Religious Intolerance in India 

TGF

Lets say this up front. To state that Indians, and in particular, the majority of the 700 million Hindus are intolerant of other religions, is pure baloney!

Let us review what we know:

1. The vast majority of Indians are of the Hindu faith.  

2. The vast majority of Hindus in India are peaceful people. They live life, with all its rigors and values, to the fullest. They neither have the time nor the inclination to concern themselves with others, leave alone their religious beliefs. 

3. The activities of some  Rt. Wing. fundamentalist Christian organizations smacks of intolerance towards members of other faiths, including other Christian faiths.

  4. The Catholic Church in India carries the baggage of the Portuguese colonists. It must be stressed that NOT all the deeds of the Portuguese were misdeeds. In fact there were some notably beneficial ones, among them the Abolition of that horrendous Sati.  

5. The Indian subcontinent was, by no means, a peaceful place before the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British colonists. Violence was rife among the various Kingdoms that the subcontinent was broken up into. Moreover, at the time of arrival in Calicut, of the Portuguese explorer  Vasco da Gama, the Arabs, Moghals and the Turks controlled the vast majority of the subcontinent. The Arabs even controlled the lucrative Spice trade and the various sea and land routes to & from the subcontinent. There were incessant battles among neighbouring states and within individual Kingdoms. All, for political and financial control. 

6. The horrible Spanish Inquisition in Goa can best be described as a political witch hunt which utilized the cover of religion to destroy political, commercial and religious opposition.  Many Goans and Portuguese residents of Goa lost their lives to the Inquisition. 

7. However, over the past 250 years, the Catholic Church in India has matured into an organization which has mainly devoted itself to the causes of the poor, neglected and down-trodden of India. Today,  it continues to play a pivotal role in educational and social programs all over India. By providing education at the nation's over 100 top Catholic Schools & Colleges institutions and the myriad of excellent Technical Institutes, the Catholic Church has given ALL Indians the unprecedented opportunity to break free from the shackles of the  Caste System. 

8. It is precisely for its role in breaking down these man-made barriers  that the Catholic Church has come under increasing attacks from all corners. This, however, is NOT a purely Indian phenomenon - it occurs worldwide. There is no need to single out India for these attacks which come not only from the Hindu Right but also from the Christian and Muslim Right. If it is not the Caste System that the Catholic Church's educational contribution has worked against, it is the Class System.  This is quite disturbing to the vested interests who would have been quite pleased with the status quo. 

As expected, those who want to beat up on the Catholic Church, raise the recurrent flag of the Inquisition or anything negative that any Catholic may have to rightly say about the Catholic Church and its bureaucracy. The Catholic Church has its imperfections too and educated Catholics voice legitimate disagreements. The Catholic Church also gets beat up for anything unfair that the Fundamentalist Christian organizations might do or be rumoured to be doing. 

9. There are many Protestant denominations in India. All the mainstream Protestant denominations are involved in similar beneficial social and educational development activities, but to a lesser degree than the Catholics. When one looks at the figures, one will realize that Christians form only 2% of India's total population. Hence, this bogey about 'forced conversions' is just a bogey used to whip up anti-Christian frenzy.  

10.  An increasing amount of religious intolerance is being displayed by  a number of Hindus who are based in the West.  A significant minority of young, wealthy, educated Hindus in India have been smitten by the anti Christian and anti Muslim bug. 

11. Muslim dominated countries of the world have been displaying striking and overt intolerance towards members of  other faiths. A significant minority of Indian Muslims are quite intolerant of other faiths. 

12. Like the intricate machinations of the intolerant Christian Right in the West and the rigid Muslim fundamentalists in many parts of the world, the Hindu Right is raising its unfortunately violent side in India. 

Even so, and despite the hue and cry in the Western and Indian media, India largely remains a peaceful place for members of all faiths. There have been sporadic incidents against Christians and Christian establishments in many parts of the country. The vast majority of Indians neither participate in them nor condone them. These politically motivated incidents are a source of intense embarrassment to them. The vast majority of Indians understand that the attacks on the various Christian institutions and their members are NOT religious but political. 

There is no doubt that the present BJP led Alliance government in New Delhi is also embarrassed (at least overtly) by these totally unnecessary acts of individual brutality and madness. Sometimes, when one's hands are tied, one can't even throw them up in the air, in despair. Politics, which is well known for its 'strange bed fellows",  is also known for its unusually powerful and yet powerless political hostages. Politics is a difficult field; the job of governing, more so.

Having said that, it must be noted that the vast majority of Hindus have remained totally silent while the tiny Hindu Right mounted  politically motivated hate campaigns against Christians of all denominations. Hate campaigns don't 'just go away'. They seed some fertile minds and direct them towards acts of violence. The gruesome murder of the Staines family and other Christian ministers is an example of what can and does go wrong with hate campaigns. And violence just does not 'go away' either. Violence always begets more violence .

Similarly, it appears that the "Christian Organizations" are more busy with whipping up anti-Right Wing Hindu sentiment than attempting to reach a sense of accord.  The Right Wing Hindus just might have a point, but are the Christian organizations listening ? It does not appear so. Similarly, the Christians may have a point too, but are the Rt. Wing Hindu Organizations paying attention? .........Unlikely. 

There is an urgent need for genuine dialogue !

The Christian Churches must investigate the activities within their own precincts. If there is even a shred of evidence that conversions to Christianity are taking place by force or by coercion, the Christian Churches must put an immediate stop to them. These could not be free or true conversions. These so called converts could not be considered as true Christians. Conversion to Christianity must be through the spreading of the teachings of Christ and through example. Similarly, the Rt. Wing Hindus should end their attacks on Christians. The entire country does not need to be embarrassed by the actions of a tiny minority - be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian.  

Clear and present danger confronts India at this point and time. History is replete with examples of  great civilizations, the misutilization of religion and religious fervour towards political ends, intolerance, fragmentation and the eventual self-destruction. 

Dictatorship, domination, oppression and the selective 'turning of the blind eye'  cannot and do not go on forever. The world turns and so do people. They either find a way out of the situation or revolt violently. The early Buddhist revolt against Hindu Brahman arrogance and oppression is but one example that India can look back to. There are many others. The subcontinent's history, over the past 3500 years, is full of violence. To what end ?. 

The major question is : Will Indians learn from the millennia-old mistakes of their own past and the mistakes of others?  or Will they, once again, hurtle themselves ( and others ) downhill, wishfully thinking that " History does not always repeat itself ".

Goa is indeed fortunate that very good and peaceful relationships exist between its Hindu, Christian and Muslim populations. These relationships get tested every time the politicians try to exploit the differences, especially at election time. Fortunately,  most Goans are wise to the politricks of the Goa Politicians.  Goans would do well, if they continue to live in peace and achieve,  while assisting  each other to achieve.

After all, religion is a private matter between a human being and the maker. If we are truly smart, we will leave it that way and not allow the politicians to manipulate us into thinking otherwise.

Let us live in Peace and Love.

TGF
August 15, 2000