1. Agenda behind Ghar Wapsi Progamme
The Ghar Wapsi programme is so heated at present in India.
It flamed up by Bhartiya Janata Party and its co-operative organizations; VHP,
RSS, Bajrang Dal etc. This party and its associated NGOs seem like ultimate
authority on the India and its population, while India is a democratic and
secular country. Respectively country allows each and individual, faith
propagation to flourish and practice with enough freedoms and rights. at the
same time it is required that maintain the constitution what it demands.
2. India Constitution: Articles 25, 14, 15, 16, and 19
Article 25[1]
guarantees every person the freedom of conscience and the rights freely to
profess, practice, and propagate religion. It protects religious freedom so far as the
individual is concerned. The most important feature of this article is that
there will be no State religion. In other words, the constitution does not
support any religion to be a State religion in India. While all religions are
entitled for equal protection, the religion of the majority was not given any
particular privilege. Thus, equally for all religions and absence of a State
religion could be taken as the basic tenet of secularism in India.
Further, Article 25, guarantees freedom to profess and
practice religion. The term ‘profess’ gives the meaning that right to declare
freely and openly one’s faith. That means, one would have freedom to express
one’s own faith freely. Even so, freedom is restricted when it comes into
conflict with public order, morality or heath. For this, Article 25 may read
with Articles 14,[2] 15,[3]
and 16[4]
of Indian constitution. These Articles prohibit discrimination against person
on the ground of his or her religious belief. The right to freedom of speech
and expression guaranteed in the Article 19(1) (a)[5]
may also be read together with Article 25.
The religion of the majority is given no preferential
protection or special consideration whereas all religions are equally
protected. And there is no ecclesiastical department under the State to look
after the religious affairs. The absence of a State religion enables the State
to evolve the provisions for equal treatment of all religions. It makes the
meaning of the secular State in India clears that a secular State need not
promote irreligiousness or it should be different to religion. But religion is
seen as a matter of personal faith and belief, with individuals or communities.
This undoubtedly became the character of secular State in India. The attitude
of impartiality towards all religions secured through the Constitution of India
reaffirmed the validity of secularism in India.
A secular State therefore, is a State, which adopts an
attitude of neutrality and impartiality towards all religions. In this, the
State is concerned with relation between human beings and not with the relation
between human beings and God, because it would be a matter for individual and
God.
According to Supreme Court “to profess a religion” means “the
right to declare freely and openly one’s faith.” Obviously this clause of
Article 25 makes it clear that a person has a right to practice his belief by
practical expression in any matter he likes it. In a verdict, the Supreme Court
of the India held that the term ‘to propagate’ means ‘to spread and publicize
one’s religious views for the edification of others.[6]
3. Right to Propagate Religion
The clause ‘right to propagate’ was discussed at length by
the Constituent Assembly. The nature of the discussion could easily confuse the
real meaning of words ‘right to propagate.’ The whole discussion was centered
on the term ‘conversion.’ The word ‘conversion’ was included as a right on B.
R. Ambedkar’s suggestion in the chief section. But the accepted draft, which
was presented by K. M. Munshi had not included the word ‘conversion’ as a
right.[7]
The report of the minorities Sub-committee, under the leadership of M.
Rathnaswamy brought forth recommendation that religions like Christianity and
Islam were proselytizing religions and they should be permitted to propagate
their faith. The Advisory Committee accepted the suggestion of the Sub-committee
and had it as a feature. Some members considered the ‘right to propagate’ as
the most fundamental right of the Christians.
“In these discussions, the ‘right to propagate’ clause took
another dimension. Conversion from one religion to another religion was
attached to the ‘right propagate’ a religion and discussed extensively.
Conversion by influence, coercion, and fraud was opposed even by Christian
Members of the Constituent Assembly.”[8]
Two members including Purushottam Dsa Tandon, who later became the President of
the Indian National Congress and known for his antagonism towards Muslims
opposed conversion of minor (under 18 years of age), and put forth that though
the Congress saw conversion as improper, it agreed to accept the word
‘propagate’ in the Constitution out of regard for Christians. A member from UP (Algu
Shastri), alleged that the missionaries were using coercive methods to convert
the tribals and low caste people. Later of the discussion of the Draft
Constitution, Lok Nath Mishra added that religious propaganda was a weapon in
the hands of power politics and once the right to propagate accepted as an
‘inalienable fundamental right,’ it would create problems. According to him
“making propagation of religion a fundamental right is somewhat uncanny and
dangerous.”[9] While
Lakshmi Kantha Maitra aired his support to right to propagate,[10]
K. Santhanam viewed propagation as ‘merely a freedom of expression.’ He said:
Mass Conversion was a part of activities of the Christian missionaries
in this country and the great objection has been taken by people to that. Those
who drafted this constitution have taken care to see that no unlimited right of
conversion has been given. People have freedom of conscience and, if any man is
converted voluntarily, owing to freedom of conscience, then well and good. No
restriction can be placed against it. But if any attempt is made by one
religious community or another to have mass conversions through undue influence
either by money or by pressure or other means, the State has every right to
regulate such activity.[11]
Rohani Kumar Choudhary aired the view and wanted clear
prohibition on ‘throwing mud by missionaries on Hindu gods and the worship
idols. Another prominent member from Madras, T. T. Krishnamachary, while
opposing conversion by force and influence, felt that the right to propagate
belonged to all communities, including Arya Samajis performing Suddhi. However,
K. M. Munshi from Bombay emphasized that in the secular India , there would not
be anybody to influence the people for conversion as was it in British India;
hence, there will be no dangerous implication of conversion. According to him,
the ‘right to propagate’ was a result of a compromise with minorities. As he
was a part in making a compromise, he said “it was on this word tha the Indian
Christian community laid the greater emphasis, not because they wanted to
convert people aggressively, but because the word “propagate” was a fundamental
part of their tenet.” [12]
He asserted that “whatever, its results we
ought to respect the compromise. These discussions, in fact gave an impression
that the clause ‘right to propagate’ is the right to convert, and it aimed at
the fundamental right to convert. Here, the right to propagate earned another
meaning as the right exclusively to convert. However, while, it was not
completely excluding conversion, the basic notion of the framer was not to give
an absolute right to convert people from one religion to another religion but
to provide the right to propagate one’s own religion in a way which does not
affect other or disturb the freedom of others religion.
The Supreme Court endorsed it through a verdict.
What Article 25(1) grants is not the right to convert
another person to one’s own religion, but to transmit or spread one’s religion,
by an exposition of its tenets. It has to be remembered that Article 25(1)
guarantees freedom of conscience to every citizen, and not merely to the
followers of one particular religion, and that, in turn, postulate that there
is no fundamental right to convert another person to one’s own religion because
if a person purposely undertakes the conversion of another person to his
religion, as distinguished from his effort to transmit or spread the tenets of
his religion, that would impinge on the ‘freedom of conscience’ guarantees to
all citizens of the country alike.[13]
Thus the freedom of religion
enshrined in the constitution is not exclusively to convert or re-convert but
it is to practice one’s faith without disturbing the freedom of other’s faith.
It provides the freedom to profess and practice as well as to propagate the
faith within the rules and laws of the country.
4. Rational Criticism of Ghar Wapsi Programme
4.1 Who are those people, whom BJP, RSS, Bajrang Dal, and
VHP re-converting?
They are Sudras. According to Hinduism Sudras is the fourth
category of the creation of mankind by human god Brahmas.[14]
The very purpose of creation of this category is to serve higher castes;
Brahamanas, Ksatriyas, and Vaisyas. They are nothing more than servants or
slaves. “Certain duties then distinguished the three twice-born castes as a
group from the Sudras. All three upper varn: as thus study the Veda, perform
sacrifices, and make gifts, whereas Sudras are permitted only lesser sacrifices
and simplified domestic rituals that do not require Vedic recitation.”[15]
4.2 So why these higher category communities want to bring
back or re-convert or do Ghar
Wapsi of these servants?
Answer is simple, day by day they are lacking servants
that’s by they want bring back their servants in their homes or Wapsi in to Ghar, just to
serve them again as their forefathers did generation to generation.[16]
4,2,1 What kind of Verna would be given to the victims of
Ghar Wapsi programme?
Recently Ghar Wapsi programme held in Agra On 8 December 2014, when Dharm Jagran Manch, an RSS wing,
was reconverting several Muslims families with false promises that they would
be giving by Central Government, the Ration card, Adhar card and a piece of
land to build house. In reality there was no any reconversion, Muslims brothers
were cheated by the Dharma Jagran Manch. Manch caused them to gathered to
gather with a plot and there was a propagation that 250 (60 families) Muslims
have been converted to Hinduism.
“The Uttar Pradesh Minorities
Commission, after having conducted a full investigation, said in February 2015
that the 250 Muslims had not converted because they continue to ‘remain
Muslims.’”[17]
Someone, one of them asked, if we would convert to Hinduism what Verna would be
given to me? There was a silence and still is. It is impossible for the RSS to
give right of higher (supreme) caste Brahamanas to someone who is coming from a
low caste system. Why it could be impossible? Because this is their real agenda
that maintain the caste system which is coming from generations, formed by
Manu.[18]
And now it is being collapse by the conversion.
Apart from spiritual, there is a social issue with
conversion. Because people of the Hindu religious system oppressed and
discriminated with each particular tread (work according to castes) as divine
order.[19]
In the modern Indian people are still under bondage, such as caste: where these
lower castes (Sudras) people are completely mistreated and suppressed mentally
and physically by the higher castes communities. These low caste people
considered nothing but only servants of the higher caste people like; Brahamins,
Kshatriya, and Vashya etc. In the Indian history, these low caste people kept
away from the education,[20]
preserving wealth,[21]
and intellectual development.[22]
As the consequence, today these low castes communities remain uneducated, hopeless,
rejected, forgotten, mistreated, plundered live in rural areas of the country
under the below poverty line. How long one would sustain oppression, one day
the stream of freedom will break out, and in some exactly it happened the conversion
towards Christianity. When the people heard by the various resources the very
power full assurance for the freedom and concern for the equal human rights
form the Bible, where Jesus Christ Said; Come to Me, all you who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest Matt.11:28
(NKJV). I am assuring that this could be mostly might have caused conversion
from Hinduism to Christianity. On the other hand we very rare conversion from
the higher caste communities. Why it is so? From their perspective remains a
big question. Because of this the conversion has been misinterpreted and
misunderstood rather find the real cause and need behind the conversion by the
higher religious majorities. Because of this reason the religious violence is
on the last boundary to cross.
[1] Durga
Das Babu, Introduction to Constitution of India, 20th Edition
(Maharashtra, Nagpur: Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa, 2011), 119.
[2] Babu, Introduction
to Constitution of India, 98.
[3] Babu, Introduction
to Constitution of India, 98.
[4] Babu, Introduction
to Constitution of India, 98.
[5] Babu, Introduction
to Constitution of India, 101.
[6] M. T.
Cherian, Hindutva Agenda and Minority Rights: A Christian Response (Bangalore:
Centre For Contemporary Christianity, 2007), 145-148.
[7] Constituent
Assembly Debates Vol.3, December 3, 1948, 490.
[8]
Cherian, Hindutva Agenda and Minority rights: AChristian Response, 150.
[9]
Cherian, Hindutva Agenda and Minority Rights: AChristian Response, 51.
[10]
Cherian, Hindutva Agenda and Minority Rights: AChristian Response, 51.
[11] Constituent
Assembly Debate, Vol. 7, 834.
[12]
Cherian, Hindutva Agenda and Minority Rights: A Christian Response, 152.
[13] Meera
Kumari, Religious Freedom (New Delhi: Capital Publishing House, 1990),
27. Quoted in M. T. Cherian, Hindutva Agenda and Minority Rights: A
Christian Response (Bangalore: Centre for Contemporary Christianity, 2007),
184-185.
[14] “Laws
of Manu,” I-31, ttp://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm (accessed on 10/05/15).
[15] Alf
Hiltebeitel, “Hinduism,” in Lindsay
Jones, Chief Editor, Encyclopedia of Religion: Goddess
Worship-Iconoclasm , Second Edition (USA: Thomson Gale Corporation, 2005),
3995b-3996a.
[16] “Laws
of Manu,” Chapters I- 91; VIII- 413, 17; IX-334, 335; X- 121-123, http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm,
(accessed on 10/05/15.)
[17] Uttar
Pradesh Minorities Commission, "Agra religious conversions 2014,"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agra_religious_conversions_2014#cite_note-cleric-19,
(accessed on 08/05/15).
[18]
Constance A. Jones and James D. Ryan, "Laws of Manu, Encyclopedia of
Hinduism (New York: Facts on File books, 2007), 300.
[19] “Laws
of Manu,” Chapter I-31, http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm (accessed on
10/05/15).
[20] “Laws of Manu,” Chapters IV- 78-81, 99; VII-4; VIII-270-271,
410, http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm (accessed on 10/05/15).
[21] “Laws of Manu,” X- 129, http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm
(accessed on 10/05/15).
[22] “Laws of Manu” VIII- 271, 272,
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm (accessed on 10/05/15).
GoOd wOrK wITh this!!!!
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