The Conversion Dilemma: A Possibly Mishandled Situation?

Of late there have been a lot of attacks against Christians in India on the supposed issue of forced conversions. There has been a huge hue and cry raised against the practice of conversion as is supposedly followed by the Christians of our country.

Before going ahead I would like to clarify my stand on the moot point of conversions. I believe in a personal God (whatever is the form that he or she takes, a force, a presence, a higher conscience, nature) and I am of the opinion that religion is just the means to achieve this end. My opinion on conversions derives from this; to me conversion is a change in the way in which an individual seeks to find God. It is an intangible value that aids an individual to perform better on more tangible things like, work output, social interactions, etc.

I have always been an admirer of the Christian mission work in India; missionaries that I have interacted with have been selfless individuals who have truly believed that it is their moral (and not religious!) duty to bring about social development in the backward regions of India through education and primary health care. Mind you, I use the word moral and not the word religious, because that describes the motivation of a true missionary; religion just gives him/her a platform. In the course of a missionary’s work, if those that have benefited from the mission choose to have a conversion in their quest to find God, what moral right does anyone have to stop an individual from pursuing his fundamental right in the secular state of India?

(This does not endorse money induced conversions; rather this defends conversions that are of a different nature. I will always be against money endorsed conversions, and to be honest I believe that money induced conversions will never cause a major demographic shift in the religious break up of India, it is simply not sustainable economically!)

(When I use the word missionary, I think I imply any person who does good for another human in the forgotten rural lands of India, without expecting any tangible benefit in return. Religion, be it Hinduism through ISKON or Christianity through Missions, offers a platform that could also be provided by a non religious organization like the IRC, Medicine Sans Frontiers etc. Atheists too could be missionary except that they lack religiosity ;) …)

This brings me to the events that have transpired in Karnataka and the subsequent handling of the situation by the Chief Minister of Karnataka and the arch Bishop of Bangalore.

Firstly I am angry with the Chief Minister (CM) of Karnataka. The first thing that a man of political wisdom would do in a situation like this (desecration of a church and vandalism) is bring the culprits to book and then make any statements of bravado. The path taken by the CM is one of brazen offense in which the Christian community is made to look like the villain! For crying out loud perhaps he has forgotten that it is a Christian church that has been desecrated by vandals! Given the history of Christians in India, a grave (in terms of religion) event such as this will never be met by violence, why then has the CM issued warnings against the Christian community for making statements that he claims are inflammatory?! Bring the culprits to book Mr. CM, it is only then that you would have the moral high ground to warn the Christian community on anything!

(On a side note, I realize that the statements made by the CM were directed more against a former BJP MP who happens to be Christian!)

Secondly I am confused by the way in which the archbishop of Bangalore reacted to the situation. Giving the CM of a state the cold shoulder in full media glare may have been a good tactic to express the ire and frustration of the Christian community, but it is also a strategic blunder. In a secular country like India, whenever there have been incidents of violence against Christians, the collective conscience of the nation has been pricked by the calm and humble resolve with which Christians have reacted to the situation. By showing open aggression I believe that the Bishop has hurt that perception, a perception that serves the Christian community in India really well (Christians end up holding the moral high ground!).

The PR officer of the arch diocese of Bangalore made a public statement on a TV news channel stating that the state government has failed and called for central intervention in this matter, another strategic blunder! The right way ahead should have been to convey the message that the as much as the Christian community is perceived to be calm it will not tolerate a soft attitude of the state government towards the perpetrators of the crime. The wordings of the public statements that were made should have been chosen very carefully! The threat of central government intervention should have been done at a much later stage; it would have held a lot more credibility. Overall I am disappointed by the public statements and actions of the arch diocese of Bangalore. In the game of political strategy I believe they have lost.

This is a political game, and a game that should be played with calmness and a certain amount of guile, the Christian community needs to understand that. A short term victory will not lead to a long term solution, but could easily turn into a tit-for-tat cycle that could easily spiral out of control. Our (yes I am a part of the Christian community!) tried and tested methods of holding the high moral ground through a calm and dignified reaction is best way in which we can get a lasting solution to the current problem. Play politics the right way, the way in which we know we win with minimal losses!