By S Paul
The recent spate of occurrences all over Bharat and recently in our own state of some people going around offering enticement or pressurising vulnerable citizens to convert their religious belief raises a lot of doubts. I would like to bring out the similarity between such proselytisation activities to the political activities during the process of electioneering. Both are illegal and unethical. Religion is not a gift from the Divine but is a human concept. Therefore, it is faulty and does not benefit a democratic system. On the contrary it is divisive and is an effective tool in the hands of those who follow the political method of ‘divide et impera’. That is divide and rule as conceived by Julius Caesar. This also is the tool in the hands of some radicalised clergy who wish to have a hold on the followers of their own brand of religion. A combination of these two factors generate hatred in a society. Such a hatred filled society cannot go on being democratic and thrive in peace. Those vested interests who do not desire a democratic nation to prosper keep using such means to spread mayhem and violence.
Proselytisation in Bharat is such a menace, being used by externally controlled systems. Because such a scandal needs funds and that cannot be generated within our nation.
Christianity does not believe in enticement or fear to convert. It believes only in serving those who are the neglected lot or are despised for their backwardness in societies all over the world. If they wish to embrace this faith it is not out of seeking wealth or power but respectability and equality with the others. Therefore, those who go about using this illegal and unethical means of proselytisation to convert are not Christians at all but agents of evil being handled by those who wish to weaken our bonds.
Our democracy does not even need to be defined as Secular. Our constitution needs to be based on the ethics and principles of Sanatan (Eternal; that is the divine) and Dharma (our duties towards the sanatan). It is based on an individual’s quest for communion with the creator and not a group faith. History tells us that this concept of ‘religion’ is alien to our culture. It was brought to us by our raiders to enable them to rule by making us disunited in the name of God. Having been imbued now with the concepts of Religionism, Regionalism, Racism, Language and levels of affluence, we ought to reconsider our social traditions. Ours should be based on the spiritual disciplines of our forefathers, the sages and saints who pursued the path of communicating directly with the divine and not through other human beings and thus received the wisdom of a tranquil social atmosphere. Unfortunately, our constitution is also derived from the patterns presented to us by those cultures whom we assumed to be superior in the way of governance. We need to have it remodelled for our nation based not on religions but humanitarian concern and amity.
Perhaps there is a ghost of a fear for demographic changes that may make us slaves again. This kind of change can easily be tackled by strictly implemented family planning. This may be brought under the UCC or any other legislation. The bringing in of the Anti-Conversion laws and letting loose Government sponsored Vigilantes creating an atmosphere of Persecution based fear will only further weaken our social fabric. It may eventually universally spoil our national image, and we may even be ostracised by other races and nations. So, I appeal to the leaders and thinkers of our race and country to help us redefine Democracy Bhartiya style and bring in the real Ram Rajya.
