http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Columnists/Shashi_Tharoor/SHA...

Dear Shashi, Let it be very clear we are not against Christians, the majority community feels threatened because of the aggressive proselytization technique used by the missionary. There is no point being an ostrich and ignore the simmering discontent in our society. For the wider welfare of the society it is better to recognize a problem and work towards solving it. There is no point in hardening your/our stand.

I agree with what ever you have told about Hinduism, I also don’t subscribe to the tactics used by BD. We all believe in the philosophy, ‘Truth is only one, intelligent people say it differently’. We Hindu’s just don’t believe in the idea of Tolerance, we go a step ahead and believe in the idea of ‘Mutual Respect’. It is this idea of Mutual Respect which is threatened by the missionaries. The disparaging comments against the Hindu gods in books like Haquiqat and Satya-Darshani are part of a wider missionary tactics. I had seen many examples when the converted guy stops taking the Prasadam in our house on our Hindu festivals. It raises questions, if the conversion is just the change of heart, or is part of a nefarious plot to uproot people from there culture, values and create a parallel society which doesn’t respect the native culture.

The Hindu society had been built on this vary idea of mutual respect, where different communities respect each other. The Hindu renaissance can be attributed to Vivekananda himself. Vivekananda emphatically told, ‘Every man going out of the Hindu fold is an Enemy more’. I know example’s where the kids of poor people are given admission in missionary schools, off-course free of cost and in the mid of the session are told to convert or else they need to pay the full fees. Is it not coercion? Our fight is against this coercion.

It is unfortunate that an educated and a well thinking person like you, is dismissing such a simmering discontent under the wrap of cheap polity (Nehruvian Communalism). But this persistent denial, instead of tackling the issue, will only feed to the Hindu discontent. The result can be seen in the actions of BD.

Jai Ram Ji Ki,
Swayam Sevak