The devil's advocate

There are more than 50000 schools and colleges run by Christian missionaries in India and most are well reputed and many Hindus and Muslims also recruit their wards in these convents. They provide top class education and many toppers and persons of repute are churned out year after year from these schools. Most of them do not indulge in any open conversion exercise nor do they preach Christianity in these schools. some of them give preference to Christians during admission but do not force non Christians to observe any christian ritual. So it will look like a great service being rendered by them for the Indian society. It is true but not 100%. It is used by some for conversion, a recent example being a school in Chennai which used its wards on a excursion to distribute christian pamphlets to a crowd in Coimbatore. etc etc.

Many of these schools and missionaries get money from abroad as aid which is clandestinely used to increase christian influence in our society. It is also used for large scale conversion by luring vulnerable sections of our population by offering money, miracle cure and land. Most of them are autonomous and function without government control or audit. Why should foreign money be allowed to buy lands and property and also for canvassing in such large scale? Are we so naive in believing that they do not have any other intention rather than serve the poor and the rich here? Karan Thapar thinks so and he advocates to banish VHP and Bajrang dal and allow all kinds of coercion by the churches even if it be by money and force.He also claims there are provisions in the constitution for this. While he asks whether VHP represents Hindus, he himself in an article in Hindustan Times writes as if he speaks for the majority of Hindus. I am sure he was lured by some material gain to write this article and be accepted in the largely christian dominated media of India.

It is fashionable now a days for Indian media people to talk as if from heaven and to ask and advice Hindus to accept whatever as it is. If any Hindu questions he is a fanatic and if any Hindu supports minority cause he is rational, so they believe. The English media and also vernacular media to a large extent is infested by christian communist and Muslim persons and handful who dominate are all educated in western colleges. So their mindset is understandable.

His article is of course is not all non sense but the thinking which made him write so is largely due to his elitist education and environment, i suppose. In fact I think it is people like him who were reasons for our country to be colonies of foreign power in most of our history. Freedom cannot be absolute. It is not so in any of the proud individualistic, industrialised and developed countries to which he owes his education. The apathy we face today in our country is because of this freedom plenty which is misused by the greater powers and the richer nations who sell their culture and religion to us as if we are part of an AMWAY chain. The Western world have made laws and implement them with acumen and force and thus protect their culture and demography. No American can become its president if he is not a true Christian and who does not uphold family values. Here even an Italian can become the prime minister.

India is a proud secular nation and it should remain so. All religions should be treated equally and with respect and rights. At the same time all should follow the nation's rules and their religion cannot be above our nation. Freedom should have its limits and this cannot be the words of a devil. The minority in India today have more privileges and autonomy than the majority which is not seen in any serious nation of repute.

Karan Thapar has enhanced his image as a true Devil's advocate and kudos to him. His article in Hindustan times is here and the Point by point rebuttal by Dr. Arindam Bandyopadhyay to him is also here.

Also see Hindus in Christian schools where the author finds that in some schools only Christians are allowed to celebrate their functions, in many only Christian poor get aid[ means for conversion], in some where students are asked to recall Jesus for forgiveness, in some where everyone is'forced' ,to take a special drink from a common bowl on Christmas day etc etc. One priest also proudly acclaims that "The majority may never fully convert to Christianity. But they will never fully be good Hindus either,"

Some thing needs to be done but can we with so many devils around.