The Train Story: New tactics adopted by missionaries to convert Hindus to Christianity

Since time immemorial Missionary conversion, often referred to as soft conversion is active in India. Be it the colonial rise in the southern part of the country in the 18th century or the rise of the human service motto with Mother Teresa’s arrival, the rice bag tactic and much more. To date, missionary preachers are using a number of tactics to groom non-Christians and convert them to their faith.

In recent years, Hindu society has become more vigilant towards the missionaries’ proselytisation activities. As a result, the missionaries are using unheard tactics to convert people of other faiths to Christianity.

A video is going viral on social media, where two Hindu women are confronting a missionary preacher who was busy grooming innocent Hindus to convert. In the viral video, the Hindu woman told the preacher, that she knows how missionary conversion activities are rampant in India. She added the preacher should worship their god at their home only, the train is not a place to tell others about god.

The preacher responds by saying, “We are preaching the message of God because we care for Hindus”.

The woman behind the camera tells, “Hindus have gone out of their mind, as they believe in frauds like you to give up their Sanatan Dharma. It is high time, we Hindus are already fighting for our existence, we will not let you run your propaganda in public places.”

She added, “Have you ever seen a Sanatani spreading his religion, forcing his religious beliefs on others like you are doing, Do not take benefit of our silence”.

“We have 108 Crore gods and goddesses in our Dharma, we don’t need any other deity to worship. You, people,
are running your propaganda in exchange for money. This is not allowed in the constitution, don’t brainwash innocent Hindus stop this,” the woman said.

This rage is a result of the declining number of Hindus in different states especially in the south and Punjab. The conversion mafia is quite active in the tribal area of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra as well.

In this article, we will tell you about numerous tactics used by Missionary preachers to groom non-believers and lure them to conversion in the recent past:

Grooming by texts and pamphlets:

Missionaries send letters to entice locals to convert or produce pamphlets that as this one from Mumbai, A local church in Dharavi (Mumbai) distributed pamphlets bearing the following text: ‘Jesus says I am the path, the truth, and the life. He who has faith in me will live even after death. Jesus cures diseases and relieves from black magic.’ They also distribute Bible and other religious texts at public places like railway and bus stations, busy crossings, or signals. The goal is to ensure that people read these books which are free of cost and are ultimately encouraged to accept Christianity.

The idea of heaven and hell:

In their plays, these missionaries promote subtle messages that indicate those who convert to Christianity will instantly be welcomed in heaven, while those who do not are doomed to rot in hell. Hinduism doesn’t base its entire philosophical premise on the concept of hell or heaven; instead, the focus is on the karmic cycle and Aham Brahmasmi. Back in 2009, a group of Christian missionaries staged a play in Margao (Goa) which conveyed that, ‘If you worship Jesus, you will attain a place in Heaven’. Some incidents enacted in the play are given ahead. Anthony is a wealthy social worker, but does not believe in Jesus; whereas, Pundalik is an ordinary shopkeeper who has accepted Jesus. Both are killed in an accident. Since Pundalik had accepted Jesus, he goes to Heaven, and Anthony, because of rejecting Jesus, goes to Hell.’

Missionary services:

The biggest of all remains their conversion and soft grooming in missionary human service centres. Be it orphanages, child homes, old age homes, schools, trusts, hospitals or any other institutions. Organiser has reported from time to time, instances where illegal conversion activities were going on under the banner of shelter homes and schools. Hindu students were forced to give up their religious practices like wearing Kalawa and Tilak and observe missionary practices like offering prayers and visiting the church. Guilable tribals are bribed and offered facilities at hospitals and schools to lure them to conversion. Their lands are acquired in exchange for jobs and much more.

The case of Lavanya, a young girl who died due to forced conversion in Tamil Nadu, illustrates this phenomenon. The evangelists similarly target the low-income, orphaned, and ill people at the time they are most vulnerable to entice them to believe in Jesus’ miracles. When young girls from ‘Gurukul Godavari Balakashram’ in Maharashtra Housing Board of Pune pointed toward Mathew Yanmal the manager of the institute, who had forcefully converted them to Christianity, in 2010, a huge controversy erupted.

Prayers and meetings in tribal belts:

The recent practice that has come to light, especially in the tribal regions of the country are prayer meeting. Ironically, these missionaries have captivated unassuming people from the lower to middle classes suffering from health and mental issues. Either a preacher or an already recorded session is played in such prayer meetings, which delts with conversion. The missionary preachers are proving money to the convertees and are targeting women even more.

Drawing similarities between Christianity and Hinduism:

Reading verses from the Bible is known in Kerala as Vedapathan (recital from the Vedas). Tirthakshetra (Pilgrimage Site) has been displayed over some of the churches. Throughout southern India, many Churches have renamed themselves Ashrams. Ironically, priests and nuns have popularized themselves as Acharyas and Sadhvis. Most often, they decorate their premises with oil diyas instead of candles. Some of the organizations have employed Hindu terms like Ishavani and Shrivani rather than Nobelium because this develops a better connection with the people and makes them see the similarities between Christianity and Hinduism. Some fanatical Christian youth and young women choose to marry some Hindu with the objective of converting,

Enticement:

The promise of a job, a better future, health benefits and education, is in general the basic alluring tactic that is used by the missionary people. Organiser reported a case from the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh, where a man was offered all of this in exchange for conversion. Enticements are given to people affected by calamities natural calamities like tsunamis, and earthquakes. In Tamil Nadu also, this Tsunami was used as an opportunity for conversion. Lazarus Mohan, a powerful Christian preacher, called Idolatory (Moorthipooja) a Sin that brought curses and disasters to the nation. He said, instead of worshipping Jesus, people worship demons and evil spirits (he was pointing to Hindu Gods clearly).

Here is an experience in this regard. – ‘I was astonished to find an old church and a newly constructed huge church in Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu), the region where the sacred Ram Setu exists. Though the population of this remote village is small, crosses were there even on their huts. I spotted a group of 7-8 nuns moving around in that locality. I could understand how Christians are systematically carrying out religious conversions in remote areas.’ – Mr Dhiraj Bengarut, Pune, Maharashtra. (2009).

These missionary people even target people in jail. ‘Christian missionaries advise the mentally disturbed Hindu prisoners that if they chant Jesus’ name, he will rescue them from their state.

Miraculous activities:

‘In Kerala, especially in the localities of poor Hindus near the coastal belt, the church has kept ‘miracle boxes’. Hindus there are asked to write their wishes on a piece of paper and drop it in this box. Innocent Hindus write things such as ‘I want a fishing boat, I want money to pay school fees of my children’, and drop them in these ‘miracle boxes’. After two weeks, Christian missionaries fulfil all their wishes through the medium of these boxes. Perceiving this to be a Divine miracle, many poor families embrace Christianity.’ – Mr Francois Gautier, French Journalist. (2006)

Many pastors have been claiming to cure diseases like cancer, AIDS, diabetes, etc, which are impossible to cure completely and are classified as such by medical science. Alternative and traditional medicines might provide better treatment and cures for such diseases, but none of them are available to the masses at the moment. But evangelists have taken advantage of the desperation and medical illiteracy of people affected by such diseases to harvest souls.