Stories they don't want told

Stories they don't want told
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I know this will come as news to many: The 'VII' inthe title of my last column is not an exaggerated'peace' sign; it is the Roman numeral signifying '7.'Meaning, that was the seventh in the series ofreply-articles. Meaning, I does what I does,regardless. However, it was also only the seventh insix years. Meaning, irritants provoke me only when Ilet them -- usually at the opening of a "season," whenI feel I should acquaint new readers with my approach:In a nutshell, readers aren't the Holy Grail."Vituperative," "hate-mongering," "Nazi," "childish,""degenerate," "narcissistic," are all fight words,their writers earning the "semi-literate ignoramuses"accorded by me. They are not critics withcounter-arguments (thank you, Rajender and Omkar!);they are insignificant little people momentarilyshaking off the angst of their miserable little livesby directing their venom at a target that, they think,dare not fling it back. They err; rules aren't formavericks. As for the "journalists" on the messageboard who hate my output... what can I say? Theirobscurity says it all...Now, to work.Since the end of March, Christian evangelism has beenmaking ever-widening ripples in the American press. Tothe best of my knowledge, it began with a report inthe Mercury News on faith-based groups poised to givehumanitarian aid in Iraq once the war subsided: "Theysee it as a golden opportunity to convert thispredominantly Muslim country to Christianity, andalong with supplies, they carry the New Testament andthe message of Jesus Christ."Iraq -- like India -- is in the "10/40 Window," i e,the area lying between latitudes 10º to 40º north ofthe Equator, stretching from North Africa to China,and containing most of the world's 1.2 billionMuslims, nearly a billion Hindus and 350 millionBuddhists. This "Last Frontier" is home to the"unreached people groups" -- the term Christianfundamentalists use for ethnic populations that havenever heard the message from the Bible.Since the 1960s, Christianity has been on the wane inEurope. For instance, in Britain and France, less than10 % of the population attends church even once amonth; in Scandinavia, churches attract less than 3 %of the people; in Holland, the Dutch Reformedhierarchy is converting churches into luxuryapartments to pay its bills (The Washington Post, May6, 2001). And so, it is the peoples of the Third Worldwho are seen as the fodder to stem the death of thereligion.If it were only a matter of acquainting people withthe supremacy of Christianity, missionaries wouldprobably be tolerated. Problem is, voicing the messageentails converting the listener to Christianity -- bythis way or that, usually that. Too, some ethnicpopulations don't want to hear the message, nor let itbe heard in their lands. In most of these countries,there are laws against proselytising, with all theIslamic ones enforcing severe penalties. Buddhistcountries like Laos and Myanmar, too, have limitationson evangelism. Red China restricts proselytising bymembers of state-supported churches. And India --finally and recently -- began enforcing the 1975 lawlimiting access to foreign missionaries and enactinglaws banning fraudulent conversion.Therefore, to force-feed the Gospel to the"unreached," missionaries are sent by countries likethe US, Britain, Germany and Australia as "aidworkers," with visas identifying them as "secularworkers." To enter countries like Bhutan, Afghanistanor Saudi Arabia, which do not issue visas tomissionaries, they list their occupation as teacher,doctor, nurse, businessperson, engineer, etc. Oneillustrative result: 27% of the US-based SouthernBaptist Convention's missionaries are now stationed inthe 10/40 Window -- up from 1% a mere 15 years ago.Evangelicals are growing at 4.7% annually, making itthe fastest-growing movement. All together, they grewfrom 300 million in 1990 to 420 million at the closeof 1999, of which a massive 403 million belong to theProtestant groups. Countries which have receivedincreased numbers of foreign "aid workers" are Russia,India, Ukraine and Japan, in that order. And, GodBless America is the leader in sending missionaries,oops, "aid workers," with over 46,000 dispatched tillDecember 2001. (Mission Frontiers)At the start of the Iraq war, an evangelical air-wavecampaign began against Iraq, and on April 16, TransWorld Radio announced a series of Arabic and Farsiprogrammes to spread the Gospel among Muslims. Couldthis have happened with CentCom approval...? Then, theSouthern Baptist Convention, America's largestProtestant group, had 800 "aid workers" volunteeringto help Iraqis, while members of the Samaritan'sPurse, a group run by the Rev Franklin Graham, werealready in Jordan and Kuwait, brandishing medicalsupplies.Point to note: Both former SBC president Rev JerryVines and Rev Franklin Graham had referred to Islam invery uncharitable terms. Not that I'm debating theirviews here, just that with beliefs like these, whywould "aid workers" aid Iraqis if not to save themfrom Islam? Another point to note: Both groups areleading supporters of the Bush administration.Thing is, America's weapons of mass deception, viz,CNN and Fox News, haven't yet said a word about thesterling work these "aid workers" must be doing inIraq -- or even if they are there at all. Well, theyare in Iraq, for sure. And that's why America'spowerful Conservative lobby is seeking to put thebrakes on Time magazine, which, according to aneditorial memo intercepted by activists, has planned acover story on evangelical "special operations" bymissionaries working "undercover" inside Muslimcountries, especially Iraq. An alert for the USright-wing warns: "This article could put hundreds ofAmerican lives at risk... They've been told repeatedlyit's a story most Christian leaders don't want told.The risk of imprisonment, torture or death forChristians in the Middle East is just too real. But anaggressive reporting effort continues."Samaritan's Purse is a rich organisation, favoured bythe US government with contracts to offer humanitarianaid. In 2001, USAID had selected the group to work inEl Salvador -- where its "aid workers" forced prayermeetings on the Indian villagers who only wanted tolearn how to build temporary homes after anearthquake. In other words, they are "Rice Christians"-- the term used for missionaries sent by The Crown towork in the colonies, who would withhold bags of riceif the heathen peasants of India and China refused tocome to church. Their modus operandi was to seek outthe most vulnerable sections of people and usepower/blackmail/money/deception to coerce people intoleaving their faith.Nothing has really changed...And that's the target of this column: India, notIraq... the white man's burden still roiling it all.The West's ways are best observed from a pointoffering a comprehensive view: What they don't wanttold about missionaries in Iraq is precisely what'sbeen manipulating the religio-politics of India. Theonly difference is that American pinkos are exposingthe Christian establishment for the sake of Muslims.Indian pinkos, on the other hand, co-opted not onlytheir American counterparts, but also the Christianestablishment to destroy the Hindus resistingproselytisation... the IDRF, the RSS.The Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir is witnessing a"discreet" spurt in conversion to Christianity. Thenumber of converts are over 10,000 -- which aninvestigation by The Indian Express confirmed, alongwith the fact that "conversions have been taking placeregularly across the Valley." The countries that havesent the "aid workers" are Germany, the Netherlandsand, of course, the US. The same countries "arepumping in money through intermediaries based in NewDelhi."These missionary groups are Rice Christians: Oneconvert, the head of the mission in Pulwama, admitted,"We have to organise cricket matches and seminars incollege where we are required to preach Gospel."Meaning, if you wanna play matches set up with ourfunds, you gotta hear the Gospel first.And the funds, they are just a-rollin' in: CampusCrusade For Christ pays Rs 12,000 plus expenses permonth to each of the 65 Muslim students who convertedand agreed to rope in others. "The hike in perksdepends on how we progress in our mission," said oneconverted student-employee. It's only business, yousee -- commissions given on the acquisition of souls."There are umpteen cases in which one person has beenbaptised thrice within a few months. These so-calledevangelists have set up businesses in the garb ofChurch and social work. The converts here do it formonetary reasons and the people who convert them, too,do it for the same reasons," said Pastor LeslieRichards, a native Protestant of Srinagar.Such efforts by missionaries get support fromunexpected American quarters: Last year, Suzanne MarieOlsson, a NY-based "researcher," arrived in Srinagarto study and dig into the shrine of Rozabal whichhouses the tomb of Pir Yuza Asaf. Her claim: Rozabalis the tomb of Jesus Christ. Another claim: A shrinein Pakistan's Murree hills entombs the Virgin Mary. Isthat too much to swallow? Here are more: Moses isburied in Bandipore, Haroun at Harwan, and Solomon atTakht-i-Sulaiman in Srinagar.So, why was Ms Olsson doing all this? "You have moreChristian holy sites than Egypt or Israel, she said.Yeahhh...? She only wanted to unravel the truth aboutthe shrines so that Kashmir becomes a main attractionfor Christian pilgrims, she said...In the meantime, the "aid workers" can continue to aidKashmiri Muslims with the aid of tales about the"serious archaeological research" on the tombs ofJesus and Mary in native Kashmiri shrines. Sheesh...Did you see the March 20th report in The Deccan Heraldon "a spate of Sikh conversions to Christianity inPunjab, particularly in the border belt adjoiningPakistan"? The situation has gradually become so badthat the Akali Dal is now seeking an anti-conversionlaw, patterned on the one enacted by my new idol, theGreat Wall of Chennai. Sikhs, being a minority, haveall the rights to protect themselves from extinction:Members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committeehave spread out into the villages of Amritsar andGurdaspur districts, asking Sikhs to refrain fromconverting to Christianity and exposing "miraclehealings."Last year, the then vice-chairman of the NationalCommission for Minorities, Tarlochan Singh, wrote tothe Catholic Bishops Council of India and the NationalCouncil of Churches in India, protesting theconversion incidents in Punjab and Bhilai where"Christian missionaries fully supported with medicalteams have been going around in many villages alluringpoor Sikh families to adopt Christianity."The J&K fraud was uncovered by a Muslim reporter, andthe Punjab to-do was exposed by a Sikh leading apowerful organisation. But what about the Hindus...?One of George W Bush's most reliable political allies,the Rev Pat Robertson, is on record saying, "What isHinduism but Devil worship, ultimately?" So now youknow how the NRPs (non-resident pinkos) could mustersuch a huge coalition acting against Hindutvainternationally. As for the situation within India,once case says it all:On September 9, 2002, Father Melwin De Silva, themanager of a missionary school in Bhavanikhera villagein Rajasthan, was arrested on charges of sexual abuseof 5 teenagers over a period of 2 years. After theboys finally mustered the courage to lodge a complaintwith the police, the villagers surrounded the schooland demanded the paedophile be handed over to them.The staff locked up the priest in a toilet, whileanother missionary, Fr Jose Mathais, had to face thewrath of the mob and was forced to do sit-ups beforethe villagers. The siege ended at De Silva's arrest;police recovered pornography from his quarters. Allthis was reported by UNI the day after the incident.Pretty straightforward, wouldn't you say? Well, hereare the aftermath-gems from India's oh-so-secularpress:The Christian community in Rajasthan's Ajmer districtis now the latest target of a Hindutva campaign. Lastmonth a priest in a missionary school in a village inAjmer was accused and arrested for sexually exploitingsome of his students. And in the polarization sincethen, Hindu organisations have used the incident tolaunch a drive to bring back Christians into the Hindufold -- NDTV News, October 9Christian priests running schools in and around Ajmerand at Nazirabad in the district have been targeted byvested interests in the wake of an incident involvinga priest in the St Martin School at Bhawani Khedavillage near Nazirabad on September 9 -- The Hindu,October 9Fr Melvin D'Souza [sic]... was arrested for allegedlysodomising residents of the school hostel and taken tothe Nasirabad police station. Soon, jeep-loads ofvillagers from surrounding areas descended on the town-- a well orchestrated campaign led by luminaries ofsundry Hindu organisations and parties -- IndianExpress, October 11Notice the dates? What happened on October 8...? Youknow what, I hope that Dara Singh, he ofGraham-Staines-and-his-two-minor-sons fame, emergesfrom the courts unscathed. For, even if he is guilty,he's just a product of a diseased system. Isn't thatthe excuse the "secularists" give when pleading forSalman Khan...? In any case, let's ask the Iraqis whatthey think of Dara's case six month from now.