Church calls for Jharkhand CM's ouster

New Delhi, Sept. 13: The apex body of Roman Catholic Christians in India today appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "curb the spread of hatred by CM Raghubar Das" a month after the Jharkhand government passed a bill restricting religious conversions on August 12.

In his strongly worded letter, Catholic Bishops Council of India (CBCI) secretary-general Theodore Mascarenhas said he was compelled to write to Modi as he was disturbed over the politics of hate unleashed in Jharkhand.

Mascarenhas said Modi had personally campaigned before elections in Jharkhand in 2014 on the inclusive plank of sab ka saath, sab ka vikas that "made Raghubar Das the chief minister of the state", but Das had begun "vitriolic attacks against the Christian community".

"If the chief minister is unable to control his ideological hatred, then it is time for him to go," he said.

Calling last week's effigy burning of Ranchi archbishop Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo by Hindu Jagran Manch his trigger for the letter today, Mascarenhas expressed apprehension that this hatred being spread against Christians could soon "turn into physical violence".

He reminded the Prime Minister that the whole nation "applauded" him when on Independence Day this year he said violence couldn't be allowed in the name of faith.

"Mr Raghubar Das and his advisors at least in the past few months have not shown affiliation to the ideology you are proclaiming. I appeal to you, honourable Prime Minister, with trust and hope to intervene and curb the spread of hate created by the chief minister of Jharkhand. Jharkhandis and Jharkhand deserves better," the senior cleric said.

Referring to full-page government advertisements released in papers a month ago before the anti-conversion bill - which hands out stiff prison terms and cash penalty to organisations and individuals forcing conversions - was passed by the state Assembly, Mascarenhas said it contained "a spurious quote of Mahatma Gandhi without naming the source to vilify the Christian community".

Calling it a first for any chief minister, the cleric said the state government ad accused Christian missionaries of converting poor Dalits and tribals who are described as "simple and mute as cows", and sarcastically asked if the Das government had come into power with votes from these simple creatures. The ad, in Hindi, also called Christian adivasis "rice Christians", he said.

The senior cleric wrote that the church had not responded to the provocations of the chief minister not because it was afraid or weak.

"We are not speaking about ourselves, we are speaking about the people of Jharkhand," he said, wondering why so much money was spent on full-page ads sowing hate when healthcare for children in the state lay in a shambles.

Mascarenhas also questioned if there was any hidden logic behind Jharkhand's new land acquisition amendment bill that was passed with the religion bill on the same day "in record time, practically without discussion".

"One wonders if the hatred-filled advertisement and the Freedom of Religion Bill were smokescreens for the real act of the amendment to land acquisition Act. Is there something more than meets the eye, especially since the governor had earlier refused to sign amendments to the CNT and SPT Acts," he asked.

Jharkhand is the eighth Indian state to pass a bill to restrict the conversion of a citizen's religion.

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Why Jharkhand’s anti-conversion bill is against Constitution and not necessary

It is a difficult time to be a part of the minority community in India today with threats of various sorts coming from different quarters. But a new assault on them is the approval by the Jharkhand Cabinet of a stringent anti-conversion law, titled in characteristic double-speak, as the Religious Freedom Bill, 2017. It contains stiff jail sentences and fines for converting people through “allurement” or “coercion”. 

A day before this Cabinet decision, residents of Jharkhand awoke to front-page advertisements with pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, and a toxic quote attributed to him attacking conversions by Christian missionaries. As a columnist wrote in an online publication, the words were pulled out of context and distorted. Gandhi must not be appropriated by an ideology that is violently opposed to all he stood far: An India with full religious freedom and equal rights. And it is intensely worrying that taxpayers’ money is used to foment hatred against a segment of people of the state.

Christians constitute a small 4.3% of the population of Jharkhand. The same tribal family may have adherents of the animist Sarna faith (comprising nearly 13% of the population), Christians and persons who identify themselves as Hindus. Left to themselves, tribal families and communities live with peace with this diversity of faith practices. But the propaganda of the Right-wing, now backed by the state government, aggravated by the draconian anti-conversion law, will tear apart these families and communities. 

The proposed anti-conversion law in Jharkhand has fostered enormous disquiet among Christians everywhere in India. The ultra Right-wing regards Islam and Christianity to be a “foreign” religion, and therefore requires its adherents to respect “Hindu” culture and practices. But to advance its political juggernaut objectives, it has built alliances with Christian community leaders in some parts of India, such as Kerala and north-eastern states. However, particularly in large tribal states of central India like Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the political strategy of choice has been to target, defame and intimidate Christians, with violence against their shrines, priests, nuns and women, and with laws that criminalise conversions to Christianity.

But it must be stressed that Jharkhand will not be the first government to pass an anti-conversion law if this is voted for by the state assembly. Anti-conversion laws were passed in Orissa in 1967 under a Swatantra Party government; in Madhya Pradesh in 1968 under the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal coalition (which included the Jan Sangh); and in Gujarat in 2003 and Chhattisgarh in 2006 under BJP governments. The Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu passed the law in 2002 but repealed it in two years after its passage in 2004. The only Congress government to pass such a law was in Himachal Pradesh in 2006. Rajasthan passed an anti-conversion law in 2006, but the governor refused to sign the law. Arunachal Pradesh passed such a law in 1978 under the People’s Party of Arunachal, but it was never enforced as rules have not been framed to date.

Members of the Constituent Assembly took great care to uphold the freedom of religious belief in India’s Constitution. After extended debate, it decided that this freedom should not just be to practise and profess one’s faith, but also to propagate it. KM Munshi declared that “under freedom of speech which the Constitution guarantees, it will be open to any religious community to persuade other people to join their faith”.

However, organisations like the RSS never reconciled to this fundamental guarantee of the Constitution. They rail against the “menace” of Christian conversions allegedly funded by big foreign money. It matters little that the facts don’t bear out their claims. Christians constituted 2.5% of India’s population in 1981, and 2.3% in 1991, 2001 and 2011. If large-scale conversions were indeed occurring, their numbers would have swelled. This sustained misinformation has resulted in profound and sometimes violent schisms between Christian and other tribal people.

In this divisive competition for the religious allegiance of India’s poorest and most vulnerable people, marked by stridency and hate, it is important to recall the gentle counsel of one of the world’s tallest public figures, the Dalai Lama: “It does not matter which God you worship, or even if you worship no God. What is important is to be a compassionate human being”.

Harsh Mander is author, Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and Indifference in New India

The views expressed are personal

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Christians Say They are Under Siege in India After Nun's Rape, Church Attacks

Kolkata:  Christians in India said on Monday that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not done enough to protect their religion, after a spate of attacks including the rape of a 72-year-old nun in Bengal over the weekend.

Christians prayed and held vigils across the country to protest against the rape during an armed assault on a Bengal convent school, the worst in a series of incidents that followers of the faith say are making them feel unwelcome in their own country.

The motive for the assault and armed robbery in West Bengal on Saturday was not clear. Police said they have detained 10 people who broke into the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in Nadia district, northeast of Kolkata. The man suspected of rape has not been caught.

The rape victim who is still in hospital has appealed for peace. " The  nun has said she has forgotten the incident, has forgiven the crime and has asked all to pray for the culprits," said Sister Amala, who visited the assaulted nun this morning. 

A few days ago, a Catholic church being built in Haryana was vandalized; its cross was removed and a small statue of the Hindu god Hanuman was placed in the church.

Father Savari Muthu, spokesman for the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese and a national Church organiser, said, "We have to raise our voice against the atrocities. Christians will not tolerate this humiliation." 

Father Muthu said schools across the country were holding prayer meetings on Monday. Christians held a silent protest in the streets of Mumbai on Sunday.

Weeks ago, Mohan Bhagwat, the  leader of  the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), suggested that the charitable work of Mother Teresa had been aimed at religious conversion.

Critics say the remarks by the chief of the RSS, the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, contributed to a climate where Christians are seen as outsiders, despite a more than 1,500-year presence in India.

"I am not Indian any more, at least in the eyes of the proponents of the Hindu Rashtra," prominent retired police chief Julio Ribeiro wrote in a column for the Indian Express paper.

The RSS has condemned the rape of the elderly nun. 

"No attack should be tolerated on any woman in India. Be it a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian," Suresh Joshi, RSS general secretary, told reporters on Sunday.

Opposition lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha or  Upper House of parliament on Monday said the attack could damage the secular fabric of the country, where about a fifth of the population belongs to faiths other than Hinduism.

Since December, half a dozen churches have been vandalized.

In February, shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama called for respect for religious freedom in India, PM Modi broke a long silence on the subject and, speaking at a church event, vowed a crackdown on religious violence.

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Mother Teresa’s aim was conversion, says Bhagwat

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday cast aspersions on the services of Mother Teresa by saying that conversion to Christianity was the main objective behind her service to the poor. 

“Mother Teresa’s service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian,” he said while speaking at a function organised near Bharatpur by NGO Apna Ghar. “The question is not about conversion but if this [conversion] is done in the name of service, then that service gets devalued,” he said. “But here [at the NGO], the objective is purely service of poor and helpless people,” Mr Bhagwat added.

He was addressing a gathering on Monday in Bajhera, a village near Bharatpur,, after inaugurating a ‘Mahila Sadan’ and ‘Sishu Bal Grah’ — homes for helpless women and children run by a non-governmental organisation Apna Ghar.

Mr. Bhagwat had been in Rajasthan for a couple of days and had already attended an RSS meet and delivered a lecture in the memory of Rajput ruler Rana Sanga.

Politicans across the country reacted to Bhagwat's remark.

I worked wid Mother Teresa for a few months at Nirmal Hriday ashram in Kolkata. She was a noble soul. Pl spare her.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 24, 2015

Now what will the pinstripe suit say to the khaki shorts about his views on Mother Teresa #condemn
— Derek O'Brien (@quizderek) February 23, 2015

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Christian groups allege forced conversions in Bathinda

BATHINDA: Christian organizations have taken a strong note of forcible attempts of conversions of their community members into Hindu fold. They have asked the Union and state government to look into such misadventure against the minorities and stop Hindu groups from forcing minorities to convert.

Nearly 50 pastors, representatives of United Christian Welfare Association (UCWA), Pastor Fellowship Association and Punjab Christian Movement assembled in Bathinda on Saturday and denounced the efforts of conversions in the name of 'ghar wapsi' by some Hindu outfits.

Christian representatives termed 'ghar wapsi' as a planned attack on the minorities. They alleged the Christian missionaries were being stopped from spreading their religion whereas preachers of other religions were indulging in such activities openly.

UCWA president George C Masih said, "We have never taken any such step which could be termed as anti-national. We are being seen as anti-national and allegations are levelled against us that we lure people to convert to Christianity, which is vague."

VHP'S Bathinda unit claims Sran expelled:

Division came to fore in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Bathinda. Some VHP leaders of Bathinda assembled on Saturday and asserted that Sukhpal Sran, who claims to be state secretary of the organization, had been expelled. VHP Bathinda chief Sham Lal said Sran was not the state secretary as he had been expelled for not taking them into confidence for 'ghar wapsi (homecoming) programme, which proved to be a failure.

On the other hand, Sran claimed he was still the VHP state secretary and the district unit has no right to remove him. When contacted, VHP national secretary Khem Chand said, "Sran has not been expelled. The district unit has no right to remove a state office-bearer of VHP. Bathinda unit should restrain from indulging in such debate."

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In Punjab, Sangh works for ‘return’ to Sikhism as well; SAD fumes

By Chander Suta Dogra

The RSS and its affiliates are engaged in a massive “ghar wapsi” programme to get Christians back — not just to Hinduism, but also to Sikhism, in Punjab. They claim to have helped some 8,000 people ‘return home’ in the last three years, some 3,500 of them over the last one year.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), an ally of the BJP, has frowned on the Sangh’s activity. The SAD sees Dalit Christians as a vote bank, and has been wooing them assiduously. At a function in Gurdaspur on Thursday, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal announced “Masihi bhawans” for Christians in all districts, and assured them that the “forcible conversions” that are happening in other parts of the country would not be permitted in Punjab.

The city of Amritsar is currently dotted with hoardings of Akali leaders with an image of Jesus in the background, wishing people a “Happy Christmas”.

The RSS — which is usually viewed with suspicion by orthodox Sikhs because of the Sangh position that Sikhism is part of the larger Hindu culture — has enabled hundreds of Christians to re-convert to Sikhism with the help of gurdwaras and some members of the SAD-dominated Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), who have been acting in their personal capacity.

One such member, Kiranjot Kaur, who has been instrumental in holding several recent ‘ghar wapsi’ ceremonies at gurdwaras, told The Indian Express, “The situation is so alarming that even Sikhs in Amritsar, which is the seat of Sikhism, are converting. We are a small minority, and we should be worried. Because of the politicisation of the SGPC, the religious agenda which it should be actively promoting has got diluted. The RSS does not mind people re-converting to Sikhism because it sees Hindus and Sikhs as members of the same family.”

RSS leader Ram Gopal, who heads the organisation’s Dharm Jagran unit in the state, said, “We are trying to halt the march of Christianity in Punjab, and re-convert people to their original religion, which could be Hinduism or Sikhism. We discovered villages where gurdwaras were locked because the entire population had converted. This should also worry the Sikh religious leadership.”

Reached for a comment, SGPC spokesperson Dalmegh Singh said the ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, had given his life to prevent conversions, and the SGPC was not part of any programme to get Christians into Sikhism.

Meanwhile, emboldened by its success, the Sangh is for the first time holding a series of ‘dharm jagran’ yatras across the border districts of Punjab over the next one month, where it will showcase individuals who have ‘returned’, and conduct more ‘ghar wapsi’ ceremonies. The yatras will touch gurdwaras and Valmiki temples, and local granthis have been contacted to assist in the ceremonies.

At Mohan Nagar, a Dalit basti in Khemkaran where almost 70 per cent of inhabitants are Christians, Kinder Kaur, a widow who has reconverted, said, “We converted (to Christianity) because we were told that my husband would be cured of his illness. He died in 2011.
Three months ago, the RSS motivated us to become Sikhs again. I have also changed the names of my children from Thomas and Rebecca to Sumeet and Kuljit.”

At the small village of Machike, 3 km from the border, 60-year-old Gandhi Ram, a daily-wager, said he was born to Christian parents. “We were originally Valmikis. Now after my ‘ghar wapsi’, we worship according to Hindu rituals.”

Most recent ‘ghar wapsis’ are taking place in the Mazhabi Sikh community. Converts to Christianity are returning to gurdwaras, whereas Valmiki converts are re-converting to Hinduism. The RSS has also identified communities like the Rai Sikhs, the Mahasha biradari and Ravi Dassias, from where individuals converted to Christianity.

Says Dinesh, who heads the ‘ghar wapas pariyojana’ in Punjab, “It is only last year that we took up the Punjab project in earnest. We have done a strategic caste-wise exercise to see which areas require urgent attention.”

Hoshiarpur district has seen the most ‘ghar wapsis’, followed by Amritsar and Batala. Ceremonies take place throughout the year in gurdwaras and temples, mostly in the impoverished pockets of border districts like Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur.

Since caste discrimination against Dalits is perceived to be the main reason for the conversions, the RSS has begun involving upper caste dominated Hindu organisations and institutions in Dalit programmes. “Some Valmiki youth are also being identified for training as pujaris, and will be given charge of temples in the state,” says Dinesh.

Volunteers describe Christian schools as “dens of conversion”. Gandhi Ram’s ‘ghar wapsi’ involved participating in a havan in a temple, where a priest did the ‘mukti mala path’ for the small group of 20 people who ‘returned’ that day. He was given a locket with Om on it, and ‘ganga jal’ was sprinkled on him.

Those ‘returning’ to Sikhism are taken to a gurdwara where they seek forgiveness for straying from their religion. They are then honoured with a siropa, and the granthi conducts a paath for them.

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Hindu groups convert Church into a Mandir, claim that 72 Christians converted to Hinduism

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Tension prevailed in Asroi area of the district following reports of reconversion of some Christians to Hinduism.

Around 72 christians were reconverted into Valmikis even as Christians alleged foul play by the Hindu organisations, which are raking up 'Love Jihad' and other issues to make the country a 'Hindu Rashtra'.

Not just the 72 Valmikis were reconverted into Hindus from Christians at Asroi village, about 25 km from the Aligarh district headquarters but a 7th Day Adventist church was also converted into a Shiv temple, where these Valmikis used to pray, the report said.

According to reports, these Valmikis converted to Christianity in 1995 and now they have again embraced Hinduism.

The rituals for re-conversion were held inside the church on Tuesday last and all the 72 people were accepted in the Hindu community. a picture of Lord Shiva has been installed inside the church while the Cross was placed outside the boundary wall of the premises. But later as tension rose, the Shiva portrait was removed by the local people following objection by the pastor.

Bajrang Dal leaders of the district claim that this the "home coming" of the Valmikis and not re-conversion as claimed by the media.

"The decision to return to their own faith was appreciable and they were not forced to take such decision. But we had convinced them to reconvert to their religion and met the family members several times before their decision," the leader said.

Several Valmikis also claim that they were forced to reconvert to their original religion, as they were "neglected" by Christianity.

But Father Jonanthan Lal, pastor at City Methodist Church, denied such reconversion claims and alleged it was a conspiracy against the religion.

He also blamed the Hindu organisation for spreading malicious propaganda against the religion.

Meanwhile district officials claimed that the situation was tense in the area after the report of re-conversion but under control.

The people who were involved in re-conversion were also keeping mum on the issue.

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Developing students by indoctrinating them RSS style

Books published by the education wing of the RSS in Gujarat have made it to the curriculum of students studying in the 105-odd primary schools being run by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation

Books published by the education wing of the RSS in Gujarat have made it to the curriculum of students studying in the 105-odd primary schools being run by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). These books have been introduced for the first time for classes I to VIII during the current academic year.

The books, published by Vidyabharati Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Sansthan, Gujarat Pradesh, aim to “foster a national education system to develop a young generation devoted to Hinduism, national unity with patriotism and pride for overall development…”

The books, titled Jivan Vikaspothi, carry chapters on yoga, physical training, socially constructive acts, culture, Vedic maths and music in eight different levels, beginning Class I.

The yoga chapters lay down a disciplinary daily schedule for students, right from physical yogasan to chanting Sanskrit shlokas. The Class I music chapters include bhajans to Goddess Saraswati, Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna and songs in praise of Maharana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shivaji and Rani Lakshmi Bai.

The textbooks do not camouflage the promotion of Hindu nationalism, in line with the RSS ideology. The website of the publication, however, says its educational belief is to counter the “menace of conversion by Christian missionaries” through its educational programmes.

The website says, “The greatest menace of tribal areas is the exploitation of poor natives of forests by the Christian missionaries… Instead of blaming them, Vidya Bharati has extended its educational programmes to Vanvasi areas. The effort is to foster national unity, respect for all religions and faiths, patriotism and pride in Bharatiya dharma.”

A special focus is also on noted RSS founders K B Hedgewar and Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, popularly called Pujaniya Guruji.

Officials said the subject is out of purview of evaluation. Keyur Rokadia, chairman of VMC Primary School Board, said it is only to promote “overall” development of students.

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BJP leader accuses priest of spreading religious discontent, compares him to the extremist Hindu fundamentalist Pramod Muthalik

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Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday accused Gujarat-based Catholic priest and human rights activist Father Cedric Prakash of trying to spread religious and social discontent based on "falsehoods" in Goa before the general election.

Equating the priest with controversial Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik, Parrikar, justifying police action against Facebooker Devu Chodankar following his anti-Narendra Modi posts, said action should have been taken against Prakash too.

"Father Cedric Prakash has said much more serious things which were not true," Parrikar said, while addressing a press conference here.

Ahmedabad-based Prakash, a Jesuit priest, made a whirlwind tour of Goa with the support of the Roman Catholic Church in Goa, during which he accused Modi of religious intolerance and attacked the Gujarat model of governance.

He further alleged that in Gujarat every one lived in fear.

"The voice of the media has been throttled and muzzled. People in Gujarat are living in fear. IAS officers are living in fear. The lives of their families have been ruined," Prakash claimed at a meeting at the Grace Church hall in Margao, in south Goa March 20, a few weeks before Goa went to polls.

Parrikar also said that he despised those who "used religion for politics" and clubbed both Prakash, as well as Muthalik, head of the notorious right-wing Sri Rama Sene, in the same bracket. Muthalik has often triggered controversy in the past by attacking patrons of pubs in Mangalore for adopting "Western culture", and exhorting Hindus to arm themselves with swords.

"I count Father Cedric and Pramod Muthalik as the same. People who use religion as a tool for electioneering are dangerous," said Parrikar, whose government is being accused by the opposition as well as civil society of carrying out a witch hunt against Chodankar.

In Goa, where the Catholics account for nearly one-third of the population, Prakash's whirlwind pre-election lecture tour and a circular by the Church imploring voters to cast ballots in favour of a secular candidate did dent the BJP vote tally, even though the party managed to win both the seats from the state in the Lok Sabha election.

Soaurce: IANS

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