An anti-Christian plan is being carried out across India, says Catholic activist

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – In a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union, warns in not so many words that Hindu nationalists are no longer limiting themselves to random attacks against Christians but have prepared a well-thought-out plan that combines terror and intimidation against minorities and that they are currently implementing across the country.

For Mr Dayal, state political and administrative leaders as well as the justice and law enforcement systems are prejudiced against minorities, instilling fear and insecurity amongst ethnic and religious minorities who are forced to live in terrible conditions.

He writes: “You [i.e. Prime Minister] are of course aware of the single-minded pursuit of a communal agenda by the Government of the State of Rajasthan, both in the case of the Emmanuel Mission as also in bringing the so-called Freedom of Religion Bill [sic].”

To illustrate his point, Mr Dayal brought to the prime minister’s attention two grave episodes. First, the “naked display of armed might by the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu paramilitary group] in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh” during state elections in defiance of “civil authorities and [. . .] the Arms Act”, an act that did not elicit any response by the same authorities despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh is not even governed by India’s largest party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are the RSS’s political masters. What would happen, he asks, if the BJP actually ran the state?

Although different in nature, the second episode is even more disquieting and violent. It concerns the confiscation by the state of Gujarat of a leprosarium in Ahmadabad and the sacking of six Catholic nuns in charge of the institution and their eviction from the Ave Maria Convent which was their home for the past 60 years.

The nuns’ link to the place dates back to 1949 shortly after independence when Bombay authorities invited a Jesuit clergyman, Father Villalonga, to help stop leprosy in the city of Ahmadabad. With the help of Franciscan sisters from Kumbakonam, led by Sister Naemi, he set out building the facility. The authorities and the local bishop signed a five-year, renewable agreement, setting up a government-funded leprosy hospital.

After 60 years, the nuns’ work has become legendary and in all of this time the agreement was always renewed without problems . . . until last month that is.

Dayal explains that whilst the sisters had no reason to suspect anything untoward when the local Health Commission requested a review of the permit, they knew something was really wrong when the government sent them a letter informing them that a lay doctor would take over the management of the facility giving them two days to vacate the convent. In a letter formally announcing that the permit was not being renewed, the Health Commission said that the decision had come from a higher authority.

Even though the “victims are not the nuns, but the hapless patients,” writes Dayal, “it is clear why they were sacked, dispossessed of their home and thrown out of the hospital. For their religion! [. . .] A leprosarium is hardly the place for evangelization.”

In concluding his appeal, Dayal writes: “Dear Prime Minister, the time has come for a serious look at this pattern of hate against Christians. This is not the average communal riot or victimization which sporadically bursts out, and then dies out. This is a sustained terror campaign against our community, even if each incident is separated from the next in space and time. May I request [. . .] that the Union Government [. . .] consider comprehensive political and administrative measures that send out the correct signals to the guilty, and extend assurances to the victims.”

A mass Buddhists conversion ceremony is a Christian conspiracy! We're apparently VERY crafty.

Brilliant, actually.

The frightening part is that the militant Hindu disinformation artists on this thread either actually believe things like that or are quite willing to pretend tehy do to protect the militant Hindu nationalist state and the klillers for whom the state looks the other way.

Okay. So is this your question ?

Threepwood : "If Christian missionaries are ineffective, why do you want to restrict them? Why do you care? "

Its not whether x'tian missionaries are effective or not in carrying out their lunatic soul harvesting fantasies or not. But its the way they behave. Spreading lies , propaganda , bad-mouthing , abusing , insulting our religion , our faith , my God in our own country ... it is totally unacceptable. Not just to me , but to the majority of the Indian people.

And yes , they have been remarkably ineffective , inspite of the millions of $$$ they gather from folks like you. As I said , fanatic lunatic soul harvesting x'tian missionaries have been around in India since the 16th century and had a free hand during the 200 year odd British rule. And yet only 1-2% of India's population is x'tian. Same as it was 50 years ago , and 100 years ago.

And we , the people of India , would like to keep it that way. India as a nation will exist only as long as majority of its people are hindu. And of course will prosper the faster it latches on to the concepts of free trade , capitalism , globalisation etc .

Indians were poor because of centuries of Islamic rule , then British rule and for 40 years post independence , the worst evil of all - socialism (which incidently was also anti-hindu) , not because of their religion as some posters in this thread suggest. Give us hindus an opportunity to prove ourselves in an open economy and see how we prosper.

Perhaps, but that doesn't justify acting in the most violent, repressive way towards minorities, as the upper-caste Brahminocracy is doing.

oh really?? why is india a secular country then? why is a sikh the prime minister. ask that question to your pakistani and khakistani friends?

if anything india is a dhimmi state that needs to tackle its islamic and red menace much like it tackled the khalistani murderers.

You are a vile, hateful, ignoratn totalitarian. Take that crap to DU. Tehy might actually believe you. But not here at FR. We know better. We understand human dignity and human rights. You're on the wrong board.

we also want funds from islamic and sikh terrorist groups and the pig filled islamic state of pakistan. /sarc lol.

lobbyists who take money from jihadi terrorists are no better than traitorous pigs.

Well, we're at the root of this little matter now aren't we?

To recap, you freely admit that this isn't designed to vunerable protect people from abusive, lying, bad-mouthing Christians. We have no *real* evidence that they are any of these things, or that any of those are crimes even if they were, but let's let that pass.

Instead, you admit that it's to protect the delicate, endangered 80% Hindu majority. The plight of these embattered billions, perched on the VERY EDGE of absorbion by the rapatious Christians and their (curiously ineffective) trickery is truly a heart-rending one. They need to protected from a non-threat, which is a shot of double-think so potent that would have knocked old George for a loop if was around to hear it.

There is no threat to your way of life, and you know it.
In the absence of that threat,we are left with only one other real possibility. You are simply bigoted, and unprepared to tolerate the freedoms that make a democracy worthy of its name. The rest of your posts in this thread seem to support my hypothesis quite nicely. So far, you've indicated that you can't tolerate socialists, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, poor people, free speech, religious freedom and Brahmins (snooty). I didn't re-read carefully, so I might have missed someone else you can't abide by. On the pro side, you do seem to like money and HBO.

Not only do you have problems with the most basic freedoms issued to members of democratic state, you salivate over the chance to use state power to suppress them. After you admitted there was no risk or threat.

What is there for you on the Freerepublic? Everything you've said in this thread would make the average Freeper vomit.

Spreading lies , propaganda , bad-mouthing , abusing , insulting our religion , our faith , my God in our own country ... it is totally unacceptable. Not just to me , but to the majority of the Indian people.

Really? Ok, granted there are some overly passionate groups that seek to potray hinduism as some kind of satanism and do go on the insulting route. But also by your generalising, you're acting pretty much like them.

You can't compare all missionaries like Mother Teresa or others in this fashion...

As I said , fanatic lunatic soul harvesting x'tian missionaries have been around in India since the 16th century

Fanatic? The Portuguese were fanatical for one century but cowed down after they were taken over by the Spanish. The missionaries in the south were not fanatical.

and had a free hand during the 200 year odd British rule.

On the contrary read about Brit rule -- they preferred NOT to have Christians as Christian missionaries frequently fought for Indian rights against the Brits and the Brits could not stomp on Christians without a great hue and cry back home

And yet only 1-2% of India's population is x'tian.Same as it was 50 years ago , and 100 years ago.

These also, sadly, turn out to be the most westernised and migrate out of India the most. However, 2.5% of India is Christian -- and they have increased slowly, by INDIVIDUAL conversions. Also, Christians have been in India for 2000 years, as Indian as any other religion.

Threepwood : "So far, you've indicated that you can't tolerate socialists, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, poor people, free speech, religious freedom and Brahmins (snooty). I didn't re-read carefully, so I might have missed someone else you can't abide by. On the pro side, you do seem to like money and HBO."

You are right on mark about my likes . $$$ and movies. Not sure you got my dislikes right. True , cannot tolerate socialists , leftists , fundamentalist muslims - I probably even hate them. And I got nothing against christians , buddhists , moderate muslims - they are all my people. Its only the fanatics I hate from all religions. And that includes x'tian missionaries.

As far as brahmins are concerned , I only hate those brahmins who look down upon 'low caste' upstarts like me. Most are good folks.

But you claim I hate the 'poor' ? Dude - till a generation ago or say 25 years , my own freakin' family was poor.Then no thanks to anybody my dad worked his way through college and got a job , and now we are as well off as any upper-class family in India and dare I say compare favorably with the middle class in US or UK. Those who are poor today need not be poor tomorrow.Things change rapidly.

Good, you like money. If I gave you a nickel would you read and address my posts?

The central point of the last one was a response to the clear fact that ethnic nationalism was the source of your political opinions, and that you lack a basic understanding and appreciation for democratic freedoms. There might have been a tiny bit about your schizophernic rationale for the piece of legaslation we've been discussing all night.

As for my "stamp of approval", I'm glad you don't need it, because you aren't going to get it.

Indians were poor because of centuries of Islamic rule , then British rule and for 40 years post independence , the worst evil of all - socialism (which incidently was also anti-hindu) , not because of their religion as some posters in this thread suggest. Give us hindus an opportunity to prove ourselves in an open economy and see how we prosper.

Well, to some extent, ALL Indians are Hindus -- in mentality. That's characterised by a fatalistic point of view and a general contentedness with life. See how the aid agencies say that all Indians, even in slums, seem happy. That's due, to a large part with the idea of "karma", so people are more content than in the West.

So, to my point, why did India lag after the 1st century B.C.? I think it was due to a number of causes. First, IMHO, it was to do with Buddhism -- especially Indian Buddhism is very touchy-feely. This softened the Vedic virile Hinduism and made India open to foreign invasions. Then the Muslim invasions shocked India.

I think a more plausible explantion would be India (and China) missed out on the industrial civilization which hit Europe in the 18th century. From there on , things went downhill. Its all about latching on to an opportunity at the right time. Today India has been given another chance with the telecom/software revolution.Do we latch on to the opporunity by integrating with the global economy and liberalising our financial/manufacturing sector...will decide India's fate.

I think a more plausible explantion would be India (and China) missed out on the industrial civilization which hit Europe in the 18th century.

True -- but that was part of the century long decline. HINDU India declined after Buddhism and hence Islam was able to basically walk in. After Buddhism, Hinduism itself changed from Vedic hinduism which had yagnas and other sacrifices and where, for instance, non-vegetarianism wasn't such a big deal to a more non-violent Buddhist sensibilities based Brahminical system.

Looks like I'm very late on this thread, but as a former citizen of India and a practicing non-brahmin Hindu, these are my observations. First off, the average Indian middle-class citizen has many many things on his mind more important to him than religion, not very unlike the average American's stance in the evolution/creationism debate. A Hindu employee will kiss his boss's Muslim/Christian ass with extreme secularism as long as it helps him pay the bills and put his kids through school.

Having said that, the Americans on this thread fail to take into account is the amount of emotional baggage most Indians still carry consciously or subconsciously. History books still remind people how emperor Auranzeb and other Islamic raiders from the west, destroyed temples and killed uncountable hindus. Most Indian neighborhoods have an old grandpa around who regales children with tales of the independence struggle against the "white-man" barely 60 years ago. To draw a parallel, what do you think would happen to a white dude who goes into any inner-city in American and hurls slavery-era slurs at the residents there?

That is the net effect on the average Indian psyche, when a political party like the BJP( and its supporters like the RSS, VHP) uses Hinduism as an electoral platform. But also to be remembered, is that the BJP was booted out after just one term because this platform is not sustainable in Indian. All religion and no development is not acceptable by the Indian people, and they demonstrated that by electing a party led by an Italian Roman Catholic Woman.

The anti-conversion proposal in its present form is stupid and unimplementable in India and is merely political posturing in my opinions. Like Cronos mentioned, if Mother Teresa preached to one of her patients and he/she wanted to convert to Christianity, there should be no State or Individual preventing him from doing so. Such a proposal should involve the state in this issue, but merely as an observer. A line should be drawn using which the judiciary (NOT THE STATE) can decide whether a particular conversion does indeed improve the socio-economic condition of an individual or is just a purchase of a person's should for Rs.500. Akin to how the INS makes random calls to verify whether a particular marriage is genuine or has just been done for a green-card.

To draw a parallel, what do you think would happen to a white dude who goes into any inner-city in American and hurls slavery-era slurs at the residents there?

Taht is not a parallel. Preaching your religion is not at all a slur in any way. And in any case, it's none of the government's business in a society that claims to be free, democratic, and secular.

a party led by an Italian Roman Catholic Woman.

Who is an integral part of one of the most brutal, Establishmen Brahminic families in India, the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Her kids -- who are Hindus like their father and grandmother -- sit in Parliament today.

if Mother Teresa preached to one of her patients and he/she wanted to convert to Christianity, there should be no State or Individual preventing him from doing so.

Yet that is what several states iin India already do and what is being proposed nationally.

A line should be drawn using which the judiciary (NOT THE STATE) can decide whether a particular conversion does indeed improve the socio-economic condition of an individual

First of all, the judiciary is a branch of government. It is part of the state.

What gives any part of the government any right to decide whether "a particular conversion does indeed improve the socio-economic condition of an individual"? That is not the government's decision to make. To have the government making that decision violates the individual's rights.

Furthermore, some of the judges are Hindu militant types who would disallow any conversion away from Hinduism. Do oyuhonestly want to give them decision-making power?

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