Author: Anuradha Dutt
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: January 27, 2005
At a time, when the term secular
in India seems largely to be equated with Hindu-baiting, much disquiet
is being generated by some events that appear in the nature of an
assault on the Sanatan Dharma. Whether by design or coincidence,
after the ascent to power of the Congress-led UPA Government at the
Centre, and the party in states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,
there has been an increase in Christian missionary activities in
the south. Synchronous with this development is the offensive against
the Kanchi peeth and its custodians, the senior and junior Shankaracharyas
and their aides. These events, along with the revival of the Ayodhya
demolition case against BJP President LK Advani and the UC Banerjee
report on the Godhra disaster, fosters the impression that the present
regime is anti-Hindu.
If its predecessor was seen by many
to be selectively pursuing a communal agenda for political ends,
the UPA Government has recoursed to the old game of majority bashing.
Much to the dismay of their detractors, Hindus still comprise 80.5
per cent of the population, as per the 2001 census. Their numbers
then totaled 827.5 million. Muslims, at 138.2 million, comprised
13.4 per cent, the second largest group but minuscule when compared
to the majority community. The 24 million Christians were placed
third, at 2.3 per cent. Sikhs, at 1.9 per cent, numbered 19 million.
In view of this data, the civilisational ethos of the country remains
overwhelmingly Hindu, despite most of the northeast and many tribals
becoming Christian.
Yet, there is good reason to believe
that there is no one at the helm to take care of the interests of
Hindus, or feel their pain when their beliefs or gurus are assailed.
The two top positions in the Indian state - those of President and
Prime Minister - are currently occupied by non-Hindus. The UPA chairperson's
religious affiliation remains ambiguous, since Ms Sonia Gandhi was
born a Roman Catholic and presumably nurtures sentiments for her
natal faith. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy being
Christian, he could not have been expected to rush to the Shankaracharya,
Sri Jayendra Saraswati's aid when the Tamil Nadu police arrested
him in his state.
The Centre's communist allies have
made a career out of zealously guarding minority interests, however
recondite, while its Bihari socialist component, the RJD, survives
on Muslim-OBC support. They both thrive on populism, that challenges
the status quo. The disturbing conclusion is that the ruling coalition's
policies are subversive in the context of the dominant ethos.
Two events, in particular, fuel
suspicion of a hidden design to alter India's religious and cultural
identity. The first is the rapid descent of Christian missionaries
in tsunami-hit areas in the south, and their shameful attempts to
trade charity for conversions among the victims of the natural disaster.
A January 24 report of Rediff on the Net is edifying. The writer,
at the site of temporary shelters, built for tsunami victims in Pattancherry
village in Nagapattinam, witnessed "a minor scuffle in a corner"
between some inmates and a Christian priest and two nuns. The former
were resisting the missionaries' attempts to convert them. Eventually,
the three were forced to leave the place.
Elsewhere, said the reporter, the
locals complained to the police that a missionary group had taken
away their belongings and the relief they had got from NGOs and the
Government, which they had kept inside the temple. There was immense
anger over the effort to capitalise on their misfortune. At Karakkalmedu
village in Karaikkal, for instance, the fact that they had survived
the disaster had led to a resurgence of faith in local Hindus. Their
faith in their goddess was stronger than before.
The second such episode concerns
the American evangelist Benny Hinn's healing mission in Bangalore,
that saw Chief Minister Dharam Singh gracing the event with his presence.
Either the Chief Minister was in need of the preacher's intercession
himself, or had been instructed to attend the jamboree. There could
be no other reason for Karnataka's political supremo to take time
out of his busy schedule to give his seal of approval to an exercise,
aimed against Hindu idolatry. Why the evangelist was allowed the
freedom to launch such an attack begs an answer. It was left to the
media to highlight his excesses and force his hasty exit from the
country.
As its indifference, if not hostility,
to the majority community's feelings becomes evident, the Congress
and its allies may soon have to brave Hindu anger.
