Is it wise to target a single community?

Students belonging to other religions are our brothers and sisters

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: “If I hear of even a single instance of religious conversion taking place in any one of our schools, I will shut it down immediately.” Archbishop Peter Machado’s view on unlawful proselytizing is unequivocal and he says so, using the windows of free time he gets during what is clearly a busy Saturday morning to speak with News Trail. There are over one lakh students in Christian institutions in the city alone - “Students belonging to other religions are our brothers and sisters.”

Even so, while he doesn’t support deceitful or forced conversions, Article 25 of the Constitution, he explains, “Allows me to speak about my religion and also propagate it. When this freedom is provided for in the Constitution, why do small assemblies make such a noise about it,” he questioned. His next point is pertinent: “Is it so easy to convert a person?” He was responding to MLA Gulihatti Shekhar’s claim that thousands of people, including his mother, had converted to Christianity in his village. “I have high regard for MLA Gulihatti Shekhar,” said the Archbishop. “But how can anyone force their way into your family and convert them? If it was forced, all of them are free to return to their own religions.”

A recent survey by the State Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Department. a precursor, perhaps, to the anti-conversion bill , said there are 1,790 churches in the state. “Even we did not know that,” Archbishop Machado explains. “If some of these churches have been identified as unauthorised, I request the government to take action and authorise them.” His stance is balanced and pragmatic, even in the face of heavy fire. “I can understand that people have constructed or repurposed existing buildings as churches. However, I do stand by my statement that it is not wise for the government to target a single community.”

Archbishop Machado led from the front when the Christian community, who make up around 1.87 percent of the state’s population, became what he calls the “soft targets” of the proposed anti-conversion bill, announced by Chief Minister Bommai on November 12. The CM’s move was in response to a sudden clamour from a group of some 50 seers from Karnataka’s mutts, demanding an anti-conversion law. It was an unusual request, one that targeted only the state’s Christian community, who make up around 1.87 percent of the total population. More curious still was Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s willingness to relent. On November 12, he declared that an anti-conversion bill had been brought to the table.

His relations with the current, BJP-ruled state government, led by CM Basavaraj Bommai, have always been cordial. “I was the first to meet him and appreciate his decision saying that unauthorized structures built on government lands should not be demolished. Personally, I have great regard for him.”

Still, he has not held back in his criticism of the proposed law, calling it “futile and completely unnecessary.” However, there are certain boundaries we must all learn to tolerate to keep peace and harmony. The government might just have crossed a line with this recent provision - “Why are we a soft target,” he asks. “We are peaceloving people and would never cause harm to anyone. Even if something goes wrong, we carry out candle-light protests that don’t’ disturb anybody. We are patriots and love our country as much as every Indian does.”

Will allow fringe elements, moral policing

The law, he says, does not have any real requirement. “There are enough laws to punish extremism. A person involved in forced conversions deserves to be dealt with according to the law.” An anti-conversion stance by the government, he fears, will simply encourage fringe elements to take the law into their own hands and perpetuate communal unrest in an “otherwise peaceful state.” There are enough cases of moral policing that raise doubts about the system. “Why don’t the police handle these crimes? Why do you need vigilante groups? Why not file a complaint and let police take action against these miscreants?