Hi, I had to write this message due to the overwhelming misrepresentation and growing hatred towards Christians from certain Sanatana dharma Bhakts in India. I have many wonderful Hindu friends and some are very close. Right now, I have understood that some Sanatana Dharma Bhakts have many misconceptions about Christianity and information is propagated to promote hatred towards Christians. This hatred is turning to violence. Please humbly read what I share. Thank you.
As a little girl, as I was growing up, I always felt wonderful that I was an Indian, fascinated by our large nation with the vast of sea of humanity that was all so integrating in its complexity and simplicity. My days were simple, I grew up in the hills and also the Dooars tea gardens where my dad was manager, played among tea bushes, raced up and down the bright green hills, played unlimited hopscotch, skipped, read books voraciously and enjoyed my pet cats, dogs, rabbits and ducks. I never felt I was an outsider in India, this was my homeland, born Indian, I never wanted to migrate to any other country. I never knew dark days were looming ahead in the distant future. I never guessed that one day, because I was a Christian, I would be framed an outsider or be told to get out of India. Happens very often today and it is getting worse day by day. (I have to also add that there are many wonderful Hindus who are supportive, wonderful, and kind and do not spew this hatred, or “castism”)
My family great grandfather was a Brahim priest, and we also came from Punjab, Dehra Dun, and I also have Muslim ancestry. A big mixed family. My ancestors believed in Christ due to their personal faith and experience. No one converted them and no rice bag was offered to them, as is claimed by the extremist Hindus today, (Hindutva – the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India) who chant that we are rice bag Christians meaning we were bribed to become Christians by the British who offered Indians rice bags to convert! Well for the ones that did convert, it was not primarily for the rice bags, because they could have still taken the bags and not converted. As you know, it was the caste system that divided the Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (skilled traders, merchants), and Shudras (unskilled workers), and rejected the Shudras, so when the missionaries showed Shudras love and acceptance, would not some convert? If their own upper classes spurned them and kicked them, would they not respond to the love they got from Christian missionaries? Also, for them to convert is a hard price for they would be persecuted, they would need a real faith to sustain them. Remember, it is not easy for a convert in India.
The Mughals ruled India for 800 years from the 16th century to the mid 1900s. The British ruled India for 190 years from the 18th to 19th century, yet Hindus are still 80%, Muslims 16% and Christians 2%, so where is this theory that Muslims and especially Christians forced conversions on Hindus? Does it hold water? The British East India Company (colonial rule) never encouraged “conversions”and the foreign missionaries were servers, they were doers of the Bible, and were never actively “evangelistic.” There was, however, revival awakenings through the Holy Spirit and these were supernatural waves, which happened periodically in different nations. These were when people turned to Christ more than any other time. In most of the testimonies that are shared, these people had an encounter with Christ and were touched more by the Spirit rather than any preacher. In fact, the more one tries to force someone to convert, the more they will run away. People could still take the benefits and not convert. Most of the English-speaking people in India studied in Christian missionary schools and there were hundreds of these missionary schools scattered over India! Did any convert? Did anyone force them to believe in Christ? If that was so, then all would be Christians today, which is not the case. As of the early 2000s, Christian missions ran 16,500 schools and 6,500 hospitals in India and we cannot say that people are converting all over because of these schools or hospitals; good works and service is integral to the Christian faith.
In fact, the woman who is actively instigating the no conversion movement in India has her children in USA as US citizens. USA gives Hindus the freedom to believe in their faith and many even propagate their faith through ISKCON which is evangelistic in its outreach. Americans have embraced Hinduism, and they sure are not persecuted by their government for it.
I come from a family where my uncles fought in the Indo-Pak War, got awards, a lot of family in army or nation builders in profession. Do we have to prove our nationalism or loyalty to my nation today?
Today, the Hindutva forget that in USA and UK and other places, Hindus have the freedom to worship and even propagate Hinduism and no one hurts them for that. USA and other nations have been large enough to give them that freedom. Yogic centers are all over USA with Krishna Centers and ashrams, temples etc. But in India, the Hindutva (extremist Hindus) and (Hindus are 80%) accuse the 2% Christians of conversion and abuse them. Of course there are many wonderful Hindus who are supportive of Christians and other minorities and we are grateful for them. But right now, is this not a parody of situation? Or can it even be called a parody, it is so grim. I have seen comments like “Eradicate Christians out of India and ethnic cleansing” on Twitter.
Today, in India when Christians gather on Sunday mornings to worship God, their church doors are rammed open, pastors and even congregation in the church are beaten, sometimes so badly that they break their legs, break the churches and the Hindu fundamentalists make reports to the police that these Christians are converting the people to Christ. People gather in a house for a prayer meeting and the Hindu extremist barge in to stop them, declaring they cannot do that, as this is a Hindu country. (India is declared as a secular democratic republic by our constitution. Is not the law protecting Christians anymore?) They also make reports that Christians make a lot of noise singing or whatever. Today, hundreds of churches have been stopped and shut down.
Today, these pastors are taken to prison, or the lockup for claims of conversion. The violates are never punished for beating and even for killing Christians because most of their reports are not taken by the cops.
The Australian doctor who started the leprosy mission in India, Graham Staines and his two young sons were brutally burned alive one night in their van when they were out on a camp conference. Today, this year in 2019, the man who orchestrated their brutal murder is promoted as a member in Parliament. Graham Staines touched and cured the untouchable lepers, and he was accused of converting them! People respond to the love of God and turn to Christ. No one can convert or force them. Was that a reason to kill them so violently? There is no remorse of that until today.
I know a recent report in the news of Free Church Parliament Street in New Delhi where the Hindu radicals encroached the church property and claimed they were living there for generations. However, I have gone there as a child and those groups of people and houses were never there. Its okay if they want to encroach, but surely honesty is needed. Let them ask for permission to live there. However, this big news channel endorsed the fake story that they were living there for generations and the Christians were trying to push them out. This proves a point that fake stories about Christians are being propagated where the Christian is made to look the violate.
During the 2008 massacre of Christians done by the Hindu radicals, a friend’s friend wife was pregnant and they cut open her stomach, killed her and her baby. There is no apology for what happened. In fact, today, I saw comments of asking revenge for Swami’s death, who was not killed by the Christians, but was an internal dispute among them, as confessed by them later. However, a few Christians are still locked in prison, professing their innocence and that inside story will never be told because they got a good scapegoat in the Christians, I mean 2% of the population, why would anyone care what they think or feel!
My other friend’s husband was burned alive for no fault of his own, he was called to a place, and they locked in six men in a room and burned them alive – a pre-planned murder because he was a pastor. When this lady’s husband was burned alive by Hindu extremists, he had no funeral, no candlelight vigils, no media publicity, no sympathy from the public.
Today, I see on social media people still asking for revenge for the death of the Swami. Today, they are building a movement saying Christians are converting people. Hatred is increasing…not decreasing in New India and they hint that Christians should get out of India, or call us anti-nationals. Firstly, we gotta remember that all our origins are from elsewhere. The North Indians moved into India from Mesopotamia, which is present day Iran. The first Indians to come to present India were the Adivasis..so to tell Christians to get out of India would mean telling the whole world, go back to Genesis!
Incidentally, the Keralites converted to Christianity at the time the Apostle Thomas came to India over 2000 years back, India too is 2000 years old! But they don’t even realize that, the Aryans and Dravidians moved into India from Central Asia, Iran and Europe in the 1300s, but he too is accused of being a rice bag Christian! Ironical, because the British were here from the 1800s when the rice bag theory arose, so most of the people accusing Christians of being rice bag Christians don’t know their facts or history.
Today Hindutva DJS leader vows to free India of Muslims and Christians by 2021′:however American Indian Hindutva supporters enjoy minority rights in USA but advocate fascism and minority suppression back in India. I am learning that they are even financing minority suppression back here in India!
As Ashok Swain (Associate Professor and Director of the Programme of International Studies, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, from Sweden) said, “Diaspora politics is seductive & populist. It is a dangerous game for both homeland & host country. Pampering to diaspora can make political leaders compromise national interest for the sake of political opportunism. #HowdyModi is good for Trump & Modi but bad for USA & India. And “Indian American Hindutva groups, largely upper caste Indians, are advocates of minority rights in the U.S., but simultaneously and contradictorily supportive or uncritical of cultural supremacism and majoritarianism in India.” This is so absolutely true and harming the nation.
Nations that hated fell by their own sword. You think a dictatorship is the only way for India? All the world dictatorship governments never did well and their nations never prospered, think about it…We must not propagate hate movements against another one’s faith. Its easy to destroy but the consequences are forever. It is far more difficult to be a peace-maker, but peacemakers are the greater and more spiritual ones!
The Goa Inquisition and Spanish Inquisition was done when religion mixed with politics. It was not a spiritual move at all and should have never happened. It was during 16th- and 19th-century. It hurt millions all over the world, it was not connected to the British colonial rule or the missionaries nor the other Christians in India. Let’s not get confused with that. Taking out anger on people today for something which they had nothing to do with is foolish. If we mix our faith too with hatred, it is no longer a sanctified faith. Violence begots violence. An eye for an eye will turn the world blind as Gandhiji says.
I believe that God calls people and they respond accordingly. Christ gave a commission to share the Gospel all over the world, so Christians share about Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross for the sins of the world. In all this, Christian evangelicals share the Good News, the Gospel, but they have never forced anyone to believe their message. If people have become Christian because of this, we know the Holy Spirit draws them. In all the people I have spoken with people of different religions who became Christian, they all tell me that in their moment of believing in Christ was a love they experienced, as I did, I experienced a cloud of Love envelope around me for a couple of weeks and felt I was walking in Heaven! People’s moment of faith led me to write a book also because it was so moving.
I have had some telling me I am lying when I speak of the violence to Christians, so I am sharing this website, please educate the violent ones to stop it. There are particular groups that are triggering the violence. I have seen one very active on Twitter as well. http://persecutionrelief.org/
I hope we realize that life is not forever and we cannot hold on to our earthly identities, our properties. The way we live, our choices, decisions will weigh heavily one day. May we never live to regret it. All things will cease to be important; however, only three things will remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (Bible). God created all humans. There is no race that can claim a higher legacy to God. If you seek Him you will find Him…hatred in people reveals they don’t know God.
And oh…I can never hate the Sanatana dharma bhakhs for hate is not our mantra…and I respect all religions.
Rita F. Kurian
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