among the Khasis

The other important group is of the Khasis, fifty per cent of whom have already been converted to
Christianity. The converts have cornered all the education, positions of profit and political privileges,
28
pushing the Khenzi Khasis into second-grade citizenship. Of late, however, the spirit of self-awareness and
pride has been gathering force among the latter. Seng Khasi, formed towards the close of last century, has
preserved the fire of their faith in their own tradition and culture. Jeebon Roy, a great Indian patriot, was
the first moving spirit behind it. A great educationist, scholar and thinker, he wrote, translated and
published books on subjects like the Khasi faith, Ramayana, Bhagavad-Gita and the lives of Buddha and
Shri Chaitanya. The present leader of Seng Khasi and of the ITC Forum is Hipshon Roy who is able to
measure up to the challenges that the conversion has posed. He is bringing home to his Khasi brethren how
Christianisation has meant Westernisation resulting in the deculturalisation of their time-honoured ways of
life.
H. Onderson Maurie is another dynamic leader of Seng Khasi and of the ITC Forum. He is the Headmaster
of Nongkrem High School in Meghalaya. A thinker and philosopher of great depth, he is also a powerful
orator. He warns his people that it would be suicidal for them to build on others' foundation. Maurie affirms
that because of their present awakening, conversion of Khasis to Christianity has almost totally stopped and
the return process - "home-coming" - has, for the first time, started. "Now we are on the offensive, they are
on the defensive", he says quietly.
Here is an instance to show which way the wind is blowing. In Meghalaya, the dominating Christian
influence, which had been taken for granted so far, is now resented and even challenged. Commanding a
big majority in the Assembly and administration, the Government was all along celebrating Christmas Day
as a State function without let or hindrance. Government offices and the Assembly House used to be
illuminated as if Meghalaya was a Christian State. in 1979, the Khasis bestirred themselves. They
submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister objecting to this practice as being against the secular spirit
of the Indian Constitution; copies were sent to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister. The effect
was visible the very next year. . The Meghalaya Government had to issue a circular to all government
offices that no govemment building shall in future be used for religious celebration.
In contrast to the denationalising impact of Christianity, how do our various janajati brethren view the
Hindu impact? Onderson Maurie, contrasting the Christian with the Hindu impact, says:
"In the case of the former, the physical and the cultural conquests are closely and inseparably inter-related,
whereas in the case of the Hindu, the janajati cultural specialities have not suffered in the least for ages.
True, while some of the janajati groups have no hesitation in calling themselves Hindus, a few others like
the Khasis are still reluctant to do so. But even the latter frankly declare that among the Bharatiya faiths,
the 'Hindu' faith is like their 'elder sister'."
Seng Khasi, in one of its issues, wrote: "During the British regime every one of the European writers had
sought to project the worst type of distorted and vulgar picture of the NorthEastern region. They never
uttered a single word about the tolerant, generous attitude of the Hindus. The attitude of the Hindu Dharma
towards our Khasi faith has been more than motherly."
The last sentence indeed highlights the degree of emotional integration achieved by the ITC Forum and a
measure of its wholesome influence.
The Emerging Healthy Trends

Due to the incessant efforts of the Forum, healthy trends are seen among many other janajatis also. In
Arunachal Pradesh, it is Tum Pak Ete who has taken the initiative in its campaign. He had resigned a
lucrative government job even before he joined the ITC Forum and dedicated himself to bringing out the
excellence hidden in the religious literature of his Adi janajati. Tne coming up of the Adi Research Centre
is the fruit of his devoted labours.
A section of the Karbi janajatis has begun to receive new light on their ancestral Vaishnav faith through
Lakbimon Sangh. A section of the Bodos in the plains have started celebrating their traditional 'Batho
Pooja' (Panchamukhi Shiva Pooja) in increasing numbers and with mounting enthusiasm, while the other
section, who call themselves 'Brahm', are taking to Yajna.
29
Another important area which VKA workers have opened up for highlighting the common Bharatiya
identity of the janajatis is in respect of their ancient folklore, folk songs and folk tales.
The Karbis consider themselves as the descendants of Vali and Sugriva and the Tiwas are proud of being
the descendants of Sita. The Mishmis of Arunachal Pradesh trace their ancestry to Rukmini and through her
to Shri Krishna.
In 1988, a seminar was organised by the Guwahati University on 'Rama-katha among the Janajatis of
North-East', wherein a paper on the Rama-katha prevalent among Mizos was read by the Principal of
Aizwal College, a Christian Mizo. The Rama-katha is replete with episodes of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana,
Hanuman, etc., and the killing of Ravana. A mantra in Mizo says, "Oh, rice, you have been created by
Rama and Lakshmana to propound the Truth. So tell us what is Truth (this, three times)."
The VKA workers who are collecting such material propose to urge the concerned educational authorities
to include them in the school curriculum so as to strengthen the feeling of oneness of those people with the
rest of the country.
A significant fact with regard to the language of janajati brethren is most encouraging. A majority of the
illiterate people among the janajatis understand Hindi, however elementary, and not English. At present,
English is being pushed down their throats by the governmental agencies and the missionaries. However, as
days pass, it is Hindi which promises to become the natural link language between the various groups.
Once Hindi comes in, Devanagari script too is bound to become popular for their dialects, replacing the
Roman script. The Bodos have accepted Devanagari for their script and very recently the Dimaches and the
Jemi Nagas have also adopted the same as their script. While the Karbis have been using Assamiya script,
the Tripuris make use of Bengali alphabets.
Perversions of Christianisation Exposed

The Poorvanchal Hindu Conference at Guwahati in February 1982 turned a new page in the history of the
North-Eastern region. On that occasion, Hindus from the plains rubbed shoulders with representatives of
over 20 janajati groups. It gave a tremendous boost to the process of national integration going on silently
in the region. Such repeated experiences are making the various janajati groups realise that their identity is
safe within the Hindu fold. By contrast, they are also realising that conversion to Christianity sucks them
into a nameless, faceless replica of Western habits and tastes; their age-old values are not only obliterated
but despised. It is this shocking realisation that is making even the converted janajatis sit up and think.
Some years ago, a Naga cultural delegation, which included the Chief Minister's wife, visited America. The
members were all Christians. In a congregation they were asked to sing Naga music. When the wife of the
Chief Minister sang a song they remarked, "This is our Western Pop music. We want to hear a traditional
Naga song." She felt ashamed while replying that as she was a Christian, she had given up all indigenous
customs and did not know any Naga music. The Americans felt shocked and asked: "What if you have
changed your faith? Have you ceased to be Nagas?" After her return to Bharat, the lady told the then Chief
Minister of Arunachal Pradesh at a meeting that though they had become Christians the people outside
expect them to adhere to their ancestral cultural traditions and heritage.
In Manipur, secessionist elements, under the name of Maitheyi and People's Liberation Army, have been
trying to inject into the minds of Manipuris the belief that they are Maitheyis and not Hindus and that
Manipur was never a part of Bharat. They claim that their religion, their customs, language and script are
all totally different, and as such fall outside the ambit of Bharatiya life. This separatist wind began blowing
fiercely from the early sixties. Holy texts like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad-Gita were decried
and dishonoured; they were, at places, even set on fire. At one place, one of the ministers too had joined in
burning the copies.
However, the VHP decided to extinguish this fire of disruption. Towards this end, a huge Hindu Conference
was organised at Imphal in 1981. Attended by all sections of Hindus in thousands, it gave a powerful thrust
to the movement of Hindu consolidation and helped significantly in subduing the antiHindu, anti-national
30
appeal of separatist Maitheyism. The annual Maha-Shivaratri festival, which had been suspended because
of the attacks of the secessionists, was revived from the next year onwards with renewed fervour and
enthusiasm.
There are elements even among the insurgents who feel the glow of the work of Hindu missionaries. The
Saraswati Shishu Mandirs run by the VKA in Manipur are very popular and have a total strength of 1,700
at present (1988). Once, when a couple of insurgents happened to meet some persons running the school,
they frankly told them: "We are not opposed to your project. In fact, we want our children to grow up in
such a healthy and noble environment."
Then there is the amazing experience of a worker of VKA of Silchar, in Cachar District, who had gone on a
visit to Mizoram to survey the conditions of janajatis there. In a village, known for its insurgent activities,
the local Christian janajatis surrounded him and began closely questioning him about his background, the
nature of the Kalyan Ashram work, his intention in coming over there, etc. The worker found himself in a
soup. When one of the janajatis invited him to his house, his apprehensions became even more grave. Being
in no position to say 'no', he quietly followed him. Inside the house, the janajati brought him a drink. The
worker now felt that it might well be his 'last drink'! However, his fears soon gave way to intense relief and
happiness when the host took out Rs. 500 and offered him the same, saying: "Please take this for your noble
work. But I feel you have come to us too late. You should have reached here 30 years earlier." Of course,
the Kalyan Ashram worker knew that it was never too late!
Integrating the Young Minds

The ABVP too has been active in this direction. It has pitched upon the impressionable and unpolluted
student community to pioneer the movement for their emotional integration with the rest of the country. In
1966, the ABVP workers met Vishnu Sahai, Governor of Assam, and submitted its scheme of Inter-State
Living for Students. In May that year, eighty students from Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland and
Arunachal Pradesh came and stayed with different families in Bombay.
It was in Bombay that these students from the North-East realised that they belonged to sixteen different
janajati groups, speaking sixteen different dialects. It was also there that for the first time they met one
another. The present Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Gegang Apang, was among them. When a batch
of Arunachal students again came to Bombay, Apang, who was then the P.W.D. Minister, was deputed by
the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, P. K. Thungon. Apang visited the host family in Bombay where he
had stayed for one month in 1966. The family members were overjoyed to receive him as fan honoured
guest' from Arunachal Pradesh. However, Apang was quick to correct them saying that he was not a guest
but very much a son of the family, only coming from Arunachal Pradesh.
Since then this unique project, 'Students Experience in Inter-State Living' (SEIL) has become an annual
feature of the ABVP. In December 1980, 30 students from different parts of the North-Eastern region were
invited to visit other parts of Bharat. At every place, top men in the educational and literary fields, lecturers
and students, joined in extending a hearty welcome to them. Mole than the felicitation in universities, they
were deeply touched by the deep affection showered on them by the mothers who welcomed them to their
homes like their own kith and kin and served them with various types of delicacies.
What astonished the Khasi students, specially, was the extraordinary interest displayed by one and all in
trying to know the salient features of the Khasi faith and tradition. However, they felt piqued for not being
able to satisfy their curiosity. This made them more introspective and spurred them to know themselves
better and deeper. On their return they are turning more and more to Seng Khasi, a socio-religious
institution, for that purpose. Consequently the Seng Khasi programmes, which were till now popular only
among the elderly Khasis, have now been eliciting enthusiastic response from young men and women also.
Every year, SEIL attracts new students, involving different states and programmes- all of them directed
towards reawakening and reinforcing the common cultural identity of North-Eastern States with the rest of
Bharat. So far, ten such batches have visited different parts of the country. This has been reciprocated by
the visit of four batches from the other parts to the North-East and one to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
31
The SEIL slogan 'Alag bhasha alag vesh phir bhi apna ek desh' (Language and dress may be different, but
our nation is one) seems to have made a deep impression on the participants. In 1987, the Khasi Students
Union went about terrorising and driving out the non-janajati Hindus from Meghalaya. Two Khasi girls,
who had previously participated in the SEIL programme, stood up and faced the student mob in defence of
a non-janajati doctor serving in a Seng Khasi hospital. The same spirit was witnessed in all its youthful
exuberance when students of other parts went to the North-Eastern States in 1987. The local janajati boys
and girls in Haflong, Shillong, Itanagar and other places welcomed them at railway stations and bus-stands
with 'Bharat Mata ki jai'. Hearing the spirited chants by the janajati student mass, Hipshon Roy exclaimed:
"I had never thought that I would hear the slogan Bharat Mata ki jai in Khasiland.
In Madhya Pradesh
The second large tract of vanavasis in Chotanagpur region had also been cordoned off by the British
declaring it as halfexcluded areas. Conversions among the vanavasis had been going on there, both at the
individual level and en masse. The missionaries pitched upon the village chiefs; if they were converted, the
entire village would follow. Every physical want and disability - hunger, disease, poverty, unemployment or
destitution - used to be taken advantage of by the missionaries. Giving Christian names to the Hindu
children admitted into their schools was another fraud indulged in by them. The oppression to which the
vanavasis of Jashpur in Madhya Pradesh were subjected by the Christian missionaries can be imagined by
the fact that when one of them went riding on a horse, he would lash with his whip anyone who did not
salute him - a practice which continued even after Independence.
However, now, wherever the VKA units have started functioning, conversion on mass scale has been totally
stopped and cases of individual conversions are also perceptibly reduced. An incident may be recalled here.
Observance of Indal Pooja, a traditional festival in Madhya Pradesh, had been abandoned by the vanavasis
because of the enormous expenditure it involved. The Christian missionaries had stepped in and begun
arranging the Pooja in their Church, with a view to bringing the innocent Hindu vanavasis under their net.
The VKA stopped the mischief by organising the Pooja in its pristine form and with minimum expense.
As in some other areas, in Jashpur also, distribution of several articles given by the Government for the
poor and needy is being done through the missionary agencies. Recently a petition signed by 25,000
vanavasis has been submitted to the District Collector, protesting against this discriminatory practice.
In Rajasthan, Tibede Bada, a village in Bansvada district, had become a Christian stronghold. Even the
Hindu vanavasis had started greeting each other with 'Jai Isu'. But a sannyasin who reached there on behalf
of VKA soon changed all that. Now, the practice there is 'Jai Sita Ram'. Ramlila, during Dasara, has also
become very popular there.
In the wake of expulsion of a Belgian missionary recently, a loud hue and cry was raised by the Christian
missionaries all over the country. In Bihar, the Christian missions closed down their schools as a protest and
threatened that they would remain closed till the expulsion order was revoked. The Sangh and VKA
workers launched a powerful propaganda offensive and organised massive protest demonstrations by the
school students, exposing the anti-national nature of the Christian blackmail and urging the Government to
take over the Christian schools. The Government too issued a notice to the Christian missions warning of
dire consequences in case the schools were not opened immediately. Thereupon the missions beat a retreat
and reopened the schools.
The leadership of the movement for a separate Jharkhand State in Chotanagpur area had, for long, gone
entirely into the hands of the Christian missions. The Hindu vanavasis were also willynilly drawn into their
camp. But with the spread of VKA activities, a gradual change is now taking place. The Hindu vanavasis
are moving away from the missionary hold and have started projecting their own leadership. There is now
hope that the movement would not turn violent or anti-national.
32
Commissions' Inquiry into Missionary Activities
The first to take steps at the governmental level in uncovering the ulterior motive behind Christian
missionary activities was the Govemment of Madhya Pradesh. In mid-fifties, it appointed a commission
headed by Justice Bhavani Shankar Niyogi for that purpose. A senior Sangh pracharak working in Madhya
Pradesh took upon himself the task of mobilising the necessary witnesses. It was mainly because of his
efforts that about 5,000 vanavasis and others could adduce evidence in person before the Commission. That
help proved crucial for the Commission in preparing a well-documented and authentic report which laid
bare the underlying motive of the Christian missionary activities. For the first time, because of that historic
report, the nefarious activities indulged in by the Christian missionaries came to light.
The Madhya Pradesh Government followed up the Commission's Report with a legislation prohibiting
illegal and forcible conversions in the State. But, in the absence of corresponding steps by the Centre, the
missionary activities have gone on unhampered all over the country.
More recently, the Justice Venugopal Commission, which inquired into the riots at Mandaikadu in
Kanyakumari district in March 1982, has made the pertinent observation that conversion activities carried
on there by the Christian Church was the main reason for the clashes between Christians and the Hindus.
The Commission has advised the Tamil Nadu Government to ban conversions and to urge the Central
Government to do likewise in the whole country. But so far nothing has come out of it.
The Call for Home-Coming

The Hindu awakening has not stopped merely at alerting and organising remedial programmes. It has gone
one step further. It is strenuously seeking to rectify the suicidal outlook vis-a-vis reconversion entrenched
in the Hindu psyche. The orthodox opinion had so far held that there is no religious sanction for taking the
converted back into the Hindu fold. Thus, for centuries, the one-way traffic from the Hindu to other
religions had gone on unchecked. The present Damocles' sword of Kashmir problem hanging over our head
can be traced directly to this self-destructive outlook. About a hundred years ago in Kashmir, the pandits
had stopped the King from taking back the entire Muslim community who had volunteered to return to
Hinduism.
Doubtless, some of our far-seeing religious and social reformers in the past and in recent times did make
heroic efforts to break this self-imposed shackle. The movement was given a powerful thrust by eminent
leaders of Hindu renaissance like Swami Dayananda, Swami Shraddhananda and Veer Savarkar in this
century itself which certainly had its own impact. However, the Hindu mind in general took time to realise
its crucial importance. And even those who had come back could not be fully assimilated into the Hindu
fold.
Shri Guruji decided to pick up the thread where it had been left by the previous stalwarts. He began
pursuing the movement especially in the crucial direction of suitably changing the psychology of our
people. On the occasion of his 51st birthday celebration, he gave a call that set the ball rolling. He termed
those who had been converted out of fear of death, coercion or various temptations of power, position, etc.,
as victims of 'religious slavery'. He declared it was the mad zeal of the invaders for increasing their
numbers to make way for political domination that lay at the root of such conversions.
Efforts to persuade our religious and social leaders to give a positive lead to our people in this direction
have started yielding results.
The mammoth Hindu World conference organised by VHP at Prayag in 1966 created history. Heads of
maths, dharmacharyas and leading sadhus representing all shades of Hindu religious and philosophical
thought unanimously resolved to revoke the centuries-old religious ban on reconversion. At the end of the
resolution, thunderous applause greeted Shri Pejawar Mathadheesh of Udupi, Karnataka, when he uttered
the new mantra - "Na Hinduh patito bhavet". The mantra succinctly stated that a Hindu is never fallen,
thereby rectifying the misconception held so long that the converted person was 'a fallen soul' who could
not be taken back. The new mantra decreed that the mere fact of his change of faith cannot take away his
33
basic Hindu identity. This declaration was nothing short of a new smriti - a fresh interpretation of the
ancient shastras in tune with the demands of modern times and in the interest of social consolidation.
The various swamijis have been following up this declaration by presiding over the paravartan ceremonies
and blessing the home-comers. The word paravartan, popularised by the VHP, correctly portrays the nature
of the home-coming process. Paravartan emphasises the attitude of looking upon the converted as our own
brothers and sisters whom we have to welcome home with all love.
Re-animating the Age-old Faith

It is common knowledge that conversions to non-Hindu faiths have all along been carried out by illegal and
immoral means. In the past, under the Muslim rule, every possible tactics of coercion was employed. The
frauds played by the Christian missionaries in later years are also too well known. Gandhiji used to call the
Christian converts as 'rice-Christians'. Especially in the case of those converted en masse, their new-found
faith has been found to be only skin-deep and their ancient Hindu religious moorings, on the other hand,
still firm in their hearts. As such it has been found that the most effective way to remind the poor and
unlettered converts of their Hindu roots and infuse courage in them to return to their mother faith, is to stir
up their latent religious memories.
The Jagannath Rath Yatra which traversed extensively in the vanavasi villages of Phulbani, Ganjam,
Koraput, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts became a potent factor in rousing the latent
devotion and collective will of the vanavasis - the Hindus and Christians alike. The massive dimensions of
the Yatra can be gauged from the fact that between March 1986 and May 1988 it covered about a thousand
places, each centre attracting 3 to 4 thousand people, thus amounting to a total of 3 to 4 million
participants. Expenses for the programmes were met by the local people which totalled up to Rs. 3 to 4
million. Inaugural functions at five places during the same period were attended by 6.5 Iakh vanavasis. The
dharmic awakening so generated is now being put on an enduring organisational footing by the VHP and
VKA through Kirtan Mandalis, Satsangs and Yuvak Kendras. So far, 1,600 such units, managed by 500
committees, have come up.
The Prakalpa Samanvaya Samiti of Orissa is the guiding and coordinating fulcrum for all these activities of
several religious and service-oriented organisations. Besides running a regular school for 120 students at
Chakapad and 3 student hostels, 20 weekly balwadis and 300 night schools have started functioning.
Medicine distribution centres including three mobile vans cater to nearly 20,000 patients a month.
All this could not have left the Christian vanavasis unaffected. During the same period about 15,000 of
them have returned to the Hindu fold.
In Madhya Pradesh, too, hundreds of Christian vanavasis join the yajnas, yagas and congregational worship
of Indra carried out by VKA. This has resulted in more than 2,000 of them returning to Hinduism. While in
Maharashtra, about 4,000 have responded to the call of their ancestral faith, in Bihar over 13,000 have
come back. In the South too, in Andhra there have been paravartan programmes resulting in the home-
coming Of 17, 112 Harijans who had been converted to Islam and Christianity. All these developments, it
must be noted, are of recent years.
The Rajasthan phenomenon is truly remarkable. They were all Chauhan Rajputs sucked up into the Islamic
fold after the fall of Prithviraj Chauhan. However, the ancient Hindu blood in them was all the while alive.
They continued to celebrate Dasserah and Diwali together with Id and Moharram. Their children used to
bear both Hindu and Muslim names. When the Muslim moulvis, in their zeal to purge all the un-Islamic
features, pressurised them to give up Hindu names and observing Hindu festivals, it set them thinking.
They felt that if they had to give up certain undesirable things, they had better abandon Islam itself which
after all had been thrust upon them some centuries ago.
Muslim residents of one such village approached the head priest of Shri Pushkar Tirtha and asked him
whether they could come back to the Hindu fold. The head-priest, who was the Sanghachalak of that place,
readily gave his assent. This move, however, inflamed the moulvis who sent some hooligans to threaten the
34
villagers with dire consequences if they dared to leave the Islamic fold. Their attempt was, however, foiled
by the Swayamsevaks who boosted the resolve of the villagers by arranging an impressive bicycle march in
that village. Then, on the auspicious occasion of Maha-Shivaratri, all the Muslims of that village observed a
fast and held night-long bhajan of Lord Shiva. On the next day, after some preliminary religious
ceremonies conducted by the priest, they were received back into the Hindu Dharma. When the Chauhan
Rajput Mahasabha and the VHP came forward to assure the home-comers of equal and honourable
treatment in the Hindu society, the home-coming trend received a further fillip.
As days passed, the annual Prithviraj Chauhan Jayanti became a mass event in which the Rajput Muslims
started participating in thousands. All this helped setting off a chain reaction resulting in village after
village opting for home-coming. The process became further strengthened when workers from among those
who came back volunteered to work for bringing the rest of their brethren also to their ancestral fold. The
number of those who have embraced the religion of their forefathers has now swelled to 40,000.
The Undying Innate Memories

As in Rajasthan, in several other provinces also there are certain groups of Muslims who are even now
adhering to their past Hindu religious customs and traditions. Swayamsevaks of a village in Jammu were
discussing with other villagers plans for putting up a temple for Mahadeva. When they decided to have the
Ishwara Linga of a particular size, the local Muslims who were also there remarked: "What kind of Hindus
you are! You are thinking of such a small size for Mahadeva, while we worship a far bigger one." The
Swayamsevaks were amazed and asked them which was the Linga they were referring to. The Muslims
replied, "Why, don't you know that our trip to Mecca every year is meant for that purpose? The Kaba there
is the Ishwara Linga and nothing else.''
The urge to come back to their ancestral faith is quite perceptible among such sections of Muslims all over
the country. They have also nostalgic memories of their past Hindu associations. It so happened that the
discussion a prominent Sangh worker in Lucknow was having with a moulvi, at one stage, warmed up. The
talk had centred round the separatist attitude of Muslims and their alienation from national life. During the
heat of argument, when the worker bluntly told the moulvi that some decades or centuries ago even his
forefathers were Hindus, the moulvi stopped arguing and suddenly fell silent. He then asked the worker
whether he would pay a visit to his house-. The worker agreed and reached the moulvi's residence which
was on the first floor of the mosque. The moulvi bolted the door from inside and went in, leaving the
worker wondering what the moulvi was up to. Soon, the moulvi came out with a document containing his
'family tree.' Pointing to a name at the top, he said that he was a Hindu who was the first to be converted to
Islam. He added, "We have been preserving this document with utmost care and hoping for the day when
the Hindu society will throw open its doors and take back all its children who had gone out for whatever
reasons." And the climax came when, finally, he asked, "Well, are you now ready to welcome us?"
In Jammu, an equally revealing experience awaited the Sangh workers. The elderly Muslims showed them
a fourcenturies-old Tamrapatra (copper scroll) issued by their forefathers to their future progeny, saying,
"We have been converted to Islam under circumstances beyond our control. When, at some future date,
there will again be a Hindu rule, we command you to return to the Hindu fold."
The ancient cultural moorings of the janajatis of the NorthEast are too strong for even Christian converts to
snap them. And this is proving a powerful factor in reclaiming them to their ancestral religious fold. During
1986 and 1988, two thousand Khasi converts have responded to this call, signed the papers accordingly (a
copy of which is sent to the Church alsb) and returned to the faith of their forbears.
Overcoming Hurdles in Home-Coming

Among certain janajati communities, the taking-back process is not a simple and easy-going one. Quite a
few ticklish problems need to be sorted out before social sanction is secured for reconversion.
Many of the janajatis - like the Dimachas of the North Cachar Hills - are such staunch Hindus that the
Christian missionaries could not make any dent into their religious faith for over a hundred years. It was
only four or five years ago that, for the first time, 10-12 Dimacha young men could be lured into
35
Christianity. Two of them belonged to highly respected families. There was severe reaction among the
Dimachas leading to the excommunication of those youths from their fraternity. However, VHP, sensing the
danger inherent in such a step, persuaded a few among the converted to return to the Hindu fold. But
reconversion to their fraternity had been forbidden. Yet another impediment arose. Two of the new converts
had married Christian Mhar (Mizo) girls. Among the Dimachas inter-janajati marriages are also a taboo.
The problem became more complicated because of the consideration of gotra of the females after
reconversion, since, among the Dimachas, males and females have different gotras. However, after long-
drawn discussions held among the Panchas of Dimachas and the VHP, it was decided that the male youths
after reconversion by VHP be taken back as Dimachas and the Christian Mhar girl also be included
amongst them and the Dimacha female gotra be given to them. Thus, for the first time, the Dimachas have
given the lead for ending the one-way traffic in religious conversion and opened up the avenue for their
social consolidation.
Here is one more instance indicating the implicit trust and confidence the VHP workers have come to enjoy
even among such isolated groups regarding problems arising out of their traditional customs and beliefs.
An Assamese Hindu family of Rangiya in Assam was faced with excommunication from their caste
because one of their sons had married a Muslim girl. The boy's brother approached the VHP workers for
help, who in turn tried to convince the community leaders how such excommunication would harm the
interests of the community itself. The leaders deliberated for ten days but were, however, still divided over
the issue - one section favouring and the other opposing the re-entry of that family. The objectors, however,
relented when they were reminded that their own honoured saints in the past had re-admitted such persons.
But they were anxious to know whether the Satradhikar would be prepared to bless the new couple. The
Satradhikar, on his part, agreed to give sharanam to them if the VHP carried out the paravartan; which
process, of course, was willingly gone through to the rejoicing of all.
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[Source: <http://www.hindubooks.org/Vision/ch3.html>]
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6
PROSELYTIZATION IN INDIA: AN INDIAN CHRISTIAN'S PERSPECTIVE
-- C. Alex Alexander
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The author is a naturalized US citizen and a physician executive who recently retired after 35 years
of combined service to both the US Department of Veterans Affairs as Chief of Staff, Hospital
Director and Regional Chief Medical Officer and the US Army Medical Corps (Colonel).
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Since colonial times to the present, the impetus for Christian proselytizing work in India has largely
emanated from Western Christian Church groups and missions. The latter's continuing obsession for
promoting religious conversions under the aegis of India's Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom
has triggered a raging debate among religious and political leaders of that country. Many Hindus of the
Indian Diaspora have also been drawn into it.
Over seventy years ago, Mahatma Gandhi stated that: “proselytizing under the cloak of humanitarian work
is unhealthy, to say the least. It is most resented by people here.[1]” The resentment that Gandhi alluded to
has increased in India over the years, mostly due to the persistence of religious conversions engineered by
Christian evangelists who derive their financial support from foreign sources. Fundamentalist Muslims too
have entered the fray in recent years with substantive financial contributions from Muslim countries
interested in furthering the spread of Islam in India. Some Hindu groups have resorted to reverse
conversions. All these trends are destructive to India's time-tested culture of religious tolerance.
36
The muteness of liberal Indian Christians, both in India and overseas, is indeed surprising. The aim of this
essay is to rectify that omission at least in part. I hope that liberal Indians of all faiths will debate this issue
with their fundamentalist counterparts in a similar vein to prevent inter-religious conflicts in that
subcontinent. At the end of this essay, I shall present for your consideration a plan for pre-empting the
religious militancy embedded in the fundamentalist varieties of both Christianity and Islam.
Though I have been living in the United States (US) for over forty years, I have maintained my moorings in
the Indian culture through periodic visits to that country and close interactions with my Indian friends here
regardless of their religious affiliations. The gift that I cherish most from my Indian origin and parental
influence is one of unbridled religious tolerance. That Indic tradition of allowing people of diverse faiths to
seek their own spiritual centering is now under attack in India at the hands of fundamentalists of all
religions.
The divisive and supercilious natures of their arguments have given me the impetus to write this article. I
am not a religious scholar. But, I do value and cherish the teachings of Jesus as conveyed to me through my
early religious influences in my childhood. Therefore, I am able to empathize with the angst of an adherent
of any religion when he or she is confronted by the caricature of one's personal faith as portrayed by a
fundamentalist of another religion. Like all my non-Christian friends, I too am annoyed when a well-
meaning Christian fundamentalist knocks on my door and asks me whether I am “born-again” and whether
I would like to be saved! I can internalize the frustration of a non-Christian subjected to such an intrusive
interrogation.
I am well aware that fundamentalist Christians may condemn my views expressed in this article. If they do,
I am certain that I will be able to weather their damnation because of my roots in an ancient Christian
tradition whose commitment to the tenets of Jesus is no less than theirs. My faith will allow me to forgive
their condemnation. I hope that their beliefs will likewise permit them to forgive my interpretations of
Jesus' teachings if they find them to be at variance with theirs.
My religious tradition has always placed more emphasis on the spiritual dimension of Jesus' teachings than
in the establishment of Bible's historicity. My reading of the history of early Christianity leads me to
believe that the Western churches' obsession for converting others to Christianity is based more on their
historical tradition of using proselytization as an instrument of statecraft for the extension of their political
and mercantile influences, than in furthering the spiritual welfare of their flocks.
Early Christianity
The ancient traditions of Christian churches evolved from their native eastern Semitic belief systems. But,
most of the currently existing dogmas of Christianity as advanced by the Western churches were molded by
the impact of Greco-Roman traditions. To this day, the ancient (often referred to as oriental orthodox)
churches of Syria, India (in Kerala), Ethiopia, Egypt, and Armenia have successfully shielded themselves
from the dogmas of Western churches. But, that was not easy in India after the arrival of the European
colonizers there.
In 1498 CE, the Portuguese tried and failed in a hostile takeover of the ancient Indian Orthodox Church
through intimidation [2]. Again, starting from 186 CE, the Indian Orthodox Church was subjected to the
machinations of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) of the United Kingdom with the connivance of the
British Residents who were assigned to the Kingdom of Travencore to serve as Agents of the British
Crown[2a]. Such meddling in the internal affairs of the ancient church resulted in the formation of a
proselytizing group called the CMS, which is now part of the Church of South India (CSI). Subsequently in
1889 CE, another split in the original Indian Orthodox Church occurred to create a “reformed” group, with
an explicit recognition that evangelism is essential for the growth of Christianity. That reformed orthodox
group is known as the Mar Thoma Church. Interestingly, that Church's conversion activities have remained
modest and are mostly undertaken outside of Kerala.
37
The original Indian Orthodox Church too has been buffeted over the centuries by internal feuds. But, they
have all been unrelated to theological issues. In 1912 CE, this ancient and original orthodox church
splintered to form two separate churches, one known as the Malankara Indian Orthodox Church totally
autocephalous with its own spiritual head in Kottayam, Kerala and another called the Malankara Syrian
Orthodox Church subject to Patriarchal oversight from the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch in Damascus,
Syria[2c]. That division appears to have been based more on issues of autonomy and nationalism than on
canonical differences. The Indian Supreme Court was recently drawn into yet another court fight between
these two groups to settle issues concerning property rights of their respective churches. The theological
beliefs of the original Indian orthodox churches along with their Egyptian, Armenian, Syrian and Ethiopian
counterparts as well as the Greek and Russian orthodox churches (known as the Eastern Orthodox) seem to
have survived in tact over a span of over 1600 years. They did not develop the same degree of fixation
about proselytization as their Western counterparts did.
Unlike the Western churches, the oriental orthodox churches did not raise armies or promote crusades as the
Bishop of Rome (Pope's title in early Christianity) did in order to spread Christianity. The oriental orthodox
churches seek God realization through the mental disciplines of contemplation and prayer in lieu of
dependence on Christian eschatology. From the earliest of times, they exercised moderation in the practice
of Jesus' commandment to spread the “good news or Evangeline”. They fulfill their obligation to
“propagate” their faiths through natural processes such as births, marriages and the inclusion of those who
seek conversion brought about by real changes in their religious convictions. That has remained so for
nearly two millennia.
Even in today's post-Communist Russia with its newly established religious freedom, the Russian Orthodox
Church does not look upon kindly at proselytization undertaken by any religious sect. In Greece, its
Constitution also prohibits proselytization. Whenever it is flouted by a religious sect, the Greek Orthodox
Church seeks governmental intervention to suppress it[3]. I am not holding up either Greece or Russia as a
model of democracy. Greece is a theocratic state since Greek Orthodox Christianity is its state religion. It
restricts the office of its Presidency to citizens of that faith. But, I am merely citing Greece and Russia as
examples of two Western nations that do not tolerate proselytization even when they are undertaken by
Christian denominations.
The fundamentalist Christians both in India and abroad have been too quick to condemn as draconian the
recent anti-conversion legislations enacted by a few Indian states. Proselytization was not a distinctive
hallmark of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches of early Christianity. Jesus himself appears to have
condemned proselytization when he said, “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites for ye compass
sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more than the child of hell
than yourselves.[4]”
I often think of those verses whenever I hear of mass conversions of Dalits and tribals in India. They often
seem to become outcasts twice! It is unfortunate that caste prejudice still persists not only among many
Hindus but also among many Christians and Muslims as well. Frequently, it comes out of the closet when
matrimonial alliances are considered, even when the two families involved in such discussions are of the
same faith. Conversion to Christianity does not seem to eradicate caste prejudice in India any more than it
eliminates racial discrimination in the US. Despite Jesus' call for brotherly love, isn't Sunday the most
segregated day in America? If not, how does one explain the need for English-speaking African-Americans
and Hispanics of Christian faith to maintain separate places of worship? Many fundamentalist Christian
groups in the US still maintain racial separation and frown upon inter-racial dating.
Western Christianity
Christian fundamentalists believe that the prophecies in the Book of Revelation (New Testament) were
revealed by the resurrected Jesus to his disciple John when the latter was on the island of Patmos in the
Aegean Sea. The religious broadcast media in the United States is a good source for seeing and hearing the
vehemence with which the Christian fundamentalists assert that every word in the Bible is true and
infallible. A contemporary example of such misguided beliefs is discernible in their views about the
military conflicts in Iraq and Palestine. They claim that the establishment of Israel and the war in Iraq are
38
both vindications of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation. During recent months, five verses from that
book are frequently cited by biblical literalists as examples of the Bible's infallibility. Those verses predict
the second coming of Jesus after “the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river of Euphrates and
the water thereof dried up (so) that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.[4a]”
The fact that the verses refer to the “kings of the east” crossing the Euphrates is explained away by
fundamentalists as mere allegorical reference to Bush, Blair and Aznar. A few of their troop formations did
in fact cross the river from the east! Some even point to the uncanny accuracy of the reference to “kings”
because of the behavior of Bush, Blair and Aznar. The latter three leaders of democracies did disregard the
wishes of their “subjects” when they decided to wage war! So far, so good! But, how does one interpret
without concern a subsequent prophecy in the same book which predicts one thousand years of world
misery after the way for the kings are prepared and the river gets dried up?[5] The biblical literalists have
an answer for that too. It is just another allegorical measurement of God's time. It may mean a thousand
hours, days, weeks or months!
Bumiller, reporting on President Bush's stance on Iraq stated that he “sees the world as a biblical struggle of
good versus evil[6].” The fundamentalists of all religions seem to believe in the infallibility of their
prophets and strive for a historic fulfillment of their prophecies regardless of whether they inflict untold
miseries on themselves or their unwitting neighbors. The late Robert K. Merton, one of America's foremost
sociologists eloquently stated that: “a self fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the
situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true. The specious
validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error, for the prophet will cite the actual course
of events as evidence that he was right from the very beginning. [7]”
Christian fundamentalists holding on to their blind beliefs in the infallibility of every word in the Bible are
not affected by facts such as: (i)there are many versions of the Bible, (ii)Jesus spoke Aramaic and not Latin,
Greek or English in which most Western Bibles are written, (iii)many oriental orthodox denominations
have their own Bibles which are derived from the ancient Aramaic or Syriac translations of the Greek texts,
(iv)the Book of Revelation was absent from many early Greek texts of the New Testament, (v)St. Paul's
writings on Christianity are not universally accepted by all Christians, (vi)the Gospels were selectively
gathered, (vii)many early versions of the new and old testaments were hand copied with likely human
errors of both omissions and commissions, (viii)many original works of Jesus' associates (Thomas in
particular) were discarded by some Christian sects during the first five or six centuries following the death
of Jesus, (xi)many such discarded books are still used by other Christian sects, and (x)the first King James
version of the English Bible was printed only in 1611 and has been revised seven times so far[8].
Christianity, as practiced by the West, has become insensitive to the emotional violence inflicted on the
poorest of the poor when inducements such as free food, medical care, money, and employment are used as
baits to engineer religious conversions. It is even worse when intimidations are used to facilitate
conversions, as some Islamic nations do. While Christianity and Islam, as practiced by a large majority of
their followers, do subscribe to peace, tolerance and non-violence, the daily occurrence of death and
destruction based on religious differences in our present-day world highlight the distortions that are
perpetrated by militant adherents of these religions. In Saudi Arabia, non-Islamic visitors and guest workers
cannot even bring their books of worship or congregate in public places to conduct community worship
services. Like their Christian counterparts, Islamic fundamentalists also want to actualize the prophecies in
the Koran. Such obsessions to make religious texts serve as passports to heaven are mercifully absent in the
non-Abrahamic faiths.
My Christian Faith
Being a liberal Christian and raised in a non-fundamentalist tradition, I am able to perceive little or no
contradiction between the tenets of Jesus and many of the seminal concepts of Hinduism and Buddhism.
The priceless affirmation in the Hindu scripture which says “ekam sat viprah bahudi vadanti” (one truth,
but discerned differently by the wise) is somewhat similar to one of Jesus' sayings, “in my Father's house,
there are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare one for you.[4b]” Another
of Jesus' sayings which affirms that: “I and my Father are one” [4c] is similar to the Hindu Mahavakya,
39
“Aham Brahmasmi” (I am Brahman). The “born again” attribute necessary for a Christian's salvation as
required by Jesus is no different from the concept of “dwija” or twice-born in Brahman (often misconstrued
as Brahmin)[4d].
There are also several references in the New Testament indicating that Jesus and his disciples believed in
both karma and reincarnation[4e]. It appears that the belief in reincarnation has persisted over the years, as
evidenced by the continuing belief of Christian fundamentalists in the second coming of Jesus. The Acts of
Thomas, which were excluded from the New Testament, contain concepts prevalent in the advaita of
Hinduism[9]. Even the sacrificial nature of Jesus' assumption of the sins of his followers through his own
crucifixion and death is similar to the willingness of adept Hindu Gurus to assume the karmic baggage of
their followers. I also find that many of the parables Jesus used in his teachings are strikingly similar to
Buddha's teachings imparted 500 years before Jesus was born [10].
Like the majority of human beings, I too inherited my religion through the faith of my parents. Their
Christian roots in India's Kerala State are very ancient. My family lived very amicably with other religious
minorities in a predominantly Hindu environment. I cannot recall even a single instance where I or any of
my non-Hindu friends were subjected to any kind of religious discrimination. The Christian faith that I
acquired through my parents has been so liberating that I have had no problem in accepting the plurality of
worship pursued by others. I was brought up to believe that the practice of one's faith should be a personal
affair and of no concern to others. Jesus himself prescribed it thus: “when you pray, go into your room,
close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret,
will reward you. [4f]”
One of the early explanations regarding the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and the Holy Spirit) that I heard was
in the form of characterizing the Father as the eternal truth, the Son as an expression of that truth in human
form, and the Holy Spirit as the transformation of the latter as agape or unconditional love. Therefore, I
have no difficulty in equating the state of bliss posited in Sat-Chit-Ananda with the transcendent bliss
invoked through the Holy Spirit. In my mind they are conceptually well correlated: sat is the eternal truth,
chit is the consciousness of that truth, and ananda is the bliss experienced through unattached love.
A Call to Indian Christians

In my opinion, most Christians born and raised in India's diverse milieu are innately liberal and pluralistic
in their outlook. Therefore, they should now raise their voices against the divisive activities of the
evangelical Christians, especially those that are bankrolled by the Western churches. Failure to do so is
likely to do harm both to the religious freedom of India's minorities and the territorial integrity of that
nation. The peripatetic foreign missionaries certainly have no stake in preserving the territorial integrity of
India. But, Indians of all religions do. Besides, separatist movements in Northeast India have been
suspected of deriving support from foreign missionary groups. Given the sordid history of Western
Christianity, eternal vigilance is indeed prudent.
A page from the recent history of East Timor may be appropriate for Indians to review in order to
understand the negative potential of offshore proselytization! The indigenous tribes in that island were first
converted to Christianity by Dutch and Portuguese missionaries. Then they were helped by the Western
nations to secede from Indonesia. India may run similar risks if it continues to allow foreign missionaries to
have unfettered access to its tribal populations.
If India is to maintain its hard-won nationhood and regain its past level of religious tolerance, all Indians of
goodwill must do everything possible now to stifle the voices of religious fundamentalists. Muslim and
Christian clerics must learn to tone down their assertions of monotheistic superiority as well as refrain from
denigrating religions that do not subscribe to their views of salvation. They must come to terms with the
fact that the Hindu perception of God in myriad forms is just as sacred and inviolate to them as the
monotheistic concept is to the followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The Christian evangelists and the literal Islamists must also realize that they cannot continue to maintain
their exclusive monopolies for marketing the road maps to heaven. Likewise, Hindu organizations should
40
not allow their legitimate concerns about insensitive and duplicitous missionary groups to degenerate into
generalized bashing of minorities through acts such as indulging in mass distribution of tridents or creating
a climate of suspicion against all minorities. Pluralistic Indians of all religious faiths have an urgent need
now to close their ranks and drown out the rhetoric of religious fanatics if they truly want to allow India to
emerge as an economic and political power. Otherwise, India will remain a weak and soft State much to the
glee of the Western nations.
Liberal Christians
Liberal theologians of Christianity seem to have no difficulty in conceding that the ultimate truth can be
sought through other equally valid religious traditions. If Christianity is to flourish and thrive anywhere in
the new millennium, it needs to heed the calls of its liberal leaders and theologians like Thomas Jefferson,
John B. Cobb Jr., James Luther Adams, Paul Tillich, John Shelby Spong et al. If it merely wants to use the
faith as a wedge to divide and enslave people as in the past, then it should continue to march to the
drumbeats of Christian fundamentalists like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Oral Roberts and Billy Graham.
In 1984, the then Episcopal Bishop of Newark (NJ), John Shelby Spong visited India and wrote the
following: “What I learned about Hinduism enhanced my appreciation for this ancient religious tradition. I
saw a beauty in it that was enviable, and I found many points where Christians and Hindus are seeking to
deal with the same human needs in remarkably similar ways.” He admired the absence of the “spirit of
missionary imperialism” in Hinduism and questioned whether or not the “Christian claims to possess
infallibility or ultimate truth are not signs of a brittle pettiness that cannot endure.” His writings credited
such insights to the dialogue he had with three Hindu scholars at a very old Christian seminary in
Kottayam, in India's Kerala State[11].
While Christian fundamentalists take great pride in establishing the historicity of the Bible, they condemn
all scholarly attempts of liberal Christians to study Jesus as a historical figure. They consider all such
inquiries to be part of the “devil's” preoccupation to either misquote or deny Jesus' teachings. The
fundamentalists of Christianity lack the insight to accept the limitations of the human mind to comprehend
God. They are quick to condemn all plural definitions of God and ascribe such differences to the ignorance
of the “heathens”.
Without any hesitation Christian fundamentalists will concede that Jesus advocated forgiveness of one's
enemies and commanded that an offender be forgiven not “seven times but seventy times seven”[4g]. But,
that will not deter them from claiming that their wars are always just because they wage them only to
destroy the wicked and the evil! And, God will always call upon them to decide who is evil and who is
wicked! The notion that wars are inconsistent to the beliefs inherent in both the Old Testament's call for the
beating of swords into plowshares[4h] and Jesus' own admonition to his followers not to resist evil has
never been of concern to Christian rulers[4i].
Liberal Christians do recognize that during the last 1500 years, the European nations have indeed hijacked
and corrupted an eastern mystic's (Jesus) efforts to replace the then-prevailing Judaic concept of a vengeful
God with one of compassion and infinite love. From the early European crusades to the Holocaust,
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Vietnam, Bosnia, Kosovo, and now Iraq, the Judeo-Christian Western nations have
not shied away from using violence to resolve political and ethnic conflicts despite Jesus' commandments
to abjure violence and promote peace. The victorious nations always justify death and destructions as
unavoidable “collaterals” which are inseparable from their Christian obligation to fight evil, promote
freedom, or preserve human dignity! The last millennium's history is replete with such callous and cynical
behavior of Western nations.
From the middle of the mid 10th Century, the Western nations seem to have expended great efforts in
converting Jesus, a Semite into an Anglo-Saxon. They just could not tolerate letting him remain an Afro-
Asiatic, which he was. Astute visitors to any large museum that houses a collection of medieval icons and
church paintings can easily discern for themselves the slow conversion of the images of Jesus, Joseph and
Mary from their original Afro-Asiatic appearances to those of Europeans. The Western nations not only
41
expropriated the Middle Eastern persona of Jesus and his tenets to fit their Western traditions but they also
confiscated the intellectual properties of ancient cultures without giving the latter any credit for their
accomplishments.
Such expropriations of intellectual property from traditional cultures continue to occur even today. It is
ironic that the Western nations who now demand universal adherence to the sanctity of patents and
copyrights are the very ones who committed such plunders in the past. It is no secret that all colonial
powers used Christianity as a useful weapon in their arsenal to expand their imperial domains. As Bishop
Desmond Tutu often says, “When the missionaries came, they had the Bible and we had the land. They
said, 'let us pray'. We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.[12]”
Independent India And Christianity

Since India's independence, Hindu nationalists have been complaining about the ulterior motives of many
foreign missionaries working in India. In recent years, particularly since the late 1980s, such complaints
have become more vigorous, mostly as a result of the brazen calls of many Western evangelists and the
Pope to Christianize Asia. While visiting India in 1999, the Pope openly proclaimed his wish to "witness a
great harvest of faith” there through the Christianization of the whole country. It is well outlined in the
Pope's promulgation, “Ecclesia in Asia” which was released during his visit.
Predictably, a group of Hindu religious leaders were outraged. Not only did they ask the Pope to retract his
proclamation, but also sought an apology from him for the notorious Goan Inquisition of 1560 CE which
was carried out under the dictates of one of his predecessors. While the Pope had no hesitation at publicly
praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem or apologizing for the past persecution of Jews, he was not willing
to throw any such sop to the Hindu religious leaders.
Only recently I became aware of the fact that since 1974, the International Congress on World
Evangelization (ICWE) has been quietly developing a grand design to evangelize the rest of the non-
Christian world which is known among Christian fundamentalist circles as the “10/40 window” or the
Joshua Project. It targets for conversion all those living in countries within the 10th and 40th parallels,
truncated longitudinally in the west by the western borders of Africa and in the east along the eastern
fringes of Japan. I would like to urge interested readers of this article to visit that organization's website to
fully comprehend the potential impact of such a worldwide conversion campaign[13].
The ICWE is supported by the powerful churches of the West. They have enrolled native agents from all
countries within the “10/40 window” to implement the Joshua Project. For India, the ICWE has developed
a plan which targets for conversion, 150 communities of Hindu, Muslim and Parsee faiths. The Kashmir
region is part of that project. On the same website, there is also a revisionist narrative of the history of
Indian Christianity authored by Rev. Richard Howell. It is a classic example of the distortions that take
place when vested interests reconstruct historical events. For example, though Rev. Howell concedes that
Christianity in India is ancient and “two millennia old”, he is silent on the historically verifiable presence of
the ancient Indian Orthodox Church as well as the tolerance shown by the then Hindu rulers (Cheraman
Perumals) on the southwest coast of India to a new faith in their midst. He fails to grasp that religious peace
prevailed there only because of the non-proselytizing nature of the early followers of Christianity.[13]
When conversions to Christianity took place in pre-colonial India, they occurred more as a result of a true
change in religious convictions than through an exchange of material benefits. There is also no mention in
Rev. Howell's writings about the intimidation used by Portuguese rulers in the late 16th Century against the
oriental orthodox churches in Kerala to make them submit to the Pope's authority. Through the use of the
Portuguese armada in the Arabian Sea, their padres frequently harassed many orthodox priests traveling in
dhows to and from Syria and Persia to India's southwestern ports at Cochin and Cranganore. There is a
well-documented report of the kidnapping of an Orthodox Bishop by the Portuguese while the former was
headed to India in an Arab dhow[2b]. The Bishop was never seen again! In 1930 CE, the Pope succeeded in
enticing several Indian Orthodox Christian priests to switch sides through an offer of immediate elevation
to the status of Bishops in the Roman Catholic order.
42
The British residents in India's former princely states as well as the Provincial Governors of British India
actively assisted Christian missionaries from UK and other Western nations to continue with their quest to
Christianize India. They did that without coming into conflict with their Roman Catholic counterparts who
had been on that path since the early sixteenth century. Thus, for nearly four hundred years, the entire
Indian subcontinent became available to Western nations for Christianization. Even after India's
Independence, the presence and influence of foreign missionaries in India have remained significant,
mostly because of the tolerance of the large majority of Hindus who believe in pluralism. In contrast, the
activities of all Christian missionaries in Pakistan and Bangladesh have been vastly curtailed due to the
intolerance of Islam to the spread of other faiths.
Proselytizing Christians
I am not at all surprised at the emerging rise of Hindu nationalism in India, given the historical experience
of the Hindus whose faith had been assaulted first by Muslim invaders and subsequently by European
colonizers. Since the citizens of India can now think for themselves, they can demand that they be shielded
from intrusive evangelical activities through the use of democratic means.
The Indian electorate has become sophisticated enough to distinguish between acts of selfless service and
questionable acts of charity concocted by Christian missionaries involved in conversion activities. Such
deceptive behaviors would have been an anathema to Jesus himself because we know that he insisted on
not letting even one's left hand know what the right hand does as charity[4j]. I am also quite perplexed at
the silence of liberal Indian Christians when they are confronted by the strident rhetoric of Indian
evangelicals like Mr. John Dayal and Archbishop Alan de Lastic of New Delhi. So far, the latter seem to
revel more in sowing seeds of discord between Christians and Hindus than in promoting religious amity
between Hindus and other religious minorities.
In my opinion, Mr. Dayal showed poor judgment when he appeared before the US Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in Washington DC in September 2000 when the Prime Minister
of India (Mr. Vajpayee) was here on an official visit. Mr. Dayal should have thought of the possibility that
the timing of that invitation extended to him by USCIRF was not an accident. It is quite likely that it was
part of the US State Department's plan to place the visiting Prime Minister on his defensive and thereby
weaken India's efforts to convey to the American public the ravages resulting from cross-border terrorism
aided and abetted by Pakistan.
Parenthetically, I would like to express my dismay here at the absence of representation for Hindus on
USCIRF. After all, Christian, Jewish, Bahai and Muslim faiths are represented by Americans on the
Commission. But nearly a billion Hindus and another billion Buddhists on this planet have no
representation on the Commission despite its claim of being a watchdog for “international religious
freedom”. Therefore, I believe that fairness demands that both Hindu and Buddhist Americans get
representation on the Commission. The term of most of the Commissioners now on the USCIRF is due to
expire in May 2003.
While testifying before the USCIRF, Mr. Dayal vigorously argued against according recognition to Vishwa
Hindu Parishad as an accredited UN Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)[14]. His objection remained
unaffected despite the fact that many religious organizations representing Jewish, Christian and Islamic
faiths are currently accredited to the UN as NGOs. Mr. Dayal demanded that the Indian Constitution
continue to honor its commitment to citizens to freely “profess, practice and propagate” their faiths. But, he
fails to comprehend the distinction between freedom to propagate a religion and the right to coercively
convert people to another faith.
It has become clear to me that religious conversions using material enticements are coercive and therefore
ought to be forbidden by law. For years, I used to think that the complaints of many Hindus about the use of
economic inducements as a means of conversion to Christianity may be exaggerations until I personally
came across incidents such as a Catholic school's offer to defray the marriage expenses of Hindu girls if
they agree to wed Christian boys. Anti-conversion laws may be the only civil means available for Indian
states to deter such nefarious conversion activities.
43
Mr. Dayal's website also contains articles alleging insensitivity on the part of some Hindu nationalists who
“mock and blaspheme virgin birth, resurrection etc.[14]” If it is found to be true, it should be condemned
just as vehemently as one should in the case of similar allegations made by Hindu organizations against
Christian missionaries who ridicule Hindu beliefs.
Mr. Dayal also complains about blanket discrimination by Hindus against all minorities. He implies that
discrimination and religious intolerance are the contributing factors to the reduction of the Christian
population of India from 2.9% in 1947 to 2.3% in recent years[14]. But, he neglects to consider the
probable impact of family planning measures used by the non-Catholic Christians as a more likely
contributor for the small decline in population growth. He is silent on the dramatic declines of Hindus both
in Pakistan (25% in 1947 to current 1%) and in Bangladesh (35% in 1971 to current 7%) as well as the rise
in India's Muslim population from 8% in 1947 to its present level of 13%[15] [16]. In view of such
demographic changes in that subcontinent, Mr. Dayal's claim of discrimination of religious minorities in
India is not credible. It is disappointing that Mr. Dayal's website does not contain even a single word of
Christian concern for the plight of nearly 300,000 Kashmiri Hindus who were displaced from their homes
to the refugee camps of New Delhi[14].
Mr. Dayal equates the Hindutva concept of “one nation, one people, one culture” with the “Nazi-fascism of
Europe”. Is not India's entire people one nation, one people and one culture? Isn't culture a derivative of
multiple factors such as language, climate, diet, habits, music, literature, arts and other traditions with
religions playing minor roles at best? No religion by itself can imprint a specific culture on an individual.
The western Christian culture is quite different from the culture of the Coptic Christians of Egypt, just as it
is with the Indian Orthodox Christian communities of Kerala. The culture of Muslims in Bosnia is not
identical to the Muslims of India, Bangladesh or Pakistan. For an Indian of any religion to be offended by
anyone's claim that India is one nation, one people and one culture is baffling to me. Precisely because
India is one nation and one people, I hope that India's present government will finally muster the requisite
political courage to enact a single civil code for all Indian nationals as well as develop a uniform system for
the management of all its religious places of worship and religious schools.
Having read most of Mr. Dayal's polemical views and his explanations for the worsening of relations
between Christians and Hindus in India, I believe that the 25 million Indian Christians who believe in
India's pluralistic tradition would be better off by not allowing Mr. John Dayal to remain as their sole
spokesman. Failure to do so will only result in more acrimony and strife among Hindus and Christians.
Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated as offshoots of Hinduism. Their founders were neither crucified
nor exiled. The ancient history of India attests to the symbiotic existence of multiple religions in that
subcontinent. Religious tolerance has been the norm in India for thousands of years. Therefore, the
emergence of religious intolerance there needs to be studied seriously in the context of foreign funding of
all religious activities in India. Foreign sources of funding derived by all religious and charitable
organizations in India deserve close monitoring by its government just as the US has begun to do with
regard to similar organizations registered here.
Towards Global Religious Tolerance

Regardless of their religious affiliations, all religious leaders of goodwill can find myriads of theological
convergences if they are open to sincere and deep inter-faith explorations. While it is less threatening for
the practitioners of non-Abrahamic faiths to undertake such faith-based voyages of discovery, the religious
fundamentalists of the monotheistic faiths shun all such excursions.
India and China have a combined population of more than two billions who do not subscribe to Abrahamic
faiths. Besides, China is becoming increasingly concerned at the inroads religions are making in that
country. Therefore, it may be timely for the two nations to jointly seek an amendment to the UN
Declaration of Human Rights, which will explicitly forbid religious conversions attempted through physical
coercion or material inducement[17]. Western democracies which advocate a strict separation of church and
state should be challenged to lend their support for such a measure, more so because of the emerging
menace of Al Qaeda and its philosophical stance steeped in Koranic literalism which argues for the world-
wide establishment of 'sharia', the law of Islam[18].
44
Therefore, I would like to propose further that secularists of all religions everywhere mount a vigorous
campaign to limit full membership status and voting rights in the United Nations (UN) to countries that are
truly secular. Theocratic nations should be encouraged to amend their Constitutions to reflect their secular
status if they aspire to become full members of the UN. The US and many other western nations should
also find such a proposition to be in tune with Jesus' advocacy to “give unto God what is God's and to
Cesar what is Cesar's.[4k]”
The US is particularly well poised to take the lead in such a move since the first amendment to the US
Constitution explicitly erected a wall of separation between the church and the state. Thomas Jefferson, a
liberal Christian President of the US, recognized very early the deleterious impact of religion on a
pluralistic America which was then getting established. Writing about religion, he said that its negative
potential “has been severely felt by mankind, and has filled the history of ten or twelve centuries with too
many atrocities not to merit a proscription from meddling with government.[19]” He also objected to
religious conversions rather strongly when he said that: “Were the Pope, or his allies, to send in mission to
us some thousands of Jesuit priests to convert us to their orthodoxy, I suspect that we should deem and treat
it as a national aggression on our peace and faith.[20]”
India and many other nations are facing similar challenges today from both fundamentalist Christians and
militant Islamists. If liberal Indians of all religions do not speak up and challenge their fundamentalist
counterparts, India's precious tradition of religious tolerance will become a mere footnote to its ancient
history. Likewise, if there is no worldwide effort to contain theocracies and ostracize the militants of all
religions, the new millennium may indeed witness many clashes of civilizations.
The UN may in fact be the last best hope for mankind to usher in a peaceful world devoid of religious
upheavals. The liberal adherents of all religions are now at the crossroads of a crucial choice. They can
either remain silent and permit their fundamentalist minorities to fan the flames of religious conflicts, or
speak out against them and insist on religious tolerance as the only legitimate road to a peaceful world. As a
Christian nurtured by the pluralistic tradition of India, my choice continues to be the latter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The comments and suggestions of Rajiv Malhotra, Sankrant Sanu, Gopala Rao
and Vinu Joyappa were very helpful to me in writing this article. I wish to recognize their valuable
assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:
[<http://www.sulekha.com/column.asp?cid=305819>]
May 22, 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES:
[1]Gandhi, Mohandas K: In Young India, April 23, 1931
[2]David, Daniel: The Orthodox Church of India, Printaid, New Delhi., 1986, pp.97-100
[2a]Ibid. p. 153
[2b] Ibid. pp. 110-111
[2c] Ibid. pp. 383-428
[3]Brown, Harold J: Religious liberty: Greeks face prosleytization court test., Christianity Today, Vol.41,
No, 11, 1997, p.89.
[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Collins, NY, 1952. St. Matthew, 23:15
45
[4a] Ibid. The Revelation, 16:12-16
[4b] Ibid. St. John, 14:2
[4c] Ibid. St. John, 10:30
[4d] Ibid. St. John, 3:3-7
[4e] Ibid. St. John, 9:1-3, St. Mark, 6:14-16., 8:27-29., 9:11-13., St. Matthew., 11:13-15., 17:10-13
[4f] Ibid. St. Matthew, 6:5-7
[4g] Ibid. St. Matthew, 18:21-23
[4h] Ibid. Isaiah, 2:3-5
[4i] Ibid. St. Matthew, 5:39-40
[4j] Ibid. St. Matthew, 6:2-4
[4k] Ibid. St. Luke, 20:25
[5]Broadway, Bill: Dire predictions for war in Iraq, The Washington Post, March 8, 2003, p. B 9.
[6] Bumiller, Elizabeth: Aides say Bush girds for war in solitude, but not in doubt, The New York Times,
March 9, 2003, p.1
[7] Merton, Robert K: Social theory and social structure, Glencoe, IL, Free Press, 1957
[8] Davidson John: The Gospel of Jesus, Element, Rockport, MA, 1995, pp. 47-77
[9] Pagels, Elaine: The Gnostic Gospels, Vintage Books, NY, 1989
[10] Borg Marcus: Jesus and Buddha, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, CA. 1997
[11]Spong, John S: The Bishop's voice, Crossroads Publishing Company, NY. 1999, pp.143-146
[12] Tutu, Desmond. www.brainyquotes.com
[13] Website, www.Ad2000.org
[14] Dayal, John: website, www.Dalitstan.org/christian/dayal
[15] Gupta, Arun K: Data on Hindu, Muslim Populations of Indian Subcontinent, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA. (Go to www.indianetwork.org/res/relig2.html)
[16] Patel, Bipin: www.indiacause.com/OL_091302.htm
[17] Alexander, C.Alex: Gujarat & Hindu nationalism: a rejoinder to Dr. Lancy Lobo, OYSTER, Vol 5,
No.3, Feb 2003, pp.5-8., (PO Box 42163, Washington, DC., 20015)
[18] Berman, Paul: The philosopher of Islamic Terror, The New York Times Magazine, March 23, 2003,
pp.24-67
[19] Cohen, Adam: What Jefferson would think of Ms. Myles addiction program, The New York Times,
Week in Review, Section 4, March 0, 2003, p.23
46
[20] Jefferson, Thomas: To Michael Megear (1823.ME.15:434), electronic text. Go to
(http//etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-jeffquot)
7
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM -- LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON CONVERSIONS
By M. N. Rao
(Former Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh)
THERE IS no universally acceptable definition as to what exactly "religion" is. There appears to be near
unanimity that religion, generally, is a belief or faith in the existence of a Supernatural Being and the
precepts, which people follow for attaining salvation.
Freedom of religion is a recognized basic right in all democratic countries founded upon the rule of law.
The extent of the freedom varies from country to country. In a theocratic state, religion and law slide into
each other and the freedom given to persons belonging to faiths other than the officially recognized state
religion is always minimal. The freedom of religion is a universally accepted concept; it finds expression in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the two International Covenants and certain declarations by the
United Nations General Assembly.
The Constitution of every democratic country incorporates provisions guaranteeing religious freedom to its
citizens. In the United States, there is complete separation of religion from the state and this was brought
about by the First Amendment to the American Constitution in 1791. This religious freedom in the United
States has assumed, by judicial interpretation, strange and shocking manifestations - refusal to salute the
National Flag was held to be a religious freedom, which could not be touched by any legislation.
Fortunately, our Supreme Court, even in 1954, in what is popularly called Sirur Math's case, has rejected
the American approach.
Freedom of religion including the freedom to profess, practise and propagate religion, the Founding Fathers
of our Constitution felt, should be assigned high priority and consequently, the same forms part of the
Fundamental Rights incorporated in Articles 25 to 28 subject to certain limitations like public order,
morality and health. Our concept of religious freedom is largely based upon Article 44(2) of the Irish
Constitution.
Freedom of religion implies freedom to change religion also. People convert from one religion to another
due to myriad reasons. If conversion is a voluntary act responding to one's conscience, it cannot be faulted
on grounds of either law or morality.
Gandhiji's view
Gandhiji viewed conversion as a personal matter and detested conversions brought about by promises of
material gains. Bapuji's reaction when his son Harilal was converted to Islam because of monetary
inducements is well known. Gandhiji declared: "Conversion without a clean heart is a denial of God and
religion."
In the Constituent Assembly, when the clause pertaining to freedom of religion came up for discussion,
divergent views were expressed, not surprisingly, by members belonging to different religions. Right to
47
propagate religion, according to K. M. Munshi, is part of the right of freedom of speech. One Christian
member, Rev. J.J.M. Nicholas Roy, pleaded that even minors should be permitted to change their religion,
which was not agreed to by the others. Muslim members advocated for constitutional prohibition of
conversions. There was near unanimity on the question that right of conversion is part of religious freedom.
Sardar Vallabbhai Patel moved the following clause as settled by the Advisory Committee for approval by
the Constituent Assembly: "Conversion from one religion to another religion brought about by coercion or
undue influence shall not be recognized by law."
To this, an amendment was moved by Munshi: "Any conversion from one religion to another of any person
brought about by fraud, coercion or undue influence or of a minor under the age of 18 years shall not be
recognized by law." (See: Constituent Assembly Debates. Vol. III p.488).
The matter was referred back to the Advisory Committee as serious doubts were expressed by the members
as to whether legal restrictions on fraudulent conversions should be accorded high importance deserving
inclusion in the Constitution.
Ultimately, the clause concerning conversions was dropped on the ground that matters concerning
conversion brought about by undue influence or coercion are fit for ordinary legislation but not worthy of
incorporation as Fundamental Rights. The Advisory Committee in its report submitted to the Constituent
Assembly on August 25, 1947 expressed the view: "It seems to us on further consideration that this clause
enunciates a rather obvious doctrine which it is unnecessary to include in the Constitution and we
recommend that it is dropped altogether."
Emphatically expressing the view that "there is no difference of opinion on the merits of the case that
forcible conversions should not be or cannot be recognised by law," Sardar Vallabbhai Patel advocated
against incorporation of the provision in the Constitution since "these are all matters for ordinary legislation
and not worthy of incorporation as Fundamental Rights... We cannot have a fundamental right for every
conceivable thing. We are not legislating."
In spite of this historical fact as to why the Founding Fathers have not incorporated a provision in the
Constitution concerning conversions, controversies erupted whenever a law was made by a State legislature
prohibiting conversions brought about by force, fraud, undue influence or allurement.
In 1967-68, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa enacted laws prohibiting conversions brought about by force,
allurement or by any fraudulent means. The Orissa Act was struck down by the High Court of Orissa on the
ground that the definition of `force,' `fraud' and ìnducement' are violative of the right of Christians to
propagate their religion. The Orissa High Court also expressed the view that the power to legislate with
regard to matters concerning religion exclusively vests in Parliament under entry 91 of List I of the VII
Schedule and, therefore, no State legislature could enact a law on the topic of `religion.' On the other hand,
the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the M.P. Act holding that it guarantees religious freedom to
everybody and that there is no encroachment upon the freedom of any particular religion or individual. The
State legislature had full power to legislate since the matter concerns public order, not religion.
Against both the judgments, appeals were preferred to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Ray, who spoke for
the Constitution Bench, upheld the validity of both the M.P. and Orissa Acts holding that the right to
convert another is not part of freedom of conscience guaranteed by Article 25(1) of the Constitution and
that forcible conversions result in the disturbance of public order.
The recently enacted Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act 2002 is similar in all
respects to the M.P. and Orissa Acts.
Criticism about the need for such laws is plainly unsound. The provisions contained in the Indian Penal
Code do not provide for any remedies for such contingencies envisaged by the anti-conversion laws.
Social inequalities
Change of religious faith takes place on account of several factors - two prominent factors so far as
Hinduism is concerned are social inequalities and the prevalence of untouchability. People subjected to
inhuman treatment and ignominy because of birth in a particular community, oftentimes, justify their
conversion into another religion, which promises or ensures a dignified way of living for them. The absence
of specific provisions in the Constitution cannot be taken aid of to contend that the Constitution, in effect,
permits conversions brought about by any means. There cannot be any dispute that every citizen of India is
48
free to change his/her religion, provided the change is a voluntary act responding to the call of one's
conscience.
When the highest court of this country has upheld the constitutionality of laws prohibiting fraudulent
conversions, any criticism that these laws are aimed at depriving the rights of minority religions is
absolutely baseless. Attacking the Union Government or the State Governments on the ground that they are
failing to uphold the Constitution by allowing the above laws to come into existence, is clearly motivated
and aimed at gaining cheap publicity in international fora. What is surprising is that no responsible
functionary from the government or major political parties so far has presented a correct picture as to the
entire controversy. The United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights must be apprised of the legal
position obtaining in this country before further damage is done by ill-informed critics.
------------------------------------------------------
Source:
[<http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/op/2003/07/08/stories/2003070800080200.htm>] 8/7/2003
Appendix-1
'CHURCH BACKING TRIPURA REBELS'

By Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta
The BBC
The government in India's north-eastern state of Tripura says it has evidence that the state's Baptist Church
is involved in backing separatist rebels.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said state police had uncovered details of the alleged link after
questioning a church leader.
Nagmanlal Halam, secretary of the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura, was arrested late on Monday with a
large quantity of explosives.
Mr Sarkar said that allegations about the close links between the state's Baptist Church and the rebel
National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have long been made by political parties and police.
Now for the first time, he said, hard evidence supporting the allegations had been found.
EXPLOSIVES
Mr Sarkar told the BBC that Mr Halam was found in possession of more than 50 gelatine sticks, 5kg of
potassium and 2kg of sulphur and other ingredients for making explosives.
Chief Minister Sarkar says he has proof.
He said that two other junior members of the same church, arrested last week, had tipped the police off
about the explosives which were meant for the NLFT rebels.
The chief minister said that Mr Halam confessed to buying and supplying explosives to the NLFT for the
past two years.
Another church official, Jatna Koloi, was arrested in south Tripura last week.
Police say Mr Koloi had received training in guerrilla warfare at an NLFT base last year.
CONVERSION
Guards have been placed outside the headquarters of the Baptist Church in Tripura's capital, Agartala, to
prevent possible attacks on it once the news of Mr Halam's arrest spread.
49
The NLFT is accused of forcing Tripura's indigenous tribes to become Christians and give up Hindu forms
of worship in areas under their control.
Last year, they issued a ban on the Hindu festivals of Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja.
The NLFT manifesto says that they want to expand what they describe as the kingdom of God and Christ in
Tripura.
The Baptist Church in Tripura was set up by missionaries from New Zealand 60 years ago.
It won only a few thousand converts until 1980 when in the aftermath, of the state's worst ethnic riot, the
number of conversions grew.
APPENDIX-2
SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS IN NORTHEAST INDIA DERIVE SUPPORT

FROM FOREIGN MISSIONARY GROUPS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nagaland Baptist Missionary web site:
<http://www.srt.com/baptist/missions21.html>
A pamphlet being circulated among western churches:
<http://www.angelfire.com/mo/Nagaland/ABC.html>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A careful perusal of the contents of the above sites reveals that the separatist movement in the North East
India derive support from the foreign missionary groups.
Some of the important points mentioned in the said sites (captions are provided): -
BPTISTS SUPPORT UNDERGROUND ACTIVITIES

All the underground organizations are led by and made up of Christians, predominantly Baptists.
‘WE ARE OPRESSED AND PERSECUTED BY THE INDIAN GOVT.’

The Indian government empowers its soldiers to arrest, shoot and even kill at will anyone (in Nagaland)
suspected of subversive actions against the government The oppression and persecution of the Naga people
perpetrated by the Indian government are unpublicized. Yet a whole generation has grown up in the midst
of civil unrest.
‘WE WANT INDEPENDENCE FROM INDIA’

For 50 years the Naga people have struggled for Independence from India. Despite their valiant efforts,
Nagaland remains an occupied territory. Please pray for an end to the human rights violations as a result of
the occupation of Nagaland by India.
BOYCOTTING ELECTIONS AND PURSUING POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS

Naga Religious, Political and Civic Organizations announce Boycott of Indian Elections, Call for Political
Negotiations. We effectively pursue political negotiations with the Indian government
‘WE WANT A SOLUTION, NOT AN ELECTION’

Each Naga group has its own understanding of how and when to win independence from the Indian
government. Nagas' New Slogan: "We want a solution, not an election."
50
‘SEEKING PRAYER AND PEACEFUL FREEDOM’
Please make Sunday, February 22, a special day of prayer where we join our sisters and brothers in
Nagaland in their prayers for a peaceful freedom.
‘NAGAS ARE A DIFFERENT RACE’

Nagaland is made up of numerous Naga tribes, all of which, because of their Mongolian descent, have
more in common with Burmese tribes, their neighbors to the east, than they do with India
‘NAGAS NEED OUR SUPPORT’: BILLY GRAHAM

I was reported to be the first Western man ever visit. Because I am one of the few Westerners permitted to
visit Nagaland, I feel a profound burden to share their story with the rest of the world. In fact, they have
asked me to speak clearly to the rest of the world, even at the risk of being denied future entry to their
country. . The Naga people need our support for a peaceful resolution to their plight. (Excerpt from Billy
Graham's Autobiography, Just as I Am).
FROM HEADHUNTERS TO CHRISTIANS
When Dr. John Sundquist, Executive Director, International Ministries American Baptist Churches Valley
Forge, PA, visited Nagaland, a Naga Baptist youth group performed a musical drama which depicted the
Nagas' transformation from headhunters to Christians
MASS CONVERSIONS BY BAPTIST MISSIONARIES

Naga people, former headhunters who, through the efforts of American Baptist missionaries, have become
a state which boasts of a population that is 90 percent Christian - with 90 percent of those Christians
proclaiming to be Baptist. Nagas attribute their marked differences from the rest of India to their
commitment to Christianity. Nagas were transformation from headhunters to Christians. Being transformed
by Christ, Nagas have become a gentile people.
BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO ALL OF NAGALAND

All Naga Baptists self-support their pastors, are self-governing and believe wholly in self-propagation -
bringing the Gospel to all of Nagaland. In fact, 125 new missionaries/evangelists were commissioned by
the Nagas at the 125th anniversary celebration. Let us continue to maintain our reputation as a people
united in our efforts to see the whole world come to know Jesus Christ and to live in peace.
NORTHEAST INDIA OF BAPTIST MAJORITY

It is estimated that in northeast India some 90 percent of the Naga population is Christian with the vast
majority of those affiliated with Baptist congregations, the result of a unique history of Baptist missionary
work from the U.S.
OUTLET MEDIA CONTACT IN THE US

This Report on Nagaland was prepared by the Baptist Peace Fellowship. Please feel free to distribute to
your local media. You may use your own letterhead if you see fit. If a spokesperson is desired, have the
outlet media contact Corenne Garrison, Director of Communications, International Ministries, at the ABC
office, 1-800-ABC3USA
Contact: Correne Garrison
Director of Communications, International Ministries
American Baptist Churches
1-800-ABC-3USA
Contents of the web sites reproduced below:
============================================================================
IMMANUEL BAPTIST MISSIONS
51
Taku Longkumer (a Naga gentleman short in stature, but tall in commitment), his wife, Katie, and their
three children, are dearly loved and respected by many in the church family of Immanuel. Since their visit
to our church in October,1995, their work in the northeast corner of India has become very real and very
important to us. A letter recently written by Dr. John A. Sundquist, Executive Director, International
Ministries, American Baptist Churches, Valley Forge PA, reminded us again of the importance of our
prayers and support of fellow believers in their work for Christ around the world. Following are portions of
Dr. Sundquist's letter. May it stir us to fervent prayer for our brothers and sisters in Nagaland.
* * * *
"Nagaland, an isolated area tucked in the mountainous, jungle covered northeast corner of India near the
Burmese border. The area (is) home to a dozen separate tribes, each with its own dialect and often with a
history of headhunting. Tensions among Nagaland's tribes, and an armed guerilla movement bent on
independence from India, (make) it a highly unstable area."
Excerpt from Billy Graham's Autobiography, “Just as I Am”:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
We need your help. Many of you may know the story of the Naga people, former headhunters who,
through the efforts of American Baptist missionaries, have become a state which boasts of a population that
is 90 percent Christian - with 90 percent of those Christians proclaiming to be Baptist.
Mission Done Right

The people of Nagaland consider their literacy rate 40 times higher than the rest of India. They have no
hunger and little unemployment. They attribute their marked differences from the rest of India to their
commitment to Christianity. I was present this past November, along with a delegation of American
Baptists, to celebrate the 125 years since E.W. Clark, our first missionary to Nagaland, brought the Gospel
to the Naga people.
Nagaland is a story of mission done right. Less than two dozen missionaries planted the seeds for what
today is an incredibly strong church. All Naga Baptists self-support their pastors are self-governing and
believe wholly in self-propagation - bringing the Gospel to all of Nagaland. In fact, 125 new
missionaries/evangelists were commissioned by the Nagas at the 125th anniversary celebration. I marvel at
the Baptist church in Nagaland as we struggle (successfully, because of your support) to appoint 33 new
missionaries in one year. For 50 years the Naga people have struggled for Independence from India.
Nagaland is made up of numerous Naga tribes, all of which, because of their Mogolian descent, have more
in common with Burmese tribes, their neighbors to the east, than they do with India. Like many indigenous
groups in the area, the Nagas' land was arbitrarily split by colonial powers into what they consider false
regions, separating them from other Naga groups in other countries.
Despite their valiant efforts, Nagaland remains an occupied territory. The Indian government empowers its
soldiers to arrest, shoot and even kill at will anyone suspected of subversive actions against the
government. It is said to be the most unreported area of civil conflict in the second half of this century, with
estimates of up to 300,000 casualties.
We don't hear about these casualties because the Indian Government has deemed Nagaland to be a
"restricted" zone, meaning few people from the outside are given permission to visit. I have, by the good
will of the Indian government, been granted entry five times - even when others were not given permits. In
one mountainous village, I was reported to be the first Western man ever visit. Because I am one of the few
Westerners permitted to visit Nagaland, I feel a profound burden to share their story with the rest of the
world. In fact, they have asked me to speak clearly to the rest of the world, even at the risk of being denied
future entry to their country.
52
Underground Conflict
Several underground groups have emerged to resist India's occupation of Nagaland and the overwhelming
presence of Indian soldiers. Because Nagaland is made up of so many tribal groups that have vastly
different languages and customs, the underground groups have emerged from different tribes. Each has its
own understanding of how and when to win independence from the Indian government. However, over the
last 50 years, the tribal distinction among the underground groups have become less distinct.
All the underground organizations are led by and made up of Christians, predominantly Baptists. They
claim to use peaceful measures to bring about change and to retaliate only in self-defense. However, when
an Indian soldier is injured or killed, his comrades frequently retaliate on the civilian population. There are
well-documented cases of Naga women being raped or assaulted, crops being destroyed and women and
children dying in concentration camps of malnutrition, torture and forced labor.
The Indian government has used the disagreement among the Nagas to its advantage, fronting killings and
placing the blame on one of the insurgent groups, pitting one tribal group against another. In recent history,
the fighting between the underground groups has been more pronounced than the fighting against the
Indian government. What make this most tragic is that this fighting, and often times bloodshed, is among
Christian brothers.
What Does This Have To Do With Your Church?

On several occasions, I have met personally and prayed with, the leadership of each of the underground
organizations. They have sought me out for spiritual guidance and counseling - not because of my wisdom,
but because of the respect they have for their rich history and spiritual roots embedded in American Baptist
Churches. It is a humbling thought that I stand in solidarity with our Naga Christian sisters and brothers
because of our history together. No one else has the same connection with the Naga church as we do; and
we have all but forgotten the Naga people. They are the best mission story never told. But this story,
without divine intervention, may have a tragic end.
I believe these underground leaders are devoted Christians wrought with frustration for their people, but
they are also looking for a peaceful avenue to freedom. Many Christian leaders pleaded with me to use the
occassion of the 125 year celebration of Christianity in Nagaland as an opportunity to speak out against the
violence and call for reconciliation among the Naga people. I challenged the more than 120,000 people in
attendance to stand if they would no longer tolerate the violence inflicted upon innocent people. We then
joined in a mass prayer, each person praying in his or her own language. I am told that over a thousand
underground soldiers were in attendance, and all of them stood as a sign of their Commitment to stop the
bloodshed.
As a result, God has continued to work in the hearts of the Naga people. Up till the time of the 125th
anniversary celebration there was one Indian soldier for every eight Naga civilians. However, to allow
foreigners like myself and the other delegates to attend the 125th celebration, a special cease-fire agreement
between the underground groups and the Indian government was signed. Some of the soldiers were
removed, and I am happy to report that there has not been one shot fired since the celebration event. The
cease-fire agreement has held. Steps toward unity have progressed. The Naga people see the celebration
event as a watershed moment for them. They believe that peace will prevail.
Nagas' New Slogan: "We want a solution, not an election."

In both an encouraging movement toward unity within the within the Nagas and a non-violent protest
against the India government, Naga tribal leaders have unanimously signed the accord, found on the back
of this letter, which calls for a boycott of the Monday, February 23, elections of government officials who
primarily serve the purpose of the Indian government rather than those of the Naga people. Every village
will display a white flag and every Naga is requested to wear white clothing on Sunday, February 22, as a
symbol declaration of support for a just peace.
My brothers and sisters.
53
We are the voice of Nagaland to the outside world.
The tragedy for the Nagas is that India controls all information coming from Nagaland. Outsiders are kept
out of the area so that the oppression and persecution of the Naga people perpetrated by the Indian
government are unpublicized. The Naga people need our support for a peaceful resolution to their plight.
The Nagas, being transformed by Christ, have become a gentile people. Yet a whole generation has grown
up in the midst of civil unrest. A reported 300,000 have died. Let us pray fervently February 22, that the
next generation be spared.
Prior to the cease-fire agreement signed for the 125 years of Christianity celebration, there was one Indian
soldier per eight Naga citizens. If unrest resumes, additional "special troops" will return.
A Naga pastor, along with 120,000 other Christians, participate in a mass prayer for peace, each in their
own tribal language. The prayer was led by Dr. John Sundquist, at the 125th anniversary celebration of the
coming of the gospel to Nagaland.
125 Years of Christianity: Dr. John Sundquist visits with a Naga Baptist youth group who performed a
musical drama at the celebration. The drama depicted the Nagas' transformation from headhunters to
Christians.
WHAT CAN YOU DO

Please ask your congregations for three things:
1. The Naga churches will spend Sunday, February 22, in prayer for the elections they are boycotting the
next day. They are peaceful protesting what they consider to be a "puppet government." Please make
Sunday, February 22, a special day of prayer where we join our sisters and brothers in Nagaland in their
prayers for a peaceful freedom. Please pray specifically for the end of fighting among the Nagas and for
them to show the whole world that, because of Christ in their lives, they live in peace.
2. Please pray for an end to the human rights violations as a result of the occupation of Nagaland by India.
3.Please contact your local papers and radio and television stations, and ask them to carry a story about the
elections and the Naga perspective on the issues, emphasizing the human rights violations not being
reported because of the Indian government's suppression of information. I am enclosing a copy of a press
release written by the Baptist Peace Fellowship which accurately outlines the issue. I would encourage you
to use this release with your local media contacts.
We would like our Naga sisters and brothers to know that we are praying for them and that we support
them. If your congregation has agreed to pray for peace, please have members sign the enclosed card and
return it to us so we can forward all the cards to our Baptist leadership in Nagaland. They have urged us to
be their prayer support and believe that it is the only way they will find reconciliation.
My dear friends, we owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the missionaries who have come before us
and given us a sterling reputation as a people of prayer. Let us continue to maintain our reputation as a
people united in our efforts to see the whole world come to know Jesus Christ and
to live in peace.
In the Power of the Gospel,
Dr. John A. Sundquist

Executive Director, International Ministries
------------------------------------------------------
Valley Forge, PA . 19482-0851.
(610)7682201.
54
Fax (610) 7682088
------------------------------------------------------
Churches: the following is a news on Nagaland prepared by the Baptist Peace Fellowship. Please feel free
to distribute to your local media. You may use your own letterhead if you see fit. If a spokesperson is
desired, have the outlet media contact:
Corenne Garrison,
Director of Communications, International Ministries, at the ABC office, 1-800-ABC3USA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Correne Garrison
Director of Communications, International Ministries
1-800-ABC-3USA
Naga Religious, Political and Civic Organization announce Boycott of Indian Elections, Call for
Political Negotiations
The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), largest religious body in Nagaland, a state in northeast
India, has become the first of several religious, political and civic organizations to announce support of a
statement calling for the postponement of scheduled state assembly elections and urging all citizens to
express their opposition by displaying "a white flag or garment on Sunday, 22 February, as a symbolic
declaration of support for a just peace."
Stating that "Because the Nagas want a solution, not an election," the seven-point statement - "Peace
Agenda for Nagalim"* - calls for a continuation of the cease-fire among all parties in the region; urges "that
the on-going dialogue between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland
(NSCN) be honored by the parties concerned," and encourages every Naga congregation to set aside
Sunday, February 22, "for prayer for the process of building peace, understanding and
reconciliation."
Referring to the "Peace Agenda" document, John Sundquist, Executive Director of the American Baptist
Churches Board of International Ministries (BIM), noted that "the Nagas are providing a powerful witness
as they work toward internal unity" in order to "effectively pursue political negotiations with the Indian
government." Having been "isolated from the world's consciousness," said Sundquist, "their plight deserves
worldwide attention." Sundquist praised the courage of the NBCC, long-standing BIM partner, and its
general secretary, Rev. Dr. W. Pongsing, for his participation and leadership in this initiative.
Dr. Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, echoed those same sentiments: "Baptists
of the world rejoice at the new initiative for peace in Nagaland. We join in prayer with our brothers and
sisters in Christ as they join together for freedom and justice in Nagaland."
The "Agenda for Peace" statement has also been endorsed by the NSCN, the outlawed political party,
whose military has engaged in violent confrontation with Indian armed forces for many years, along with
numerous other Naga political and civic groups.
The conflict in northeast India, now ruled under provisions of martial law, has been referred to as the most
unreported situation of civil strife in modern history. Estimates of fatalities resulting from the conflict -
with Indian security forces and among competing Naga insurgent groups - range anywhere from 150,000 to
300,000 over the past 50 years. Severe travel and communication restrictions in the region make it difficult
for journalists to gain access or news to be sent out. One of the results of numerous failed attempts at
resolving the conflict in the region has been the splintering of the Nagas into competing political parties.
55
The Naga people, of Mongolian ancestry, are indigenous to what is now northeast India, Northwest of
Myanmar (formerly Burma) and southern China. It is estimated that in northeast India some 90 percent of
the Naga population is Christian with the vast majority of those affiliated with Baptist congregations, the
result of a unique history of Baptist missionary work from the U.S.
Like most indigenous groups in the area, their historic lands were arbitrarily split by colonial powers (Great
Britain, in this case) between different modern nation-states. At the close of British colonial rule in 1947,
the Nagas were promised their independence by the Indian authorities. When that agreement was later
rescinded it prompted an ongoing low-level state of civil war in the region.
In late July 1997, just prior to a dialog meeting of Naga political, religious and social groups, hosted in
Atlanta, Georgia, by the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA), the NSCN and the Indian
government announced a temporary cease-fire to allow for political negotiations. The July 1997 Atlanta
meeting of Naga leaders produced "The Atlanta Appeal", calling for unity among the Nagas "by
relinquishing old antagonisms." The statement acknowledged that some of the violence within the Naga
community "has been self-inflicted" and agreed to "strategies to promote dialog."
Later, following further mediation talks, the NSCN announced a unilateral cease-fire with other Naga
insurgent forces effective during the special celebrations in Nagaland in late November 1997, marking the
127th anniversary of the coming of Christian missionaries to the area. As recently as January 31, 1998, the
NSCN and the Indian government agreed to an extension of the cease-fire between them. According to
Naga Baptist leaders, the result of the cease-fire agreements is that no Nagas have been killed in military or
factional fighting since last November.
"Nagalim" is a term recently coined by Naga leaders to distinguish between the Indian state of Nagaland
(created in 1962) and the historic lands of the Naga people in the region. The word "lim" means "land" in
Ao, one of the Naga dialects. Some three million Nagas, of some 36 tribal groups, live in a 47,000 square
mile region (slightly larger than the state of Ohio) of northeast India, northwest Myanmar (Burma) and the
Southern China.
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56

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CONVERSION

A Word about this Brochure

THUS THEY SPOKE – 9-14

India should set the record straight – 9

I support Tamil Nadu bill banning forcible conversions – 9

I welcome the promulgation of the ordinance by the Government of Tamil Nadu

Religious leaders from around the world call organized conversion

Hindu seers condemn religious conversions in India – 11

Religious Conversions in India -- For a few dollars more – 13

THUS THEY WROTE – 15-48

“…. Herein lies the potential for violence.”

THUS THEY SPOKE

INDIA SHOULD SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

THE POPE HAS NO AUTHORITY TO TALK ABOUT ANY LEGISLATION

I WELCOME THE PROMULGATION OF THE ORDINANCE BY THE

RELIGIOUS LEADERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD CALLED ORGANIZED

HINDU SEERS CONDEMN RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS IN INDIA

RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS IN INDIA -- FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE

Consider the following:

THUS THEY WROTE

Far from Prying Eyes

Islamic Mass Conversions Averted

Thwarting Christian Missionary Moves

Nailing the life of ‘Aminimism’

How the Hindu Appeal Works

The Impact of Cultural Renaissance: Among Nagas

Among the Khasis

The Emerging Healthy Trends

Perversions of Christianisation Exposed

Integrating the Young Minds

The Call for Home-Coming

Re-animating the Age-old Faith

The Undying Innate Memories

Overcoming Hurdles in Home-Coming

A Call to Indian Christians

Independent India And Christianity

Towards Global Religious Tolerance

[2b] Ibid. pp. 110-111

[2c] Ibid. pp. 383-428

[4b] Ibid. St. John, 14:2

[4c] Ibid. St. John, 10:30

[4d] Ibid. St. John, 3:3-7

[4f] Ibid. St. Matthew, 6:5-7

[4g] Ibid. St. Matthew, 18:21-23

[4h] Ibid. Isaiah, 2:3-5

[4i] Ibid. St. Matthew, 5:39-40

[4j] Ibid. St. Matthew, 6:2-4

[4k] Ibid. St. Luke, 20:25

[12] Tutu, Desmond. www.brainyquotes.com

[13] Website, www.Ad2000.org

[14] Dayal, John: website, www.Dalitstan.org/christian/dayal

[16] Patel, Bipin: www.indiacause.com/OL_091302.htm

'CHURCH BACKING TRIPURA REBELS'

Chief Minister Sarkar says he has proof.

SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS IN NORTHEAST INDIA DERIVE SUPPORT

BPTISTS SUPPORT UNDERGROUND ACTIVITIES

‘WE ARE OPRESSED AND PERSECUTED BY THE INDIAN GOVT.’

‘WE WANT INDEPENDENCE FROM INDIA’

BOYCOTTING ELECTIONS AND PURSUING POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS

‘WE WANT A SOLUTION, NOT AN ELECTION’

‘NAGAS ARE A DIFFERENT RACE’

‘NAGAS NEED OUR SUPPORT’: BILLY GRAHAM