New Delhi (AsiaNews) Former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani launched into another violent verbal attack against Christian religious ministry. "We strongly condemn the campaign of [Christian] proselytisation [sic] which poses a grave threat to Hindu society. We demand stern action against those who indulge in such activities," Advani said.
"Organised foreign-funded conversion campaign by evangelical groups is a threat to national integration and Hindu society," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician claimed.
"It is bad enough that religious conversions are conducted in a systematic manner through inducements and coercions [sic]. But such activities are more ominous when they are facilitated by foreign funded organisations, ostensibly under the garb of social service for poor and under-privileged families. We will raise our voice strongly in favour of a national as well as state-level legislation prohibiting religious conversions through inducements or coercion," Advani added.
However, not everyone shares such views. "By harping on a non-issue like religious conversion in India, Mr Advani has been conveniently side-stepping the real social and national issues staring in our face," said Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.
"The problem of poverty, unemployment, lack of education institutions and communal tensions, to mention a few, are actually posing a serious threat to our national unity and security," Father Babu noted, and "Mr Advani would have been doing a far greater service to this country if he had spoken about the need to bring communal harmony, ensure better employment opportunities and distribution of land to the landless labourers, and so on."
"If a few Christians are doing what they can to mitigate the misery of their fellow countrymen, it is actually not to be derided but admired. If Advani and his ilk can do at least a small portion of what some of the Christian organizations are doing for those on the margins of Indian society, our country would have been far better," emphasised Fr Babu Joseph.
"When he was Union home minister, Mr Advani made similar allegations," said All Indian Catholic Union Chairman John Dayal. "I challenged him to produce a white paper [presenting evidence] and as expected he failed to do so," Mr Dayal told AsiaNews.
"I challenge him once again to [. . . present evidence] about forcible conversions. In Rajasthan for instance, the total population is well over 60 million, and the Christian population is just about 86,000. This is one tenth of one per cent. Forcible conversions? Ridiculous."
Still, many fear that statements like Advani's might lead to violence. "I am not sure how much control Advani has on the murderous youth of the Bajrang Dal [a Hindu extremist group involved in violent acts in the past] for instance. And now they have guns too in addition of swords and trishuls (tridents). I hope the government of India is monitoring the situation," Dr. Dayal explained.