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October 03, 2008
Faith, no more
Recent incidents of violence and vandalism against Christians and their
churches deserve to be condemned unreservedly. They have blackened the fair face
of Mother India and ruined the reputation of Hindus being the most religiously
tolerant people in the world. At the same time, we must take a closer look at
people who convert from one faith to another.
To start with, let it be understood that these days there are no forced
conversions anywhere in the world. India is no exception. Those who assert that
the poor, innocent and ignorant of India are being forced to accept Christianity
are blatant liars. A few, very few educated and well-to-do men and women convert
to another faith when they do not find solace in the faith of their ancestors.
Examples are to be found in America and Europe of men and women of substance
turning from Judaism and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism.
There are also men and women who convert to the faith of those they wish to
marry. We have plenty of cases of Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh
inter-marriages. However, the largest number of converts come from communities
discriminated against. The outstanding example was that of Dalit leader Bhimrao
Ambedkar who led his Mahar community to embrace Buddhism because they were
discriminated against by upper caste Hindus. This is also true of over 90 per
cent of Indian Muslims whose ancestors being lower caste embraced Islam which
gave them equal status. That gives lie to the often-repeated slander that Islam
made converts by the sword.
An equally large number of people converted out of gratitude. They were
neglected, ignorant and poor. When strangers came to look after them, opened
schools and hospitals for them, taught them, healed them and helped them to
stand on their own feet to hold their heads high, they felt grateful towards
their benefactors. Most of them were Christian missionaries who worked in remote
villages and brought hope to the lives of people who were deprived of hope.
To this day, Christian missionaries run the best schools, colleges and
hospitals in our country. They are inexpensive and free of corruption. They get
converts because of the sense of gratitude they generate. Can this be called
forcible conversion? Why don't the great champions of Hinduism look within
their hearts and find out why so many are disenchanted by their pretensions of
piety? Let them first set their own houses in order, purge the caste system out
of Hindu society and welcome with open arms all those who wish to join them.
No one will then convert from Hinduism to another religion.
Khuswant Singh
