\u201cThis proselytization will mean no peace in the world.
Conversions are harmful to India.
If I had the power and could legislate I should certainly stop all proselytizing.\u201d

\u201cConversions are to blame for some of the religious violence that erupts in the country.
Conversions lead to animosity among religious groups. They also lead to retaliation
by re-conversion. As a result, communal rioting, arson and looting follow.
Induced conversions are a grave threat to national and world peace and harmony.\u201d

\u201cAttempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally banned. Conversions are forbidden by law in China. Here we take a lenient view of conversion and Christian bodies have been taking advantage of the Hindu sense of tolerance.\u201d

Religious leaders from around the world call organized conversion
a form of cultural imperialism and describe it as
an aggressive act against indigenous cultures:

In the first week of July 03, I received an e-mail message captioned: \u201cRELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS ARE WRONG!\u201d from Sri Girish Parikh, (E-mail: <girish116@yahoo.com>), an NRI, residing at Chicago. A staunch devotee of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda, he is an author and journalist. Recently, he wrote a letter to the Editor of the TIME (USA) Magazine, a copy of which was forwarded to me. It read as follows:

\u201cThe cover story of TIME (USA) Magazine (Web site: www.time.com) \u2018Should Christians convert Muslims?\u2019 [RELIGION, June 30] raises the question: Why should Christians convert non-Christians to Christianity? The basic premise of any religious conversion movement is wrong! When Christians try to convert those not belonging to Christianity, they usually assume that non-Christian religions are false. Indeed, it is a wrong assumption. The other religions are equally true as Christianity. Hindus, who are also the target for conversion, not merely tolerate but \u2018accept all religions as true\u2019 as Swami Vivekananda revealed at the World\u2019s Parliament of Religions on Sept. 11, 1893 in Chicago. The time is long overdue that other religions also accept all religions as true. \u2018As many faiths, so many paths\u2019 leading to the same God, taught Sri Ramakrishna, the guru of Swami Vivekananda, from his own experiences. The result of such understanding and practice will be lasting world peace and prosperity.\u201d

But the fact is that the aggressive religions are dogmatically wedded to the credo of \u201csuperiority\u201d and \u201cuniqueness\u201d. They harp upon it day in and day out, respecting no other religion than their own. They therefore love to indulge in the competing game of increasing their numbers by winning and saving the souls of \u2018Kafirs\u2019 and \u2018Heathens\u2019 -- these being the two designations they have conferred upon all those who do not subscribe to their one-way traffic to Heaven which lies far away, beyond the clouds. The aggressive religions have thus taken it as their God-given right to destroy ancient faiths and cultures. Consequently, individuals and societies are the victims of violence brought about by conversions, the world over.

In this context, I am reminded of a very thoughtful observation made by a statesman of India. Sri R. Venkataraman, the former President of India, rightly pointed out: \u201cConversions are to blame for some of the religious violence that erupts in the country. Conversions lead to animosity among religious groups. They also lead to retaliation by re-conversion. As a result, communal rioting, arson and looting follow. Induced conversions are a grave threat to national and world peace and harmony.\u201d This, in a nutshell, is the adverse consequence of conversion, which should be noted well.

Laura Kelly, the author of \u201cConversions in India a Geopolitical time bomb\u201d, warns: \u201cWell-organized religious conversion can be a potential bomb to explode cultural values, disturb political affiliations and torpedo national loyalties\u2026\u201d Therefore, he says that the \u201cConversions have to stop\u201d. Further, he goes on to say, \u201cIn this context one would like to remind the Christian missionaries \u2018that thou shall not convert\u2019 as the eleventh commandment. Theocentric and theocratic eclectics are as dangerous as nuclear warheads. The church's concept of \u2018my god is your god, but your god is no god,\u2019 does not foster harmony and fraternity. This has to be changed into \u2018your god is my god and my god is your god and accepted by people of all religions\u2026\u2019 Secularism should not come to be understood that Hindus in India could be forced into inaction in the face of dire threats to their religion.\u201d

The Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was forthright when he stated the obvious: \u201cThis proselytization will mean no peace in the world. Conversions are harmful to India. If I had the power and could legislate I should certainly stop all proselytizing.\u201d

\u201cIn fact missionary activity is like ideological warfare,\u201d reminds the renowned Vedic scholar of the U.S.A., David Frawley. According to him, \u201cIt is systematic, motivated and directed, that looks to establish a particular religion for all human beings, in which the diversity of human race, mind and needs is forgotten.\u201d Further, \u201cThe global missionary business is one of the largest businesses in the world. Not only Catholic Church but also various Protestant organizations have set aside billions to convert non-Christians to Christianity. Organized conversion activity is like trained army invading a country from the outside. The

missionary army goes to communities where often there is little resistance to it, or which may not be aware of its power or motives. It will take advantage of the communities that are tolerant and open-minded about religion and use that to promote a missionary agenda that destroys this tolerance.\u201d

As noted by the renowned Journalist and Author, Sri M. V. Kamath, \u201cAttempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally banned. Conversions are forbidden by law in China. Here we take a lenient view of conversion and Christian bodies have been taking advantage of the Hindu sense of tolerance."

The Religious leaders from around the world who participated in the \u201cFirst World Congress for the Preservation of Religious Diversity\u201d, held at Delhi, called organized conversion a form of cultural imperialism and have described it as an aggressive act against indigenous cultures.

Hindu seers have strongly condemned religious conversions. For them \u201cConversion is an act of violence\u201d, and they have categorically declared that the \u201cAggressive religions have no God-given right to destroy ancient faiths and cultures.\u201d They have therefore welcomed the recent promulgation of the ordinance by the Government of Tamil Nadu to ban religious conversions \u2018by use of force or by allurements or by any fraudulent means\u2019. The Kanchipuram Sankaracharya, HH Sri Jayendra Saraswati, has also supported the Tamil Nadu Bill banning forcible conversions.

In the words of a legal luminary, Sri M. N. Rao, the former Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh, \u201cWhen the highest court of this country has upheld the constitutionality of laws prohibiting fraudulent conversions, any criticism that these laws are aimed at depriving the rights of minority religions is absolutely baseless. Attacking the Union Government or the State Governments on the ground that they are failing to uphold the Constitution by allowing the above laws to come into existence, is clearly motivated and aimed at gaining cheap publicity in international fora. What is surprising is that no responsible functionary from the government or major political parties so far has presented a correct picture as to the entire controversy. The United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights must be apprised of the legal position obtaining in this country before further damage is done by ill-informed critics\u201d.

Citing laws to prohibit forcible conversions, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had concluded that there was no religious freedom in India. Referring to this wrong conclusion of the USCIRF, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, head of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, recently said that India should set the record straight. The inclusion of India by the USCIRF in its list of Countries of Particular Concern is unfair, pointed out the Swami. The Indian Government should therefore constitute a similar commission to present before the world the country's highly accommodative multi-religious society, he stated. India was a place of refuge for other religions and yet all of them were accommodated. We should have our own set of paradigms for religious freedom and others cannot judge us. The Indian commission, comprising leaders of all religions, should study the situation across the country and give a report to the USCIRF which was oblivious of the sentiments of the Indian people while compiling its report but which will definitely respect the factual report of another nation's commission. Swami Dayananda Saraswati said the Indian commission should have members who could view the situation dispassionately and submit an authentic report.

Referring to the observation made by Pope John Paul II to Indian bishops in the Vatican recently that free exercise of the natural right to religious freedom was prohibited in India, Swami Dayananda Saraswati said it was a serious charge, which deserved an appropriate response from the citizens and religious leaders. In this context, he appreciated the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalitha's criticism of the Pope's remarks. She had stated that Pope had no business to comment on the anti-forcible conversion law recently enacted either by her Government or any other State in the country. \u201cThe Pope has no authority to talk about any legislation passed by democratically-elected governments in India,\u201d Ms. Jayalalitha told the media, reacting to the concerns expressed by the Pope over laws against conversions in India.

Under the circumstances, this small compilation is being placed before one and all, particularly the elders and perceptive readers, for a careful perusal, reflection and deliberation on the subject matter. The contents hereof are selected from various reliable and authentic sources, which are mentioned at the end of each