Source: IMPHAL FREE PRESS
Posted: 2008-09-01

The murderous spree of Christian bashing in Orissa recently has exposed once again another untidy underbelly of India’s secular democracy. It is said the frenzy resulted as a vengeance for a supposed Christian killing of a Hindu priest who was campaigning for a reverse conversion of tribals of the state who had earlier converted to the Christianity. Christians deny they were responsible for the priest’s death and blame the Maoists instead. In any case it would be wrong to conclude this was everything about the genesis of the present mayhem, without knowing what the nature of the Hindu campaign for reconversion was – whether it was the covertly insinuating and aggressive type, or a normal democratic persuasive variety. From intuition and recent experiences, it is most likely to be the former. We fail to understand why Hindus who form such an overwhelming majority in the whole of the country, feel so threatened by some tribals or dalits turning Christian. As it is, in the Hindu system, there is no respectable place for either the tribal or dalit. They do not even figure in the Hindu varna (social classification) in which the sudras are at the lowest rung. The dalits and tribals (kiratas) are, in this skewed and despicably discriminatory vision, sub-humans.
It is said a majority of the Indian Christians and Muslims, were former Hindus who were either forcefully integrated into the new religions or else belonged to the section of the population which were openly and historically discriminated against socially by the Hindu society, and voluntarily left the religion in which they were outcasts. While Portuguese Goa and Mughal India generally, are examples often cited to substantiate the contention of coercive conversion, it is said the latter category of voluntary conversion constitutes the overwhelming majority of Indian converts. Amongst those who were forcefully converted, the old Hindu caste system still prevails even within their new faiths. Whatever the case may be, the moot point is, when those who are so blatantly and unfairly considered as sub-humans, decide to find dignity and self-respect in some other religions which they consider as more egalitarian, we see no reason why their former tormentors should be annoyed or feel insecure. And if they want them to return to the Hindu fold, the question remains as to whether the prodigals would be walking back into the caste fold to be again the subject of social discrimination? If this is the case, it is unfair even to ask for their reconversion.
In Manipur the conversion issue is also not altogether a non-issue. Amongst the Meiteis and Rongmeis especially, conversion to Christianity has led to frictions in the past, and continues to do so even today. Conversion to Islam in this sense has been negligible, except for women who marry into the religion. But even in the case of the conversion to Christianity, the friction is less to do with religion than a sense of civil disorder. The IFP had proposed this in the event of a recurring case of Church burning in some Meitei villages two years ago. While jumping the law is condemnable, it must also be said that new converts are always overzealous to prove their devotion, and in such overt and loud exhibitions of loyalty to faith, there is the danger of encroaching into the neighbour’s sense of social harmony. Regardless of your religious affiliation, you would not like your neighbour’s house to be suddenly converted into a Church or Synagogue, where people come and congregate, attend midnight masses and necessarily create commotions on a regular basis. For that matter, while it is a pleasant feeling to wake up early in the morning to the sound of prayers in the distance or the ambience of devotion to God signified by the sonorous tolls of Govindaji temple bells floating in the cool air, you surely are irritated by the ear-ripping bhajans on low fidelity, shrill, public address systems that are so common near security posts of Central forces these days. It is for these reasons that we have called religious frictions in Manipur not really religious in content, but civic in nature, hence, understanding but firm administration should be able to prevent much trouble. As for instance, there could be an administrative norm on building public places of worship, especially in residential areas. Private places of worship at homes is one thing, but a public one must also be treated as a public matter, needing governmental regulations.
 

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