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Dalmia meets Celeste, clarifies Dangs violence

Amberish K Diwanji in Delhi

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad apprised United States Ambassador to India Richard Celeste in New Delhi on Wednesday about the reported attacks on missionaries in the Dangs district, Gujarat.

VHP president Vishnu Hari Dalmia met Celeste to clarify the VHP's position. According to VHP central secretary Manoj Joshi, Dalmia told the envoy that the media reports about attacks on churches and missionaries were distorted and one-sided.

Dalmia pointed out that the VHP is an international organisation registered in 80 countries, including the US, and that its activists did not partake in any of the violent assaults. He claimed that the English press based in Delhi was extremely prejudiced against the VHP and hence gave false and inaccurate reports about the situation in the Dangs district. He asked the ambassador to glean from the Gujarati press whose reports, he claimed, were more accurate and unbiased.

Dalmia also told the ambassador that till their meeting, he had not heard the VHP's side of the story and hence it was unfair to form judgements based only on reports and meetings from those who were against the VHP for political and other reasons.

Joshi added that in the Dangs, only one church was actually burnt. The others were just plain huts bearing crosses. "Every hut with a cross does not become a church," he said, "Some of them are just houses of some of the people."

However, while the VHP officials have met the US envoy, it may not be enough. Other countries too have begun to take note of the reported attacks on missionaries and churches and are making enquiries. Visiting Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker asked President K R Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about the violence. German Ambassador to India Heinrich-Dietrich Dieckmann said he had been instructed by his government to take up the issue with the government.

Meanwhile, the VHP has strongly objected to the Vatican's statement deploring the attacks on the missionaries and termed them as violence perpetuated by upper-caste Hindus. Joshi said the VHP considered the Vatican's statement a blatant interference in India's internal affairs. He said Hinduism was not against any religion. On the contrary, Hinduism believed in universal humanity, unlike many other religions, and it was not right to blame Hindus for the violence.

Joshi pointed out that many Christian and Muslim countries do not allow conversions within their respective countries whereas India was open and allowed conversions. However, he said the conversion must be one of conviction and choice, not forcible or under allurement, which is the case in 99 per cent of the conversions taking place today. The VHP official pointed that Supreme Court Justice A N Ray had stated that freedom to worship was not a freedom to convert.

He said most conversions took place in poor tribal and dalit areas where the poor were induced to convert in exchange for medicines, clothes, food, and schools. Joshi said in tribal schools, children were taught the Bible under the garb of secular education.

Joshi said the VHP would strongly oppose any plan by the Bharatiya Janata Party to declare 2000 as the Year of Christ. "When no year has been celebrated for any Hindu leader, why should there be one for Christ?" he asked, adding, "Such a declaration will only encourage the missionaries in their activities to convert more poor people."

EARLIER REPORT:
Government may declare 1999 as the Year of Christ

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