RELIGION CONVERSION IN INDIA.
BY K P PASWAN.
In India, a fierce debate is going on regarding religious conversion. Several states have passed laws forbidding forced conversion and interfaith marriage wherein forced conversion is reported. India was divided on the basis of religion and an united India emerged from political and social chaos. In the constitution there was a proposal to declare India as a Hindu state as Hindus are found only Lime Jews Hindus had no separate home land. However, the founding fathers of the constitution favored a religious tolerant state with special emphasis to protect minorities like Muslims.
At the time of independence India was a poor state with lowest literacy rate. Ruling elites in the decades of 1950 used to mock Hindus, but these mockers of Hindus won and formed the government. Majority of Indian wanted economic prosperity and they did not mind abusing their religion by prominent leaders. Religion conversion is happening in India from the time Islam and Christianity entered India, Foreign rulers forced people to embrace their religion or face death while Christianity introduced modern system of education for everybody, but converted people were preferred while granting monetary aid.
At present Dalits are converting to Christianity, while interfaith marriage between Hindu girls and Muslims are not uncommon. Both Islam and Christian religion preach universal brotherhood and there is no place for discrimination on the basis of caste. Dalits remain Dalits even if they convert to other religion. In Punjab, a large number of Dalits’ are converting themselves to Christian religion as the higher casts have refused to treat these Dalits on equal footing. For these Dalits there is nothing to chose between Sikhism and Hindus. This is happening all over India. So conversion by force becomes conversion out of compulsion.
· Mass conversion of Dalits means trouble for India and the upper caste Hindus. It also means widespread social tension involving converts and the rest of the people who abhor such steps.
GEOGRAPHY. Entire North East of India is giving nightmarish sleep to the policy makers of the central government. People of these areas do not like to live in sovereign India. Armed forces have been given special powers to deal with the insurgents who are being patronized by foreign powers. Except Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Christianity predominate Tribal regions of small states. Credit goes to Christian missionaries for spreading modern education among the tribal and creating wonderful health infrastructures in the tribal areas. Unfortunately converts are creating all sorts of problems and it is difficult to say whether they are loyal to the constitution of the country even they enjoy special treatment.
Constitution gives liberty to people to profess religion they love. India became a republic on 26th January 1950 and from this date onward conversion started in legal or illegal ways. Rigid caste system led to systematic oppression of certain castes known as Dalits and Tribes. Christian missionaries known for charity works all over the world tried to convert Dalits by extending financial help, sick people were adopted and care homes were established. One interesting thing about these missionaries is emphasis on education. Missionaries schools and colleges are found every nook and corner of India. Except in northern states almost every school established by Christian missionaries is flooded by students belonging to caste Hindus and barring exceptions no caste Hindu has been converted. We may draw conclusion that Christian missionaries are interested in imparting quality education and students are free to convert themselves to Christianity but this is not happening.
NORTH EAST. In North Eastern states of India, there is no problems of conversion, Nagaland ,Mizoram, Meghalaya are Christian majority states while in Manipur Hinduism is fast losing to Christianity. It is only in the rest of India that conversion from Hinduism to other religion is taking place and is creating fear psychosis as history of India tells us that weakening of Hinduism has endangered the concept of a united India,
There is no legal bar if a person converts himself to other religion out of his own choice. In Kerala. Interfaith marriage between Hindu girls and Muslims boys don’t makes big news. In other big towns marriage between Hindu girls with Muslims are not uncommon.
Muslims and Christians try to take advantage of oppression of Dalits by upper castes and Dalits are converting themselves to Christianity in every state of Hindi speaking state and to some extent South India, honestly speaking, foreign missionaries cannot be blamed for alluring Dalits for the purpose of conversion. Economic enlistment of Dalits matters much. Some of the upper castes men and women advocate abolition of reservation for Dalits and Tribal and instead they suggest economic assistance to Dalits. This is a strange arguments as we know that economic criteria cannot be basis for reservation and due to widespread corruption, economic upliftment of Dalit is not only difficult but impossible.
There are reasons to believe that in certain states like Odisha, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Punjab and Karnataka, foreign missionaries are adopting unfair means to convert Dalits to other religion. Apart from genuine but meager financial help foreign missionaries are not preaching virtues of their religion but insist on curing dreaded disease like HIV and Cancer just by converting to a particular religion.
Situation in Punjab needs debate and action. Both Hindus and Sikhs are caste ridden and Dalits are escaping from discrimination. In the Sikh religion, Jats will not allow non Jats to come closer to them and in Hindus too Jats Hindus and other upper castes enjoy in suppressing the lower castes. Dalits have no options but to forgive reservation and convert to Christianity. But the conversion is not based on superiority of scriptures, which the Christian boast but on allurement and superstitions. As per police records in Punjab and Haryana some criminals being accused of rape and drug trafficking have became Prophets and Rev Fathers and are extorting money from the oppressed castes in the name of curing certain disease and depositing the money in their personal accounts. Well recognized Church has denied any connection with these persons who call themselves as prophets, Rev Father and true gospel. While certain upper castes Hindus and Sikhs, who are well educated have converted to Christianity out of choice and protests and agitations were not reported.
There is also the insignificant question of love jihad which means nothing but interfaith marriage. Marriage between Hindu girls and Muslims is not uncommon. As per limited data most of the Hindu girls belonging to high castes and are educated and they fall in love with boys belonging to opposite faiths, these girls convert to the faiths of their husbands. No legislation is going to put a brake on such type of interfaith marriage.
Nearly ten years back a few bureaucrats used to visit once in a week to a remote area inhabited by poor Dalits and Tribal. We used to take rice pulse and other items for them, they were poor and half starved. The roads were not motorable. After eight years when we were not in a position of strength, I along with a friend visited the area. To our pleasant surprise a motorable road has been constructed and after reaching the villages we were overwhelmed to see that under PM’s special programmes for poor, every family was living in good houses. There are two schools run by Lutheran Church and another by RSS, an organization of Hindus. Both the organisations were competing with each other in doing charity works, The Lutheran Church informed us that they were not interested in forcible conversion, instead they are providing health related facilities. The Hindu organization is more popular and also doing very good charity works. Most of the people still practice Hindu religion but there is a feeling of hatred against each other. A few elders who recognized us informed that they were earning enough to meet both ends and that they had no hard feeling.
FINAL WORDS.
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