Christian
missionary perfidy in India
By M.V. Kamath
www.india.com
http://www.hvk.org/
Should Amitabh
Bachchan ever be gasping for want of suitable questions to ask on his Kaun
Banega Crorepathi show, here’s one that he can try out. What happens when an
irresistable force acts upon an immoveable body? Here are four possible answers:
(a) Nothing. There's a stalemate. (b) An explosion (c) Laughter all round and
(d) Bitterness on the part of both.
Consider what
has happened in recent times, ever since, His Holiness the Pope was given a
ceremonial welcome in Delhi and treated with respect in every possible way that
no government in India has ever extended to a Jagadguru Shankaracharya. And it
is BJP Government in Delhi. What did India get in return?
It is Roman
Catholic communalism
His Holiness said that he expects to
"harvest" -- it is his word -- Indian (read Hindu) souls for
Christianity. A more resounding slap on Hindu faces could not have been
delivered. Did the BJP government wince at this arrogant assault on Hinduism;
there was no public indication. Our secular press stayed even more dumb and
voiceless. To criticise the Pope for what he said would have been considered by
our secular media as an example of communalism. That this is an example of Roman
Catholic communalism would not have occurred to our secularists.
Hardly had the
ripples made by the Pope subsided, came the millennium World Peace Summit at the
United Nations where most religions were represented except the Roman Catholic
Church which looked down its nose on the gathering and refused to participate in
it on the ground that it was opposed to relativist theories and did not wish to
treat others as its equals. Worse, it published a 36-pages document called Dominus
Jesus under the authority of the Pope that
claims that salvation can come to mankind only through the redemptive power of
Jesus Christ and that ‘the fullness of means to salvation’ can be found only
in the Catholic Church.
When
Cardinal Ratzinger signatory to the Vatican document was asked whether it did
not smack of “fundamentalism” and whether with such an attitude a dialogue
between the Catholic Church and others is possible, his reply was that a
dialogue should not be a "substitute for missionary activity and for the
urgency of an appeal to conversion". He
further reiterated the Church's opposition to any "false idea of
tolerance" which allows respect for other beliefs because it rejects the
possibility of any objective truth. What under the circumstances is possible?
That the Catholic Church can be intolerant but other can’t and shouldn't fight
it?
Myths about
Christians
There are several myths about
Christianity that are prevalent and which bear examination. One, that
Christianity is a minority in India, two, that it is two thousand years old in
India, three, that Christians have contributed substantially to the freedom
movement and four, the most ridiculous, that it alone can provide salvation to
all.
Christians may
be numerically a minority in India but it has the backing of the Vatican and the
entire Christian Church in the world. Even the international media (Reuters,
Associated Press, United Press, Agence France Presse, Deutsche fresse Agentur)
is controlled by Christians. The minority argument is a hoax that needs to be
exposed.
Yes,
Christianity is thousand years old (it came with St. Thomas) but it was confined
to a small area in Kerala and southern India. Roman Catholicism came in a big
way to Goa with the Portuguese barbarians and their equally murderous priests
who demolished temples and practised cruelties of Inquisition for two hundred
years.
The next
Christian assault against Hindus came from the Protestant missionaries in India
in the nineteenth century. Between 1851 and 1890 the Christian missionaries
under British imperialist patronage converted people to such an extent that
their numbers increased from 91,092 to 5,51,661. In 1890 there were more
Christians in India than there were Sikhs, for a full report on Christian
assault on Hinduism one must read Antony Copley’ book: Religions in Conflict:
Ideology, Cultural Contact and Conversion in Late Colonial India (Oxford
University Press) . Copley, incidentally, is not a RSS worker but a very British
Reader in Modern History at the University of Kent at Canterbury.
The Catholics
in India are in a dilemma. Their contribution to the Indian freedom movement is
negligible. Indeed, the contribution of Christians in general to that movement
is insignificant. Percentage-wise, how many Christians of all denominations
suffered imprisonment? The Catholics are numerically in a minority in India.
They have to live amidst Hindus.
All these
years the Hindus suffered the insults heaped upon them by missionaries patiently
and with great forbearance for at least two reasons. One,
they were living under the British and two, they were disunited. Now they are
getting united. The Hindu middle class is larger than the entire population of
Europe.
And it is
getting out of the secular mould in which it was imprisoned by Nehruvian
concepts. And it is no longer in a mood to accept insults from the Pope or
whoever. And it is remembering past injustices.
The Pope is
seen as a white outsider who is imposing his views on Indian Christians.
Catholics can't afford to alienate their fellow Indian Hindus. At the same time
they dare not challenge the Pope and the Vatican. The word of the Pope is final.
In theological matters he is infallible. They can't criticise the Pope even in
private conversation. The Catholic fundamentalism is unchallengeable.
The Catholics
have no use even for Protestants or Anglicans – and may it be remembered that
those who sneer at our caste system are more divided among themselves that it is
no longer funny. Brahmins and Vaishyas or, for that matter, Shudras, have not
fought wars against each other. Catholics and Protestants have. U.S. Ambassador
to India Robert Celeste, before be goes complaining to Bangaru Laxman, must go
to the Vatican and tell it to be more respectful of Hinduism. It is not
Sudarshan who fired the first shot. It is the Vatican -- and this must be
clearly understood.
Nobody is
questioning the patriotism of Roman Catholics; what’s regretted is the
arrogance, the insensitivity, the thoughtlessness and the claims of spiritual
superiority that the Vatican has been exhibiting, which is highly disturbing.
Many Hindus are now coming to resist it strongly. The Church may consider itself
irresistible, but Hinduism is immoveable and the onus for good behaviour is on
the Church, both Protestant and Catholic. It is the Vatican, which is stirring
passion and hatred and not the RSS. Sudarshan, as any Hindu, has the right to
warn the Vatican that it to crossing the Laxman Rekha with its intemperate
doctrinal arrogance. The Vatican is doing no service to Catholics in India, nor
to true Christianity. It is representative of white Christian imperialism at its
worst and Celeste should not be surprised if it is resisted. Somebody should
tell him the truth.
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