HVK Archives: Can we stop conversions? (Part I of II)
Can we stop conversions? (Part I of II) - The Sunday Times
Valson Thampu
()
May 10, 1998
Title: Can we stop conversions? (Part I of II)
Author: Valson Thampu
Publication: The Sunday Times
Date: May 10, 1998
Referring to the mandir issue recently, the Shankaracharya of
Kanchi admonished politicians for "raking up a dead issue" ever
so often. But then he went on to do precisely what he did not
want the politicians to do. He 'raked up' the non-issue of
religious conversion, and called for legislation against it.
A clever way to get people to forget their festering wounds is to
scratch them where they aren't itching. Conversion is certainly
not the foremost problem before the nation - and it is precisely
because it is not an issue for the common man that vested
interests make calculated and contrived efforts to push it to
centrestage.
Legislation on religious conversion could be a handy face-saving
device for the BJP which is embarrassed about not being able to
build the Ram mandir because of the exigencies of being in power.
But this short-time gain is sure to be the party's long-term
undoing. On the evidence of the aborted Tyagi Bill of the '80s,
we know that such an untenable measure will only raise communal
temperatures and intensify the insecurity of the minorities. And
the fall-out this time could be far more explosive because this
time around, it's post-Ayodhya India we're talking about.
What is it that gets us so incensed about conversion? Are we
indignant that the right to conversion is being abused? I agree
with the Shankaracharya that it is a shame if people convert only
for the sake of roti, peti, and beti (food, money and daughter).
But those who are upset about this must do two things. First, use
every civilised means available to ensure that human dignity is
not thus denigrated. And, more important, do something, for God's
sake, to ensure that millions of our fellow human beings are not
kept under oppression or abject poverty, lest they forget their
dignity at the sight of roti, or exchange their dharma for peti.
No one seems to mind that debt-ruined farmers are today
committing suicide in dozens. Yet, if one of them were to find
love and compassion somewhere, and choose to begin a new life, it
could cause severe heartburn. That is indeed a shame.
Or is conversion bad in itself? But how can you say that as long
as Article 25 of the Constitution stands? The Article grants
every citizen the right to ractise, preach and propagate' his
faith. Let it not be forgotten that it was Sardar Patel (no mean
Hindu or patriot) who insisted on including the right to
'propagate' in Article 25. It is a pointer to the dynamic vision
underlying our Constitution, a vision that we have begun to
resent!
Frankly, the basic issue is not whether conversion is right or
wrong - rather it is all about whether we should have a dynamic
or a static/fatalistic worldview. The prospect of radical change
can only seem subversive to those who are committed to the status
quo. It is the business of a dynamic spiritual tradition to bring
about changes that lead people to fullness of life. It is
understandable that the beneficiaries of the status quo resent
radical changes. But to the oppressed and the downtrodden, change
is the mantra of hope. It is alarming to see how nonchalantly
measures that could have very grave consequences are advocated
simply because the time seems to be politically propitious. What
does it mean to proscribe not only the abuse of conversion, but
also the very right to change or choose one's eternal destiny? At
a time when the 'right to informed choice' is upheld even in
routine matters, how can the right to freedom of choice be denied
to millions in matters of ultimate significance? If this
advocated assault on the individual's right to choose his
spiritual home is countenanced, we shall sign away the very
sanctuary of our personal freedom for a mess of communal pottage.
God forbid!
(Rev Valson Thampu is a theological researcher and teaches
English at Delhi's St Stephen's College)
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