REPORT-11
RSS Pracharak and others arrested, released
Hindu organisations protest large-scale religious conversion in Mahrajganj
Dr SK Pandey from Lucknow
RSS Zila Pracharak Shri Lalji and three RSS Swayamsevaks were insulted by the Christian missionaries and later arrested by the local police when they objected to the religious programme being held at Everest English School in Padari area of Sadar Kotwali. Others who were arrested include Rajesh, Vimlesh and Om Prakash.
It has been reported that the school had taken the permission of the district administration for children’s prayer meeting to be held in its campus during Good Friday. But, interestingly, neither the children nor their parents nor any other educated persons were seen anywhere. Instead, the members of the poor Kanjar and other communities from Phaphenda, Nautanwa and other areas were brought in large number, and they were told that all their woes, sufferings and sins will disappear as soon as they wear the Cross locket and pray to Jesus for their redemption.
The Hindu organisations expressed their resentment when they learnt about the goings on in the name of religious freedom, and they even informed the police and district administration about it, but when the administration took no steps, they decided to register their protest at the school gate. No sooner did they reach there, the members of the Christian community, sensing the failure of their design, attacked this small group of protesters. But the group remained unmoved. Later, on police intervention the religious programme was stopped, but the RSS Pracharak and swayamsevaks were arrested for disrupting the proceedings. However, when lot of hue and cry was made by the Hindu protesters, they were released on bail. The programme was later conducted in the police protection, but in order to save its face the police got the whole show video-graphed, and thus the efforts of the missionaries failed for the time being.
The message spread all over very soon, and the BJP leaders, as well as the ABVP team of the district took up the matter and handed over a memorandum to the ADM Anil Kumar Mishra, which was addressed to the Governor. They demanded withdrawal of case against Hindu workers and punishment of those who were trying to allure the members of Hindu community to embrace the Catholic religion. The former BJP MP Pankaj Chowdhary, Ex-State Chief Ramapati Ram Tripathi, Prant Pracharak Shiv Murti, Zila Sangh Chalak Rama Shankar Gupta, BJP Chief Sameer Tripathi, ABVP Chief Ravi Pratap Singh, Hindu Yuva Vahini convenor Satish Singh and former BJP chief Uday Bhan Malla have all condemned these activities in the name of religious freedom, and demanded the action against those involved in all this, or else they will launch State-wide protest, they warned.
Such incidents were reported even earlier, in which the Christians infiltrating from Nagaland are meeting the poor people and trying to the befool them and allure them in different ways so that they can embrace Christianity.
The school is being run by one Akho Puro of Nagaland, and the sources say that Dr. Jonathan Ansar is the patron, financer and mastermind of the entire project of conversion in the area. He is the chief of United Christian Front, an organization dedicated to the cause of conversion in Asian countries.
Dr Jonathan Ansar is looking after over 400 churches in India, for over 27 years. During his early years as a Christian, he spent several years in the prisons of China for smuggling Bibles into China. Jonathan Ansar was born in Mumbai into an orthodox Muslim family, his original name being Sayed Ansar Hussain. But, later he converted to Christianity, and today he is one of the 47 most active evangelists in India.
Ansar planted a few churches in Burma and then he came to India in 1984 with the desire to work in the land where he was born. For two years he worked for World Islamic Evangelisation as senior advisor and preacher.
From 1986-1987 he was the chaplain of a school and priest in a church of Kashmir. Jonathan formed several churches during the period of 1987-1989 after which he became chaplain of the Christian Medical College in Ludhiana, Punjab for two years. Following this he became Senior Pastor of the Christian Fellowship Centre in Bombay (1991-1993) .
His mission began in 1994 when he founded the “Revival Crusaders International” and during that year he reached 11 states of North India . In 1995 the reformed Church of India elected him to be the Bishop of India and the President of their Board of Ministers.
