Bharatiya Pragna - Dr. Th Chowdary

heal themselves from the obsession of converting
others.”
“Freedom of religion enjoins upon all
of us the equally non-negotiable responsibility to
respect faiths other than our own, and never to
denigrate, vilify or misrepresent them for the purpose
of affirming superiority of our faith.”
“Errors have been perpetrated and
injustice committed by the adherents of every
faith. Therefore, it is incumbent on every community
to conduct honest self-critical examination
of its historical conduct as well as its doctrinal/theological
precepts. Such self-criticism and
repentance should lead to necessary reforms inter
alia on the issue of conversion.”
“A particular reform that we would
commend to practitioners and establishments of
all faiths is to ensure that conversion by ‘unethical’
means are discouraged and rejected by one
and all. There should be transparency in the prac-
Organised Religious .............
Continued from page no 25
their faith and numbers. Since these actions and
reactions disturb peace, whip up strife and have
the potential for rioting and violence, governments
should prohibit organised proselytization and religious
conversions.
The fraud of conversions in Orissa and
the total ineffectiveness of the law governing conversions
there can be gauged from the fact that
in the entire state of Orissa. There are only less
than a dozen conversions according to the Act!
And this while 27% of the more than 6 lakhs population
in Kandhamal District is Christian according
to the enumeration. In order to pre-empt
Christian-Hindu riots.
28
tice of inviting others to one’s faith.”
“While deeply appreciating humanitarian
work by faith communities, we feel that it
should be conducted without any ulterior motives.
In the area of humanitarian service in times of
need, what we can do together, we should not do
separately.”
“No faith organisation should take
advantage of vulnerable sections of society, such
as children and the disabled.”
“We see the need for and usefulness
of a continuing exercise to collectively evolve
a ‘code of conduct’ on conversion, which all faiths
should follow.”
Why shouldn’t there be a sustained and
sincere all-religion debate in India on an anti-conversion
law in the spirit of the above recommendations?
(Write to: sudheenkulkarni@gmail.com )
Organised conversion by all missionaries and
other organisations must be banned.
The sources of funds for so many missionaries,
with so many full time employed propagandists
and tens of thousands of churches
should be investigated. Courts must be moved to
clarify whether the right to convert should be for
individuals or to organised groups, societies, missionaries,
trusts and churches.
In the states where there are laws governing
religious conversions [eg. MP, Orissa], figures
must be obtained how many Commissions
were recorded in accordance with the law and
the divergence between these figures and the
Christian population must be inquired into.
November & December 2008 Bharatiya Pragna