India presents a proud—I may even add, exemplary—example of forging unity in diversity, respect for all modes of worship, and mutually tolerant coexistence among people professing different faiths. Often, in some localized situations, the relationship between different faith-based communities exhibits tension, which occasionally snowballs into violent conflict. This is true even about intra-community relations. But all such incidents, invariably, are aberrations, and not a permanent feature of India’s social reality. They are exceptions, rather than the rule.

Even when they are exceptions, no right-thinking person can condone or justify acts of violence in the name of caste, religion or ethnicity. I was, therefore, pained when certain unfortunate and thoroughly condemnable incidents of violence against our Christian brethren were blown out of proportion and projected as a proof of the ‘anti-minority’ character of the Vajpayee government. A sustained and systematic propaganda campaign was launched to defame the BJP and its government, both within the country and internationally.

The trigger for this campaign was the macabre incident in Manoharpur village in Orissa, where, in the early hours of 22 January 1999, Graham Staines, an Australian evangelist missionary, and his two young sons were burned alive. The barbarity of the crime shook the whole nation, making every Indian hang his head in shame. Our government acted with alacrity.

In less than a week, the Home Ministry appointed a commission of inquiry under Justice D.P. Wadhwa, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. The commission won plaudits from all by submitting a comprehensive report prepared in record time—less than six months. It held one Dara Singh guilty of the crime; his accomplices and he are now serving a life-term in prison. The fair trial, resulting in prompt conviction of the guilty, was a tribute both to India’s secularism and to our independent judiciary.

However, when the incident happened, a section of the political class and the intelligentsia quickly proclaimed the RSS and its affiliate organizations guilty of the crime, and used the BJP’s association with them to malign our government. I was, therefore, constrained to affirm in Parliament that ‘I know these organisations and there are no criminals’. This statement was used by our political adversaries to propagate all over the world that I had defended the killers of Staines. It is worth pointing out that neither the Wadhwa Commission nor the CBI, which probed the crime, found any links between the RSS and those convicted by the court. I appeal to the people to believe facts rather than propaganda.

While the killing of Staines and his sons was no doubt inhuman, the specific social context in which it took place cannot be ignored. The Wadhwa Commission itself noted that ‘Tension was brewing between Christian and non-Christian villagers because of the spread of Christianity. The tension is caused due to: (i) Christian villagers who were earlier contributing to the village festivals, not giving “chanda” (contribution) after embracing the religion; (ii) their non-participation in local religious festivals and tribal dance etc; (iii) their adoption of anti-tribal customary practice of ploughing land during Raja, Makar Sankranti and other festivals. Such conduct of the Christians was resented by other villagers.’

The Commission also noted that Staines used to describe ‘Sanatan Dharma as an animist sect’. Besides his involvement in leprosy eradication activities amongst the poorest of the poor, ‘Staines was also involved in missionary work…driven by a deep commitment to his religion and the belief that he should spread its tenets amongst the people in the area. His missionary activities did lead to conversions of tribals to his faith.’ Although minor incidents involving sporadic attacks on Christian missionaries have been taking place in India for a long time, these received unprecedented and sensationalised publicity, both at home and abroad, during the six years of the Vajpayee government. I have been consistent in condemning them. Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the issue of atrocities against Christians, on 16 December 1998, I said, ‘As far as our government is concerned, we firmly believe that no citizen in this country—irrespective of whether he belongs to a minority or a majority community, to this minority or that minority—should feel unsafe.’ I also asserted that ‘Intolerance has no place in Hinduism. I would go further and say that intolerance has no place in the culture of this country.’

I believe strongly in promoting harmonious relations between Hindus and Christians—indeed, between people following any two different faiths. Christianity came to India nearly 2,000 years ago, well before many Christian nations in the world came in its contact. Christians have enriched our national life with valuable contributions in diverse fields. Having studied in a Catholic school in Karachi, I am well aware of, and highly admire, the exemplary commitment that Christian missionaries bring to bear on their humanitarian work in education, healthcare and care of the destitute.

Some of my best personal friends are indeed Christians. Nevertheless, I have to be candid in stating that I regard the organised foreign-funded conversion campaign by evangelical groups as a threat both to Hindu society and to national integration. I am proud of India’s multi-faith character and unequivocally respect the freedom of faith as a fundamental right of every citizen. However, systematic and mass-scale proselytisation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and vulnerable sections belonging to other classes under the garb of social service cannot be justified in the name of freedom of faith. Nor can Hindu organisations be blamed for protesting against this gross abuse of the freedom of faith and demanding legislation against conversion by fraud or inducement.*

Mahatma Gandhi’s Views on Religious Conversions

I would like to invoke here Gandhiji’s forthright views on religious conversions:

“I disbelieve in the conversion of one person by another. My effort should never be to undermine another’s faith. This implies belief in the truth of all religions and, therefore, respect for them. It implies true humility…. I hold that proselytisation under the cloak of humanitarian work is unhealthy to say the least. It is most resented by people here. Religion after all is a deeply personal thing. It touches the heart…. Why should I change my religion because the doctor who professes Christianity as his religion has cured me of some disease, or why should the doctor expect me to change whilst I am under his influence?”(Young India, 23 April 1931)

* Anti-conversion laws already exist in certain states, such as Arunachal Pradesh, adhya Pradesh and Orissa, and these were passed by Congress governments. Similar aws exist in many countries around the world.

“If I had the power and could legislate, I should stop all proselytizing. In Hindu households the advent of a missionary has meant the disruption of the family coming in the wake of change of dress, manners, language, food and drink.” (Harijan, 5 November 1935)

“It is impossible for me to reconcile myself to the idea of conversion after the style that goes on in India and elsewhere today. It is an error which is perhaps the greatest impediment to the world’s progress toward peace. Why should a Christian want to convert a Hindu to Christianity? Why should he not be satisfied if the Hindu is a good or godly man? (Harijan, 30 January 1937)

I appeal to well-meaning Christian organisations and their leaders to come forward to allay the fears of Hindus over religious conversions. I would like to remind them about what Archbishop S. Arulappa, a widely respected religious personality in Hyderabad who passed away in February 2005, had once told me: ‘I totally endorse your concept of Cultural Nationalism. By birth I am an Indian, by culture a Hindu and by faith, I am a Christian.’ This spirit of tolerance, goodness and pride in India’s common culture is truly worth emulating by one and all. At the same time, I also appeal to Hindu organisations not to yield to the temptation of bigotry and extremism in dealing with the Christian community. Let us open all doors of dialogue and reconciliation, and close all doors of diatribe and recrimination.