Shocking!

["Ram Narayanan" <ramn@adelphia.net>]

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Friends:

Although this is not related to any of the topics currently being
debated on this Forum, it so shocked me that I thought I need to
share it with all of you.

I learnt something that was breath-taking yesterday from a Christian friend
who is an intellectual and an extremely knowledgeable person. He is
of Indian heritage. Since he is closely investigating the matter, he
didn't want his name to be revealed. This is
what he says:

QUOTE:
XYZ has raised quite a storm by his equating the RSS/VHP with the Muslim
fundamentalists.  It will be now useful if he can back up his claims with
published articles etc.  All of us should attempt to grow beyond our
positions and in that sense XYZ's article might prove useful.
This is what I'd like to say.  If hindus are now talking a language of
intolerance let us keep in mind that this has been routine talk for the
semitic religions (christian, muslim, jewish) for hundreds of years.  XYZ,
I am with you on this, but really we christians have been guilty of
insensitive behavior and language for eons. Let me tie this in to a recent
happening, stunning in its audacity, that I have been researching for the
past couple of weeks.  Its a long piece but I urge you all to read it.

Mr. Embree, the one who testified in the commission on religious liberty
made the claim that foreign missionaries have not been issued visas for the
past several years.  This struck me as odd as I have personally seen at
least a dozen of these recent arrivals in India in the last couple of years.

Talking exclusively to christian sources, I pieced together a recent case
that threatens the social structure of India.

In 1997, elections to the position of president of the Seventh Day Adventist
church in India were conducted.  (The Seventh Day Adventist church is the
fastest growing church in India today).  An Indian was elected by a huge
majority.  The president of the World Seventh Day Adventist church then flew
in from Silver Spring, MD., invalidated the election and appointed a
Canadian missionary in his place.  This missionary, Ron Watts, moved to
India on a business visa provided by the embassy here in Washington (they
were completely aware that he was a religious missionary), and proceeded to
pour in a few million dollars into India(via Nepal) where converts were
practically bought.

Here is one example how this was done.  This last march (while Clinton was
visiting India) Watts and two other foreign missionaries chartered a
helicopter.  Their modus operandi was to fly to a rural area(their Indian
operatives would have collected a crowd), drop sweets from the air, land,
preach, baptise and then move on.  I spoke on the telephone to two people
who were personally present at similar events in Ibrahimpatnam and Tenali in
Andhra Pradesh. Even these Indians--Christians--felt this to be blatant
purchase of converts, and very unchristian.

In July this same missionary, anxious to be legitimately elected, flew 50
Indian "church leaders" to Toronto and in a large Adventist world council
got himself "elected" unanimously.  I personally spoke to three of these 50
who are now in Maryland.

In July this same Watts was chief guest at a meeting of three thousand
Indian Adventists here in Maryland.  Less than two months later the
organizers of this meeting were key promoters of the demonstrations against
Vajpayee when he visited.  In a troubling twist to this story, one of the
organizers of this event told me(last Saturday), that if even one Seventh
Day Adventist is attacked in India, hundreds of Indians in Fiji will be
killed because the recent Fiji coup leader George...whatever his name...is a
protector of Seventh Day Adventists around the world.

This missionary Ron Watts continues to do his mischief in India (he lives in
Hosur, Tamil Nadu and is the only foreign leader of a church in India) with
seeming impunity.  Huge amounts of money continue to pour in.  I personally
heard him disparage the BJP government in December, 1998 (he looked at his
watch and said it would be only hours before the BJP government fell--
eliciting supportive laughs from the several dozen Indians around).  At that
time however I did not know the extent of his operations in India.
I feel that it is our duty--hindu, christian, muslim--to put our house in
order before we prepare to fix our country.  In the case of this missionary
even his Indian supporters are now concerned because of the  social damage
this sort of conversions can cause.

I promised the Indian christians I spoke to that I would share this story
with all of you and see if anything can be done to stop this particular
missionary.  Quote the article but please not my name.  We christians have
become hyper-sensitive about these matters.  By the way the world Adventist
leader who flew in to India and invalidated the election resigned a year
later when he was caught for illegal money laundering.  The story appeared
in the Washington Post as well as other major papers.

My plea is this.  Let us develop the ability to criticize that which we hold
dear to us.  It may be religion, it may be country but this is the only way
we can grow.  I love my religion but I love my country more and I'm
sensitive when its interests are threatened.  This does not mean that I'm
exonerating the RSS/VHP.  All I'm saying is that there is nonsense enough to
go around and we shouldn't avert our eyes especially when the evidence hurts
us.
UNQUOTE.

Any comments?

Ram Narayanan



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