Recent spate of ‘re-conversions’ to Hinduism in Orissa is what is causing a flurry in my mind right now. The manner in which tribal Indians are being tormented for their religion is not only gruesome but also against the very tenets of Hinduism.
For the sake of argument, lets keep the fact of conversion to Christianity aside for a moment. Let us assume that the Tribals in Orissa and Dalits elsewhere are indeed being mass converted to Christianity. But who has conferred the right to rape and pillage and burn the Christians? Is Religion not a matter of free will? Who are they to dictate which religion one follows?! Let me try and justify their right to decide which religion to follow or to follow any religion at all. Consider this:
Muslims, Christians and Dalits in particular (because they are fellow Hindus) are still not allowed inside many renowned Hindu temples. And I’m not talking about middle ages. I am talking about today. NOW. Many Dalits still live in ghettos outside the villages. Those who claim to be caretakers of Hindu religions have not only never contributed to upliftment of Dalits but have infact stigmatized their lives and raised hindrances in their paths to progress at all points of time. No Hindu has ever done anything for the Tribals living a life devoid of even necessities in the hinterlands of our country. What right, then these Hindu Fanatics have to ‘re-convert’ them to Hinduism. And let me point out that I’ve not even touched upon the aspect of whether these were indeed Hindus before conversion to Christianity. Tribals themselves have claimed that they are not Hindus and are nature worshippers. These claims are indeed correct since these people are the aboriginal people of
If the Dalit Hindus and Tribal non-Hindus wish to change their religion that has given them nothing but misery and stigma, then no body should have a right to question them. Let alone oppose them.
It is a matter of great shame that Hindu religion is increasingly becoming intolerant towards other religions. This spread of fundamentalism is a serious cause of worry. If this is not stopped in time, there would come a time when Hindus will kill fellow Hindus, just like Islam today is ripe with internal violence amongst Shias and Sunnis. IN this respect, Hindus would be much more at risk because Hinduism does not have just two sects, but has hundred or probably thousands of subdivisions. If this fire of fundamentalism is not doused soon, the end of Hinduism is not far from the fate of Islam today, which has turned into a demon of terrorism and medieval Christianity, which was a plague for humanity.
In this respect, I now find it rather interesting that in today’s world, religion has lost its original purpose of governing the social behavior of human in a just manner. It is now time to discard the age-old concept of religion and look towards newer methods to govern the society and provide a path for progress for mankind. Its time now to throw all religions in to the gutters and frame updated new laws and practices for humanity.
Religion as a concept has outlived its beneficial life now.
1 comment:
While i can understand the feeling with which you have written this article, i do not fully agree with what you have written.
By reading your article one is inclined to think that Hindus have deserted their own, however it is the Christian missionaries that have come forward and lifted their lives from the misery, have done so out of sheer commitment to the development and preservation of humanity and indulging in a self less activity which is overwhelmed with compassion for the suffering. You may not reflect these feelings, but by reading your article, one is inclined to think so because you have just given side of the story without shedding any light into what is the motivation behind these actions of the Christians. Through this forum, I would like to tell the other side of the story, which is not so robin hood-ish, for that matter.
first of all, Christians have always been conversion freaks. their very smartly worded slogan of them being a civilized world is just an eye wash. They want it to be communicated that they belong to a superior culture and the rest are just pagans. They have always been wonderful marketers of their religion, they know how to pack it, brand it and how to communicate its usp and finally sell it.
There is a saying "nothing in this world comes for free". These christian missionaries are a wonderful example of that. Well nobody can deny that behind all the charity and goodies, lies the ulterior motive of increasing the number count of your religion, if i may put it bluntly. in marketing lingo, "spreading the message of the true god" (as if there exists any untrue god).
as you know the money that these missionaries spend on the poor comes from European and American pockets. Do you know that if YOU convert to Christianity, what would it fetch you? Well, the answer is 1.5 lakh rupees. Yes, thats true my friend, thats the prize (not price) paid for changing yourself. Well, i can provide proof if you want me to, i have personally met these people who wanted money and considering this as a easy option, converted. However, now that the troubled time has passed, want to re-convert, but are not allowed to by you know who, well people on a mission of course (missionaries), well thats their mission, if anybody had any doubt.
Doing good for people without expecting anything in return is true service to oneself, the society and to god. However, doing good in order to execute a covert plan in the background isnt exactly what i call service to god. Its achieving your annual targets.
Well you mentioned how islam has become a demon of terrorism and medieval Christianity, which was a plague for humanity, well these two religions have the highest number of followers in the world, I don’t see how these religions have been adversely affected. Well, muslims do not consider this as terrorism, it is considered as the path to heaven. and Christians, well as I had mentioned they are a “Civilized society”, not a plague or cancer.
One more thing I would like to point out is, these reconversions are also a national security threat. Well, you know very well how these missionaries are active in the north east. Nagaland which had miniscule number of Christians not very long ago has more than 90% Christians now. Well they are fighting for their independence and support their claim by saying that they are Christians and they do not want to be ruled by hindus sitting in delhi. Might I add, the remaining hindus in the region are getting the treatment metted out to dalits in the rest of the country. Tell me how is it fair by any stretch of the imagination.
You have definitely heard of a tiny east asian nation called east timor. Well, whats the story of the place, it was part of Indonesia and the people that inhabited it were shia muslims like the rest of the country. Then came the European colonizers, while the rest of Indonesia fell in the hands of the dutch, the tiny eastern region of timor island fell into portugese hands. Portugese as we know are champions of spreading the message of the true god as they have done in other colonies of their including our very own goa, so this was no exception. By the time the colonial era ended in Indonesia, the whole of so called east timor was Christian. The portugese and the dutch left the islands, however the people of east timor were always aware that their religion was different from the majority of the Indonesians, they always had moral support of their former colonizers. Next, they demand independence and immediately are looked differently by the Europeans. They fight and win their independence with active western support. Does this story tell anything? I hope it does.
The Christians know that in the 21st century you cannot intimidate and convert people, you need to be more imaginative than that, hence the re-branding and re-packing of the entire activity. There are plenty of NGOs in India committed to the betterment of the downtrodden without expecting anything in return.
Having said all this, I do agree with you that the hindus have treated the adivasis and dalits with complete apathy. They have not received any help from any section of the hindu society or social strata. Hence, I can understand that they would be totally swept off their feet if help arrives from any side of the planet and these people deserve a better live and a better chance at making it big in life. The major problem with Hinduism is that it is so fragmented that you cannot generalize it. For example, a Maharashtrian Brahmin will not consider a gujarati patel, as his own, though Gujarat and Maharashtra are not poles apart. This is because there is nothing common between them except their religion and that my friend does not bind you in India.
What the fundamentalists have done in orrisa is totally wrong, nobody has the right to force someone into doing anything. If they are so commited towards their religion, maybe they should come forward and give these people better lives.
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