Editorial
‘Conversion’ Stories based on False Premise
Opinion | Editorial | John S. Shilshi | 14-Oct-2020
Sometime back, my attention was drawn by a Face Book post written by a Hindu friend which read, “I had great respect for Mother Teresa for her humanitarian services, until I came to know that she was doing all that with the objective of converting.” It was quite unlike one expected of a person I knew so well, whose objective thinking and liberal outlook I had always respected. So I text him a message to enquire what made him think that Mother Teresa was converting people to Christianity? In a quick response, he wrote, “it was admitted by her to Navin B Chawla, her Biographer, and wrote within quote, “She replied, ‘Yes I do convert’. I realised that the gentleman had form his opinion based on the first sentence of Mother Teresa’s response to her Biographer’s query. So I decided to send him the entire text of the Navin Chawla’s comments which read, “I once asked her whether she tried to convert people? She replied, ‘Yes, I do convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu, a better Christian, a better Catholic, a better Sikh, and a better Muslim. When you have found God, it’s up to you to do with him what you want.” Weeks later, the gentleman wrote back saying, he had known about the conversion story from a leaflet circulated by a certain group, wherein Navin Chawla had quoted Mother Teresa of converting people.
This is just one example how people make stories about alleged conversion activities by Christian missionaries, and in the process didn’t even spare Saint Teresa of Kolkata, who in her life time, was adored by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist, Parsees and Christians alike. People and organisations cooked up stories based on conjectures, and made them appear so real that at times even Christians are psyched into believing them as true. The good news however is, despite all these smear campaigns by elements having scant regards for the spirit of Indian Constitution, and the colourful mix called ‘India’, their claims are beaten hollow by facts and figures. In a recent article that appeared in the Print, “Don’t listen to VHP and panic. Christianity is a failed project in India”, a senior Journalist and Author, Dilip Mandal, outline some key reason why he thought Christians may never be a threat to India as perceived by the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and their offshoots. Though the exact intent of the author remains unknown, one reasons put forth by him to arrive at such conclusion was significant - the static or the declining Christian population in India. As opposed to claims made by the likes of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal about Christians going all hog converting Dalits and other low caste Hindus, government-approved data presents a different picture. Take the case of Census 2001 and 2011 - In 2001, Christians accounted for 2.34% of India’s population, which declined to 2.30% in 2011. This shouldn’t have been quite the case had the allegations been grounded on some credible facts.
Similarly, when one looks at the population figures of tribal Christians in states where the loudest noises on conversion were raised by the Sangh Parivar, Christians have not multiplied as alarmingly as projected by them. In Jharkhand, Christian population stood and stagnated around the 4% mark (4.3% to be precise), 2.71%, in Orissa, 1.72% in Chhattisgarh, 0.29% in Madhya Pradesh and 0.52% in Gujarat as per Census 2011. Once again all those charges of luring people with money and favour to accept Christianity were equally beaten hollow. The maverick few therefore need reminding that Christians still are minuscule in this huge landmass called India, with a population well above a billion. The indisputable fact however is, despite being small in population, Christians and Christian institutes have played their role in India’s post-independent effort for social change and reconstruction. Though founded by the whites who brought the faith to this country, their institutes enlightened the sons and daughters of this country from all faiths, a testimony to their avowed objective to educate, and not to convert. Dissemination of knowledge on social values, democracy, human rights, and respect for fellow humans, their culture and beliefs, had always been the cornerstone of every Christian institutes in this country.
Also it is bizarre and unfortunate that Christians in India are projected as lesser patriots by people and groups that believe in unity through similarity, and not through diversity. Once again, they need reminding that Christians were no less ecstatic when India ultimately shook off the foreign rule in 1947, and immediately after India was declared a “Republic”, Bishop Lakdasa of Calcutta wrote, “The finest hour of Indian Christians came with independence and the writing of Constitution of the Republic….. Christians fully trusted the principles of equality and justice that were enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution and would need no special privileges, or safety clauses, to survive in a free India”. These comments from one of the tallest Catholic leaders of that time summed up the collective sentiments of Christians in India, irrespective of denominations. Since independence, Christians have held high and sensitive positions in Constitutional bodies, Ministries, Defence, Judiciary, the Police and Para-military, while some have even sacrificed lives while defending India’s sovereign territory. We therefore needed no certification from any organisation, party or group for our patriotism – for we are Indians first, then Christians, and the Constitution is the pristine space that provides us the safety and security net.
Even as this editorial is being written, citizens of this country – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist, Parsees and Christians, all stood together in an unprecedented show of solidarity for a Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Stan Swamy, demanding his unconditional release. This in itself is a speaking testimony to the contributions of Christian institutes in molding a society that believes in justice and equality. Christians should therefore, remain undeterred by these false stories and continue doing what we have been doing. We should upscale our services to humanity, and continue to convert people towards becoming better human beings, no matter which religion they come from, without compromising our own faith. Like St. Teresa of Kolkata once said, “We are pencils in the hands of God”, therefore, it is imperative that we remained sharpened so that God writes well through each one of us.
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