By S Paul
The word Proselytisation means to induce some person into changing one’s belief or ethics or to recruit someone to join one’s group, institution, or cause. Unfortunately, in our country this is being associated only with religious conversion (Dharma Parivartan) and has been declared as unlawful. Proselytisation of prospective voters at the time of elections or proselytisation of a politician into changing his or her party association is not considered illegal. Our constitutionally defined ‘Secular Democracy’ does not recognise religion as a factor for demographic changes that upset the efficacy of governance. The fear that this would bring demographic changes and affect the population structure and dynamics of our society is misplaced. The factors that are likely to bring about these changes are Fertility, Mortality and Migration of the citizens; each one of them separately or together. However, the root cause of change in the quality of population is the difference between the affluent and the non-affluent. Religion does not play any part whatsoever in this migratory population shift. However, in some minority faiths in Bharat, the like-minded seem to congregate to feel more comfortable and safe. That does upset the homogeneity of our race.
This misconception of ‘proselytisation’ has unfortunately generated the non-secular anti-conversion law in India and is aimed at regulating religious conversions, by preventing forced or fraudulent conversions, thus equating it to the heinous crimes like rape and murder. The primary goal is to protect individuals from coercion and ensure conversions are voluntary. The proof of voluntary conversion lies with the victim of persecution. But at the grassroots level, words like allurement, seduction, inducement, enticement are being used and considered as an offence as per this law.
The fact is that those who got converted during the Mughal period and before that were mostly due to fear and coercion and they mostly belonged to the upper class of our Vedic society. Those who were the servants of these higher-class people were also made to convert. But there are no instances of the British converting us Bhartiya to Christianity by force or coercion. They let this be done mostly by missionaries who used healing and education, especially among the Dalits and scheduled tribes. The percentage of such low-class Christian converts is about 70% of the entire Christian population of Bharat. Incidentally, Bharat was exposed to Christianity about 600 years before the Britishers were converted by their Roman conquerors. Marthomite Christians of Kerala are the proof. The anti-conversion law is justified only against those who are subject to forceful or fraudulent conversion. Unfortunately, the governments of the states in which this law is being enforced are not controlling the unlawful persecution being perpetrated by some extremist elements of our Vedic society. Even the lawful worship according to one’s’ faith is being disturbed and violently stopped by these self-proclaimed saviours of our culture and dharma. The local police too are aiding these atrocities.
These conversions are mostly opposed by the so-called higher castes among our society, fearing that the Dalits and SC/ST would become as affluent and educated as them and would vie with them in the matter of running the nation. They are blind to the root cause of our Vedic samaj’s vulnerability of ‘caste divide’ to the external influences as is revealed by our history of centuries of being cheated, of our slavery. The extreme rights groups among us educated and intelligent ‘Hindus’ should direct their angst towards removing this deeply ingrained distorted tradition in our society. If we, the race that is Bhartiya, cannot become a cohesive family ourselves, then how can we preach to the world that the world is a family, and we should live in peace and amity? Our very experienced 100 years old and disciplined voluntary group called the RSS can help bring about such a sea-change in our social ethos and traditions.
