Gharwapsi, a reconversion drive
by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu groups, has made headlines in the
past weeks. The parliamentary proceedings were disrupted as the opposition
demanded a stop to reconversion activities. The government failed miserably to
clear the standoff and the media had much to write about. The constitution of
India guarantees religious freedom to every citizen. The 42nd
amendment to the constitution of India, in 1976, added the word, “secular” to
the preamble. Any attempt to challenge the constitution should be dealt with
strictly. People should be left to choose whatever religion they want to
practice, without fear of persecution.
Gharwapsi or bringing Indians
back to their ancestral religion is a stupid idea. India has been home to four
great religions of the world, a distinction India alone has. The modern concept
of religious tolerance is a gift India gave to the world, much before the term
was thought of by the western world. There is no evidence to suggest that any
attempts were made to use force to impose one’s religious belief on other.
India has not only been tolerant of diverse religious views but had actively
assimilated different religious views to into what is now known as Indian
spirituality. Common Gods and deities have mentions across different scriptures
from Vedas, Jain texts, Buddhist art and literature and in the most modern of
all religions, Sikhism.
If India were such a fantastic
place to practice one’s religion, what went wrong? The supporters of Gharwapsi
claim that their action is a reaction to what the others are doing. By others
they primarily mean the Christian missionary movements in India. They accuse
them of converting Indians by using unfair and unethical means. This is not
entirely wrong. Western missionary groups, especially from America have been
active in India for a while now. According to a report
published by Ministry of Home Affairs for the year 2011-12, more than 1,100
crore Rupees were donated and received by various Christian organisations. The
donations do not fall under any of the fifty eight or so categories mentioned
in the report and are clubbed under, “Activities other than those mentioned
above”. The website gives no information on the details of activities carried
out under the category. Some of the largest donors/recipient organisations
were, World Vision India (233.38 crore), Believers Church (190.05 crore),
Compassion International (183.83 crore), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints (130.77) and Missionaries of Charity (62.77 crore). In all these and
other organization together accounted for around 10% of the total receipts.
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Donation and working for public
good (as almost all of these organisations claim to do) is not a bad thing. It
should not matter who is helping disadvantaged people, as long as they are
benefitting. But things change drastically if one looks at aggressive
evangelical practices adopted by the Joshua Project.
The meticulous manner in which the organization has profiled India will put the
National Population Register to shame. Every single variable like language,
dialect, religion, caste, state, district, etc. has been mapped, down to the post code. Each variable
is then marked with a red, yellow or green dot to mark the “progress level”,
which obviously means growth of converts.
Such organized proselytization networks
are in the same league as the smaller organisations carrying out Gharwapsi.
Both encroach upon the individual’s right to practice his or her religion.
Telling someone that his or her religious beliefs are not the right one and
hence the best way to escape the wrong is to convert, is demeaning and
undermines the individual’s right to free thinking. The need today is not to go
on obstructing the parliament but to find a solution to the problem of coercive
conversion methods. The opposition sadly seems to be in a dilemma. It wants the
Gharwapsi to stop but at the same time is not willing to stop the aggressive evangelical
activities by the likes of Joshua Project.
