EDITS | Friday, October 17, 2008 | Email | Print | 
Respect the faith of others
Second Opinion: S K Srivastava
Unlike Hinduism, Christianity and Islam have historically been proselytising religions. Parsis do not convert and even Jews do not proselytise. Converting people through coercion and allurements and violent reactions to the same have a long history and is not a new phenomenon.
Throughout history tribals have been exploited and forced by missionaries to give up their traditional beliefs and embrace the 'new faith'. Archbishop Desmond Tutu accurately reflected upon the plight of tribals when he said, "They (the missionaries) had the book and we (the tribals) the land and now they have the land and we have the book".
Majority of Christian converts in India pray and sing hymns in their local languages. Christmas is one festival which is celebrated throughout the country irrespective of whether one is a Christian. Indeed, Christian schools and hospitals have done tremendous service to society. But still, converting people through force and deceit cannot be justified. Nobody is against Christianity or the Christian community. Nobody is against normal conversions either. But forced conversions are something that cannot be condoned for they impinge upon a person's right to freedom of religion.
It is a pity that self-styled Hindu extremist elements, instead of identifying and exposing those who are engaged in forcibly converting people, are resorting to violence to make their point. Violence is against the ethos of Hinduism and majority of Hindus do not approve of such criminal ways. Two wrongs do not make a right. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "the means are more important than the ends".
It is also true that underlying social tensions have played a part in the violence in Orissa and Karnataka. Organisations and groups with vested interests have given the same religious overtones and the result is there for all of us to see. Engineered communal violence is fast becoming a popular political startegy. This must be stopped immediately. Given the unhealthy climate prevailing in the country everyone in society must come together and condemn such communalism and renew the vow to respect others' religion. It is only through mutual understanding that communalism can be fought.
Email | Print | Rate:
|