The Christian Enterprise and the Government
By R.C. Das (1954)
The Rev. R.C. Das is Sevak Pramukh of the Khristpanthi Ashram in Banaras, U.P.
The Christian Is Concerned That Conversion Be an Inward Change
During a tour in Assam some time ago, President Rajendra Prasadji is reported to have said, ’Missionaries would be given full freedom to preach Christianity and to do other kinds of social service to the population of India, but none of these activities should be inspired by any desire for conversion.
It is a different thing to convert’.1 The sub-editorial notes, ‘By the Way’ of the same paper, dated 23-2-54, also expresses similar sentiments. ‘Their services will be more appreciated if they were not conditioned by one thing’ - which obviously means conversion. The President expressed his appreciation ‘of the good work that missionaries had been doing. These services should be rendered out of love for people and not with a motive of conversion’. What the President intends to convey by the term, ‘conversion’ is not clear from his speech. Other highly placed persons including Katjuji have also talked vaguely for some time about ‘conversion’ and ‘proselytisation’ in the same breath. It may be that these speeches on functional occasions do not reflect the considered view of the Government in regard to foreign missions and their work in this country. Yet on the common mind, these words, not fully explained, leave the impression of their being authoritative statements of policy. Besides these occasional references made by Government representatives to the Christian movement, the Indian press in some areas (especially in the vernacular editions) have launched a scurrilous agitation against all Christian activities, and in some centres there is undue interference with legitimate Christian preaching.
People Change
Now if the President means by ‘conversion’ the baptism of large numbers of depressed classes or tribals in different parts of India, especially Assam, Bihar and the M.P., then it should be made known to him that there have been many missionaries and Indian Christians who have not supported these social transfers of large numbers where they happened without corresponding inward change. The charge is often levelled that inducements, direct or indirect, are offered to encourage the poor to embrace Christianity. Let us examine this charge? In the first place, is it natural for anyone to leave his ancestral religion through the expectation of petty gain? Is it not rather the truth that these tribals and untouchables have no religion worth the name and have been condemned and persecuted by higher classes of Hindus for centuries? They have been frustrated in a religion and culture that has ill-treated them all along. If some of them turn to Christianity in the hope of a better social status and for a more spiritual religion and for freedom and fellowship, is it unnatural? How and why is it that so many of them (a much larger number than have become Christians) embraced Islam? These large defections from the Hindu community in the past have had the same cause, i.e., the unsatisfactory social and religious conditions within Hinduism and lack of hope that they can ever rise from their untouchability, superstition and poverty, and be accepted as free, equal men with others as long as they remain within the purview of Hinduism. Many Hindus regard them as incapable of any intelligence and spiritual apprehension. In this they are sadly mistaken. These lowly men have a shrewd common sense and a practical judgment.
Motive of Service
The inducements inherent in foreign mission service which will remain in any Christian work, are the following:
A good system of education through a cluster of schools and colleges throughout the country. This system fosters discipline, character and a better economy. Herein missionaries have been pioneers. Especially has their influence been seen in the spread of primary education, vocational schools and cottage industries.
Humanitarian service through medical colleges, hospitals and dispensaries, through Homes for the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb, for widows and orphans.
Economic uplift through centres of rural reconstruction, through industrial, engineering and agricultural institutions.
The country and the Government have expressed unstinted praise for all these.
Now what some of our Hindu friends do not see and do not want to see is that many of our common people have recognised through such service the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and have been naturally drawn to Him, often in spite of themselves and without anybody’s asking. Is this an inducement worthy of condemnation? If large sections of the depressed classes, and animists in the hills and jungles of India have actually been delivered from superstitious and violent practices, from the oppression of evil spirits, and from the tyranny of landlords, moneylenders and Brahmin priests, is this good or bad for the country?
For a long time Hindus have been copying methods of social service, notably the Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj, the Servants of India Society. Several organisations have come into being through the influence of Gandhiji. Many Hindu Missions are seeking to re-convert Christians and Muslims. They have every right to do so. Moreover, in the work of uplift there is still a wide field of work. Even now there are five crores of untouchables and many more in the lower grades of Hindu society. The work of uplift should not stop at the level of legislation and Government efforts only. All true and lasting reform comes through change of public opinion and practice. Yet, even then, if some prefer to leave Hindu society for Islam and Christianity, have they not the right to do so? Is a man not free to change his Faith? Is not religion a personal matter, one of conscience for a man or a group? After all, what does it matter to a Government if some call themselves Hindus, others Muslims or Christians? Are they not all Indians, patriotic and loyal? If loyalty is wanting, not necessarily because of religion, it can be dealt with.
Why Preach?
The statements that one may preach but not convert, or that in serving one should not be actuated by motives of conversion, show confusion of thought and a lack of knowledge of psychology and of normal human behaviour. Why is something preached? Is it not to convince others? And when convinced, are they not inwardly converted? The word ‘conversion’ simply means ‘change’. The change may be deep or shallow, but it is conversion. When a man changes his political conviction he will act in a new way. The Hindu does not object to conversion in politics, in a new attitude to science, history or philosophy. How then is objection to religious conversion valid where a man’s happiness and welfare are even more at stake? Did the Hindu object to the Aryanization of aboriginals and Dravidians and the expansion of Hinduism far beyond the border of India? He does not today object that Buddhism and Vaishnavism one day denied the Vedas and the practices enjoined by them, the outcome of which was a genuine intellectual and spiritual conversion. All of us, irrespective of our creed, are bound to respect and continue to practise the common culture of Bharat. But there are many harmful elements in a country’s tradition and life, some of which are indistinguishable from religious culture. We should not be bound by them. Where minorities, be they Christian, Muslim or even Hindu, do not share certain views of the majority community and do not countenance certain practices, they should be exempt from any form of persecution. India has gained a reputation among the nations of the world for tolerance and breadth of mind. This reputation must be jealously guarded and must be founded on fact throughout the whole range of Indian life.
It is often forgotten that from the first century A.D. right down to the present time many enlightened and cultured Hindus have embraced Christianity. The number of high caste converts in the Church in India is proportionately larger than in the vast Hindu community. They sought truth and peace, and found it in Jesus Christ. The writer is one among thousands of such Christians. Others have heard and obeyed the Gospel.
Desire for Conversion
‘Good work should not be inspired by the desire for conversion.’ If a missionary goes about his work professionally, concerned primarily with numbers, unconcerned about any inward change in those who embrace Christianity, his conduct must be condemned. That there are such misguided zealots is not denied. The Church should be purged of such workers. If any are proved to have offered bribes to make the poor to become Christians or are found engaged in subversive activities, they should be punished. But our Government leaders and Hindu friends alike should exercise discrimination. Moreover, they should ponder over the legitimacy and spontaneity of the desire for conversion whoever the parties may be. That there should be no such desire demands something which is unnatural and wrong. All the love and the spirit of service in a true Christian flows, he believes, from Christ who has loved and saved the world.
Christ is the best gift and the greatest good that a Christian has to give to all men. This gift may be accepted or rejected; there is no compulsion or fraud. To desire that others may accept such a Master is natural and right. To ask a Christian to serve without thought of the source of his love and inspiration is to ask him to be artificial and hypocritical.
A few months ago the Prime Minister expressed an admirable sentiment when he said that Christianity was an old established and respected religion and free to function in India.2 When this becomes the attitude of all responsible leaders and enlightened Hindus there will be goodwill and co-operation among all classes of people.
Have Light in Yourself
No one should compel himself to show to others more of his inner life than he feels it natural to show. We can do no more than let others judge for themselves what we inwardly and really are, and do the same ourselves with them. The one essential thing is that we strive to have light in ourselves. Our strivings will be recognised by others, and when people have light in themselves, it will shine out from them. Then we get to know each other as we walk together in the darkness, without needing to pass our hands over each other’s faces, or to intrude into each other’s hearts.
— ALBERT SCHWEITZER