Christian historian, Dr. T. R. de Souza
At least from 1540 onwards, and in the island of Goa before that year, all the Hindu idols had been annihilated or had disappeared, all the temples had been destroyed and their sites and building material was in most cases utilized to erect new Christian Churches and chapels. Various viceregal and Church council decrees banished the Hindu priests from the Portuguese territories;
the public practices of Hindu rites including marriage rites, were banned; the state took upon itself the task of bringing up Hindu orphan children; the Hindus were denied certain employments, while the Christians were preferred; it was ensured that the Hindus would not harass those who became Christians, and on the contrary, the Hindus were obliged to assemble periodically in Churches to listen to preaching or to the refutation of their religion." "A particularly grave abuse was practiced in Goa in the form of 'mass baptism' and what went before it.
The practice was begun by the Jesuits and was alter initiated by the Franciscans also. The Jesuits staged an annual mass baptism on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25), and in order to secure as many neophytes as possible, a few days before the ceremony the Jesuits would go through the streets of the Hindu quarter in pairs, accompanied by their Negro slaves, whom they would urge to seize the Hindus. When the blacks caught up a fugitive, they would smear his lips with a piece of beef, making him an 'untouchable' among his people.
Conversion to Christianity was then his only option." The Goan inquisition is regarded by all contemporary portrayals as the most violent inquisition ever executed by the Portuguese Catholic Church.
It lasted from 1560 to 1812. The inquisition was set as a tribunal, headed by a judge, sent to Goa from Portugal and was assisted by two judicial henchmen. The judge was answerable to no one except to Lisbon and handed down punishments as he saw fit. The Inquisition Laws filled 230 pages and the palace where the Inquisition was conducted was known as the Big House and the Inquisition proceedings were always conducted behind closed shutters and closed doors.
The screams of agony of the culprits (men, women, and children) could be heard in the streets, in the stillness of the night, as they were brutally interrogated, flogged, and slowly dismembered in front of their relatives. Eyelids were sliced off and extremities were amputated carefully, a person could remain conscious even though the only thing that remained was his torso and a head.
Diago de Boarda, a priest and his advisor Vicar General, Miguel Vazz had made a 41 point plan for torturing Hindus. Under this plan Viceroy Antano de Noronha issued in 1566, an order applicable to the\nentire area under Portuguese rule "I hereby order that in any area owned by my master, the king,\nnobody should construct a Hindu temple and such temples already\nconstructed should not be repaired without my permission.
If this order\nis transgressed, such temples shall be, destroyed and the goods in them\nshall be used to meet expenses of holy deeds, as punishment of such\ntransgression."In 1567 the campaign of destroying temples in Bardez met with\nsuccess. At the end of it 300 Hindu temples were destroyed. Enacting\nlaws, prohibition was laid from December 4, 1567 on rituals of Hindu\nmarriages, sacred thread wearing and cremation. All the persons above\n15 years of age were compelled to listen to Christian preaching,\nfailing which they were punished.A religious fatva was issued on the basis of the findings of Goa\nInquiry Commission. It stated,"...Hereby we declare the decision that\nthe conventions mentioned in the preamble of the fatva as stated below\nare permanently declared as useless, and therefore prohibited"Prohibitions Regarding MarriagesThe instruments for Hindu songs shall not be played.While giving dowry the relatives of the bride and groom must not be invited.At the time of marriage, betel leaf packages (pan) must not be\ndistributed either publicly or in private to the persons present.\n\u003cbr\>-Flowers, or fried puris, betel nuts and leaves must not be sent to the heads of the houses of the bride or groom.>-Gotraj ceremony of family God must not be performed.\n\u003cbr\>-On the day prior to a wedding, rice must not be husked, spices\nmust not be pounded, grains must not be ground and other recipes for\nmarriage feast must not be cooked.\n\u003cbr\>-Pandals and festoons must not be used.\n\u003cbr\>-Pithi should not be applied.\n\u003cbr\>-The bride must not be accorded ceremonial welcome. The bride and\ngroom must not -be made to sit under pandal to convey blessings and\nbest wishes to them.\n",1]
);
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Diago de Boarda, a priest and his advisor Vicar General, Miguel Vazz had made a 41 point plan for torturing Hindus. Under this plan Viceroy Antano de Noronha issued in 1566, an order applicable to the entire area under Portuguese rule : "I hereby order that in any area owned by my master, the king, nobody should construct a Hindu temple and such temples already constructed should not be repaired without my permission. If this order is transgressed, such temples shall be, destroyed and the goods in them shall be used to meet expenses of holy deeds, as punishment of such transgression." In 1567 the campaign of destroying temples in Bardez met with success. At the end of it 300 Hindu temples were destroyed. Enacting laws, prohibition was laid from December 4, 1567 on rituals of Hindu marriages, sacred thread wearing and cremation. All the persons above 15 years of age were compelled to listen to Christian preaching, failing which they were punished. A religious fatva was issued on the basis of the findings of Goa Inquiry Commission. It stated,"...Hereby we declare the decision that the conventions mentioned in the preamble of the fatva as stated below are permanently declared as useless, and therefore prohibited". Prohibitions Regarding Marriages -The instruments for Hindu songs shall not be played. -While giving dowry the relatives of the bride and groom must not be invited. -At the time of marriage, betel leaf packages (pan) must not be distributed either publicly or in private to the persons present. -Flowers, or fried puris, betel nuts and leaves must not be sent to the heads of the houses of the bride or groom. -Gotraj ceremony of family God must not be performed. -On the day prior to a wedding, rice must not be husked, spices must not be pounded, grains must not be ground and other recipes for marriage feast must not be cooked. -Pandals and festoons must not be used. -Pithi should not be applied. -The bride must not be accorded ceremonial welcome. The bride and groom must not -be made to sit under pandal to convey blessings and best wishes to them.
\u003cbr\>Prohibitions Regarding Fasts, Post-death Rituals\>-The poor must not be fed or ceremonial meals must not be served for the peace of the souls of the dead.\n\u003cbr\>-There should be no fasting on ekadashi day.\n\u003cbr\>-Fasting can be done according to the Christian principles.No rituals should be performed on the twelfth day after death, on moonless and full moon dates.\No fasting should be done during lunar eclipse.>Conventions\\Hindu men should not wear dhoti either in public or in their houses. Women should not wear cholis .They should not plant Tulsi in their houses, compounds, gardens or any other place.Following the law of 1567, orphans were kidnapped for converting them to Christianity.On September 22, 1570 an order was issued that :\n\u003cbr\>-The Hindus embracing Christianity will be exempted from land taxes for a period of 15 years.\Nobody shall bear Hindu names or surnames.\>In 1583 Hindu temples at Esolna and Kankolim were destroyed through army action.\n\u003cbr\>"The fathers of the Church forbade the Hindus under terrible\npenalties the use of their own sacred books, and prevented them from\nall exercise of their religion. They destroyed their temples, and so\nharassed and interfered with the people that they abandoned the city in\nlarge numbers, refusing to remain any longer in a place where they had no liberty, and were liable to imprisonment, torture and death if they\nworshipped after their own fashion the gods of their fathers." wrote\nSasetti, who was in India from 1578 to 1588.An order was issued in June 1684 eliminating Konkani language and\nmaking it compulsory to speak Portuguese language. The law provided for\ndealing toughly with anyone using the local language. Following that\nlaw all the symbols of non-Christian sects were destroyed and the books\nwritten in local languages were burnt.\>The Archbishop living on the banks of the Ethora had said during\none of his lecture series, "The post of Inquiry Commission in Goa is\nregarded as holy." The women who opposed the assistants of the\ncommission were put behind the bars and were used by them to satisfy\ntheir animal instincts. Then they were burnt alive as opponents of the\nestablished tenets of the Catholic church.\n",1]
);
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Prohibitions Regarding Fasts, Post-death Rituals -The poor must not be fed or ceremonial meals must not be served for the peace of the souls of the dead. -There should be no fasting on ekadashi day. -Fasting can be done according to the Christian principles. -No rituals should be performed on the twelfth day after death, on moonless and full moon dates. -No fasting should be done during lunar eclipse. Conventions -Hindu men should not wear dhoti either in public or in their houses. Women should not wear cholis . -They should not plant Tulsi in their houses, compounds, gardens or any other place. -Following the law of 1567, orphans were kidnapped for converting them to Christianity. On September 22, 1570 an order was issued that : -The Hindus embracing Christianity will be exempted from land taxes for a period of 15 years. -Nobody shall bear Hindu names or surnames. In 1583 Hindu temples at Esolna and Kankolim were destroyed through army action. "The fathers of the Church forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use of their own sacred books, and prevented them from all exercise of their religion. They destroyed their temples, and so harassed and interfered with the people that they abandoned the city in large numbers, refusing to remain any longer in a place where they had no liberty, and were liable to imprisonment, torture and death if they worshipped after their own fashion the gods of their fathers." wrote Sasetti, who was in India from 1578 to 1588. An order was issued in June 1684 eliminating Konkani language and making it compulsory to speak Portuguese language. The law provided for dealing toughly with anyone using the local language. Following that law all the symbols of non-Christian sects were destroyed and the books written in local languages were burnt. The Archbishop living on the banks of the Ethora had said during one of his lecture series, "The post of Inquiry Commission in Goa is regarded as holy." The women who opposed the assistants of the commission were put behind the bars and were used by them to satisfy their animal instincts. Then they were burnt alive as opponents of the established tenets of the Catholic church.
The victims of such inhuman laws of the Inquiry Commission\nincluded a French traveller named Delone. He was an eye witness to the\natrocities, cruelty and reign of terror unleashed by priests. He\npublished a book in 1687 describing the lot of helpless victims. While\nhe was in jail he had heard the cries of tortured people beaten with\ninstruments having sharp teeth. All these details are noted in Delone's\nbook.\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>So harsh and notorious was the inquisition in Goa, that word of its\nbrutality and horrors reached Lisbon but nothing was done to stop this\nnotoriety and escalating barbarity and it continued for two hundred\nmore years. No body knows the exact number of Goans subjected to these\ndiabolical tortures, but perhaps it runs into hundreds of thousands,\nmay be even more. The abominations of inquisitions continued until a\nbrief respite was given in 1774 but four years later, the inquisition\nwas introduced again and it continued un-interruptedly until 1812. At\nthat point in time, in the year of 1812, the British put pressure on\nthe Portuguese to put an end to the terror of Inquisition and the\npresence of British troops in Goa enforced the British desire. Also the\nPortuguese power at this time was declining and they could not fight\nthe British. The palace of the Grand Inquisitor, the Big House, was\ndemolished and no trace of it remains today, which might remind someone\nof inquisitions and the\n\u003cbr\>horrors inside this Big House that their great saint Francis Xavier had commenced.\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style:italic;font-weight:bold\"\>Dr. Trasta Breganka Kunha, a Catholic citizen of Goa writes,\n"Inspite of all the mutilations and concealment of history, it remains\nan undoubted fact that religious conversion of Goans is due to methods\nof force adopted by the Portuguese to establish their rule. As a result\nof this violence the character of our people was destroyed. The\npropagation of Christian sect in Goa came about not by religious\npreaching but through the methods of violence and pressure. If any\nevidence is needed for this fact, we can obtain it through law books,\norders and reports of the local rulers of that time and also from the\nmost dependable documents of the Christian sect",1]
);
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The victims of such inhuman laws of the Inquiry Commission included a French traveller named Delone. He was an eye witness to the atrocities, cruelty and reign of terror unleashed by priests. He published a book in 1687 describing the lot of helpless victims. While he was in jail he had heard the cries of tortured people beaten with instruments having sharp teeth. All these details are noted in Delone's book. So harsh and notorious was the inquisition in Goa, that word of its brutality and horrors reached Lisbon but nothing was done to stop this notoriety and escalating barbarity and it continued for two hundred more years. No body knows the exact number of Goans subjected to these diabolical tortures, but perhaps it runs into hundreds of thousands, may be even more. The abominations of inquisitions continued until a brief respite was given in 1774 but four years later, the inquisition was introduced again and it continued un-interruptedly until 1812. At that point in time, in the year of 1812, the British put pressure on the Portuguese to put an end to the terror of Inquisition and the presence of British troops in Goa enforced the British desire. Also the Portuguese power at this time was declining and they could not fight the British. The palace of the Grand Inquisitor, the Big House, was demolished and no trace of it remains today, which might remind someone of inquisitions and the horrors inside this Big House that their great saint Francis Xavier had commenced. Dr. Trasta Breganka Kunha, a Catholic citizen of Goa writes, "Inspite of all the mutilations and concealment of history, it remains an undoubted fact that religious conversion of Goans is due to methods of force adopted by the Portuguese to establish their rule. As a result of this violence the character of our people was destroyed. The propagation of Christian sect in Goa came about not by religious preaching but through the methods of violence and pressure. If any evidence is needed for this fact, we can obtain it through law books, orders and reports of the local rulers of that time and also from the most dependable documents of the Christian sect
\u003c/font\>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \u003cpre\>-- \n Pastor\n \u003ca href\u003d\"mailto:unitedchurch@eml.cc\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>unitedchurch@eml.cc\u003c/a\>\n\n-- \n\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.fastmail.fm\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>http://www.fastmail.fm\u003c/a\> - One of many happy users:\n \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/quotes.html\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>http://www.fastmail.fm/docs\u003cWBR\>/quotes.html\u003c/a\>\n\u003c/pre\>\n\u003cbr\>\n--~--~---------~--~----~------\u003cWBR\>------~-------~--~----~\u003cbr\>\nHelp save the Indian Tribals and Dalits from Evangelists,\n \u003cbr\> who Degrade the Tribal and Dalit Culture & tradition with a View to "Harvesting our Souls"\n \u003cbr\> \u003cp\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://burningcross.net/\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>http://burningcross.net/\u003c/a\>\n \u003cbr\> \u003cp\>Message from The Google Group "Dalit Freedom Network".\n \u003cbr\> To post to or unsubscribe from this group, send email to \u003ca href\u003d\"mailto:unitedchurch@eml.cc\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>unitedchurch@eml.cc\u003c/a\> \u003cbr\> -~----------~----~----~----~--\u003cWBR\>----~----~------~--~---\u003cbr\>\n\u003c/p\>\u003c/p\>\u003c/div\>\n\n\u003cbr\>\n",0]
);
//-->
--
Pastor
unitedchurch@eml.cc
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Local factors led to Kandhamal violence Ram Madhav January 08, 2008http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/08guest.htm
For days, one TV Channel ran visuals of how Christians have been targeted for violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district. Several other so-called national channels too joined the chorus sufficient enough for Mombattiwalas (candlelight activists) to plunge into the ring and declare that 'entire Orissa', if not 'entire India', is in the grip of violence unleashed against 'innocent minorities' by 'Hindu nationalists'.
As a senior leader pointed out to me after a heated TV debate, we have created a funny nomenclature in our country: if you are a Hindu and defend your faith, you are a 'Hindu nationalist' a pejorative reminiscent of Nazi Nationalism.
But if you are a Hindu and use your lung power to loudly attack Hinduism and Hindus for crimes they never committed, then you are a great 'secularist'.
Both these stereotypes are a creation of our perverted political discourse. Thus every incident of the nature of the Kandhamal one will immediately be dragged into this Hindu Nationalist Secularist arena and the endless blame-game continues.
We don't realise that in the process we are not only destroying the image of our nation but actually perpetrating such violence by not looking dispassionately into the real reasons behind each and every single incident.
Violence in the name of religion in any form should be opposed by all. It is unfortunate that we had to end 2007 with one such violent situation in a district of Orissa. But we must not ignore the fact that Kandhamal is for that matter many such incidents have been a localised incident; not a phenomenon as the Candlelight-walas would want us to believe.
It is neither pan-Orissa nor pan-Indian. 'Many feel conversion is not the church's business'The trouble in Kandhamal started on December 23 when some Christians at Brahmanigoan village wanted to erect a Christmas gate in front of a Hindu place of worship.
This was resented by the local Hindus who questioned the motive of the Christians in insisting on building a second gate near a Hindu place of worship while one gate was already erected at a place where it is done every year on the eve of Christmas. This led to the initial clashes. Since Christians were more in number in the said village the Hindus were at the receiving end. As the news of clashes reached Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a selfless Hindu seer working for the socio-economic development of the local people for over four decades -- he set out for Brahmanigoan on December 24. His car was attacked by a violent Christian mob in which the seer himself and two of his followers sustained serious injuries. Swamiji, 82 years old, has been relentlessly working for the uplift of the people in the district -- more than 75 per cent of whom are below the poverty line and illiterate -- since 1967. He has opened schools and hostels, hospitals and temples to serve mainly the tribals and the down-trodden.
It was this attack that led to further clashes in the district, as the seer is highly respected and has innumerable supporters in the district. Four days of clashes resulted in both sides suffering in various ways -- many houses were burnt, properties destroyed and physical attacks taking place.
What made things worse in Kandhamal was the open collaboration between the Christian groups and Naxals. Among those arrested in connection with the burning down of villages inhabited by Hindus (Brahmanigaon, Jhinjiriguda, Katingia, and Godapur) were 47 Maoists.
Some 20 guns have been recovered by the security forces from them. The Kandhamal violence is essentially a localised one, as many such incidents in the country have been. It is the local factors that play a predominant role. Animosities were brewing no doubt. But again the reasons were immediate. There has been a feud between the Kondh tribals and largely Christian Pana Scheduled Caste people. The Panas, under the leadership of the local Congress Rajya Sabha member Radhakanta Naik, who is said to be a convert, have been demanding inclusion of their caste in the Scheduled Tribe category as they too speak the same Kui language that the ST Kondhs speak. Christian group demands CBI probe into violenceThis argument was rejected by the state government as well as by the courts. But the agitation in favour of the demand continues under Naik's leadership, fuelling resentment among the Kondhs who remained largely unaffected by conversion activity of the Christian missionaries. However, if there is any one aspect that is pan-Indian in all the incidents related to Hindu-Christian clashes it is religious conversions. Even in Kandhamal district, one of the major factors fuelling tensions is the conversion campaign of the evangelical groups. It is noteworthy that in a state like Orissa which enacted anti-conversion laws as back as in 1967, the Christian population in Kandhamal district alone has grown from 6 per cent in 1970 to 27 per cent in 2001.
The 'aggression' shown by the new age evangelical groups mostly in predominantly tribal areas in states like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat etc has become a major contributor of religious strife. We can't overlook the fact that in the entire country Christmas was celebrated with a lot of gaiety with millions -- a lot of Hindus included -- thronging churches. Hindus, at the core of their belief, are 'omnitheists'.
For a Christian or a Muslim there is 'one god', but for a Hindu there is 'only god'. For him god is omnipresent, the entire creation is divine manifestation only. Religious conversion is an anti-thesis to this belief.
There was a time when at the end of the British Raj the mainstream missionaries in India had decided to focus more on humanitarian and developmental activity than conversions. Many still adhere to that concept, confining themselves to running schools, hospitals etc and serving humanity at the time of need. However, for the growing breed of 'aggressive' evangelicals, numbers are very important. 'Harvesting souls' is god's work for them. Means don't matter. In a very interesting article in Christian Science Monitor (April 1, 2005) Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management in New Delhi and a renowned intellectual was quoted as saying: 'Aggressive and unprincipled missionary work that exploits the distress and ignorance of marginalised groups ... can constitute a catalyst to localised violence, particularly when they are brought into confrontation with other creeds'. External link: A new breed of missionaryThese 'aggressive' activities of their fellow pastors and fathers have aggrieved many Christian leaders too. This is what the Christian Science Monitor article says on those activities:After the tsunami, the US National Council of Churches issued a statement warning against the practice by "New Missionaries" of mixing evangelism and aid. "Often lacking sophistication about the lure of gifts and money, and wanting to be generous with their resources, they easily fall prey to the charge of using unethical means to evangelize.
This creates a backlash," the February statement read. "You get this guy out of Texas who has no idea of the local culture, he is out to win souls, and he comes with a lot of money," says Bob Alter, former Presbyterian pastor born and raised in the Indian mountain town of Mussoorie, and former superintendent of a missionary institution, the Woodstock School. The problem with these newer churches, Mr. Alter says, is the tone of their message. "You have Baptists using the Diwali festival [the Hindu festival of lights], but they come to 'spread the light to those in darkness.' That is mighty offensive stuff, when you're out to tear down another religion." It even quoted one Bishop Chacko, head of the Roman Catholic diocese in Meghnagar in Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh who said, 'Even the older Protestant churches are unhappy with the evangelicals. It is said that they are irresponsible. Consequences don't matter to them. They put the fire and then they leave it to burn.' Whether it is Kandhamal in Orissa or Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh or Dangs in Gujarat, the only pan-Indian question is the evangelical activities of 'aggressive conversion campaign'. If we argue that conversion is a right, then re-conversion too is a right. In this melee of conversions and re-conversions violence and strife will become the order of the day.Let every religion enjoy complete religious freedom to preach, practice and propagate. But as our apex court categorically stated, 'Propagate' does not and should not include 'Conversion'. Let us put an end to the institutionalised activity of conversions by church agents and instead allow citizens freedom of personal choice without fear or favour.
Ram Madhav is a former spokesperson for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
For days, one TV Channel ran visuals of how Christians have been targeted for violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district. Several other so-called national channels too joined the chorus sufficient enough for Mombattiwalas (candlelight activists) to plunge into the ring and declare that 'entire Orissa', if not 'entire India', is in the grip of violence unleashed against 'innocent minorities' by 'Hindu nationalists'.
As a senior leader pointed out to me after a heated TV debate, we have created a funny nomenclature in our country: if you are a Hindu and defend your faith, you are a 'Hindu nationalist' a pejorative reminiscent of Nazi Nationalism.
But if you are a Hindu and use your lung power to loudly attack Hinduism and Hindus for crimes they never committed, then you are a great 'secularist'.
Both these stereotypes are a creation of our perverted political discourse. Thus every incident of the nature of the Kandhamal one will immediately be dragged into this Hindu Nationalist Secularist arena and the endless blame-game continues.
We don't realise that in the process we are not only destroying the image of our nation but actually perpetrating such violence by not looking dispassionately into the real reasons behind each and every single incident.
Violence in the name of religion in any form should be opposed by all. It is unfortunate that we had to end 2007 with one such violent situation in a district of Orissa. But we must not ignore the fact that Kandhamal is for that matter many such incidents have been a localised incident; not a phenomenon as the Candlelight-walas would want us to believe.
It is neither pan-Orissa nor pan-Indian. 'Many feel conversion is not the church's business'The trouble in Kandhamal started on December 23 when some Christians at Brahmanigoan village wanted to erect a Christmas gate in front of a Hindu place of worship.
This was resented by the local Hindus who questioned the motive of the Christians in insisting on building a second gate near a Hindu place of worship while one gate was already erected at a place where it is done every year on the eve of Christmas. This led to the initial clashes. Since Christians were more in number in the said village the Hindus were at the receiving end. As the news of clashes reached Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a selfless Hindu seer working for the socio-economic development of the local people for over four decades -- he set out for Brahmanigoan on December 24. His car was attacked by a violent Christian mob in which the seer himself and two of his followers sustained serious injuries. Swamiji, 82 years old, has been relentlessly working for the uplift of the people in the district -- more than 75 per cent of whom are below the poverty line and illiterate -- since 1967. He has opened schools and hostels, hospitals and temples to serve mainly the tribals and the down-trodden.
It was this attack that led to further clashes in the district, as the seer is highly respected and has innumerable supporters in the district. Four days of clashes resulted in both sides suffering in various ways -- many houses were burnt, properties destroyed and physical attacks taking place.
What made things worse in Kandhamal was the open collaboration between the Christian groups and Naxals. Among those arrested in connection with the burning down of villages inhabited by Hindus (Brahmanigaon, Jhinjiriguda, Katingia, and Godapur) were 47 Maoists.
Some 20 guns have been recovered by the security forces from them. The Kandhamal violence is essentially a localised one, as many such incidents in the country have been. It is the local factors that play a predominant role. Animosities were brewing no doubt. But again the reasons were immediate. There has been a feud between the Kondh tribals and largely Christian Pana Scheduled Caste people. The Panas, under the leadership of the local Congress Rajya Sabha member Radhakanta Naik, who is said to be a convert, have been demanding inclusion of their caste in the Scheduled Tribe category as they too speak the same Kui language that the ST Kondhs speak. Christian group demands CBI probe into violenceThis argument was rejected by the state government as well as by the courts. But the agitation in favour of the demand continues under Naik's leadership, fuelling resentment among the Kondhs who remained largely unaffected by conversion activity of the Christian missionaries. However, if there is any one aspect that is pan-Indian in all the incidents related to Hindu-Christian clashes it is religious conversions. Even in Kandhamal district, one of the major factors fuelling tensions is the conversion campaign of the evangelical groups. It is noteworthy that in a state like Orissa which enacted anti-conversion laws as back as in 1967, the Christian population in Kandhamal district alone has grown from 6 per cent in 1970 to 27 per cent in 2001.
The 'aggression' shown by the new age evangelical groups mostly in predominantly tribal areas in states like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat etc has become a major contributor of religious strife. We can't overlook the fact that in the entire country Christmas was celebrated with a lot of gaiety with millions -- a lot of Hindus included -- thronging churches. Hindus, at the core of their belief, are 'omnitheists'.
For a Christian or a Muslim there is 'one god', but for a Hindu there is 'only god'. For him god is omnipresent, the entire creation is divine manifestation only. Religious conversion is an anti-thesis to this belief.
There was a time when at the end of the British Raj the mainstream missionaries in India had decided to focus more on humanitarian and developmental activity than conversions. Many still adhere to that concept, confining themselves to running schools, hospitals etc and serving humanity at the time of need. However, for the growing breed of 'aggressive' evangelicals, numbers are very important. 'Harvesting souls' is god's work for them. Means don't matter. In a very interesting article in Christian Science Monitor (April 1, 2005) Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management in New Delhi and a renowned intellectual was quoted as saying: 'Aggressive and unprincipled missionary work that exploits the distress and ignorance of marginalised groups ... can constitute a catalyst to localised violence, particularly when they are brought into confrontation with other creeds'. External link: A new breed of missionaryThese 'aggressive' activities of their fellow pastors and fathers have aggrieved many Christian leaders too. This is what the Christian Science Monitor article says on those activities:After the tsunami, the US National Council of Churches issued a statement warning against the practice by "New Missionaries" of mixing evangelism and aid. "Often lacking sophistication about the lure of gifts and money, and wanting to be generous with their resources, they easily fall prey to the charge of using unethical means to evangelize.
This creates a backlash," the February statement read. "You get this guy out of Texas who has no idea of the local culture, he is out to win souls, and he comes with a lot of money," says Bob Alter, former Presbyterian pastor born and raised in the Indian mountain town of Mussoorie, and former superintendent of a missionary institution, the Woodstock School. The problem with these newer churches, Mr. Alter says, is the tone of their message. "You have Baptists using the Diwali festival [the Hindu festival of lights], but they come to 'spread the light to those in darkness.' That is mighty offensive stuff, when you're out to tear down another religion." It even quoted one Bishop Chacko, head of the Roman Catholic diocese in Meghnagar in Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh who said, 'Even the older Protestant churches are unhappy with the evangelicals. It is said that they are irresponsible. Consequences don't matter to them. They put the fire and then they leave it to burn.' Whether it is Kandhamal in Orissa or Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh or Dangs in Gujarat, the only pan-Indian question is the evangelical activities of 'aggressive conversion campaign'. If we argue that conversion is a right, then re-conversion too is a right. In this melee of conversions and re-conversions violence and strife will become the order of the day.Let every religion enjoy complete religious freedom to preach, practice and propagate. But as our apex court categorically stated, 'Propagate' does not and should not include 'Conversion'. Let us put an end to the institutionalised activity of conversions by church agents and instead allow citizens freedom of personal choice without fear or favour.
Ram Madhav is a former spokesperson for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Big Pay Hike for President VP and Governors
Big pay hike for President, VP and Governors10 Jan 2008, 1602 hrs IST , PTISMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updatesNEW DELHI:
The President has got a big raise with the monthly pay packet doubled from Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh, under a proposal cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday.
And Pratibha Patil is not alone to get such a hike. The Vice-President would get Rs 85,000 per month against the present Rs 40,000, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters.
After a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Dasmunsi told reporters. Likewise, Dasmunsi said, the salary of Governors has been raised from Rs 36,000 a month to Rs 75,000.
The increase in emoluments would come into effect from January 1 last year. The hike was necessitated as Members of Parliament have a Rs 68,000 pay packet while the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha drew less than them, Dasmunsi said. Former Presidents' emoluments have also been doubled to Rs six lakh a year, while more facilities have been sanctioned for the spouses of late Presidents and Vice Presidents. Dasmunsi said the decision to increase the salary had been taken last year itself, but since the then President and Vice President were retiring, it was deferred.
The President has got a big raise with the monthly pay packet doubled from Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh, under a proposal cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday.
And Pratibha Patil is not alone to get such a hike. The Vice-President would get Rs 85,000 per month against the present Rs 40,000, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters.
After a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Dasmunsi told reporters. Likewise, Dasmunsi said, the salary of Governors has been raised from Rs 36,000 a month to Rs 75,000.
The increase in emoluments would come into effect from January 1 last year. The hike was necessitated as Members of Parliament have a Rs 68,000 pay packet while the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha drew less than them, Dasmunsi said. Former Presidents' emoluments have also been doubled to Rs six lakh a year, while more facilities have been sanctioned for the spouses of late Presidents and Vice Presidents. Dasmunsi said the decision to increase the salary had been taken last year itself, but since the then President and Vice President were retiring, it was deferred.
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