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On
one hand Madhav criticizes Christianity as intolerant, exclusivist
and supremacist religious doctrine, on the other he condemns the
Papal exhortation to carry out evangelism in the country. It goes
without saying that RSS has been very appreciative of
"Anti-Conversion" laws promulgated in Tamil Nadu and
Gujarat and invokes the other states to follow suit. Why is it that
RSS is relentlessly carrying on this anti conversion tirade? Is
conversion a new phenomenon of India society? Or, for that matter is
conversion something new on the horizon of the World? How come RSS
and its politics Hindutva has woken up to this grave problem of
Indian society, now?
The
conversion of some Dalits to Islam in Meenakshipuram two decades
earlier gave a boost to the RSS progeny VHP to come to the fore and
create ruckus on the issue. As such it remained as one of the many
issues. From last five years it has been one of the major issues,
which has been taken up by Hindutva politics. The burning alive of
Graham Stuart Staines along with his two minor sons in January 1999
was the major event, which shook the conscience of the majority of
the country, barring, of course, the Sangh Parivar for whom it was
the spontaneous anger of local populace against the conversion
activities of the Pastor. The same time saw the attack on nuns,
burning of Bibles and fatal attacks on two other people in Orissa
itself.
While
the Iron Man, home minister Lal Krishna Advani, rushed to the
defense of his sister organisation Bajrang Dal, the perpetrators of
the crimes, Bajrang Dal members, have as usual been treated with kid
gloves. The Justice Wadhwa Commission of Inquiry which went into
this gruesome tragedy did make two significant observations. One was
that there was no increase in the Christian population of the area
where the Pastor was working and two that Staines was not involved
in conversion activities.
That
apart the popular impression sunk that Christian Missionaries are
here to convert. It should be noted that Indian Christianity is
16-17 centuries old and that during so many years of so-called
proselytisation activities the population of Christians today is
just 2.18% as per the 2001 census. Interestingly while on one hand
the Christian missionaries are facing the charge of conversion the
population off Christians is on the decline. Lets have a look at the
census data of last four decades, 1971- 2.60%, 1981-2.44%,
1991-2.32% and 2001- 2.18%.
But
here a new argument has been slipped in that the census data is not
a true reflector of the population of Christians as there is a group
of Crypto Christians who are Christians but do not declare so, in
order to take advantage of reservation and other benefits. The whole
debate is extremely pathetic. One has pity for a society, which
ignoring its core issues of poverty, hunger, disease and
unemployment is forced to keep talking about such non-issues. The
Papal exhortations have been there from centuries; the institutions
have been there from centuries. If they were to work like what they
proclaim the population profile of world would have undergone
drastic changes.
Madhav
and his ilk, while deeply disturbed about the missionaries going to
far flung places to implement converting agenda, totally overlook
the heavy presence of Christian mission schools and hospitals in
cities, where the same type of people who also go to the remote
places work. Why is Madhavs clan not worried about these urban
centers spreading Christianity? One remembers that the political
cousins of Madhav, the Shiv Sainiks, threatened a Christian school
principal in Mumbai for not giving admission to some children as was
recommended by him. Here the argument comes up that the urbanites
like Shiv Sainik and RSS followers whose children study in mission
schools are impervious to the allurement of Christian propaganda
while poor adivasis are vulnerable to the guiles of
missionaries.
These
banal arguments apart, one knows that at the heart of the heart
conversion is not the issue. It is the struggle for Hindutvising the
Adivasis that the whole exercise of anti-Christian propaganda is all
about. The rise of Sangh Parivar politics faced a big obstacle at
the electoral front. Though it has been inching towards the
electoral hegemony bits by bits, the big chunk of Adivasis remained
aloof from the cultural and political Hindutvaisation of society.
Also the enlightenment process brought to the Adivasis by the
missionary education process created an awareness of their social
and political interests. And these are in contrast to the interests
of the elite social base of the RSS.
The
Gujarat tragedy has brought to fore another use, which can be made
of the Adivasis. Through cultural manipulations of Vanvasi Kalyan
Ashram the Hindutvaisation has been accompanied by an intense Anti
Muslim and anti Christian sentiments. These have also been added up
by economic measures where the local Muslims are projected as the
exploiters. And this indoctrination has bee made use of in providing
the foot soldiers for RSS politics of anti-minority pogrom. It is
remarkable as to how cultural symbols can be used and decades of
social work done by the missionaries and other Human rights groups
can be washed off while bringing the worst out from the adivasis.
And the signal coming from other states also give a pointer to this
direction. The importance of cultural symbols is very clear in most
an Adivasi areas. While Hanuman is presented as the idol, Shabri
Mata is the new goddess, which has been brought forward. The
combination could not have been more symbolic. Ram is the upper
caste icon, Hanuman, the devotee of Ram, is idol for Adivasis, and
Shabri, the destitute, who feels overwhelmed due to Ram sharing her
berries, is the new Devi for these groups.
The
pronouncements of had always been there in one form or the other.
People do not convert for few Aspirins or a couple of blankets. It
is a total relationship, which prompts people to change their faith.
In Indian society the chief cause of conversion has been the
Brahminical social order with its caste rigidities, which has forced
the low caste to seek options, which are socially more just. Right
from Swami Vivekananda, who states the major converts to Islam came
from low caste Shudras to the present post-Jhajjar conversions, via
the efforts of Dr. Ambedkar, conversions have been a major escape
clause for the low caste. In India most of the religions were refuge
for those oppressed by Brahmin-Landlord combine. Hinduism, since
Brahminism dominates it, has another problem as well.
Each
caste is segregatory. The low caste feels more comfortable with
followers of Allah or Christ than those who are having the same path
for salvation. One cannot become a Brahmin except as a reward for
the good deeds of the past life. But one can become a Christian,
Muslim or Buddhist, for example, by a choice exercised through ones
will power. Brahminism, whose values are dominant in Hinduism is
exclusionary in the social sense. Madhav may be disturbed that Pope
claims that salvation is possible only through his path, but at the
same time that path is open to all those who want it.
In
case of Madhavs Brahminical Hinduism there is a no entry board for
others. In Madhavs Hinduism, his acolytes like Dilip Singh Ju Dev
are indulging in political proselytisation, but to what caste these
Adivasis are converted to be a mystery. Each religion has its own
ways. At political level to bring in these matters is a deliberate
ploy to distract the attention from social and political issues. It
is an attempt to maintain status quo. These non-issues are being
forced on the society, which has become very communalised by now.
Whether one gets salvation or not after death may be of lot of
interest to clergy and Madhav, but whether one gets ones livelihood
while alive is what has to be the issue of debate today and now. |
