Row over Indian ‘anti-conversion law’
Chhattisgarh recently became the latest Indian state to pass a law controlling religious conversions. Several other Indian states have enacted similar laws in the recent past, banning religious conversions by ‘force or fraud’, and requiring individuals who change their religion to inform local authorities beforehand.
Speaking in support of the law, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam, said religious conversions in poor and tribal areas often took place by fraudulent means, and hence such a law is required.
August 21st, 2006 at 7:24 am
Simple way of living without conversion.
On this era, I have to agree with the anti conversion law, Hindus don’t convert any body in life unless you totally wants to change your name only, by your own free will .
Even then, you will still keep your family’s name .Since our history runs more then 5 thousand years old, its already stated in our cycle of life .We don’t need any Religion to tell us about Heaven. Heaven is made of you and me without “EGO”.We are god.. on earth, our power is dormant.
One can tap and enhance the earthly and Universal power without much of a problem. Anger, Greed, jealousy, killing and ect are there only to loss our sacred energy…..To accumulate back then takes time, to some it may even be “Jenma’s”(Many cycle of Life).
SOUL…..BODY AND EGO…
(SOUL & EGO) TRAVELS EVERY WHERE ON EARTH FROM A FOUR SEASON TO JUST SUMMER ALL DAY LONG.
BODY ARE GIVEN TO YOU WITH A REASON it’s always after FROM OUR LAST JENMA’S Ego’s ACTION. THE ONLY WAY WE MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR US IS THAT, WE SHOULD CONTROL OUR EGO AND NOT THE EGO CONTROL US.
Meditation is the way to go to reach for the supreme power; Gurus should be there to guide you and me and if any gurus teachers like killing or murder are only to pushes us further from reaching our ultimate Destination. We should know this by hard…Universal law.
If we understand the law of the Univers ,then we will understand the way to live.
Vijayen V Raghavan
21/08/2006 time 3.15pm
Malaysia (Members of the U L)
Please do not used any of the statement above for your own use.
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:33 pm
I support not only the ban to Christian conversion but also to support the reconversion to Hinduism. Christians took advantage of the poor people of India by fraudulent means. Islam converted Hindus under sword.
India is a Hindu country and our leaders should wake up rather than going worldwide licking the feet of Muslims and Christians for their own shelfish motives to keep their chairs.
These leaders are surely not expected to change and its high time that civil war or the military coup takes over the reign of India, bring all the criminals in public insults and end them in never ending jail terms.
This is the only way to save our Hindu Religion.
Devdutt Dave
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:46 am
well written artyicle, I am of the opinion that we as Hindus should be doing way more than what we are doing to make this issue at the fore front. Hindus are regularly being converted on the pretext of a better life by Muslim and Christian missionaries. Poor and rural Hindus are being taken for a ride. Hindu right winger are right to be up in arms about this. How would Muslims react to Hindus converting them, they would not stand for it at all. as said in the article it is true that some Hindu groups have started to bring back Hindus that have left the fold and this is a darn good job thats being done. in 1995 Hindu population in India was 83% and now 11 years later this is at 80% do the math!
August 24th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
WE HAVE TO PUT AN END TO RELIGIOUS CONVERSION. THERE IS ONE TRUTH AND PATHS ARE MANY. IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT IN THE NAME OF SOCIAL SERVICE, SOME RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS, ESPECIALLY CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES FANATICALLY CONVERT PEOPLE. SECULARISM IS NOT MINDLESS CONVERSION OF PEOPLE USING MONEY CLOUT, MATERIAL WEALTH AND ARROGANT EVANGELISM. LET EVERY EVANGELIST TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH INSTEAD OF LABELLING HUMAN BEING WITH THEIR RELIGIOUS LABLE.
August 28th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Forced conversion of Hindus or the coercion of Hindus to convert must be stopped not because Hinduism must be protected but put simply : there can be no India without Hinduism and there is no Hinduism without a strong overwhelming presence in India. However if we are not careful Hinduism’s days are numbered: Imagine out of more than 1.2billion people they fail to find an Indian to rule the country , instead has to settle for a foreign Italian born Catholic who doubtless has a secret Catholic agenda.
However , main problem lies with the Hindus themselves. The Hindu society is still riddled with archaic caste consciousness going even to the extend of not allowing certain people into their temples and disallowing anyone from entering the Hindu fold. Together with this fact is the total ignorance that prevail amonst Hindus of their religion. Wake up Hindus …not only have we not responded , we have barely woken up.
August 29th, 2006 at 8:49 am
I don’t think there is anything wrong with this law after all it isn’t to protect or promote any religion. It only protects fundamental rights of citizens against forced/scamed/well programmed conversions against there sentiments or wish.
In India we respect all religions and don’t even tell others to follow our religion or belief. Our religious discources are actually philosophical discourses in which our Gurus tell everyone to concentrate on there own deity and not the one we believe in.
This law should be implemented in rest of the states too to ensure free and fare practice of religion.
Religion isn’t politics where you capture and control more and more territories , religion is over and above these worldly affairs.
August 30th, 2006 at 1:02 am
I think that this BAN is really on the biggest fraudsers which to history has been the Pakistanis. Though the focus is pushed away from this this is what its about. The pakistans forced women and men to convert and targeted the poor. Most of you fail to read between the lines! They raped and forced people to convert and even today they have centers even in London offering people to convert. The muslims must be stopped and this is what the Indian government is putting in place. I agree and no where in the world should anyone have to convert as this is something you are spiritually born with. They have put fear into people since the day they were formed and even today they place fear though terrorist attacks trying to destroy other faiths and aiming for world domination.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:16 pm
It seems to me that if Hindus want to participate the first thing they need to do is send out little publications as to the fallacies of christianity and islam - if Jesus was god or divine he saw the future of his religion and condoned killing hundreds of millions of people in his name; if islam is the way of peace and equality then why are the muslims killing each other…
I don’t respect all religions. i respect all people and challenge belief structures that are recurrently histroically violent -himsa.
When we are clear in our minds of what makes one ideology better than another we can teach better. If we get into the nonsense of “I said so ergo it is true” we are no better than the better funded, more rapacious christians and muslims and all of humanity will lose.
Hinduism does “convert” people but not be conversion in the christo-islamic sense but by allowing people to transcend their biases and egocentrism. This is like saying eductation converts people. Hinduism does convert religions (vaishnavism, jainism, shaivism…) by bringing them into the family of truth seekers. An image that i’ve always thought would be great for truth seekers is the image of all gods and rishis bowing in front of Narayana as Arjuna sees the full glory. I’m sure there may already be images of Jesus and Allah bowing before the same Narayana. As Hindu’s we can easily accept this. As secularists we can understand all man consciousness bowing to the supreme being. I doubt the chirsto-islmaic groups would like to see it but they really don’t want to see anything but there own power grow. (isn’t the worship of power a partial definition of evil?)
i apologize for random thoughts
hariaum
September 2nd, 2006 at 6:18 pm
when sombody invades your home by force or by subtle intrusion you will naturally resist, you must resist, otherwise your home will be theirs. Our religion demands such resistence, not to spread violence but to continue our, hindus culture.
When you believe in something you must be ready to work for it, to grow it, to make it a big sucess and always must try to keep it like that.
when you are in politics you like your party to win, when in business it has to be a success. Likewise we hindus must try hard to spread our Hindu religion , make it acceptable to members from other religion also. why cant Hindu missionaries convert people to hindu religion? Of course it lacks government support and financial muscle and exclusive earmarked zones.
Let us Hindus all over the world unite together and try in earnest to grow our great religion to great horizons
October 9th, 2006 at 9:22 am
As a practising Hindu living in England, I must agree that India must take the lead in protecting our religion. Hinduism is the most peaceful and friendly religion. There is no obligation but people who follow it do so by their own will and find immense happiness. Lord Krishna is Himself known to be the God Of Love. What is better than a religion that is founded on love??No amount of hatred or ‘holy’ war will ever be strong enough to counteract The Religion of Love, this I know and I want other Hindu brothers and sisters to realise that. To those faced with conversion issues, BE Strong!Stand for yourself. We’ve got all what we need in The Holy Gita,its just a matter of knowing a bit more about It and the strong message that Lord Krishna left us.
Long Live Hinduism
December 9th, 2006 at 12:46 am
Muslims dominate life In North India whilse Chritians now hold power in all of the North East corner and are swelling up in numbers in South India…Soon they will be on par with the Hind population so what was effectively a Hindu majority country will cease to exist!
December 9th, 2006 at 1:18 am
Well done DA - Yes we are shrinking mass. This is exactly what happens when you lose your core.
Note Hindu Calender
Feb - Shivaratri
Mar - Ram Nawmi
Apr - Hanuman Jayanti
Sep - Krsn Janamashtmi
Nov - Ganesh Chaturi
END
Does it concern anyone that no Vedic Gods - The ones who brought us this faith is honored?. This again is what happens when you fail to focus on the core / the eye of the eagle, your efforts are wasted. Indeed you faith shrinks reflecting wasted efforts.
I will fight tirelessly for the re-establishment of the Rg Veda as our book of choice or in the local speak ‘our weapon of choice’.
Again I say it “When the Indian/Hindu again finds his Spirit he will be reading from the pages of the Rg Veda and the worlds will breathe again” Pndt Deeno Sharma
Veda Shakti!
December 14th, 2006 at 6:57 am
The person who is really responsible for the mass conversion into Christianity in the North East of India and the resultant seperatist movement is Dr.Ambedkar, who was called by Mahatma Gandhi as a British Agent.
Indeed, Ambedkar put the 6th Schedule in the constitution so that tribal areas would be seperated and would be exclusive arena for the British missionaries to convert en masse. The 6th Schedule was drafted by a Chritiam missionary Rv.Nicholas Roy, a close friend of Ambedkar.
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:51 am
Conversions are going on in such a fast pace that in a few years Hindustan will no longer be for Hindus. We might have to change the name from Hindustan to something else. I think the fundamental issue is that we Hindus have woke up now and that we are making efforts to change the scenario. We, Hindus are decendents from great line of virtous Kings like Harishchandra, Shivaji Maharaj and others.
No where in history and present time has anyone heard about a Hindus converting people from other religion. My friend is married to a christian and she is still a christian attending church. One of my acquaintances has married a girl from pakistan (they met in US), she is still Muslim. Can I hear any story where a Muslim has married a woman from other religion and not converted the woman into muslim.
My colleague who is a Muslim married a polish woman (Roman Catholic) only after converting her in to Muslim and not before. Why???????????
Stand up for what you are people — Hindus I think are changing now and becoming more aware of the conversions in India and things are changing.
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:57 am
Well done Government of Chhattisgarh, i think this law should be passed mainly in Kerala, UP, Nagaland and Orissa where poverty is taking a toll on the general populationa and religious groups are exploiting the situation by giving false hopes and promises.
Govt of Chhattisgarh — We Love You. Please pass on your courage to our other cowardly states govts.
January 16th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Namaskar,
I am from England.I have converted to Hinduism 6 months ago.I believe that people have the right to believe and practice whichever religion the y may wish.The Indian hindus of my temple have accepted me very well. I do not agree that it is an identity from birth at all. Janardan
February 16th, 2009 at 7:30 am
I support your view Janardan……… Hinduism is not about DNA like Judaism it is about practice and belief …….the Hindu newspaper Hinduism Today was started by an American convert …. India is filled with white sadhus
just as America is filled with Indian Christians.
Dharma is a soul identity not a body identity
Thousands of gurus have gone west converting former Jews/Christians to lineages that are ultimately Hindu
Was Maharishi teaching Islam ?
Are white Hare Krishnas Christian ?
Please note this is 2009 not 1909