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Church gets Rs 126.7 million between January and March 1999

Union Home Minister L K Advani, newspapers report one morning, says that 70 per cent of the foreign funds received by 'religious, cultural and social' organisations operating in India go to Christian or Church outfits. "Not true," scream the suddenly sprung-from-nowhere spokesmen of the Church in India. "How dare he mislead the people!" they fume in self-righteous indignation. Next day, newspapers splash the statement of these spokesmen who claim to represent the laity and the Church in India. The tone and tenor of their fire-and-brimstone statement denouncing the home minister for "speaking without any evidence" is that of a Sunday preacher promising the fires of hell to those who stray from the straight and narrow.

The home ministry responds with startling details. Evidence, did you say? Here is it: During the quarter October-December 1998 – only a quarter, mind you – foreign contribution amounting to approximately Rs 19.80 crore (Rs 198 million) was received in the country; of this, Rs 14 crores (Rs 140 million) was received by Christian organisations. That is 70 per cent, if I am correct. Newspapers tuck away these figures, the "evidence" that has been asked for, in an obscure corner in sharp contrast to the prominence given to the denunciation by the "spokesmen" of the Church and laity.

I have now with me further evidence, irrefutable and documented by unimpeachable authority: The Government of India. This evidence shows that there has been a sharp increase in the inflow of foreign funds for religious and other organisations during the first quarter of this year, compared to the corresponding period of 1998. From a mere Rs 7.92 crore (Rs 79.2 million) that came in as foreign funding for "religious/non-political organisations and other groups/institutions" during January to March 1998, it has jumped to a startling Rs 17.38 crores (Rs 173.8 million) during January to March 1999. It is obvious from the figures that there has been a more-than-two-fold increase in the inflow of foreign funds for such organisations if we compare the first quarter of 1999 with the corresponding period of 1998.

It could be entirely coincidental that we witnessed a putsch against the Vajpayee government in order to install a certain lady of foreign origin and Christian faith as the prime minister of India in the days following the first quarter of 1999. Some politicians, including dyed-in-red secularists like Comrade Jyoti Basu and Mulayam Singh Yadav, have darkly hinted at "foreign interests" wanting this lady of Italian origin as India’s prime minister. I am not imputing any links; you are free to draw your own conclusions as to whether or not a link exists between the two.

But let me get back to the evidence, the facts on which there can be no debate -- the details of the foreign funds received and by whom. What the figures that I have just cited do not reveal – and now I quote from the document which is an analysis of the final recipients of these funds – is that "Christian missionaries continued to be the largest recipient of foreign funds. These groups received Rs 12.67 crore (Rs 126.7 million) compared to only Rs 6.23 crore (Rs 62.3 million) during the corresponding period last year." That is, the Christian missionaries's share of the total foreign funds that came in was 73 per cent.

One more fact based on the evidence in hand: The United States of America, with "donations of Rs 3.31 crore (Rs 33.1 million)", has "displaced Switzerland as the leading donor". Of the total, Rs 2.97 crore (Rs 29.7 million) has been received by Church or Christian organisations. Germany is a close second – a total of Rs 3.18 crore (Rs 31.8 million) has been received from German sources, of which Rs 2.73 crore (Rs 27.3 million) has gone to Church and Christian organisations. For those who are curious to know, Italy ranks 14th, having contributed Rs 1.11 crore (Rs 11.1 million) to the Christian cause.

It is instructive to go through the list of end-users, if only to spite the spokesmen of the Church who have been spreading the word that much of the money received is spent on tending to Hindus and not Christians. "What are you so upset about?" John Dayal, who enjoys the unique distinction of being invited to have breakfast with President Bill Clinton for his courageous crusade against "Hindu nationalists" and for fighting for "Christian human rights", asked me during a television panel discussion. "The Church spends the money on Hindus, not on us Christians," he added slyly. Does it really?

The evidence, as based on the analysis of receipt and distribution of foreign funds during the first quarter of 1999:

1. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of India, Pune, Maharashtra, received Rs 1.70 crore (Rs 17 million) from the UK, the USA and, curiously enough, Hong Kong to "carry out objectives of the society, etc".

2. Save-A-Family Plan, an organisation based at Parappuram in Kerala, received Rs 1.64 crore (Rs 16.4 million) from Canada for "distribution among the adopted families".

3. Church of South India, Synod, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has received Rs 1.19 crore (Rs 11.9 million) from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands for "religious and charitable work".

4. Ranchi Jesuits Society based at Ranchi in Bihar has received Rs 97.10 lakh (Rs 9.71 million) from the USA, Germany, Belgium and Japan for "construction of buildings, priests's education, etc".

5. Warangal Diocesan Society (RC), based at Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, has received Rs 59.11 lakh (Rs 5.91 million) from the USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland for "construction of engineering college/chapel, maintenance of boarding house and help to the poor etc".

6. Arch Diocese of Shillong, Meghalaya, has received Rs 42.05 lakh (Rs 4.20 million) from Germany, the UK, Italy, Canada and the USA for "construction of a chapel hall and a primary school, mass intention etc".

7. Shillong Provincial of Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christ, based at Shillong in Meghalaya, has received Rs 38.65 lakh (Rs 3.86 million) from Germany, the USA and Italy for "Tribal Welfare Centre, education, hostel, subsidy etc".

These are some examples, based on evidence (I repeat this word so often only to avoid being denounced by defenders of the Christian faith and the secularist), of how funds received from abroad by Church and Christian organisations are spent on preaching the Bible, "adopted families", "religious work", "priests’ education", "building chapels", "mass intention" and "subsidy". I doubt if any of those who benefit from such spending are Hindus.

Three questions come to mind.

First, is it entirely coincidental that there should be a spurt in the inflow of foreign funds during the tenure of the BJP-led government?

Second, is it entirely coincidental that the spurt should be followed by a putsch against an India-born prime minister in an effort to replace him with an Italy-born aspirant?

Third, is it entirely coincidental that the USA should emerge as the largest donor of such funds?

I leave it to you to work out the answers.

Kanchan Gupta