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Faith and Fraces
A
round of mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism kicks up an unlikely row
as Christian groups are accused of making a killing through the event.
India Today's Principal Correspondent M.G. Radhakrishnan reports.
When millions of Dalits converted themselves
to Buddhism in Delhi on November 4, there were few who were unaware about
it. The event was surrounded by much hype and hoopla with publicity coming
from the most unlikeliest of quarters. Several Christian groups with international
connections went to town about the change and in a spirited global campaign
claimed that "the time has come to present the love of Christ to
the Dalits". While such exhortions are not entirely uncommon, what
drew undue attention was the timing of the campaign and the purpose it
was serving.
In what has snowballed into a major controversy, Christian groups like
the US-based Gospel For Asia (GFA) and the Bibles of the World have been
accused by the National Minorities Commission of having resorted to unfair
campaigns on their websites and making a killing through donations which
poured in from far and wide. The Kerala unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
has also charged that the GFA spent crores of rupees for the November
4 conversion ceremony and called for its ban.
K.P.Yohannan, president of the GFA and founder of an independent Protestant
church (Believers Church), denies the charges though. "I have no
intention to convert the Dalits although I continue to express complete
support for their attempt to come out of misery. Christian churches should
offer them all help if they so desire," he says.
Yohannan admits having attended the September 7 meeting of the All India
Christian Council (AICC) with Ramraj, the Dalit leader who organised the
conversion programme. "But we didn't discuss anything about them
converting to Christianity because mass conversion is eph, who has been
at the forefront of the commission's tirade, of having become a tool in
the hands of anti-Christian elements in the country.
At the heart of the row is a series of articles on the conversion on the
websites of the Christian groups which fervently appealed for financial
help. One article on the GFA site, for instance, read as follows: "On
November 4, 2001, one million low-caste Dalits are expected to meet in
Delhi, India, for a mass conversion event—the beginning of millions
leaving the caste system. This is a gateway for us to present the love
of Christ to the million Dalits ... the beginning of possibly millions
finding hope in Christ !" Another article talks of how "millions
of Dalits or untouchables in India are on the verge of leaving the caste
system. This is a gateway for us to present the Gospel to the 300 million
and more."
According to the write-ups, the conversion ceremony was a culmination
of the "dialogue" AICC leaders had with the Dalits over the
past two years. Most of these articles end with appeals for financial
contributions. In fact, one of them actually lists ways of how help could
be extended through "online sponsoring" of a native missionary
by donating $30 a month or sending money for the purchase of radio time
and the spread of education.
Also under fire is a feature on a native missionary, Kalimuthu Mani. Here,
Muthu writes a letter on how he grew up as a faithful Hindu following
the traditions and rituals of the Hindu religion, worshipping different
gods and goddesses. "I was living a sinful life and I had no peace
in my heart until the remission of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ
...", he says. He goes on to narrate his present life as a pastor
and evangelist working among the people of whom a majority are Hindus.
The CBN features interviews with Pudaite and D'Sousa with provocative
headlines like "Possible Mass Conversion of Dalits in India",
"Freedom from Hinduism" and so on. According to Yohannan, these
articles were published in the GFA's offi
awareness about the feelings of Indians. "In fact I had not seen
these articles until someone recently brought these to my attention,"
he claims. "I soon got in touch with our US office."
In a bid at damage-control, he points to one note on a GFA site which
says that in no way does the GFA or the AICC wish the site to be an affront
to Hinduism or "to the great nation of India". "We are
not saying or claiming that all 300 million Dalits will become Christians.
We did not initiate this nor did we approach the Dalit leaders."
But they still have a lot of convincing to do.
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