People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

Wither Religious Freedom?

THE grievous assault on the American missionary, Joseph Cooper, by the RSS elements near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, once again demonstrates the fascist intolerance of the Saffron Brigade.  As a part of pursuing its communal agenda, this attack was intended to drive a sense of fear into the dalits and tribals whom the missionary had visited and "prevent" them from converting to Christianity. Whether the missionary was indulging in such attempts of conversion is not the main issue. The moot point is that this attack infringes upon the right of the people to choose their religion -- a right that is constitutionally guaranteed in the Indian Republic.

The notice served on the missionary by the civil authorities in Kerala to leave India within a week on the grounds of violating immigration rules may be technically an appropriate action.  But the issue involved is not violation of immigration rules.  He was not attacked by the RSS on this ground. He was attacked precisely to advance the communally intolerant agenda of the RSS which seeks to destroy the secular democratic character of the Indian Republic. In its place, it seeks to establish a rabidly intolerant fascistic "Hindu Rashtra".

Worse is the fact that the minister of state for home affairs at the centre chooses to justify the attack on the grounds of violation of immigration rules. Instead of taking action against those who perpetrated this heinous crime, the union minister has virtually justified this attack.  Similar was the justification when Graham Staines was tortured to death in Orissa some years ago.  On that occasion as well, instead of firmly dealing with the culprits, the prime minister himself sought to justify it by calling for a `national debate' on religious conversions!  That the issue of conversion was a bogey to advance the RSS agenda was once again confirmed by the CBI when the investigating officer told the trial court on January 16 that Staines was "not converting tribals through inducement" (The Indian Express, January 17, 2003). 

The reaction and response of the Congress state government was only predictable.  By refraining from outrightly condemning the violent attack and identifying the political forces behind this crime, the chief minister has only reaffirmed the Congress's prevarication in frontally confronting the communal forces.    The Congress apparently refuses to learn that a "pale saffron" approach (which appears to be the well-thought out strategy that it is employing elsewhere in the country as well, as evidenced by the Madhya Pradesh chief minister's recent statements) is no way to fight the RSS-led   saffron forces. 

Under these circumstances, it is the duty of all Indian patriots to defend the secular democratic foundations of the Indian Republic. India can survive and thrive only when Indians celebrate the diversity and plurality of our social order rather than condemn it like the RSS does.  The RSS agenda of seeking to straightjacket India's diversity into a monolithic unity of its definition needs to be defeated if India, as we know of it today, has to be safeguarded.