On February 5, 2015 a news report appeared in The Economic Times and The Times of India which said that Delhi Police in a report to the Home Ministry has said there is no pattern in recent church attacks in Delhi. The report further said the latest incident at St. Alphonsa Church was a stray case. Same report also mentioned that 265 temples too had seen thefts in past one year as well. According to the report in the Economic Times, The Home Ministry has asked Delhi Police to catch the culprits at the earliest and has enquired why arrests have not been made in previous four cases of church attacks. A special Investigation team has also been formed after the arson case in a Dilshad Garden church in December.

This report did not make much noise or at least as much noise the reports of attacks had made. That 265 temples were also attacked in the same time frame did not catch much attention either. There may not be any pattern in Church attacks as the Delhi Police report noted but there certainly is pattern in painting India as an intolerant nation and a place where minorities are not safe. One has to carefully look at newspaper reports in mainstream media, television reports and social media and a distinct pattern emerges in last six months. A conscious and careful attempt is being made to portray India as unsafe for minorities and a place where individual liberty and freedom has suddenly come under attack. Lax law and order problems have become hate crime and local conflicts have become attacks on an entire religious group.

Ghar wapsi or reverse conversion program followed by some Hindu groups of converting Christians and Muslims to Hinduism has also come under attack. An entire parliament session was washed away with opposition not letting the government function as they demanded answers as to why people were being converted to Hinduism. A strange reason for Opposition to stall the government considering conversion is allowed in India and there is no law against proselytizing or propagating one’s religion, unless the objection was to why Hindus were indulging in the business of conversions because India has mostly seen conversions from Hinduism and not to Hinduism.

If the carefully constructed narrative is to be believed one would not be blamed for thinking that minorities are being hounded incessantly and are being forced to convert to Hinduism. Facts however are completely different. The Agra Ghar wapsi, in which 200 Muslims were ‘converted’ to Hinduism and for which Opposition stalled the parliament session has turned out to be conversion that never was. On February 2, 2015, the Uttar Pradesh Minorities Commission presented its final report and concluded that the incident that had triggered national storm had not happened at all. No conversion had actually taken place that day. ‘No conversion has taken place in Madhu Nagar on December 8, 2014. The people living there are still Muslims and are following Islamic culture and religion’ said Shafi Azmi, spokesperson of the Uttar Pradesh Minorities Commission and one of the four members to have visited Agra to probe the conversion incident (The Times of India, Feb 2, 2015). This report too like the Church attack report by Delhi Police, was buried and got no traction. The carefully constructed narrative must not be obstructed by inconvenient facts.

Religious Conversion is a very sensitive topic in India. Hinduism which is essentially a non proselytizing religion has been pitted against proselytizing faiths like Christianity and Islam which are amongst the world’s fastest growing religions. For centuries, India has welcomed all faiths and has given refuge to those who had fled religious oppression in their countries. Whether it is Parsis or Tibetans, India has opened its heart for everyone. No one was ever asked to convert in order to get refuge. Tolerance and Pluralism are articles of faith in this land, long before constitution was framed and the word ‘secular’ was inserted in it. All faiths that have found refuge in India are free to propagate.

Hindus have found themselves in a strange situation where their numbers are decreasing. According to the Census Data of 2011 that had been withheld till now and has now partially been released by the Government of India, it is clear that the Hindu population has decreased below 80 per cent, which is the sharpest dip in a decade since Independence. Newspapers have reported that Hindus now comprise 78.35 percent of the total population in 2011 compared with 80.45 percent of the total population in 2001. In a secular democracy where State does not discriminate or favor against any religion these numbers should not matter. At the same time in a democracy where numbers are transformed into vote banks and determine the influence of a particular group, the numbers do matter. Lower numbers mean diminished political and social influence.

Hinduism does not believe in proselytizing. Conversion to Hinduism disturbs Hindus more than anybody else. Does this put it at an inherent disadvantage? There are a few Hindu groups who believe that since conversions are allowed in India, everyone including Hindus should be allowed to convert in equal measure and equal aggressiveness. Their efforts are nowhere close to the efforts put by other religious groups where conversion is a much more accepted and organized effort.  For centuries, Conversion in India has been a one way street. Conversion from Hinduism happens all the time and is the norm. Conversion into Hindu fold is a much newer phenomenon and hence subject of much criticism and controversy. The fact is that these unorganized Hindu groups that are attempting Ghar Wapsi or reconversions stand no chance against proselytizing faiths that have a full fledged machinery to support and assist conversions. The headlines that have been seen around the world however obfuscate this simple fact that Hindus neither have resources nor support of the larger community to carry their conversion activities. The narrative unfortunately has been manufactured that suddenly all Hindus are out on streets converting every non Hindu and minorities in India are constantly at the threat of their religious freedom being curtailed. 

Who benefits from painting India as an intolerant society when the facts state the opposite? Who benefits from presenting India as a place unsafe for minorities when the fact is Constitution of India guarantees every Indian equal rights? Who benefits when Indian Government is portrayed as insensitive to the minorities and their safety when there are no facts available to support this. The answers to those questions will throw light on why we are living in the age of obfuscation since BJP led government has taken over. There is a whole constituency of left liberals in India who felt let down when Narendra Modi government took over. They would like nothing better than proving themselves right about the fear mongering they indulged in before elections. This constituency has disproportionate access to Op ed columns and television networks. They obfuscate the facts and figures and present them as gospel truth. The international community feeds off these columns and living room conversations. Soon a pattern is built. One oped feeds another till it is repeated so many times that most people begin to believe it. When finally New York Times editorial board picks it up this group feels they have succeeded.

The question of Religious Conversions in India however remains. Should a level playing ground be provided where everyone is allowed to equally proselytize and convert?  How will non proselytizing faiths catch up and match up with the organized proselytizing faiths? Should an anti conversion law be brought in where mass conversion (which is essentially by coercion) is banned?  At an individual level, it does not matter which religion gains in numbers and which religion loses out. At a societal level however, those who see their numbers diminishing also see their influence diminishing. Should they then be allowed to proselytize with equal aggressiveness and support? This is a debate that must happen beyond obfuscating headlines and twisted facts.

By Sunanda Vashisht