Andhra Jyothy: Proselytizing Unlimited!

Posted By on December 5, 2011 in Columns, Proselytisation in Andhra | 7 Comments

Andhra Jyothy is the third largest circulated newspaper in Andhra Pradesh. From November 10 to 16th, the newspaper ran a six-part series on religious conversions in AP. The following is a translation of their articles. No personal views have been recorded in any of the six parts below.  Read part 1 in Telugu.  The first part was translated by Krishna Rao. 

God calls you – A religious conversion spree in AP.

There are 18 proselytizing organisations that are currently working in India, along with 45 associated organisations. Andhra Pradesh (AP) leads in the number of religious converts, with main focus on districts like Krishna, Guntur, Prakasham, Godavari , Medak, Rangareddy, Adilabad, Karimnagar, and Kadapa.

Reports from RSS suggest that nearly 10% of the population in these districts have already converted. The organisations divide the state landscape into two parts – with the proselytizing effort in one part lead by 29 organisations and other with the remaining 77 organisations. In addition to this there are about 205 sister organisations, and countless small organizations supporting them from ground up.

Operation – AD2000

India: A population of 100 crore people with a majority of them from “other religions”. It is into this landscape of religious diversity that international missionary organisations have rushed into. A special project, AD2000, was started to co-ordinate all missionaries in India including in the area of funding was launched in 1995 with the congregation being attended by prominent Christian religious leaders from all over the world. This project is also known as “Joshua project.”

The project consisted of three parts – namely plug,prim, and nice.

Under “Plug”,  experts will attempt to ‘plug’ (as the name goes) into pockets of demographic segments that fall under the poverty line to look at means for effective targetting. The next stage “prim” involves the targetting process itself involving localised or customised prayers, religious preachings/congregations and further refinement of the demographic targetting. Under “Nice” preachers move into affect the actual conversions. Experts are of the view that as part of the “Joshua Project” a lot of strategists from the US have visited India for ‘studying’ the prevailing conditions.

It is also said that the extent and scope of research, and diversified classification surprised even our intelligence agencies. It is believed that the first phase of “Joshua Project “is over and currently “Joshua-2” is in the flow. All these details have been published by “Tehelka” in their latest report “Top Secret”.

Having had a degree of success in coastal Andhra regions proselytising efforts have effected delta regions as well. Missionaries have travelled on the road of charity and have instead extended the reach of their religion.

States like MadhyaPradesh, Gujarat, Odissa, TamilNadu, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jarkhand have formulated laws against religious conversions. Although there were no such laws during the  British rule per se few princely states such as Raighad and Udaipur had put laws in place to check conversions. After Independence, few laws were stipulated like Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill (1954) and Backward communities (Religious Protection) Bill (1960).

Unfortunately, the bills did not pass through in Parliament due to lack of a majority vote. Even the Freedom to Religion Bill (1979) was withdrawn due to lack of majority. Orissa and Madhya Pradesh respectively have produced acts in 1968, 1969. Arunachal Pradesh did it in 1978, while in 2002 laws were introduced in Tamil Nadu to ban forceful conversions.

If we were to go by the statistics 22000 newspaer houses, over 1890 radio and TV stations are run by Churches worldwide. It is estimated that, over the next five years , 75% of Hindus in Malaysia will be converted.

Crime and Punishment
It is a criminal offence to undertake forceful religious conversion by Indian law (IPC, Sections 295A, 298)

If proved guilty, the perpetrators can be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and a fine. Orissa and Madhya Pradesh have ensured by law that forceful conversion of children, women and of individuals belonging to scheduled castes and tribes (SC/ST) would be rewarded double the punishment. Further proselytising efforts in places of pilgrimage of other religions are also banned. Further instigation of religious fervor by inflammatory speeches is a crime too. (IPC, Sec 153 (A))

(Continued in Part 2: The story of Ramalakshmi of Srubujji Palli, Srikakulam District. Widowed for 12 years  now she was lured with something she desperately sought: survival of her two sons and a decent education. Ramalakshmi now goes by the name Mary.)

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  • http://twitter.com/straighthindu straighthindu

     this conversion is not that easy to reverse and not as silly as even literates make it out to be.. it is a big thing and once christians reach 30% or 25% of state, hinduism will vanish or reduce to 20% in just 30 years… WAKE UP HINDUS..

  • http://twitter.com/ritasnatter Rita Putatunda

    I grew up in a convent boarding school. The school had an orphanage. Poverty stricken girls used to be brought there and converted to Christianity.

  • http://twitter.com/krishnabaalu krishnabaalu

    In Hyderabad the newly converted Hindu families are housed by the Missionaries in a single Apartment and exclusive colonies known as Church Colonies. They first offer small portions for rent for Hindus then they surround and convert them over a period.

    The missionaries r spending billions of rupees in the process. Residential apartments small shops are being converted to make shift churches much against the Law. The congress Government is well aware of these activities and also encourage them as part of “anti-Hindu” agenda. During 2009 Elections crores of cash were stashed in Churches and distributed by YSR son in law. No IT raids, No CBI inquiries! I am afraid we are heading for a genocide of a xian kind?     

  • http://twitter.com/prashanthkpp Prashanth K.P.

    Nothing surprising here. Evangelic conversion has been sort of at par, if not more, with Islamic conversion and both their targets are HINDUS!! And we, the Hindus, are a mere bunch of jokers who prefer to be jolly good wine drinking elitists rather than be remotely adhering to our cultural values, neither imbibing nor imparting to our kids what little we got from our parents. We shy away from values with a panic that perhaps it would reduce our social elite status (wtf)! Myself included, by the way!

    In Coimbatore, there is a small township called *Cheran Nagar* of about a thousand houses or so for retired NGOs and IT personnel. It is on the highway going towards Mettupalayam towards Ooty for those who are familiar with Coimbatore landscape.  A cozy small little township consisting entirely of old people – all of them HINDUS!  About 4 years ago, two to three adjacent plots was bought by a benami buyer and construction work began on a large scale. The sale as well as the construction was camouflaged in secrecy as to who was the owner and what was being constructed. None of the residents were aware what was coming up – despite efforts by them to find out more about it from Town Planning & Electricity sources  (those responsible in these Departments were adequately bribed not to let off details).  Anyway, what eventually sprung up was a novel *CHURCH* right in their hearts, a priest deployed – obviously a mallu guy the last time I saw him, and SUNDAY MASS + other prayers progressing at a fervent pace with NOT ONE SOUL OF A XIAN AROUND!!!! The Priest was unnervingly admonishing his preaching to an empty hall with delight!

    The neighbors are too muted and dumbfounded. When I personally enquired with those neighbors sharing the compound wall with the CHURCH, they were sadly cursing those Hindu owners who once owned these small bits of land and discreetly sold it off for better perks to the CHURCH!

    Members of CRI who belong to Coimbatore can perhaps visit this area and have first hand experience of a Sunday Mass, if desired :) :)

    What more to say.  I rest my case.

    JAI HIND!!!

  • Anonymous

    This is one more story from my house maid in Rajaymundry, AP. First year after conversion, they gave a saree and Rs.500 for Chrismus . From second year, they asked to her donate 10% of her income. This is what happens within each church after you became a christian. Andhra Jhoti can dig into this financial revenue that these missionaries generates.

  • Ram Kumar Krishnan

    Thanks for translating and posting this wonderful report. Reading this one question arises in my mind, why does BJP or any other hindu outfit remain silent on the huge amount NGOs receive in the name of foreign donations. Its a fact in broad daylight that much of this money is going towards luring and conversion. Why does’nt BJP take this issue in hand. This is far urgent issue than building ram mandir in ayodhya. Who is going to bell the cat

  • Anonymous

    I find it strange that the author has not analysed the reasons for such mass conversions in an objective way, There is no concept of forced conversions, conversion is a voluntary act of forging of a new relation rather than a change of religion. If conversion was so rampant as the article claim, then why are christians still only 2.5% of the population. I became a christian not for any material gains and no one forced me into this. For me change of religion is change in my personality,conduct and behaviour which I have experienced as a Christian.