How to Be Un-Born Again
India's biggest radical Hindu group aims to wipe out Christianity through reconversions and violence.
Vijay Simha | posted 11/10/2008 10:14AM
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In their new life, the reconverts will nurture a tulsi plant in their homes, have pictures of Hindu gods on their walls, and celebrate Hindu festivals. They are supposed to pray only to Hindu gods.
Hrudayabasi Dandia, 55, a Bishop based in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa state, refers to the case of Madhusudan Das, one of Orissa's first barristers. Sometime around 1866, "Das wanted to continue his education abroad. He thought missionary support would help. So he converted to Christianity," says Dandia.
Das is a notable figure in the history of Orissa. He changed his mind about Christianity after he returned from England during the time of the British Raj. Das began to oppose conversion to Christianity and said he was doing so to protect the Jagannath Temple, Orissa's most sacred Hindu institution. When Das died in 1934, Hindus and Christians fought for his body.
The "homecoming" campaign has taken an urgent and violent turn recently, especially in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, which has seen a spate of anti-Christian violence. Almost a quarter of Kandhamal's population is Christian, according to the district magistrate. This is nearly three times the percentage of Christians across Orissa. The RSS sees this surge as evidence of a hostile campaign by the church to convert Hindus to Christianity and often attributes conversions to Christianity to bids for prosperity.
RSS chief KS Sudarshan used his Vijaya Dashami address on October 5, 2008, to lay down the path. The Vijaya Dashami address by the RSS chief is an annual event, and the most important policy guideline in the rightwing fraternity of India.
"The time has come for the awakened Hindu society to shed its image of being docile and always prone to be bullied and attacked by others. … Those who say that "Only our way is the true one and all others are false" cannot be a part of Hindu society. Those who indulge in proselytization by force, allurements and inducements have no place in this nation's life," said Sudarshan.
The RSS also takes exception to Christian teachings. Forgiveness through Jesus Christ is an appealing prospect for the many Dalits who grew up hearing tales of Hindu gods' revenge.
The RSS believes that Christian groups in India receive huge amounts of foreign money which they use to convert Hindus to Christianity. This, Sudarshan said, was a strategy to "disintegrate" India. The RSS says that since British rule, American funding and political support has nurtured Christian missionaries in India. To them, the church is a reincarnation of the East India Company. These accusations are accepted as truth by followers of the RSS.
The RSS also teaches that non-rightwing political parties in India follow a policy of appeasement towards Christians and that they blame the Hindu community—not the Christian community—for communal tension.
The campaign to reconvert Christians to Hinduism is part of the overall RSS strategy to convert India, a secular nation, into a Hindu nation. The events in Orissa are only the beginning.
Vijay Simha is Senior Editor with Tehelka, India's leading investigative magazine. He is based in New Delhi and reports on politics, religion, and policy issues that affect life in India.
Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today.
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Christianity Today published an editorial and a news story on the violence in India its November issue.
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