Conversion by Church : Jainism Facing Existential Threat

The inherent intolerance embedded in the West Asian Abrahamic religions is a grave threat to humanity everywhere. India, being a multi-religious nation, and home to four most peaceful religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, is highly vulnerable to the repeated machinations and diabolical strategies of these two foreign-funded West Asian Abrahamic religions. They are concentrating on the dense combined population of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, running into several hundred million, for full-fledged conversions. In this mad pursuit for religious conversions, both the West Asian religions resort to maligning the religious texts and beliefs of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains, luring and enticing with money, fraudulent interpretation of the indigenous religious texts, and one West Asian religion indulges in outright copying and imitation of Hindu temple traditions, rituals, rites, ceremonies, and even shameless usurpation of the names of Hindu Gods and Goddesses! These are all part of a grand agenda to convert every religious community in India.

The Jains are a microscopic community, and the smallest among the six notified minorities by the Government of India. They are spread throughout India and are known for their strict adherence to Ahimsa or non-violence. Sharing many common beliefs with Hinduism, this community is facing the brunt of foreign-funded missionary gangs. The Jaina School of Philosophy has deeply contributed to the Indian philosophical system along with Vedanta and Buddhism. Jainism has deeply contributed to the enrichment of Hindu art and architecture.

Another aspect to this issue of targeting the Jain community is that Jains have traditionally been managing the commercial and industrial segments of the Indian economy. If the Jain religious beliefs are destroyed and they are successfully converted, the economic interests would automatically come under the Church control and indirectly be controlled by Western agencies. Conversion is a very diabolical strategy, and the Government and all Intelligence agencies should be on high alert at all times.

As recently as October 2021, the Jain community in Belgaum district of Karnataka took to the streets to protest against the rampant conversions being organised in that region by foreign-funded Christian missionary gangs. The Jain community has alleged that conversion activities were taking place on a large scale in Kittur, Bailhongal, Khanapur and Belagavi talukas of Karnataka. Jain Yuva Sanghatana officials were pleading that anti-conversion law is absolutely essential to stop the menace of religious conversions, by Evangelists. The protest march was also attended by members of Jain International Trade Organisations, Karnataka Jain Association Bengaluru, Dakshina Bharat Jain Sabha, Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana and others.

In this context, it is worth noting the sordid experience of BJP MLA Gulihatti D Shekhar, who revealed that more than 40 per cent of Christian missionaries in Karnataka are not officially recognised. He disclosed that he had raised the issue of religious conversions in the Karnataka Assembly during the monsoons session. In a poignant address to the Assembly, Shekhar had revealed that his own mother was influenced and converted to Christianity by the missionaries.

Gulihatti Shekhar had stated that his mother had been told by the missionaries not to apply Kumkum or Tilak on her forehead. So much is the extent of brainwashing and influence that his mother stopped looking at the idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, the MLA said. Initially, his mother was politely invited by Christian missionaries ‘to attend prayers’ near their house. This technique is a standard operating procedure of all Christian conversion gangs. Gradually, their influence worked so much that the lady stopped worshipping Hindu Gods, changed her phone ringtone to Christian prayers and even started objecting to Hindu religious practices inside the house.

Gulihatti Shekhar revealed, “Large scale conversions are taking place in the Hosadurga area. Around 20,000 people have been converted to Christianity recently.” He further explained that the missionaries primarily target the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities and if any Hindu group or individuals try to prevent it, they are trapped in false cases of rape and caste atrocity.

Christians attempting to convert Jains have a long history. The Jain King Kumud, who ruled over Goa, had to face the demonical wrath of the notorious Inquisitor Francis Xavier of the Goan Inquisition. The Catholic missionaries along with the brutal Portuguese army demanded that King Kumud and about 22,000 Jains abandon Jainism and convert to Christianity. The valiant King refused to convert and therefore under the supervision of Francis Xavier all were brutally and violently slaughtered. After this gory bloodshed and violence, Francis Xavier was conferred sainthood, and declared as Saint Francis Xavier. Christian missionaries have started a massive network of schools and colleges and a university, bearing the name of this fiend, in order to cover-up his demoniacal activities. The Goan Inquisition ranks as one of the most brutal and violent slaughter that Hindus, Jains and Muslims, had to face at the hands of the barbarian Francis Xavier. Even many Jews who escaped persecution in Europe and sought refuge in Goa, were hunted and massacred. More than 350 Hindu and Jain Temples, and several Mosques were destroyed by the Portuguese army at the behest of Francis Xavier. The Goan Inquisition also banned the sale of books in the Konkani, Marathi, Sanskrit and Arabic languages. The use of Konkani was forbidden in the colony of Goa. Similar to the Jaziya tax imposed on Hindus by the Muslim invaders, the Portuguese invaders levied the Xenddi tax on Hindus, Jains and Muslims. A particularly effective method of coercing Hindus, Jains and Muslims to convert, was, dismembering children limb by limb in front of their parents whose eyes were taped open till they agreed to convert. The palace of Yusuf Adil Shah, Sultan of the Bijapur kingdom, in Old Goa, was the headquarters of the Goan Inquisition. The Portuguese named it Idalcaon Palace. It was abandoned during the 17th century epidemic and was later demolished in 1820 on the orders of the Portuguese Government. The gateway is all that remains today

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, is actively engaged in converting Jains. This fundamentalist organisation came into the limelight for their anti- Hindu pamphlet ‘Diwali, Festival of Light, Circle of Darkness’. These missionary gangs are actively targeting Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs for religious conversion in open defiance of the Constitutional mandate of ‘Secularism’.

Mischievous politicians and crafty bureaucrats, while devising the National Commission for Minorities, in the original notification of 1993, only five religious’ communities; Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Muslims, were granted ‘minority’ status, it was only later in 2014, that the Jain community was added. The Jain community which has been continuously targeted by the Christian missionary gangs made a cardinal mistake by joining this motley group, when in reality they should have demanded a separate and independent National Jain Commission. India’s perverted concept of ‘secularism’ as defined, interpreted and appeased by politicians, is only for securing en bloc votes. While Muslims, Christians and Sikhs have perfected the art of vote-bank politics, and use it to threaten, coerce and extract exclusive deals, the Buddhists, Jains and Parsees are totally marginalised due to their small numbers.

The Government of India needs to dissolve the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), and replace it with a separate independent Commission for every religion, including a separate Commission for Hindus. Another important reform needed is to impose specific responsibilities on the NCM. Presently, the Commission has the following functions: evaluate the progress of the development of Minorities under the Union and States, monitor the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by Parliament and the State Legislatures. In reality, it is just a collective bargaining body, with zero responsibilities. This needs to be changed and each minority directed to give official recognition to schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, co-operative banks, NGOs and other organisations managed by that community or members of that community.

Minority benefits should be extended only to those organisations that are registered with the NCM. For registration, it should be made compulsory not to indulge in anti-national activities like proselytisation, money-laundering, Hawala operations, all terror related activities, human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, arms trafficking, counterfeiting of currency, working on behalf of foreign countries and spy organisations. Violation of any kind, should after a time-bound investigation, be placed before a duly constituted Tribunal, for denying minority status and benefit to that organisation and its office bearers for a mandatory minimum period of five years. During this period, all minority benefits, tax benefits, and other privileges should not only remain suspended but will have to be taxed at the highest slabs. The menace of conversions, if not stopped and curbed now, will lead to a situation wherein both the West Asian religions will make India into a battlefield. The Government has the solemn obligation to protect each and every community, their religion, customs, and traditions from being destroyed by any other religion. Right to propagate does not mean that there is a right to destroy another religion. Every provision of the Constitution has to be read harmoniously in order to ensure the peaceful coexistence of all communities.