– Pramod Kumar
[I] Critical Paradigms of the Conversion Debate
Neutralising public opinion
Hindus get stumped by Christian arguments during the conversion debate. “Christians form only 3% of the population. They render much service to our society through their educational institutions, hospitals and orphanages;” “After all, the poor converts get financial help;” “What is wrong if a Hindu chooses to voluntarily convert to another religion?; ” “The Christian minority in India is a peaceful, non-violent community;” “Christians are bringing in Foreign Direct Investment through their charitable activities (sic);” “Conversions occur only because of caste discrimination in Hinduism.” And so on…
Such misinformation serves to stifle opposition for a confused Hindu is a neutralised Hindu. A confused person has no will to act, or has no clarity of thought that is essential for decisive action. For this reason alone, our society has failed to generate a “critical mass” of public opinion that can force the administration into taking serious note of the raging debates on issues of utmost importance. Otherwise, the secular machine is more than happy to remain indifferent to the plight of a voiceless “majority in moral minority” as one French writer described us.
Seen from the Hindu perspective, these critical paradigms can be paraphrased into four key issues: unfair and outrageous conversion methods used by evangelists leading to social strife; foreign funding, disproportionate wealth of the missionaries and land-grab; Christian clout in the educational sector; state control of Hindu temples and misuse of temple revenue & attached property.
The solutions to these problems are also not difficult to locate, they have already been proposed and some have also been partially implemented in controlled pockets. What is needed today is a coordinated nationwide effort, which will provide a united voice to the Hindu community in resolving these conflicts.
The Myth of Free and Fair Conversions
The anti-forcible conversion laws passed recently by the Tamil Nadu and Gujarat governments in India seek to crack down on conversions by force and fraudulent means. Does it mean that there are conversions by free and fair means also? Can a Hindu be converted without the lure of financial aid or the fear of social exclusion? Can a Christian propagandist convince us about the superiority of his religion in a philosophical debate? For those who have an inkling of Christian theology or practice, the answer is an obvious ‘no’.
The claim of Christian evangelists that all conversions occur through a change of heart in the convert deserved to be nailed once and for all. All conversions and particularly mass conversions, are achieved through force and fraudulent means. Hence, it is not difficult to understand the rationale behind the blackmail by Christian lobbies against these anti-conversion laws.
An empirical study recording the experience of thousands of Christian converts is very much needed. Let the truth be revealed from the horse’s mouth. The family strife, social stigma, cultural uprootment, spiritual suicide and financial dynamics involved in every conversion should be exposed thoroughly.
Financial Scrutiny of Christian Missions a Must
Is it a state-secret that much of the evangelical activity in India is dependent on foreign money? Squeeze the foreign-funding and let’s see if the Christians can succeed in changing the heart of a single convert in India, let us demand a bit of fair-play in the business of saving souls. On the other hand, Hindu organisations, which participate in the shuddhi and paravartan movements in India must seek greater participation from their NRI friends.
On the other hand, public awareness on the foreign-funding of Christian missions in India needs to be increased. Let this question be raised again and again in the Indian Parliament and State Assemblies and in every public forum. Foreign money is also the root cause of Christian land-grab in the southern Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The demographic siege in the north-eastern states is also not without foreign support.
Dubious role of the media
The false stereotypes discussed above are largely a deliberate projection, which we have internalised without critical analysis. Hindus must learn to challenge every such stereotype is doled out to them by Christian or secular propagandists and particularly by the mainstream English press. Every report and every editorial is suspect; media credibility is at an all time low today. Consider recent events which the media turned into headlines for weeks together: the chain mail which was circulated on the internet about karsevaks molesting a Muslim girl on the Godhra train was simply faked; Dalit lynching in Jhajjar turned out be a case of police torture. Recently, there were these “Special Correspondents” claiming that the Ayodhya excavations showed no evidence of a temple, even before the Archaeological Survey of India released its report!
Letters and articles from the Hindu perspective are not given any space; events showing the progressive side of Hinduism are not covered; criticism of Abrahamic faiths and minority fundamentalism is suppressed – the list is endless but the conclusion is unanimous – read your news with a pinch of salt. Obviously, these are “pre-paid” columns and “post-paid” headlines. While the press holds everyone accountable to its mighty pen, to whom is it accountable in turn? Virtually none.
[II] The Practical Side
Temples as Centres of Community-Welfare
If there is one issue that Hindus need to rally around today, it is the question of government control of temple revenue. Transparency in devolution of temple funds is woefully lacking. A temple is one institution that receives charity from a majority of Hindus. Where is this money going? Why should secular governments be using this communal money for their survival? Temple revenue deserves to be utilised for the welfare of the Hindu community.
Setting up of educational and cultural institutions attached to temples, renovation of ancient temples and revival of their cultural significance in the Hindu consciousness are focus points. Tamil Nadu temples have successfully implemented annadaanam programmes and religious lessons, let this be replicated in other states too.
Need for Private Hindu Educational Institutions
A time must come, hopefully in the near future, when parents need not look up to convent schools as inevitable alternatives for primary and secondary education. The early years of the child are the most crucial in inculcating cultural and spiritual values. Educating our children in convents is literally converting them to the Euro-Christian worldview. This minority of English educated Indians who emerge from the convents are manufacturing and controlling the opinion of the Indian nation today.
The recent historic judgement of the Indian Supreme Court on minority institutions and the right of the majority to establish educational institutions comes as a great relief. Let us not lose any more time in establishing quality educational institutions that will cater to our cultural aspirations or else we will be losing many more generations to the stranglehold of Christian oligarchy in the educational sector.
The Role of Spiritual Leaders and Ashrams
There are a thousand philosophical and epistemological differences among Hindus of various sampradayas but a difference of opinion on issues of critical importance such as conversions is not a feature of a robust society.
This weakness of Hindu society becomes particularly conspicuous when we observe the functioning of ashrams and spiritual leaders and their inter-relationship. It was in the not too distant past that an attempt was made to evolve a consensus among many heads of ashrams to sign a memorandum seeking a ban on conversions. Needless to say, some of the pontiffs refused to sign the declaration taking refuge in many flimsy excuses. The conversion issue is politicised, some claimed, and hence did not want to get involved in it. Others said they did not recognise any ‘horizontal’ conversion between religious faiths and encouraged only the ‘vertical’ conversion from worldliness to spirituality !
It is indeed sad to note that the tendency to remain politically correct and the colonised mindset sans self-confidence is more widespread among some of these ashrams than among the common masses. The reasons for this are not difficult to find and have been discussed in detail elsewhere. However, one central point has to be made and hammered into the consciousness of these ashrams by every conscious devotee – these ashrams and spiritual leaders have a responsibility to address the problems of the Hindu society. Their very existence is dependent on the support and respect they receive from the Hindu community and in turn, Hindus look up to them for solutions to such problems. To let us down in pursuit of their pet agendas is a betrayal of the faith reposed in them.
The Need for a New Smriti
Another failure in our cap is the inability to evolve a new Smriti, in spite of the fact that our shastras permit us to override earlier texts to suit the needs of the changing times. The unfinished attempts of pioneers like Swami Vivekananda and Swami Dayananda to create a new Smriti should be taken to their logical conclusion. Let all our revered acharyas demonstrate some unity now by coming together to compile a universal social text that is acceptable to every Hindu and provides necessary guidelines to address all the above issues.
Such a Smriti, which comes with the sanction and authority of our spiritual leaders can be more potent and effective than all the laws and constitutional amendments put together.
What can the average Hindu do?
- Counter the disinformation campaign. Make your voice heard.
- Educate your friends and make them see the debate in proper light. Gift them books on appropriate occasions – books that deal with the deeper foundations of Hinduism or on any of the above issues.
- Revive the Hindu tradition of charity. Identify organisations that are involved in grassroots work or dissemination of positive ideas and donate to them regularly. Avoid donating to disguised fronts of pseudo-secular institutions.
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