When I checked X (Twitter) on November 25, I found that I was tagged in a tweet by RVS Mani, former Under Secretary of the Home Ministry. RVS Mani is a legend who exposed the conspiracy of Hindu or Saffron Terror. A cutting or snippet of a Rashtriya Sahara newspaper story was posted in the tweet. “Seven families of Bhatoli embraced Christianity,” read the news headline. The news immediately brought back memories of nearly thirty years ago.
As a resident of a village in Himachal Pradesh, I know about the importance of the varying sizes of villages in the hills. In Himachal, a village with just seven families is not uncommon. One can find many places with such kinds of small villages.
Conversion Game
So, when I read that news of Rashtriya Sahara, I was reminded that my village ‘Bandla Hill’ had also experienced a horrible conspiracy of “Evangelical Conversion” (Christian Conversion) some 25 years ago. If that conspiracy had succeeded, my village would probably have been completely Christian today. Thanks to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its Shakhas, which prevent Evangelical conversion conspiracy from succeeding.
I was in primary school at the time. Groups of outsiders (foreigners too), including men and women, used to come every other day. They were from the North East regions of Bharat and Rohru, Rampur of Himachal. They carry VCRs, music systems, guitars, books related to Jesus, biscuits, candies, snacks (Namkeen), sweets, medications and clothing, particularly T-shirts. Due to a lack of transport facilities, they used to walk (climb) almost five kilometres via the hilly path to get to my village. They were in contact with some youngsters of the village, who were naturally jobless and looking for some job or money. My late uncle was also among those youngsters. When the Missionaries came to the village, they would be a centre of attraction for the villagers.
Modus Operandi of Missionaries
Evangelicals used to speak with villagers affectionately. As per the inherent instinct of Bharatiya sanskriti, innocent villagers, too, started treating them as their own. If Missionaries discovered people working in the fields or cutting fodder for cattle, they would also start working with them. They used to distribute white T-shirts with strange designs to young people in the village. If they found someone sick in the village, they would offer prayers and then administer basic medicine. In a nutshell, the Evangelical Christian Missionaries had entered my village in all spheres of life.
Their image or reputation had been established in the village. The entire group used to roam around the village meeting people, singing songs and offering prayers.
Movies on Jesus Christ were screened on VCRs at night. After the film’s screening, a prayer was conducted and the entire gathering of villagers recited that prayer. Songs of Jesus were then sung as well. Kids were given snacks (Namkeen) and biscuits during the show.
I have also enjoyed plenty of those Missionary snacks and biscuits. The Missionaries would remain in the village with their contacts following such an event. People of our village began to participate in the missionaries’ events as though it were a huge celebration or grand festival.
Then, slowly, literature on Jesus Christ began to arrive at our home by postal service. I’ve read those books as well. The missionaries also gifted the Bible to the people, especially to the Panchayat Pradhan at the time. Our school used to host missionary events and prayer gatherings. Even foreigners (people called them angrej) used to visit with the group. The entire village would flock to see the angrej.
With the help of guitars and other musical instruments, the programme would start when students assembled in the school and the teachers had taken their seats. All the children were asked to repeat the songs. One or two lines of a song that I can still clearly recall are, “We sing, we play, we rejoice because God is with us” (“गाते हैं, बजाते हैं, खुशियाँ हम मनाते हैं, क्योंकि परमेश्वर हमारे साथ है”).
Unknowingly, a few naive young people in the village had turned into their operatives. My late uncle maintained a register in which he compiled a list of persons, as per the advice of the main contact of the Missionaries in the village. He even distributed literature received through the post to people.
On the hilly route from the village to the city, there is a ‘Peepal’ tree. On that tree, Missionaries used to place a white flag. They had also placed a white flag on the top of the adjacent hill. We had removed those flags when Missionaries’ ‘conversion’ game was exposed. Missionaries used to stay in our village for many days. The innocent villagers were unaware of their real intentions. They considered them as servants of humanity and noble people and used to remark that these people have come from such a far-off place leaving their homes to serve us and make us aware. They had become popular with the village’s naive women. They used to invite them to tea or food at their residence. For five or six years, this whole Evangelical Missionary game went on.
Enlightening Missionaries Misdeeds
Fortunately, in 1994-95, my father (Shri Ram Lok Thakur) came in direct contact with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). There he consequently learnt of the plot by Evangelical conversion missionaries. After this, he explained the matter to the people of the village. Now, the villagers had become aware of this missionaries’ conspiracy, and one day a group of around 25 Missionaries arrived in the village with guitars and other musical instruments. The villagers, including my father, inquired about them and after listening to them drove them away from the village. Unfortunately, while ‘explaining’ things to them, Missionaries’ guitars and musical instruments were broken. Additionally, the owner of the apartment in our city where they stayed was contacted and requested to throw them out of his house. After that ‘explanatory’ incident, the Missionaries never came in big groups.
After this, Missionaries kept coming alone or in pairs. They would fly away after distributing books and pamphlets. When people caught them, small ‘explanatory’ sessions were held. Missionaries’ contact persons in the village retreated when people made things clear to them.
In 1997, my father sent me to a weeklong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh training camp known as Prathmik Varg. At the time, I was in the eighth class. I gained some understanding after the training. However, when I went to a 20-day RSS training camp in 2000, I came to know the reality of Missionaries. I shared the information with my father. After that, along with my father, many people from the village also took the RSS training. Missionaries continued to visit the village covertly until 2001.
Following my Pratham Varsh Prashikshan (OTC) in 2000, RSS ‘Shakha’ came into being in my village and has been operating consistently ever since. Many young people from the village consequently volunteered in the RSS training.
Consequently, people became more involved in the Sangh’s activities. As a direct result, Missionaries stopped visiting the village. Perhaps I would have been a Christian today if missionaries had continued to serve Namkeen and biscuits at night events. But the RSS and its Shakha saved our village from evangelical conversion or becoming Christian.
It is a universal truth that Missionaries and their conversion bid have wiped off many native cultures of the world. If we want to avoid or prevent this crime against humanity, then we must have to establish daily functioning RSS Shakhas in every village, locality or colony. Narayana Yeti Samarpayami…
