The Haj subsidy given to Muslims by our secular government of India is a well known fact and despite it being against all the constitutional norms continues. Remember BJP also did not overturn this anomaly when it was at the Center for a full term. Outside India, there is a huge Indian diaspora (Hindus including) living is Carri bean countries (popularly known as West Indies, examples include Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and nearby country Suriname), Fiji and many other nations spread across the globe. These people fondly call Bharat as the land from where their ancestors came. If you are so magnanimous, give them the subsidy to visit the land of their ancestors!

Last week on the evening of Deepawali, we decided that we will visit a Carribean Hindu Temple and thus headed for a local temple in the Queens which we had visited in the past also. We were impressed to see the people there celebrating Deepawali with the same spirit as Hindus in India celebrate. Majority of these Guyanese Hindus have not visited India in their life times, their children probably do not speak Hindi, nor do they understand, but it was impressive to see them clad in traditional Indian dresses and offering their prayers. In New York, I have often come across many Carribeans Hindus and many of them will say that they want to visit India and see Ganga river and visit other pilgrimages. There are tours available from Caribbean countries to India , but what I understand is that the distance and economy and the receding connexions between the Hindus of two countries are the prohibiting factors. It is clear that West Indian Hindus (who are now in there 4th or 5th generation settled there) and Indian Hindus have no active links. This is a matter of concern. Whereas US Indians -though they majority of them may be 2nd generation of settlers- actively seek to maintain their ties with India in form of visits, matrimonial alliances and other cultural activities, such is not the case between West Indian Hindus and Indian Hindus. The two communities in USA also have not been able to forge good alliances, though there are reasons behind it. It is here that Hindu leaders need to step in and seek more active community interactions.

That day while we were discussing dietary preferences, and one of our Indian colleagues said something. An American physician-who happens to be a cardiologist- who was listening the conversation said: “You might be vegetarian since you are from India.” She said that she was not a Hindu and hence ate meat. Whereas people in general think that Indians are vastly vegetarian, this concept of ‘waiver’ from vegetarianism because you are not a Hindu kind of ‘impressed’ me. Needless to say, I did not jump into the fray there! Anyway vegetarianism is a universal concept that should not be seen through the prism of religion. Having said that, vegetarianism is a fundamental concept to Hinduism. Before starting meals, a typical Hindu will recite the Bhojan -Mantra (Bhojan = Food): Om sahna vavtu, Sahno Bhunaktu…. (the essence being that we pray to the Almighty for peace). The recital of this mantra is not in harmony of sacrificing animals for your food.

Also the growing indulgence in non-vegetarianism, alcoholism and smoking amongst Indians (in India) is of concern. Despite the medical proven benefits of vegetarianism, the West has not been able to adapt to it to the desired extent (it is still difficult to find vegetarian meals with ease and choice in USA, whereas non veg stuff is easily and abundantly available). The variety of meat products and amazing varieties of recipes that we get in the West is sometime mind-boggling for an individual who is looking for a decent vegetarian meal! Back in India are we far behind in this matter, but unfortunately are fast catching up!

Wake up call for Hindus! This news-item tells us that 50,000 Dalit Hindus chose to convert to Buddhism at a ceremony held at Mumbai on May 27,07. In this modern age, if we donot see reforms in Hinduism and these trends continue coupled with missionary zeal of Christians and Islamic conversions, the course of India (already reduced from Vrahad Bharat, ie, Great India) it seems is destined to change further!

Another interesting news. Jama Masjid United Forum (www.jmuf.org) recently held a seminar in New Delhi and tried to take on Islamic terrorism. That is a welcome step. There is an impression gaining around that educated and right -thinking Muslims donot come forward and criticize Islamic terrorism which has gripped many parts of the world. JMUF seems to dispel that notion. From the new-item it seems that Mr Bukhari may be playing to the gallery, nevertheless the efforts are laudable.

In Punjab, the tussle between Sikhs and the followers of Sacha Sauda (the Chief of the sect is Gurmeet Ram Rahim) has snowballed into a major controversy and the diktat by Akal Takht (Sikhs’ supreme leaders) that the Sauda must pack up and leave Punjab has the potential to intensify the conflict.
The last week has witnessed much of violence and loss of valuable time and property. Wheras the grievances of both the communities may not be misplaced, it is time for the religious leaders to rise above the mundane issues and provide healing touch. Sikhism has been a great religion and the supreme leaders (Akal takht and SGPC) must display the same tenets instead of asking the followers of other sect to “bundle up and leave”! Similarly, Sacha Sauda must also come upto the expectations of the Sikhs and send out a message of brotherhood and camaraderie.
Malcolm Forbes said: “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” As per protagonists of religions, same logic applies to religion (though rationalists think contrary to this).

PS: As of May 23, the conflict continues and SGPC is insistent that the Dera must pack up and move out of the Punjab by May 27. Queried about the legality of the Akal Takht’s hukumnama, or edict, seeking closure of all dera properties by May 27, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said he was “ignorant” of laws or the constitution.
Now this is highly unfortunate and many Sikhs , I am sure, will not agree with what SGPC is saying. It seems these days religious institutions play politics instead if minding the religion! What Dera or its Chief did -that reportedly hurt Sikhs’ sentiments – was unfortunate. What SGPC is doing is equally unpalatable! Last, but not the least, the efforts by Swami Agnivesh to lead an all-religion delegation to end this tussle is appreciated.

A story about the conversion issue has appeared on www.Tehelka.com. As we remember, this paper is run by Tarun Tejpal and the group has successfully exposed many a politicians in the past for accepting bribes [by sting operations and many have raised the ethics of sting operations! As if the thieves and thugs (read politicians here) have a morality and we need to reciprocate them!!] . This has often led politicians fretting and fuming and many a heads have rolled over after the exposure of these scandals (notably, Bangaru Laxman of BJP, Jaya Jaitely of Samta Party).

When this story appeared on Tehelka, Iwas more than impressed. Today the ‘progressive’ journalism in India has somhow become synonymous with not talking about Hinduism or the perils of conversions mainly by Christian organizations. If you talk about such issues, you are automatically branded as agents of either RSS or BJP! This is the general perception and which of course is not true.

The title of this news-story on conversions (click here for the link) on Tehelka is: “Preparing for the harvest …”. In this disturbing expose’ the author VK ShashiKumar has shown how evangeslist organizations -aided and fully supported by Bush Administration- have targeted Indian with full fervor and zeal!

Whereas the findings may be nothing new in the sense that Christian missioanaries have been targeting India for a long time with a ‘mission’ to proselytize India, the article is very timely.

I had in one of my previous write-ups on this site had written about the Maranatha organization (www.maranatha.org) and its concerted efforts about the proselytization in many countries with a special emphasis on India. Their appeal for building 1000 Churches in 1000 days is very appealing and is a big fund raiser. This is the link to my write-up.

Another recent news is about the spiritual Guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ( link ) who has called upon the nation to bring unity among dalits and upper-catse Hindus. He wants them to come closer and reconcile. This is indeed the need of the hour!

What exactly do we need to do? These are the measures to be taken:

1. Hindus must not feel insecure that their religion is being targetted by Christian missionaries. Donot antagonize them by force or violence. Listen to them, but understand their design too. In the grab of doing good work -particularly in the field of health and education- they tend to convert people. Grasp this fact. Try to understand them and donot get converted in the process! Firmly resist conversions! This is the very first simple step.

2. Hindu organization must go the interiors of India, particulraly tribal area and do the work what the missionaries are doing: in the field of education and health.

3. We must narrow the divide between so called upper caste Hindus and lower caste Hindus. We often say that christian missionaries are embracing dalits, but are we ready to embrace our brethern?

I recently had an opportunity to study again Gandhiji’s “My Experiments with Truth”. Attempts were made to lure him into Christianity while he was in South Africa. Upteen times the missionary friends tried to persuade him to embrace Jesus! This actually resulted counter-productive. His resolve to study Hinduism intensified and made him a more devout Hindu. He studied and discussed Bible and other religious scriptures, but Geeta was the fountain of wisdom for him. Gandhiji was a shrewed man. In the process of studying other religions, he never got ‘carried away’. He wanted to find reasons, if any, why he should leave Hinduism and he found none! Similarly he tried to find reasons- if any- as to why he should embrace any other religion: and he found none! And of cousrse, Gandhiji’s clarion call of embracing Dalits is still very much relevant and holds promise to the befitting reply to the conversion business.

What a shame for Hindus! A non-Hindu visitor from America has been ‘thrown’ out of the Puri Temple! Click on the link for the details. This news was published on the NDTV online version.

Are we becoming fanatics? Why this intolerance? Why this humiliation on someone who is interested in visiting a place of Hindu worship? Is this the essence of religion? If by mistake he entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, he could have been politely told about this!
We often make grunts and noises about proselytization/ conversions being forced on Hindus, but these kinds of acts simply do no good for a religion which is the oldest religion and claims to preach universal brotherhood. Puri Temple is a prominent place of worship for Hindus and such acts not only project the religion in bad way, they also highlight the rigid orthodoxy practiced by the priest classes. We have come across such incidences where temple authorities have refused admittance to women, dalits and visitors of other faiths. These are totally condemnable acts. We need to relect upon the corrective measures for removing such anomalies from the religion.

I regularly recieve “The Volunteer” magazine published by Maranatha Volunteers International (http://www.maranatha.org/)- a US based Christian missionary organization. My physician friend -George Matthews from Chicago- originally from Kerala- brought my attention to this organization saying that it is a financially sound organization with quite a vigor (His prayers go to Lord Jesus,but understands the contours of this conversion business well). It is very clear that Maranatha works tirelessly to build more and more churches across the world ( ‘1000 churches in 1000 days’ is its one of very appealing project), and India is its special destination. Why not, we have billions of people living in India and still 85 % people are Hindus: so there is immense scope and potential to proselytize! And then there are underlying factors which can make their task easy: abject poverty (have you ever seen a rich Gupta or Gaikwad or Aiyngaar or Arora sahib embracing Christianity!!), rampant illiteracy, ignorance and notwithstanding the “TLC (Tender Love and Care) policy of christian missionaries. I must applaud the organized, meticulous and long-term approach of Christain evangelists: they have done wonders in converting many parts of the globe where ever they went: Africa to Latin America.

So what Indian counterparts – Hindu organizations- are doing in this regard? I donot subscribe to the theory of countering them by violence (this does not pay dividens in long-term). And then my Hindu brothers will say: “Oh, we donot believe in conversions!” Well said and point taken! But letus focus on these things:
1] Create an awareness that the ultimate design of the Christian nuns and workers is to ‘snatch away’ your faith: Lord Jesus will repalce your Ram
2] Help our tribals and poor people come out of shackles of poverty and illiteracy: with human participation and of course money. We donot necessarily have to go to these areas but we can be a part of many organizations who are working in these directions. If there is one Maranatha (Mara-natha), we need to build one ‘Rama-natha ‘ to counter them in a peaceful manner: if memebers of maranatha organization can go from, say ,USA to India to serve in poor areas , why not Indians living in USA do the same!
3] Hindu saints should venture upon the mission of “Shudhi” (purification) whereby efforts should be made to re-convert these Christians to Hindus (Ghar Vaapsi = Home coming).
4] Last but not the least, we must publicly denounce the evil practices of Hinduism, like catse-based division and consciously make efforts to eliminate that. Because our dalit brothers are their prime target!

Maranatha is just an example (or even a tip of iceberg?), we must fully understand the long-term designs of these organizations and must secure our house also. Let them do what they get pleasure in doing (though they may be termed nefarious activities by many!),but keep your house intact and they will tire out! I am sure the broad-based tenets of Hinduism are strong enough to withstand these ‘winds’ but we need to be conscious of this. It is deplorable that these evangelist-zealots are actually maligning their own religion by these acts. I wish they could understand the real meaning of such a beautiful religion whom we know as Christianity.

Francois Gautier’s organization is holding an exhibition on Aurangzeb in New Delhi (at India Habitat Center) from Feb 16 to 20, 2007. Here is the link to the news-article.

We have Auranzeb road in New Delhi, we have Aurangabad (the real name was Sambhaji Nagar) in Maharastra! What makes us persist with the signposts of an empire (Moghul empire) which was a dark period in the Indian history? Just our defeated mentality or we donot even care? The problem is that when we talk of such issues, the people tend to get polarized along their faith lines. The historical facts are important to us, our culture, our heritage and will shape our future. Thus a critical analysis should be done with a sense of rationality.

Legislation in US House for stamp on Diwali

Associated Press Thursday, February 1, 2007 (Washington):

Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives urging the US Postal Service to issue a postage stamp honouring Diwali. Pallone has estimated that some 1.5 million Indian Americans celebrate Diwali and the idea of a stamp has received widespread support from the community. “Diwali is one of the most important and colourful of the Indian festivals and is celebrated enthusiastically by Indians all over the world,” Pallone said in a statement. “I feel that Diwali is truly a marvellous holiday that deserves recognition. As the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee continues its plans for issuing new stamps, I hope that it will consider issuing a Diwali stamp to honour this culturally significant holiday celebrated in the United States and abroad”, the New Jersey Democrat has said.The Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Commission under the US Postal Service currently issues many stamps with holiday themes, including Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Eid.

Source: NDTV