Editor,
Apropos to the letter ‘further rejoinder’ (ST July 16, 2018) I just want to remind the writer to stop misinterpreting the subject of discussion. At no point was the subject of forced conversion explicitly or implicitly raised. Faith building process is not as easy as putting a gun on someone’s head and coercing or giving out goodies and pampering people to come to the faith. A belief system is a complex chain involving the value systems, attitudinal formation and behavioural outcomes. In a similar fashion how religious affiliations occur follows the same path. Faith cannot be bought or sold for a price. But my intention of highlighting the materialistic aspects from the poor man’s perspectives is the issue of sentimental obligation! If a poor man is showered with a kind gesture from another entity for a continuous period, it generates a guilt feeling which transforms into a moral obligation for the poor to offer something back in return. When they possess nothing then their service and faith alignment becomes the last resort to subdue the guilt. Contribution of missionaries in health, education, skill sector etc., I clearly mentioned, from the beginning, but then extolling one’s good acts is to defeat the very meaning of charity.
To another point raised by the writer is that Christianity has been present in Indian soil 2000 years plus yet constituting only 2% of the total population, the answer for this 2% debate is our historical background rather the non-coerciveness of Christianity. The evils of colonialism that the British left behind and the multi- pronged exploitation is not a memory which will be erased any time soon. Our region did not directly feel the agony of the freedom struggle because it was not the centre of the struggle. In fact the region experienced only the rosy side of colonialism with the arrival of western missionaries. The same pain that peoples of other parts of the country endured was indeed tormenting, hence their resistance to Christianity is a default outcome, because in their eyes Christianity is a mere extension of the British rule. So in conclusion this 2% figure will continue because of the above reasons, but we should be grateful to our forefathers in designing the secular Constitution, allowing religious pluralism despite the bitter experience exhibited by people from Christian backgrounds.
Religious persecution has close ties with political arrangement as well. Several minorities groups around the globe face certain types persecution. The Rohingya’s Muslim in Myanmar, the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh or Pakistan, the Kurds in Syria etc., hence Christians are not the only community facing abuse. It is sad therefore to witness how suffering is graded differently according to one’s convenience.
The greater appeal factor of Christianity than other religion towards the natives who practice the indigenous Niam Tre as stated by the writer is highly debatable. How these two share the similarities is a question worth pondering. The next point the writer highlighted is the role of Ramakrishna Mission (RKM). Those familiar with the foundational ethos of RKM which is based entirely on Swami Vivekananda’s teaching is purely charitable service. Service to mankind is service to God is the soul of this community. So why RKM could not force- convert the local people despite the attractive goodies they offer is because the Mission is devoid of evangelical practice. Their whole devotion is towards community service and not gospel propagation. This is what separates RKM and other Hindu organisations, including Christianity in which evangelism is inalienable.
Lastly, I just want to explore more on the definition of CHARITY because if nepotism, biases, selectiveness and conditionalities constitute charity then I believe it’s a self defeating act. Had Mother Theresa been selective in her service then she would not have been the saint she is today. When two needy persons approach, charity demands the acceptance of both rather than differentiating family from a non-family member. Jesus’s sacrifice and death on the cross is a pure act of unconditional love, hence it’s a shame for all of us who fail to follow his path and are busy in this blame-game conundrum. This whole discussion would have been more productive if writers and readers start viewing and understanding the multi-dimensional aspects on an issue rather getting bounded or blinded sitting on by commenting from one side of the fence.
Yours etc.,
Sonie Kharduit,
Via email
Banks must make paradigm shift
Editor,
Apropos the article, “Creating positive synergy?” by Dhurjati Mukherjee (ST, July 11, 2018), growing NPA or bad loans is one of the major culprits that is pushing the Indian economy to dire straits. It is a matter of grave concern that of the total loans dispersed by March 31, NPA has reached an all time record of Rs 10.2 lakh crore of which 85.6 per cent have been created by large borrowers! How can they get away with such huge amount of lifeblood of our nation? India cannot afford such a huge amount of loot and corruption.
Our banking sector must adopt a paradigm shift in their policy to replace NPA-generating macro-credits by employment-generating micro-loans for farming, cottage and small enterprises that mainly contribute to livelihoods of our country. It will generate more employment and thus boost the market.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata