Indian fundamentalist leader calls to stop conversions except to Hinduism
Mumbai, 25 February 2014: "We must immediately stop conversions, or soon Hindus will
be a minority in India," said Ashok Singhal, leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),
a fundamentalist group that has a history of attacking the country's ethnic, religious
and social minorities.
His remarks, which he made at a rally on Saturday in
Bhopal in the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, have drawn criticism from government
officials and representatives of other religions, who described them as "inappropriate."
Sajan
George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), told AsiaNews
that we must "condemn in no uncertain terms the fascism of groups like the VHP, which
endanger Indian democracy and secularism".
"Christians in India just want
to enjoy their constitutional guarantees", the Protestant leader said," in particular
Article 25 of the Charter, which enshrines freedom of worship, practice and dissemination
of their faith." Ultimately, "Religious freedom is a basic human right," he added,
"and the VHP wants to intimidate and persecute Christians by raising the bogeyman
of conversions to instil Hindutva ideas in the population."
The VHP is inspired
by Hindutva, a nationalist ideology centred on Hinduism whose aim is the establishment
of a Hindu nation.
So-called anti-conversion laws have been adopted in some
states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which embodies the ideas of groups
like the VHP. In theory, these measures should prohibit any conversions by force
or through money. In practice, they are often used to persecute minorities. In fact,
if a Christian, a Buddhist or a Muslim converts to Hinduism there is nothing to stop
them. In addition to blocking conversions, Singhal wants Hindu families to have
at least "five children" to prevent Christians and Muslims from outnumbering Hindus. Source:
AsiaNews