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Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha - Using conversions as a political
weapon
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IOL
South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, October 12 (IslamOnline) — An ordinance promulgated recently by
government of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu banning religious
conversion has kicked up a controversy.
The
ordinance, issued on October 5, bans conversion by “force, allurement
or fraudulent means.” President of Tamil Nadu Bishop’s Council and
Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore diocese, Dr Arul Das James said,
“Christians are greatly shocked, distressed and disappointed” as the
ordinance “casts unwarranted aspersions” on “peace-loving”
people.
He
said Christians did not believe in forcible conversion as all such
conversion was invalid under Christian law. Apparently the state
government had done it to please the anti-minority, hardline Hindu
nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leading the coalition government
at Centre. Tamil Nadu chief minister Ms Jayalalitha is facing a number
of serious corruption cases in courts and a little helping hand from the
central government will go a long way to alleviate her difficulties.
According
to All India Christian Council general secretary John Dayal, conversion
by force, allurement or fraudulent means is an “oxymoron” because in
Christianity the only legally valid conversion is one undertaken with
complete freedom.
The
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) described the ordinance as
“mischievous,” meant to curry favor with the anti-minorities BJP.
In
a statement issued here Thursday, October 10, IUML president GM
Banatwala said, “the Tamil Nadu government is a victim of misleading
propaganda.” The constitution of India allows freedom of conscience,
belief and worship. Hence, religious conversion is not illegal per se.
However,
over the years states have passed laws which make conversion under
“threat or allurement" illegal. Governments, anti-minorities
political parties and sectarian-minded police and administrative
officials often harass people who convert to Islam or Christianity
taking cover of such laws.
The
fact, however, remains that no Christian or Muslim can even imagine to
“threaten” somebody to embrace Islam or Christianity in a country
under the total control of Hindus. The same is true of “allurement”
as well, unless it is the “allurement” of heaven.
Most
conversions occur due to the contradictions of the Hindu society which
does not accord equal status to a large chunk of its family. Dalits (the
so-called "untouchables"), tribals and many other "low
caste" people are considered sub-humans who cannot has social
relations with high caste Hindus or even enter their temples. Such
outcasts represent around 40 percent of the population of the country.
As
political expediency such outcasts are offered many special benefits and
reservations in jobs and educational institutions. They lose these
benefits automatically if they convert to a "foreign" religion
(i.e., Islam and Christianity), which is in itself a sheer misuse of
State resources for the benefit of the believers of a certain religion.
Most
conversions in India are from Hindu and tribal animist faiths to
Christianity as there is a full-fledged missionary infrastructure to
propagate the Christian faith and to retain and absorb new converts in
the Christian society. Islam comes a distant second as there is no
organized missionary activity and no infrastructure or financial means
to absorb new converts in the existing Muslim society.
Once
in a while, entire villages convert to Christianity or Islam. In such
cases it is easy for the converts as they already have a social group of
their own, and all that they have to do is learn the ways of their new
faith.
Such
a mass conversion did occur in 1984 in Meenakshipuram village of Tamil
Nadu, when 450 men, women and children of “low-caste” Hindus
embraced Islam.
Such
mass conversions generally worry the majority Hindus who fear that this
would deplete their numbers ultimately and disempower them politically.
Because of this fear, a counter-mobilization of Hindus began in 1984
which re-opened old wounds. The controversial Ram temple movement,
seeking to build a Hindu temple by demolishing a historical mosque in
the northern town of Ayodhya began in 1984 as a reaction to
Meenakshipuram conversions.
Another
mass conversion to Islam was reported last month from two villages in
Haryana, neighboring New Delhi, by IslamOnline. The villagers who
converted to Islam have complained that local officials have been
harassing them to reconvert to Hinduism, which they are not prepared to
do because as low-caste Hindus they had to suffer extraordinary
humiliation at the hands of high-caste Hindus for generations.
Most
conversions to Islam and Christianity are from low-caste Hindus, who are
victims of oppression. Such conversions are perfectly legal, but the
majority Hindus do not like it. The main Hindu nationalist organization,
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief KS Sudarshan said here earlier
this month that religious “conversion is the major source of conflict
in this country.”
Minorities’
organizations and secular political parties contest this view of
conversion. Some affiliates of RSS like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have
declared that if conversions do not stop there will be a civil war in
the country. Already they have unleashed a wave of persecution of
Christians.
The
curb on freedom of conscience imposed by the Tamil Nadu government has
drawn flak from secular groups. Congress Party spokesman Jaipal Reddy
said his party deplored “the ordinance imposing draconian curbs on
fundamental religious freedoms. We are also distressed at the cloak and
dagger manner in which it was issued.”
Attacking
the ordinance, Communist Party of India national secretary D Raja said
it was promulgated to please Hindu fundamentalist groups like RSS and
parties like BJP. Raja asked the usual question: “ Who would decide
allurement or coercion?” There is no answer to it, except that it is a
weak tool to curb conversion, which is perfectly legal.
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