Conversion
of Sikhs into Christianity in Punjab
(March
14, 2003)
AMRITSAR:
Religious conversions have generally raised
the hackles of the clergy and bodies associated
with the affected religion. The villages
along the national border in Punjab are
the latest affected, with cases of conversion
of some Sikhs and Hindus to Christianity.
Sikh bodies have called for revamping of
Sikhism-preaching institutions to combat
the trend.
Village Nagoke along the country's border
lies in Amritsar district. Lying adjacent
to the border, these villages have witnessed
upheavals of communal tension. Since independence,
however, they have settled down to a predominantly
Sikh and Hindu population. Happenings and
reports over the last couple of weeks have
shown minor signs of a will to accept change
in the religious texture. Christian missionary
bodies preaching redressal of social ills
supplemented with financial help have gained
acceptance among a section of the economically
backward.
Religious
conversion is already a sensitive issue
that has raised the hackles in other parts
of the country. Here too, whereas some claim
it to be a balm that Christianity provides,
others dismiss it as downright bribery given
in the name of faith. Says one of the young
boys whose family has converted to Christianity,
"As a child I remember my father coming
home drunk and shouting at us without any
control. There was no food in the house
and we were reduced to beggary. Once, some
missionaries came home and taught us lessons
for a better life. "This made my father
give up his bad habits and he started going
to work. With the Lord's blessings things
changed for the better. My father adopted
Christianity and I followed suit."
Another villager, however, puts it down
to giving away of material favours by the
missionaries who are convincing the villagers
to convert. "When I asked the boys as to
why they have converted to Christianity,
they said they had been given cash and free
education. In our village alone, 5 to 6
people have converted and, of course, their
generations to come would also be Christians",
he says.
Prayer
meetings like this one held regularly in
the area preach the message of Christianity
which is said to be attracting the populace.
Six churches have already come up over an
area of 4 or 5 villages. On their part,
Sikh experts and religious leaders have
called for an awakening on the part of Sikh
preachers and social workers to revive the
tenets of peace and equality that lie at
the core of the Sikh religion too. It is
all, they say, about getting the message
accross.
Gurbachan Singh Bachan, former Secretary
of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee,
says " People who are converting from Hinduism
and Sikhism to Christianity are those who
have lost understanding of their own religion.
"Under the moral and ethical extension programme,
the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee,
Singh Sabha, Chief Khalsa Diwan, Khalsa
institutions and the Government need to
educate the people about the values of a
religion, and tell them that all religions
are equal and no religion teaches us to
fight with each other."
Villagers who are against the working of
the missionaries have urged imposition of
control, if not ban, on their activities
before tensions rise further. Somewhere
though, this is also a pointer to maladies
that have crept into Sikhism and Hinduism
that need to be looked into quickly. Former
SGPC general secretary Bibi Kiranjot Kaur
puts it down as the failure of the committee
of religious preachers. "The Sikh preachers
who go to the villages and teach the message
of the Gurus have failed to reach out to
the people and change their attitude. They
have not moulded themselves according to
the demands of the day. They need to be
given orientation and a form of training
so they can carry out their duties in an
effective manner, as per the demands of
the changing times."
The divider between religious groups working
to remove social ills and, as alleged, handing
out money and blatant incentives for conversion,
is a thin one indeed touching on issues
of ethics +and religious sentiment. The
response, perhaps, lies on which side of
that divide one is on.
Muharram
Observed Across India Amid Tight Security
(Go
To Top)
(March
14, 2003)
NEW
DELHI: Muslims across India on Friday
observed Islamic day of mourning or Muharram,
marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, grandson
of Prophet Mohammad, amid tight security.
The day marks an event in the 13th century
in which Imam Hussain was attacked and killed
by his enemies at the battleground of Karbala,
which is now in Iraq.
In Gwalior, devouts carried Tazias (a replica
of Hussain's tomb), in processions and jumped
barefoot on burning coal on Thursday. Local
residents said devouts perform such acts
of self flagellation to enact the pain that
Hussain and his men went through years back.
"These men are performing these acts to
observe the day of Muharram. We understand
and feel the pain Imam Hussain and others
of his tribe went through that fateful day.
This
day has been observed for thousands of years,"
said Ejaz Ahmed, a local resident. The day
is traditionally marked by processions where
some people flog themselves or beat their
chests to mourn the death of Imam Hussain.
Processions were also carried out amid tight
security in Ahmedabad, which bore the the
brunt of the worst Hindu-Muslim violence
in a decade last year.
Security was tightened a day before in towns
with sizeable Muslim population such as
Ahmedabad, Surat and Baroda. Muharram processions
in Gujarat turned violent in the past as
they have been attacked while passing through
Hindu dominated areas. More than 1,000 people,
mostly Muslims, died in last year's riots,
sparked by burning alive of 59 Hindu pilgrims
by a suspected Muslim mob in a train. Non-government
groups put the toll at 2,500. Muslims called
off religious processions last year because
of the riots.
In New Delhi, mourners gathered at the Jama
Masjid, Asia's biggest mosque, and marched
through the thoroughfares carrying out processions.
In Srinagar, Muslims took out the procession
despite a ban on it since 1989. Muslim separatists
have been battling Indian rule in the disputed
region since 1989. Police detained people
from taking out processions and arrested
some of them.
Every year, Muslims across the world mourn
the tragedy of Karbala on the tenth day
of the month of Muharram. It was on this
day that Imam Hussain was killed by the
army of Yazid, who was said to be an usurper
of the Caliphate or a self-appointed successor
to the Prophet. Imam Hussain was killed
along with 72 of his relatives, friends
and supporters. But his sister is reported
to have escaped alongwith some children
from settlements set on fire by the army
of Caliph.