Outcry over conversions will only ensure Modi wins in 2019
What could really have been dismissed as an incompetently managed propagation of Hindu religion has been transmogrified into a life and death situation for Indian Muslims and Christians. Ironically, Muslim Davah activities and Christian soul harvesting goes on openly, on a truly gigantic scale, where targets are vulnerable Hindus. But this is deemed to be their right under Freedom of Religion guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. What happened in Agra could have been accepted as a Hindu exercise of freedom of religion.
The Bengali Muslims, who were converted into Hindus by the Dharma Jagran Manch do not appear to be coerced in to the published visuals of the Shuddhi Yagna they were seen participating in. Their later explanation about being lured by an offer of BPL and Aaadhar cards could have been a result of life threatening coercion by fellow Muslims who got angry at the event.
The orchestrated media frenzy, resulting in several reports and opeds and TV news channel discussions is likely to ensure the following long-term consequence:
1.) It has created a massive upheaval among the Hindus about something that was most obscure for them. Now, they are asking, “If they have the freedom to convert us, why don’t we have the freedom to convert them?” They are lapping up everything about billions of dollars coming from abroad to convert millions of Hindus to Christianity and Islam. I will not be surprised if similar financial mobilisation from the Hindu side takes place.
2.) Very short-sightedly, the media and the opposition has treated this as an opportunity to corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that he is put on a confrontation path with his mother organisation RSS and sibling organisations like VHP, Bajrang Dal and Dharma Jagran Manch. How very clever of the secularist camp to make them self-destruct. But tables were turned on the secular parties and mainstream media when the central government coolly offered them a solution -- let us pass anti-conversion bills in all states. They refrained because their vote banks will not approve, which only want Hindus to be stopped. If they are not stopped then Narendra Modi is behind the whole ghar wapsi project. Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu’s powerful speech in Parliament on this subject has been swallowed hook, line and sinker by the Hindus. Like in case of the 2002 Gujarat riots, mainstream media has managed a perfect boomerang propaganda. That propaganda made Narendra Modi three-term CM of Gujarat and later Prime Minister of India. This time, they have delivered him a massive victory in 2019.
3.) This controversy, if not nipped in the bud can create a similar charge as the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, where, instead of reclaiming a place of worship, there will be a trickier problem of reclaiming worshippers with all the attendant excesses. A gifted election alchemist like Modi will make the most of it in 2019.
4.) Ghar Wapsi is a routine programme of Dharma Jagran manch and VHP, held multiple times in a year. The numbers of converts are always small and reports about it are written on handouts sent by VHP. This sort of Bofors gun-firing has never taken place. What is the difference? Rattled by Modi’s favourable international image and hero-worship at home, Modi-baiters have found an ideologically comforting yet lethal weapon to undo Modi’s gains. Some kindred souls in the New York Times have come up with conversion threat to minorities in India at the hands of fringe elements in the Sangh Parivar. The presumption is that Modi will be under international pressure to act against other Sangh affiliates, which will result in internal fights weakening Modi and the BJP.
Some media reports mentioned that Dr Pravin Togadia was encouraging these conversion programmes to get even with Modi by creating political embarrassment for him. Even without Modi as a target, ghar wapsi takes place whenever opportunity presents itself.
Interestingly, big numbers in reconversion are made by non-RSS organisations like Arya Samaj, Bharat Sevashram Sangh, BAPS, and Asharam Maharaj while Sangh affiliates manage token numbers only. Missionary activities have practically come to a halt in Gujarat and other states because of these non-RSS organisations. But they will not be attacked as Modi cannot be linked with them.
The only man with Sangh affiliation who managed large-scale reconversion was Swami Aseemananda. Apart from his single-minded commitment, adverse media publicity had created a big sympathy wave among Hindu NRIs ensuring massive funding from them. But the massive funds at his disposal led to his framing by NIA in Hindu terror cases, which became a political necessity for UPA. All others who were framed had modest bank balances not enough to finance large-scale bombing. They were regular visitors at the swami’s Ashram in Subir, Dang District. With swami also framed in the case, the Hindu terror case became plausible.
The media must introspect. They failed to stop Modi in Gujarat. In fact, their attacks became his sanjeevani. This conversion trap, too, will fail. They are rearming Modi for a crushing Lok Sabha victory in 2019.
Wherever these conversion-reconversion activities are hyped, it leads to smart conning by its intended beneficiaries. About 25 years ago, some Dalit families in the Panchmahal District in Gujarat were reconverted to Hinduism by Masurkar Maharaj, from Masurashram Konkan. A reporter from Ahmedabad went to the village and interviewed the local Roman Catholic priest, a Malyali. The priest laughed and said that after two months, they would come to him to become Christians, provided he offered them a feast and gifts.