Varsha paints a interesting picture of the "conversion" situation. Two points which are however worth highlighting.
One, that anyone can ever forgive the heinous crimes which Dara Singh committed, or even state that it was warranted - that is unforgivable. In no country in the world is murder forgivable under any circumstances and to hear one of our educated intelligentsia rooting for a murderer is inexplicable and deserves the strongest condemnation. Given that Varsha herself faces some "irritants" / opposition to her points of view, I am sure, on reflection, she would be more amenable to less drastic forms of ending a difference of opinion.
Secondly, re the "saving of souls" thru conversion by the use of wealth on the part of the 'converter', I feel that to the truly hungry, abandoned and poor, its a moot point whether their religion would be worth starving for. Neccessity cruelly dictates that when you run out of all options to save your loved ones from death through penury, sticking to your religion is a luxury which few would afford. If any religious bodies, of whichever hue or cry, save some people from starvation and offer even a temporary "salvation", then I would say more power to them. And in that respect, so long as the secular nature of our country prevails and conversions are not through means of forcible "hell and damnation" or "your religion or your life" routes, we should be more tolerant of these do-gooders.
I must hastily add here that I am myself a Hindu and do not carry a torch for Christianity or any other religion. In one respect I do agree whole heartedly with Varsha - and that is in the rather deplorable "ra ra ra" attitude of some of these pushers of particular ideologies. Expounding on your own philosophies with the gung ho enthusiasm of the newly converted or the recently discovered, (and I didnt mean Bush)is alright, but to demean another is merely showcasing fraility of thought.
well as a minority i think that your article is biased and has a terribly hindutva leaning. for one by paraphrasing you are only suggesting what is ur side of the story and i suggest that sinec we are techno savvy you can with your story give the different url's of ur sources.
It seems to me you really don't know much about Jesus. But then that was not ur aim was it? More like doing a damageing piece on christian conversions.
Maybe next time you should use the Bible to do ur research, rather than articles appearing in various newspapers and other places.
The Bible tells the truth, and THATS one 'story they dont want told'. Would you like to tell people about THAT STORY, the other side of the coin so to speak.
Ms Varsha is either a cunning journalist who wants to rake in the moolah with her venomous words generating hate among people or an ignorant gamine, part of a bigger company of Indian population. What she does not know, (or what she hides) is the essence of God and various religions. It could be obtained from Gita, Bible or Koran; but you need to develop a deep insight to understand things, which I suppose would be difficult for people like Varsha (of course if she is what she writes). May God give you more intellect, to raise yourself from the superfluous knowledge of things to a rational human being.
As someone who has been reading your columns and the responses on a regular basis, here is what i have to say:
If you are so very desperate to get back at the 'insignificant little people momentarily shaking off the angst of their miserable little lives by directing their venom at a target that, they think, dare not fling it back', then, instead of using words like 'dementia' et al then PLEASE GIVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS. That will save everyone a lot of trouble.
Another observation - What on earth happened to your ISHTYLE ? No 'hahaha', 'hehehe', 'uff' ,'whaat' and what not? Is it because you suddenly decided to follow (some of the) rules that "aren't for mavericks"? Or is it because you have decide to descend to the level of all those 'semiliterate ignoramuses', the critics without counter-arguments who use 'fight-words'(including a certain 'obscure' Alka Kaul) ?
Now, to work
The rest of the article (save the concluding passages) contains insightful information on the means adopted by christian missionaries to spread the religion by hook or crook. But then no one can deny that since time immemorial (even before other religions came into existence), atrocities are being committed on a certain section of Hindus because of their caste. If somebody promises them better living conditions, why wouldn't they change their religious identity? If the self-appointed guardians of Hinduism like Pravin Togadia spend even half the time that they spend on distributing Trishuls and launching verbal tirades against other religions, on some genuine social work,the conversion rate will automatically decline.
And now, to the concluding passages of your article:
What is it that you are trying to convey by highlighting the sodomised misadventure of Fr. Melvin D' Souza? Have you forgotten the umpteen Hindu godmen (well known and obscure) who have had their fair share of controversies?
And finally, your attempt to connect Salman Khan with 'secularists' is a pathetic joke - nothing else.
Tell me...what happens, if I being disappointed in my religion, for whatever reason, wants to convert to another? What's wrong in that?!
Are the people being forced to switch at gun-points, or somehow subtly being pressured mentally?
It seems simple, people hv lost faith. They have expectations, which when not being met, makes them bend towards new avenues.
It's like a brand loyalty, though of course, we are not supposed to see it that way...it may be ant-religious.
It's likely the Hindus and the Sikhs are tired of the talks of their religion, whereas Christians are doing something constructive. If not then, at the least, lets accept they do a better job of marketing.
But the proof is in the eating of the pudding, and it seems the Christians are doing a better job of preparing it.
Maybe Hindus, Sikhs, whosever will have to learn to do better action.
seems to me varshas views are akin to the fundamentalist segregationist ideology as purpoted by the ku klux clan or south africa's ex-apartheid regime.we don't need such people to foster and breed hate feelings between people just by their tacit use of the media.let all people come to know of this breed of people who incite and inflame public sentiment to satisfy either some perverse need or some gross inadequency or insecurity within their own character!!!!!!!let unity in diversity rule on we r one regardless of whatever anyone labels or classify us!!!!!!!!
