Christian Missionary Role In India - 5

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Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 11-18-2005

Pioneer.com
QUOTE100 kids, 15 wives, one man 
Syed Zarir Hussain / Baktawng (Mizoram)
A tribal Christian cult leader in Mizoram could well claim a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records - 15 wives and more than 100 children staying together.

"My father was married to 15 wives and we have more than 100 brothers and sisters although I am not sure about the exact number. Maybe it could more than a hundred but definitely not less," 45-year-old Nunparliana, the eldest of the siblings, said.

The head of the family, 70-year-old Zionnghaka, is in good health although he prefers to shy away from the outside world and leads a solitary life inside their hilltop commune of Baktawng, a tiny village 70 kilometres south of Mizoram's capital, Aizawl.

Three of Zionnghaka's wives deserted him and as many of them have died. The family practices a Christian cult called 'Channa' named after Zionnghaka's father, Challianchana, who died in 1997.

Challianchana was believed to have 50 wives with Zionnghaka being the eldest of his many children - there is no count available of the number of children Challianchana had.

The Channa cult founded by Challianchana sometime in the early 1930s is now spread over four generations and boasts of having some 1,600 members.

"We are all happy and like any other churches we believe in the existence of God but the only distinctive difference is that our denomination allows us to marry more than one wife," Nunparliana said.

From a playground to a school and a church, the village of Baktawng resembles any other tribal village but for the fact that the community members belong to one single family. Most of the community members are today known across Mizoram for their skills in carving out wooden furniture and pottery items.

The circumstances leading to the establishment of the cult was as bizarre as the traditions and practices followed by the Channa sect whose ancestors worshipped a traditional drum called the 'Khuang' until the arrival of the Welsh missionaries.

"The Welsh missionaries banned the worship of the Khuang and upset over this, my grandfather Challianchana and his brother severed ties and founded this sect whom we call either Channa or the Lalpa Kohhran," another community member said.

But church leaders, Presbyterian being the dominant denomination, reject the cult's claims to be Christians.

"Christianity does not allow polygamy and hence accepting the cult as Christians does not arise at all. Polygamy is very rare in Mizoram," Reverend Lalvirinawma, moderator of the Presbyterian Synod in Aizawl, said.

There are an estimated 95 different Christian cults in Mizoram with strange practices - some of them do not allow their children to mingle with others and attend schools, while some of the sect claims their members to be Gods.

Same in US.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - agnivayu - 11-18-2005

"A Fool Lies Here..."

Now it is not good
For the Christianâs health
To hustle the Aryan brown,
For the Christian riles
And the Aryan smiles
And he wearth the Christian down;
And the end of the fight
Is tombstone white
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear,
âA fool lies here
Who tried to hustle the East."

â Rudyard Kipling

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 11-20-2005

http://www.vinland.org/scamp/grove/kreich/index.html

The First Missionary War
The Church take over of the Roman Empire
by Michael Routery
dedicated to all those who have died because of the cross

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction
Constantine
The Destruction of the Temples
The Serapeum of Alexandria
Struggle in the West
Cybele and the East
The Sack of Rome
The Temple of Isis
The Repressions of Justinian and Tiberius
Selected Bibliography

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Sunder - 11-20-2005

This, from Truman State University Index.

Churches reconcile theories differently

The beginning of life is no simple question.

Religious organizations on campus and in Kirksville disagree about the extent to which science should use metaphysical proposals in determining the origin of life on Earth.

Of the religious leaders in Kirksville who commented, most said they interpret the creation account in the Bible literally, and of those, most agreed science should include discussion of ideas beyond the natural world. The few religious leaders in the area who said they interpret the Bible more metaphorically said science should make only natural claims, leaving metaphysical ideas to the realm of religion.

Richard Ochs and Charles Leiter, pastors of Lake Road Chapel, said they have academic backgrounds in science and accept biblical accounts of creation as factual. Leiter said the concept of modern science is dependent on a Christian worldview that the universe is rational and man is an objective observer.

"Science, presently defined, is totally materialistic [and] naturalistic, and I don't think that's good science," he said. "In fact, I don't even think it's possible to have science that way. The whole scientific enterprise arose from a Christian worldview. You don't have science in the East. Hinduism didn't lead to science." <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/liar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='liar.gif' /> <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' />

Ochs said the metaphysical and the physical are inseperable. He said present-day science is founded on a metaphysical position that the world is naturalistic, which excludes other means of discovering knowledge.

"Science should be seeking truth," Ochs said. "So, if that happens to include some realms of the supernatural, you don't say, 'That's out of the question, [and] we can't even discuss that.' That's poor science. You've got to have a science that will accept truth wherever it finds it."

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Sunder - 11-20-2005

NEWS:

VHP converts Christians to Hinduism

58 Orissa tribals convert to Hinduism

Missionary Spin:

Radicals threaten to burn Christians to death Warn of consequences if they don't reconvert to Hinduism by Sunday

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 11-23-2005

QUOTEMissionary's Dark Legacy
www.christianaggression.o...e=articles
By William Lobdell
Los Angeles Times, Nov 19, 2005
Two remote Alaska villages are still reeling from a Catholic volunteer's sojourn three decades ago, when he allegedly molested nearly every Eskimo boy in the parishes..

Peter "Packy" Kobuk has to walk past the old Catholic church to get almost anywhere. To fill a drum of heating oil. To take his children to school. To wash his clothes at the only laundromat in this Eskimo village of 370.

"I think about burning it down, but I have to block that out," says Kobuk, 46. "It all comes back to me right away each time I have to see it."
......................

this is sick

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Bharatvarsh - 11-24-2005

New book has been updated at VOI which exposes the fraud of xtian missionaries masquerading as Hindu swamis/sanyasins to convert gullible Hindus, it is a must read, here is the link:

QUOTECatholic Ashrams
Sannyasins or Swindlers

http://voiceofdharma.com/books/ca/index.htm

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - acharya - 11-26-2005

Christians hand out Bibles with aid in Kashmir
November 25, 2005
[Email this article to a friend] [Print this article] [Mobile version of this article]
India (MNN) -- Victims of the earth quake along the Pakistan/India border are seeing their physical and spiritual needs met by a small group of Christians. Gospel for Asia received government permission last month to work with the earthquake victims to provide aid and other assistance.

The team of 15 GFA national workers spent a week recently in a village of more than 400 house. All were destroyed. As these needy families were offered aid, many of them experienced Christ's love for the first time. Four families gladly received Urdu New Testaments.

One villager told GFA, "The army dropped off emergency supplies and drove on, but you are the only ones who have stopped and showed us you care about us."

GFA is committed to continue ministering to the several thousand people who lost so much in the October 6th earthquake. In the midst of the incredible despair, GFA Compassion Service workers are sharing the hope found only in Jesus in an area that has previously been closed to that that message.

Funding is needed to help GFA assist even more people in this devastated area.
Organizations featured in this article:
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/8023

<img src='http://www.mnnonline.org/graphics/story_pics/GFA11-25-05.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 11-30-2005

QUOTEMumbai Christian turned off by Church Fanaticism
www.christianaggression.o...e=articles
Alex Varghese
alexjv2002@yahoo.com
Letter to Editor Hindu Voice

I was a member of the Orthodox Syrian Church, Kalyan, till recently. Even though I was a rare visitor to the Church, whenever I used to go, I emphasized that the credit balance of one's deeds are all that matters, ultimately. Moreover, my promotion of Blood Donation, Eye Donation, etc. and my articles about the same in The Times of India earned me the wrath of the Orthodox clergy and they issued orders to other members of the Church to boycott me. Moreover, my learning Vipassana Meditation and my interest in other religious teachings (Theology) brought me the title of a "Rebel".

Recently, when I filled in the Body Donation Form of my ailing mother (body, after death to be donated to medical college students for research) through the Dadichi Dehdaan Mandal, Dombivli, I got a promotion from a "Rebel" to an "Outcaste".

The Church clergy then hit upon the idea of pressurising me through my wife, who is a practising Christian. Inspite of strained relationship with my wife, I refused to get my 2-month old son baptized as a Christian as my contention is that the child should be free to choose his religion as per his liking and nothing should be imposed on the child, till the child attains 18 years of age. Moreover, I myself resigned from the primary membership of the Church and am free from any dogma now.

When I wished to take my ailing mother to the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital at Khar Road, the Orthodox Syrian Church clergy opposed the same as they contented that it is a Hindu Hospital. Still, with the help of Press reporters and Ambulance, I could escape the hired goons set up by Church and reach the Ramakrishna Hospital. After a very good recovery, my mother has now been admitted to the Baktivedanta Hospital at Mira Road (East) for eye operation.

I wish to know from the Orthodox Syrian clergy that if a Hospital can be Hindu, then what about the schools controlled by the Church with grant from the Government? Are these schools Christian schools? If yes, why should the Government give grant to them, especially when this Church opposes a national programme promoted by the Ministry of Health like Eye Donation?

If such interference and blatant attack on the constitutional rights of an Indian citizen to choose his faith is allowed to pass, these very autocratic fascist forces shall be emboldened to resort to forcible conversions using both carrot and stick. Let Democracy triumph over such fanatic forces.

Your voice in this matter could make a difference.

Sampoorna Kranti aab naara hai
Bhavi Bhavishya hamara hai
- Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan

Thanking you in anticipation, Withy light and love,
Sd/-
(Alex J. Varghese)

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Shambhu - 11-30-2005

I agree with Alex (above). Lots of people (me included) have signed up to donate their bodies to medical schools. (Its a question everyone has to answer yes or no to when he/she signs up for their driver license in US). I guess med schools in the bible belt will find it hard to get cadavers with Xtian fundoos around!!

Also, these idiot xtian fanatics want to teach "intelligent design" in schools here.
<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/furious.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='furious.gif' />

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-03-2005

http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay.aspx?cid=39842

This article is a MUST READ..

QUOTEThe second asymmetry is the asymmetry of power and resources. When religious freedom gets defined simply as the non-interference of the state in religious activity it serves to privilege those private institutions that view religion as a competitive quest for monopoly and have mobilized enormous resources to this end. It thus favors organized institutional religions over those whose traditions donât have a corporate charter.Â Evangelical Missions should best be considered local sales offices of large multi-national corporations. How large? The International Mission Board 2005 budget is $283.1 million (over Rs. 1200 crores). A similar amount in 2004 led to the âplantingâ of over 21,000 churches across the globe. The one-year revenue of institutionalized Christianity is estimated to be $260 billion dollars (2001) figures.[xvii] About a fifth of this, $47 billion, are allocated to global mission work every year, comparable to the entire annual net tax revenue of the government of India. Clearly we are dealing with a very well financed and well organized global enterprise. The business of conversion is big business. It demands results in terms of numbers converted. The well-publicized stories of âsuccess amidst difficultyâ sustain the fund-raising activities of evangelical groups.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Mitra - 12-04-2005

Don't exactly know if this is the correct thread for this article but posting it anyway.
This is an excellent article from 'Swaveda' regarding a largely unnoticed Hindu resurgence in Indonesia.

QUOTEGreat Expectations: Hindu Revival Movements in Java, Indonesia
By Thomas Reuter
Â

May 13, 2005

Hindu empires had flourished in Java for a millennium until they were replaced by expanding Islamic polities in the 15th century, setting the stage for Indonesia becoming the world's largest Muslim nation. In the 1970s, however, a new Hindu revival movement began to sweep across the archipelago. Hinduism is gaining even greater popularity at this time of national crisis, most notably in Java, the political heart of Indonesia. Based on preliminary ethnographic research in five communities with major Hindu temples, this paper explores the political history and social dynamics of Hindu revivalism in Java. Rejecting formalist approaches to the study of religion, including the notion of 'syncretism ', the Hindu revival movements of Java are treated as an illustration of how social agents employ religious or secular concepts and values in their strategic responses to the particular challenges and crises they may face in a specific cultural, social, political and historical setting.

Expectations of a great crisis at the imminent dawn of new golden age, among followers of the Hindu revival movement in Java, are an expression of utopian prophesies and political aspirations more widely known and shared among contemporary Indonesians. These utopian expectations are set to shape the prospects of Indonesia's fledgling democracy. In this paper, I will reflect on the different historical conditions under which these and similar utopian expectations and associated social movements arise, and may either either incite violent conflict or serve a positive role in the creation or maintenance of a fair society.

My interest in Java is recent and arose inadvertently from nearly a decade of earlier research on the neighboring island of Bali. The majority of Balinese consider themselves descendants of noble warriors from the Hindu Javanese empire Majapahit who conquered Bali in the 14th century. A growing number of Balinese are conducting pilgrimages to Hindu temples in Java, most of which have been built in places identified as sacred sites in traditional Balinese texts (often written in Old-Javanese language). Balinese have been heavily involved in the construction and ritual maintenance of these new Hindu temples in Java. They further dominate organizations representing Hinduism at a national level. Finally, many Javanese Hindu priests have been trained in Bali.

I had the opportunity to gain a first hand impression of the expansion of Hinduism in Java and of Balinese involvement therein during a field trip in late 1999. Following preliminary ethnographic research in eight different Hindu Javanese communities it became evident that this movement has its own dynamics and rationale, no matter how much it may have been spurred by Balinese support. Most thought-provoking, perhaps, were the emotional accounts of events since 1965 leading up to a resurgence of Hinduism, and the constant references to the famous Javanese prophesies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya.

On an earlier field trip in 1995, I was also able to visit central and southern Kalimantan where a large Hindu movement has grown among the local Ngaju Dayak population. The lead-up to a mass declaration for 'Hinduism' on this island was rather different to the Javanese case, in that conversions followed a clear ethnic division. Indigenous Dayak were confronted with a mostly Muslim population of government-sponsored (and predominantly Javanese) migrants and officials, and deeply resentful at the dispossession of their land and its natural resources. Compared to their counterparts among Javanese Hindus, many Dayak leaders were also more deeply concerned about Balinese efforts to standardize Hindu ritual practice nationally; fearing a decline of their own unique 'Hindu Kaharingan' traditions and renewed external domination.

The Javanese Hindu revival movement is in many ways unique, and its recent expansion may surprise a casual observer. Java is often viewed as the headquarters of Islam within the world's most populous Muslim nation. On its own, however, this superficial image fails to do justice to the immensely complex and varied cultural history of this island; a history that continues to exert a profound influence on contemporary Javanese society. A glance at one of the many ancient monuments scattered across its landscape would suffice to remind one of a very different Java, where a succession of smaller and larger Hindu kingdoms flourished for more than a millennium, producing a unique and dynamic mixture of Indic and indigenous Austronesian culture. At the peak of its influence in the 14th century the last and largest among Hindu Javanese empires, Majapahit, reached far across the Indonesian archipelago. This accomplishment is interpreted in modern nationalist discourses as an early historical beacon of Indonesian unity and nationhood, a nation with Java still at its center.

That the vast majority of contemporary Javanese and Indonesians are now Muslims is the outcome of a process of subsequent Islamization. Like Hinduism before it, Islam first advanced into the archipelago along powerful trade networks, gaining a firm foothold in Java with the rise of early Islamic polities along the northern coast. Hinduism finally lost its status as Java's dominant state religion during the 15th and early 16th century, as the new sultanates expanded and the great Hindu empire Majapahit collapsed. Even then, some smaller Hindu polities persisted; most notably the kingdom of Blambangan in eastern Java, which remained intact until the late 18th century.

Islam met with a different kind of resistance at a popular and cultural level. While the majority of Javanese did become 'Muslims', following the example of their rulers, for many among them this was a change in name only. Earlier indigenous Javanese and Hindu traditions were retained by the rural population and even within the immediate sphere of the royal courts, especially in a context of ritual practice. In this sense, the victory of Islam has remained incomplete until today.

To proclaim on these grounds that Javanese religion, or any other religion, is a product of 'syncretism' is to say no more than that it has a history, as every religion inevitably does. Given that history has no definite beginning, 'syncretism' has been a feature in all world religions from the start.[1] Even a more modest distinction between degrees of 'syncretism' or 'orthodoxy' in the religions of different societies, or in those of the same society at different times in its history, is rather unproductive unless this or similar distinctions are situated in relation to much broader historical processes affecting the societies concerned as a whole. A process of religious 'rationalization' (in the Weberian sense), in particular, may needs to be situated within a broader context of modernity.

Insofar as it is justifiable to speak of a trend toward increasing 'orthodoxy' in Indonesian Islam in the 20th century, a trend which applies similarly to Indonesian Hinduism and Christianity, this phenomenon must be assessed against the historical background of colonialism, the subsequent establishment of an independent Indonesian state, and the advent of modernity. In the colonial and post-colonial era, an ever more popular and educated acceptance of Islam was gained, in Java and elsewhere, through the work of independent or government Islamic organizations with an anti-colonial and modernist socio-political orientation. In the wake of this still continuing process of rationalization, a conceptual potential has been created for greater socio-political polarization among the followers of different and, now, more precisely distinguishable 'religions'. Nevertheless, the more orthodox among Javanese Muslims, who tend to identify themselves with a more modern and global notion of Islamic religion, are still a minority and are themselves divided into factions (for example, over the issue of whether to aspire toward a secular or an Islamic Indonesian state). Most recently these divisions became apparent during the dismissal of President Wahid on charges of incompetency.

To a large and growing number of equally 'modern' Javanese, however, their ancient Hindu past is still very present indeed, and prophesied to come alive once more in the near future. A utopian Hindu revival movement has emerged in Java over the last three decades of the twentieth century, and is gathering momentum in the turmoil of Indonesia's continuing economic and political crisis. Drawing on ancient prophesies, many of its members believe that a great natural cataclysm or final battle is at hand in which Islam will be swept from the island to conclude the current age of darkness. Thereafter, they say, Hindu civilization will be restored to its former glory - with Java as the political center of a new world order that will last for a thousand years.

Adding to the concern of Muslim observers, the Javanese Hindu movement is part of a wider national phenomenon of Hindu revivalism and expansion. Situated at the heart of Indonesia, however, the Hindu movement in Java may have the most serious implications yet for the social and political stability of the nation as a whole. In addition, the same mood of apocalyptic fear, utopian expectation and revivalist zeal is shared by many Javanese Muslims. This is made evident in a number of revivalist Islamic movements, whose members also tend to describe the present as an age of moral and social decay.

Recent incidents of inter-religious violence in the Moluccas and Lombok, and the major importance afforded to religious affiliation in Indonesia's recent parliamentary and 1998 presidential elections are both indicative of a national trend towards religious polarization (Ramstedt 1998). Such polarization has not been characteristic of Javanese society, particularly at a community level, where neighborhood cooperation and social peace have been valued more highly than religious convictions (Beatty 1999). With nominal Muslims now openly converting to Hinduism this could well change, tearing away at the delicate web of compromises that is the very fabric of Javanese society. On a more positive note, Indonesians of all confessions also share an urgent desire for political reform and genuine democracy, and may still be prepared to cooperate in the struggle to achieve this common aim.

The emergence of a self-conscious Hindu revival movement within Javanese society is thus a highly significant development. The following preliminary outline of this movement is to provide an appraisal of some of the deep social divisions and widely shared utopian aspirations in contemporary Indonesian society which are set to shape the immediate future of this fragile nation.

Hindu Revivalism in Historical and Political Context

While many Javanese have retained aspects of their indigenous and Hindu traditions through the centuries of Islamic influence, under the banner of 'Javanist religion' (kejawen) or a non-orthodox 'Javanese Islam' (abangan, cf. Geertz 1960), no more than a few isolated communities have consistently upheld Hinduism as the primary mark of their public identity. One of these exceptions are the people of the remote Tengger highlands (Hefner 1985, 1990) in the province of Eastern Java. The Javanese 'Hindus' with whom this paper is concerned, however, are those who had officially declared themselves 'Muslims' prior to their recent
conversion to Hinduism.

In an unpublished report in 1999, the National Indonesian Bureau of Statistics tacitly admits that nearly 100.000 Javanese have officially converted or 'reconverted' from Islam to Hinduism over the last two decades. At the same time, the East Javanese branch of the government Hindu organization PHDI (below) in an annual report claims the 'Hindu congregation' (umat hindu) of this province to have grown by 76000 souls in this year alone. The figures are not entirely reliable or objective, nor can they adequately reflect the proportions of Java's new Hindu revival movement, based as they are on the religion stated on people's identity cards (kartu tanda penduduk or 'KTP') or on other measures of formal religious affiliation. According to my own observations, many conversions are informal only, at least for now. In addition, formal figures often do not adequately distinguish between religious conversions and general population growth, given that most government agencies only record people's religion at birth.

Problems with estimating rates of conversion aside, it is remarkable that despite their local minority status the total number of Hindus in Java now exceeds that of Hindus in Bali. Data collected independently during my preliminary research in Eastern Java further suggest that the rate of conversion accelerated dramatically during and after the collapse of former President Suharto's authoritarian regime in 1998.

Officially identifying their religion as Hinduism was not a legal possibility for Indonesians until 1962, when it became the fifth state-recognized religion.[2] This recognition was initially sought by Balinese religious organizations and granted for the sake of Bali, where the majority were Hindu. The largest of these organizations, Parisada Hindu Dharma Bali, changed its name to P.H.D. Indonesia (PHDI) in 1964, reflecting subsequent efforts to define Hinduism as a national rather than just a Balinese affair (Ramstedt 1998). In the early seventies, the Toraja people of Sulawesi were the first to realize this opportunity by seeking shelter for their indigenous ancestor religion under the broad umbrella of 'Hinduism', followed by the Karo Batak of Sumatra in 1977 and the Ngaju Dayak of Kalimantan in 1980 (Bakker 1995).

Religious identity became a life and death issue for many Indonesians around the same time as Hinduism gained recognition, namely, in the wake of the violent anti-Communist purge of 1965-66 (Beatty 1999). Persons lacking affiliation with a state recognized-religion tended to be classed as atheists and hence as communist suspects. Despite the inherent disadvantages of joining a national religious minority, a deep concern for the preservation of their traditional ancestor religions made Hinduism a more palatable option than Islam for several ethnic groups in the outer islands. By contrast, most Javanese were slow to consider Hinduism at the time, lacking a distinct organization along ethnic lines and fearing retribution from locally powerful Islamic organizations like the Nahdatul Ulama (NU). The youth wing of the NU had been active in the persecution not only of communists but of 'Javanist' or 'anti-Islamic' elements within Sukarno's Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) during the early phase of the killings (Hefner 1987). Practitioners of 'Javanist' mystical traditions thus felt compelled to declare themselves Muslims out of a growing concern for their safety.

The initial assessment of having to abandon 'Javanist' traditions in order to survive in an imminent Islamic state proved incorrect. President Sukarno's eventual successor, Suharto, adopted a distinctly nonsectarian approach in his so-called 'new order' (orde baru) regime. Old fears resurfaced, however, with Suharto's 'Islamic turn' in the 1990s. Initially a resolute defender of Javanist values, Suharto began to make overtures to Islam at that time, in response to wavering public and military support for his government. A powerful signal was his authorization and personal support of the new 'Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals' (ICMI), an organization whose members openly promoted the Islamization of Indonesian state and society (Hefner 1997). Concerns grew as ICMI became the dominant civilian faction in the national bureaucracy, and initiated massive programs of Islamic education and mosque-building through the Ministry of Religion (departemen agama), once again targeting Javanist strongholds. Around the same time, there were a series of mob killings by Muslim extremists of people they suspected to have been practicing traditional Javanese methods of healing by magical means.

Repeated experiences of harassment or worse have left adherents of Javanist traditions with deep-seated fears and resentments. In interviews conducted in 1999, recent Hindu converts in eastern and central Java confessed that they had felt comfortable with a tenuous Islamic identity until 1965, but that their 'hearts turned bitter' once they felt coerced to disavow their private commitment to 'Hindu Javanese ' traditions by abandoning the specific ritual practices which had come to be associated therewith. In terms of their political affiliation, many contemporary Javanists and recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the old PNI, and have now joined the new nationalist party of Megawati Sukarnoputri. Informants from among this group portrayed their return to the 'religion of Majapahit' (Hinduism) as a matter of nationalist pride, and displayed a new sense political self-confidence. Political trends aside, however, the choice between Islam and Hinduism is often a highly personal matter. Many converts reported that other members of their families have remained 'Muslims', out of conviction or in the hope that they will be free to maintain their Javanist traditions in one way or another.

These observations provide no more than a preliminary sketch of the changing landscape of cross-cutting and sometimes contradictory social, political and religious identities wherein the Javanese Hindu revival movement is taking shape. In essence, the collapse of the authoritarian Suharto regime has allowed old rivalries between Islamic and Nationalist parties to resurface in a changed environment and in a new guise. This has led to a degree of socio-political polarization as has not been seen since the 1960s revolution, although it may have been an inherent conceptual possibility throughout modern Indonesian history.

Hindu Revivalism in Social and Economic Context

A common feature among new Hindu communities in Java is that they tend to rally around recently built temples (pura) or around archaeological temple sites (candi) which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship. One of several new Hindu temples in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt Sumeru, Java's highest mountain. When the temple was completed in July 1992, with the generous aid of wealthy donors from Bali, only a few local families formally confessed to Hinduism. A pilot study in December 1999 revealed that the local Hindu community now has grown to more than 5000 households. Similar mass conversions have occurred in the region around Pura Agung Blambangan, another new temple, built on a site with minor archaeological remnants attributed to the kingdom of Blambangan, the last Hindu polity on Java. A further important site is Pura Loka Moksa Jayabaya (in the village of Menang near Kediri), where the Hindu king and prophet Jayabaya is said to have achieved spiritual liberation (moksa). A further Hindu movement in the earliest stages of development was observed in the vicinity of the newly completed Pura Pucak Raung (in the Eastern Javanese district of Glenmore), which is mentioned in Balinese literature as the place where the Hindu saint Maharishi Markandeya gathered followers for an expedition to Bali, whereby he is said to have brought Hinduism to Bali in the fifth century AD. An example of resurgence around major archaeological remains of ancient Hindu temple sites was observed in Trowulan near Mojokerto. The site may be the location of the capital of the legendary Hindu empire Majapahit. A local Hindu movement is struggling to gain control of a newly excavated temple building which they wish to see restored as a site of active Hindu worship. The temple is to be dedicated to Gajah Mada, the man attributed with transforming the small Hindu kingdom of Majapahit into an empire. Although there has been a more pronounced history of resistance to Islamization in East Java, Hindu communities are also expanding in Central Java (Lyon 1980), for example in Klaten, near the ancient Hindu monuments of Prambanan.

It is a common feature of social organization in neighboring Bali to find temples at the hub of various networks of social affiliation (Reuter 1998). Temples may be equally important for Hindu Javanese, though for different reasons. Clear ethnic or clan-like divisions are generally lacking in Javanese society, and in any case, would be too exclusive to promote a rapid expansion of new Hindu communities. How social relations take shape within the support networks of Javanese Hindu temples and how they differ from those among patrons of Balinese temples remains to be explored, as is also true of the ritual practice of Javanese Hindus. Some of the resemblances observed so far seem to reflect not only the common historical influence of Hinduism in Java and Bali, but also a common indigenous cultural heritage shared among these and other Austronesian-speaking societies (Fox & Sathers 1996).

Taking Pura Sumeru as an example, it is also important to note that major Hindu temples can bring a new prosperity to local populations. Apart from employment in the building, expansion, and repair of the temple itself, a steady stream of Balinese pilgrims to this now nationally recognized temple has led to the growth of a sizeable service industry. Ready-made offerings, accommodation, and meals are provided in an ever-lengthening row of shops and hotels along the main road leading to Pura Sumeru. At times of major ritual activity tens of thousands of visitors arrive each day. Pilgrims' often generous cash donations to the temple also find their way into the local economy. Pondering with some envy on the secret to the economic success of their Balinese neighbors, several local informants concluded that "Hindu culture may be more conducive to the development of an international tourism industry than is Islam". Economic considerations also come into play insofar as members of this and other Hindu revival movements tend to cooperate in a variety of other ways, including private business ventures which are unrelated to their joint religious practices as such.

Hindu Revivalism as a Utopian Movement

Followers and opponents alike explain the sudden rise of a Hindu revival movement in Java by referring to the well-known prophecies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya. In this they reveal a number of shared utopian and apocalyptic expectations, even though their interpretations of the prophesies differ significantly. These mixed expectations have been a reflection of growing popular dissatisfaction with the corrupt and dictatorial Suharto government in the 1990s and until its demise in 1998, following student riots and popular demonstrations in many major Javanese cities in the wake of the Asian economic crisis. They also draw inspiration from a deeper crisis of political and economic culture still current in Indonesia today. The Indonesia's present first democratically elected government under President Abdurahman Wahid's leadership again has attracted criticism, increasingly so in during recent months, as the nation continueds to be threatened by religious conflict, secession movements in Aceh and West Papua, and by government corruption scandals.[3] Under the new presidency of Megawati Sukarnoputri (from 23 July 2001) this sense of political instability is widely expected to persist. At the same time many also fear a possible return to the repression of the Suharto years. It is the prophesies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya that provide perhaps the most ready vehicle for the interpretation of these tumultuous political events, to the members of Hindu revival movements as well as their opponents. The prophesies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya provide a ready vehicle for the interpretation of these events, to the members of Hindu revival movements as well as their opponents.

Sabdapalon is said to have been a priest and an adviser to Brawijaya V, the last ruler of the Hindu empire Majapahit. He is also said to have cursed his king upon the conversion of the latter to Islam in 1478. Sabdapalon then promised to return, after 500 years and at a time of widespread political corruption and natural disasters, to sweep Islam from the island and restore Hindu-Javanese religion and civilization. Some of the first new Hindu temples built in Java were indeed completed around 1978, for example Pura Blambangan in the regency of Banyuwangi. As the prophesies foretold, Mt Sumeru erupted around the same time. All this is taken as evidence of the accuracy of Sabdapalon's predictions. Islamic opponents of the Hindu movements accept the prophesies, at least in principle, though their interpretations differ. Some attribute the Hindu conversions to a temporary weakness within Islam itself, laying blame on the materialism of modern life, on an associated decline of Islamic values, or on the persistent lack of orthodoxy among practitioners of 'Javanese Islam' (Soewarno 1981). In their opinion, the 'return of Sabdapalon' is meant to test Islam and to propel its followers toward a much needed revitalization and purification of their faith.

A further prophesy, well-known throughout Java and Indonesia, is the Ramalan (or Jangka) Jayabaya. A recent publication on these prophesies by Soesetro & Arief (1999) has become a national best seller. The predictions of Jayabaya are also discussed frequently in daily newspapers. These ancient prophesies, indeed, are very much a part of a current public debate on the ideal shape of a new and genuinely democratic Indonesia.

The historical personage Sri Mapanji Jayabaya reigned over the kingdom of Kediri in East Java from 1135 to 1157 AD (Buchari 1968:19). He is known for his efforts to reunify Java after a split had occurred with the death of his predecessor Airlangga, for his just and prosperous rule, and for his dedication to the welfare of the common people. Reputed to have been an incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu, Jayabaya is also the archetypal image of the 'just king' (ratu adil) who is reborn during the dark age of reversal (jaman edan) at the end of each cosmic cycle to restore social justice, order, and harmony in the world. Many believe that the time for the arrival of a new ratu adil is near (as the prophesies put it, "when iron wagons drive without horses and ships sail through the sky [i.e. cars and airplanes]"), and that he will come to rescue and reunite Indonesia after an acute crisis, ushering in the dawn of a new golden age. These apocalyptic and utopian expectations evoke the notion of a revolving cosmic cycle, of a glorious past declining into a present state of moral decay, where the ideal order of things is momentarily inverted, only to be restored again in a future that is in effect a return to the past.

Hindu Javanese emphasize with pride that their ancestors Sabdapalon and Jayabaya represent a golden pre-Islamic age. Islamic opponents, in turn, claim that Jayabaya was in fact a Muslim and that Sabdapalon had only resisted conversion because what he was confronted with at the time was but a muddled and impure version of Islam (Soewarno 1981). Nevertheless, Muslim and Hindu interpreters agree that this is the time of reckoning, of major political reform if not a revolution. They also tend to agree that a truly democratic system of government may only be realized with the help of a leader of the highest moral caliber, thus blending modern notions of democracy with traditional notions of charismatic leadership.

That the prophesies of Jayabaya are of profound significance to Indonesians of very different persuasion and from all walks of life is illustrated by the secret visits (once before he was nominated as a presidential candidate and again before his election) of President Abdurahman Wahid (then head of the NU) to the ancestral origin temple of Raja Jayabaya in Bali, the remote mountain sanctuary Pura Pucak Penulisan.[4] After a solitary nocturnal devotion at this ancient Hindu temple, as local priests told me, Gus Dur (the president's popular nickname) spoke with them at length about Jayabaya's prophesies and the imminent arrival of a new ratu adil. Opponents of Gus Dur have prefered to identify his government with another passage in the prophesies, which refer to "a king whose [interim] rule shall last no longer than the life span of a maize plant".

In conversations in Java and Bali in late 1999, I was continuously struck by the spirited political idealism of my informants, and their readiness even to risk their lives in the pursuit of political reform. It was sobering to note that they were envisaging for their Indonesia of the future so ideal a system of government as even western democracies could not claim to have achieved so far. I became rather concerned as well, in contemplating a very different attitude of cynicism and a sense of futility that now seems to permeate political life in western societies, and is reflected in the decline of popular participation and the silent attrition of important democratic institutions, such as independent universities (Ellingsen 1999). Studying Hindu revivalism in Java, in particular, reminded me also of persistent utopian and apocalyptic undertones in western scientific and technological worldviews, such as the early utopian predictions of a new cyber-democracy among Internet users and the more recent apocalyptic hysteria about the 'Y2K' computer bug.

Implications

The study of 'revival', 'millenarian', 'cargo-cult' or 'revolutionary' movements has a long and somewhat controversial history in the social sciences (Schwartz 1987). A common feature identified in studies of such movements is the linking of apocalyptic and utopian expectations, suggesting a tendency for people to readily believe what they most fear or wish to be true. Most analysts have stressed the ease with which charismatic and authoritarian leader figures can exploit such powerful beliefs and sentiments (Adorno 1978), and how mass manipulation may precipitate self-destructive behavior, such as collective suicide, or bizarre acts of violence. At the same time, social theory has produced its own visions of apocalypse and utopia, Karl Marx' prophesy of a 'final class struggle' and subsequent 'class-less society' being the most prominent among them.

In both cases, the lingering impression is that highly fatalistic or idealistic social movements are dangerous and destructive in the extreme. This is often true enough, but not necessarily so. Utopian expectations as such, judging by the original meaning of the word utopia ('no-place'), do not suggest a need for a single radical change so much as a continuous process of reform; a striving towards an ideal that ultimately can not be located or reached. As for apocalypticism, much may depend on whether it has some rational foundation. This may well be the case in Indonesia, now poised, as it is, at a significant historical juncture.[5]

A fundamental problem and simultaneously a source of inspiration for this field of social research has been the immense variability within the class of phenomena it seeks to describe. In the absence of a comprehensive theoretical framework that would serve to identify major categories of historical, political or situational variables in the genesis, development and outcomes of such apocalyptic or utopian movements, reporters and researchers alike are often seduced into focusing instead on their more obscure and sensational features.Although there have been repeated attempts to draw this research together under the umbrella of a single paradigm, such as Smelser's (1962) proposal for a more general category of 'value-focused social movements', discussion continues to be frustrated by disagreements on matters of definition and terminology. This problem pertains to discussions both across and within the boundaries of contributing disciplines, including anthropology, political science, sociology, social psychology and comparative religion. A review of the extensive and varied literature on millenarian movements is beyond the scope of this paper.

Under these adverse conditions, most attempts to transcend the specificity of particular apocalyptic or millenarian movements have been geographically or culturally restricted, and taken shape in discussions among groups of area specialists. The more significant among recent advances in the field, on the basis of such regional comparisons, have come from anthropological research on 'cargo-cult' movements in Papua New Guinea (Stewart 2000) and on 'endtime' movements in America (Stewart & Harding 1999).

This regional focusing of the discussion has paid dividends as an interim solution, but it also has detracted attention from a broader anthropological project of understanding idealistic social movements as a possible modality of social change in all human societies. While the notion of 'millenarian movements' has become a kind of gateway concept for researchers in PNG and the USA, for example, those working in other regions may pay very little attention to the same topic even though they may have cause to do so. Indonesia is one of these more or less neglected regions, with only a small minority of scholars caring to comment on millenarian movements and their recent proliferation (including Lee 1999, Timmer 2000).

Collaboration among fellow Indonesianists will be essential for any future attempt to raise the level of comparative research on this topic to the same high standard that has been achieved elsewhere. Even then, such a regional research project must be firmly anchored in a general anthropological theory. Without such a broader comparative framework to bridge the gaps between regional studies, the latter may deteriorate, for example, into neo-colonial discourses about the 'inherent madness' of Indonesia or other non-western societies. This particular objection has been raised most vehemently in recent critiques of 'cargo-cult'
studies (Lindstrom 1993, Kaplan 1995).

While Javanese Hindu revivalism may serve as my privileged example, an important future aim is to develop a more general theoretical approach to 'value-oriented social movements', on the basis of four hypothesis. Namely, that these movements; 1) can occur in all human societies, 2) are an extreme manifestation or response to social change, 3) are informed by radical some forms of 'religious' or 'secular' idealism, and 4) are accompanied by a heightened self-awareness among participants of being 'agents' or 'witnesses' of societal change. These different dimensions of idealist social movements are assumed to be interconnected. A heightened sense of agency and reflexivity, for example, may reflect in different ways on underlying material and symbolic interests that have been frustrated or denied to broad or narrow sectors of the society concerned.

The link between value-based social movements and the general phenomena of 'socio-cultural change' and 'reproduction' is a crucial issue, and it is both complex and variable. As a force operating within underdetermined and mutable socio-cultural worlds with limited cohesion such movements can not be adequately described, by evoking the metaphor of a homeostatic 'system', as either 'functional' or 'dysfunctional'. Even if we were to define cultural reproduction and change more cautiously, as different takes on a single and largely unpredictable historical process, some of these movements may appear to be exerting a 'reactionary' influence while others are more 'radical' or a combination of both. Expressions of social critique (in relation to society as it is or is perceived) are a common theme in the discourses produced within different value-oriented social movements. But we may also find combinations of restorative or visionary idealism, in different proportions, depending on whether the critique is focused on undesirable change or undesirable stagnation in the society concerned.

In evaluating the significance of Hindu revivalism and similar movements in Java for the stability and future development of Indonesian democracy, it is thus of the utmost importance to adopt a balanced view of processes of social change and their implications. The acute danger normally attributed to rapid social change in general and to idealistic social movements in particular must be weighed against the less sensational dangers of political inactivity, cynicism and complacency. Rather than casting a condescending judgement on the state of Indonesian society, the current proliferation of millenarianism therein must be evaluated within the context of a critical project of cross-cultural comparison. In this context, it may be worth pointing to the current "anti-globalization" movement in western countries, for this movement too serves as a reminder: The creation of a just society is a continuous, often circular, and still unfinished project, as much for us as it is for the people of Indonesia.

Footnotes

[1] Islam, for example, incorporated elements from the tribal traditions of Arab peoples and from Jewish and Christian texts such as the 'Old Testament'.

[2] The other four state-recognized religions (agama) are Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Buddhism (mainly Indonesians of Chinese ethnicity). Unrecognized religions are categorized by the state as minor
'streams of belief' (aliran kepercayaan) or are simply treated as a part of different local 'customs and traditions' (adat).

[3] As I am writing this, parliamentary procedures have been set into motion so as to impeach President Abdurahman Wahid on allegations of his involvement in corruption scandals.

[4] Pura Pucak Penulisan is still an important regional temple, and was a state temple of Balinese kings from the eighth century AD (Reuter 1998). Many statues of Balinese kings are still found in its inner sanctum, including one depicting Airlangga's younger brother Anak Wungsu. Literary sources suggest that intimate ties of kinship connected the royal families of Bali with the dynasties of Eastern Javanese kingdoms, including Kediri. Jayabaya's predecessor Airlannga, for example, was a Balinese prince.

[5] Sometimes apocalyptic expectations can reach such a pitch that members of the movement concerned may feel a need to bring about the very cataclysm the have been predicting. The poison gas attack in Tokyo launched by Japan's AUM Shinokio sect is a recent example. It is still uncertain whether the recent bomb attacks on Javanese Christian churches over the christmas period of 2000 were the responsibility of radical religious groups, or were instigated by other political interest groups wishing to destabilize the country by inciting simmering inter-religious conflicts in Java to the same level of violence as in the troubled Molukka Province.

References

Adorno, T. W. 1978. 'Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda'. In A. Arato & E. Gebhardt (eds), The Essential Frankfurt School Reader. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Bakker, F. 1995. Bali in the Indonesian State in the 1990s: The religious aspect. Paper presented at the Third International Bali Studies Workshop, 3-7 July 1995.

Beatty, A. 1999. Varieties of Javanese Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Buchari 1968. 'Sri Maharaja Mapanji Garasakan'. Madjalah Ilmu-Ilmu Sastra Indonesia, 1968(4):1-26.

Ellingsen, P. 1999. 'Silence on Campus: How academics are being gagged as universities toe the corporate line'. Melbourne: The Age Magazine, 11.12.1999:26-32.

Fox, J. & Sathers, C. (eds) 1996. Origins, Ancestry and Alliance: Explorations in Austronesian Ethnography. Canberra: Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.

Geertz, C. 1960. The Religion of Java. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Hefner, R. 1985. Hindu Javanese: Tengger Tradition and Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Hefner, R. 1987. 'The Political Economy of Islamic Conversion in Modern East Java'. In W. Roff (ed.), Islam and the Political Economy of Meaning. London: Croom Helm.

Hefner, R. 1990. The Political Economy of Mountain Java. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Hefner, R. 1997. 'Islamization and Democratization in Indonesia'. In R. Hefner & P. Horvatich (eds), Islam in an Era of Nation States: Politics and Religious Renewal in Muslim Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Kaplan, M. 1995. Neither Cargo nor Cult: Ritual Politics and the Colonial Imagination in Fiji. Durham (NC): Duke University Press.

Lee, K. 1999. A Fragile Nation: The Indonesian Crisis. River Edge (N.J.): World Scientific.

Lindstrom, L. 1993. Cargo Cult: Strange Stories of Desire from Melanesia and Beyond. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Lyon, M. 1980. 'The Hindu Revival in Java". In J. Fox (ed.), Indonesia: The making of a Culture. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.

Ramstedt, M. 1998. 'Negotiating Identity: 'Hinduism' in Modern Indonesia'. Leiden: IIAS Newsletter, 17:50.

Reuter, T. 1998. 'The Banua of Pura Pucak Penulisan: A Ritual Domain in the Highlands of Bali'. Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, 32 (1):55-109.

Schwartz, H. 1987. 'Millenarianism: An overview'. In M. Eliade (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 9:521-532. New York: MacMillan.

Smelser, J. 1962. Theory of Collective Behavior. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Soesetro, D. & Arief, Z. 1999. Ramalan Jayabaya di Era Reformasi. Yogyakarta: Media Pressindo.

Soewarna, M. 1981. Ramalan Jayabaya Versi Sabda Palon. Jakarta: P.T Yudha Gama.

Stewart, K. & Harding, S. 1999. 'Bad Endings: American Apocalypsis'. Annual Review of Anthropology 28:285-310.

Stewart, P.J. 2000. 'Introduction: Latencies and realizations in millennial practices'. Ethnohistory 47(1):3-27. [Special Issue on Millenarian Movements.]

Timmer, J. 2000. 'The return of the kingdom: Agama and the millennium among the Imyan of Irian Jaya, Indonesia'. . Ethnohistory 47(1):29-65.

Note: Dr Thomas Reuter is Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Anthropology, Geography & Environmental Studies. This paper was published in The Australian Journal of Anthropology and is being reproduced with their permission

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-06-2005

QUOTE Pope blesses YSR to turn AP into 'Christa Pradesh'

http://www.christianaggression.org/item_di...90165&type=news

Rama Rao, Hyderabad

The November 9 edition of the "Deccan Chronicle" newspaper carried an
interesting news-story. The Pope Benedict XVI, the global head of the
Roman Catholic Church, has reportedly sent his blessings to Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister Y. Samuel Rajasekhar Reddy, an evangelical Protestant
of the Seventh Day Adventist church.

The blessings were conveyed by Archbishop of the Hyderabad Diocese,
Marampudi Joji, who visited the Vatican city on November 7. Recalling his
meeting with the Pope, Joji said: âThe Holy Father enquired whether the
Church in our state faced any difficulty in carrying out her mission. I
told him that in Andhra Pradesh, the Church faces no persecution, and
we carry out their ministry without much difficulty."

âThe Pope is keenly aware of the rising trends of evangelical sects and
he asked me about the Catholic Churchâs relationship with other
churches.â The Archbishop reassured the Pope that the âecumenical relationship
shared with other Churches is very goodâ. Joji explained that in his
diocese of Hyderabad, there are 100,000 Catholic [converts], 600,000
Protestant [converts], and four Protestant bishops, and they all consider
him to be their Patriarch and Archbishop.

This news was also reported in the November 11 edition of the "Asia
News" website, an Italian Catholic portal whose banner is the previous
Pope John Paul's war-cry against the Hindus and Buddhists of Asia.

What is alarming here is that Christian fundamentalists across opposing
sects have joined hands to convert the Hindus of Andhra Pradesh - a
revealing tale of "ecumenical co-operation" among the wolves to hunt the
sheep.

The results of the state-sponsored mass-conversion of Andhra Hindus are
evident everywhere:

1) Hundreds of crores of rupees collected from 'hundis' (donation
boxes) in Hindus temples are being diverted by the Andhra Pradesh State
Government and the Endowment Board to building new churches and Christian
run schools across the state.

2) The sacred Tirupati and Simhachalam temples are the target of
land-grabbing and church building with the connivance of Christian officials.
Ancient temple mandapams are being demolished at Tirumala.

3) Christian missionaries freely hand out bibles to Hindu students at
Government and private schools in Hyderabad to convert these
impressionable ones while the teachers look the other way.

4) According to a survey commissioned by the Revenue and Endowment
Board of Andhra Pradesh, Christian churches outnumber Hindu temples in most
districts of the state.

Will the Pope's blessings to Y.Samuel Rajashekhar Reddy bring in a
larger flood of Christian missionaries and dollars to turn Andhra Pradesh
into 'Christa Pradesh'?

Or will the people of India and Andhra Pradesh rise up to defend their
honor and halt the spread of this malignant evil?

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-06-2005

QUOTE(SSridhar @ Apr 11 2005, 10:55 PM)Sex, crime and corruption: murky past of the Popes
[right][snapback]32061[/snapback][/right]

times of india has removed the page.

one of the 4M's of india at work !!

from next time we should paste the articles on here, lest they remove it in future.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-06-2005

QUOTE(agnivayu @ Apr 14 2005, 03:10 AM)That's because India is run by Sonia who is a Vatican representative, and so she sure won't demand the pope apologize.

I have noticed that as Hindu Nationalism has risen in India, Christians are starting to act a lot nicer to Hindus.Â This seems to reinforce traditional thinking that sometimes a kick in the behind is required to get people to behave.

China's defiant attitude is something Hindus need to adopt.
[right][snapback]32171[/snapback][/right]


i was going to reply to the previous post, by albertpinto, but then i noticed you have hit the nail on the head.

yes we need to learn not to be so nice.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - acharya - 12-11-2005

Hindus condemn Russian Archbishop's comments against Krishna

December 10, 2005 17:04 IST

Several Hindu organisations worldwide have protested the reported comments of the Archbishop of Russian Orthodox Church against Lord Krishna and his opposition to the consturction of a temple in Moscow.

Archbishop Nixon in a letter to Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzhkov made denigrating comments against Lord Krishna and further requested him to ban construction of a proposed Hindu temple in Moscow, Russia's Interfax news agency reported on November 30.

"Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the 1000-year religious culture of Russia," Interfax quoted Nikon as saying.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is understood to have discussed the issue with President Vladimir Putin during their talks on December 6.

The repoted comments have raised the hackles of Hindu outfits. "We cannot believe that in this age of respect and multi-cultural co-existence, a leader of the Russian church chooses to make statements that are intolerant and disrespectful to 1 billion Hindus in the world," Kishore Ruparelia of the Defend Russian Hindus Campaign said.

"The motives for spreading such hatred are clear -- it is an attempt to discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them from building a temple," Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of Hindu Forum of Britain said.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad, UK, president Girdhari Bhan said, "In most countries of the world, the Hindu diaspora is law-abiding, integrated and productive. Archbishop Nixon should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making such atrocious statements."

The Hindu Council of Australia and president of Hindu American Foundation also condemned the remarks.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-12-2005

Andhra's Christist CM - Y Samuel Rajashekhara Reddy.
How he plans to make a Nagaland in the south?
http://hindunews.blogspot.com/2005/05/bankrupt-ap-endowment-
department-and.html
By S V Badri

Religious money

Give me an honest answer. You visit Bhagawan Tirupati Venkateshwara's Mandir (Balaji Mandir) or any Mandir in Andhra Pradesh .You have the devotion to make a monetary offering into the Hundi. You feel it is your private equation with the Bhagawan. You fulfill your Prarthana as you make a humble drop into to the Hundi. Some of you have saved this money painfully over years and in several cases enduring pangs of hunger to make this offering. That is the extent of your devotion.

Secular money

Are you aware that till the last nano-second that the money or the offering was in your hands, it was "religious money" because your Bhakti veils your eyes as you think that this money that is offered will be sacredly used by the A P Government for Hindu religious purposes like maintenance of the Mandir, its development and for propagation of Hindu religious causes, payment of salaries of Archakas or for the regular conduct of Pujas and rituals as per the Aagamas and Sastras. You assume this is what the AP Government is doing with your offering, because this is a Hindu Mandir and you are a devout Hindu offering the money out of total surrender to the Bhagawan. You are painfully ignorant what happens to this money once it gets into the Hundi. You just assume that it is being used for a Hindu cause. Perhaps you are one of those who just does not care because your job is done and it is up to the Mandirs to use it as they deemed fit. Yes Mandirs will use it as they deem fit if they are out of Government control. So if you think that your money is used only for Hindu purposes, banish the thought.

Because, the moment the money slips into the Hundi, the Government "converts" it into "secular money".

How can you explain why Mandir funds alone should be the target of the Government to draw as they please for other than Hindu religious purposes?

Money down the drain

Take for instance, the recent decision of the Government and the Government sponsored TTD Board to spend the Bhakta's "religious money" for "secular" purpose of constructing the underground drainage.

Tell me if it is the duty of the Government to provide the drainage or the duty of the Mandir? So your money finds its way down the drain.

Or its diversion to the Veterinary College development, not connected to the religious institution? Whose responsibility is this, the Government's or the Mandir's?

Will Lalu give Railway lands for mandir constructions?

The AP Government through the TUDA (Tirupati Urban Development Authority) demanded from the TTD a sum of Rs 6 crores towards property and other taxes so it could have the money required to construct an Idgah Maidan on the Railway lands abetting the Bhagawan's lands. Obviously, because it is Idgah Maidan, secular Lalu did not object. And the secularists rushed to facilitate its completion. What if a Hindu wanted to construct a Mandir on the Railway lands? Will the same secularists come forward with such glee? Remember, Lalu ordered removal of Mandirs on Railway lands?

Christist YSR unhappy with his Endowment Minister

I am told that the money was stopped in the last minute after strong protests and the intervention of the Endowment Minister, M Satyanarayana, who as I understand, is fighting a losing battle against the Christist YSR. Well-placed sources indicate that this minister is likely to lose his berth unless he "converts" himself from being a good Hindu to being an "adorable-secularist" as the Christist YSR wants him to be. Meaning, YSR does not want the Minister to raise objections to the usage of Mandir funds for Monotheistic religious purposes. Knowledgeable circles in AP confided with me that the Christist YSR takes joy in making the officials of the Endowment Department to over-rule the Minister and to ridicule him at every opportunity. People who were present during the "Ugadi Puraskarams" functions this year are witness to how the Endowment Minister was humiliated and made most uncomfortable by the Christist YSR. In Bhadrachalam, 12 acres of lands belonging to the Sri Rama Mandiram was given away to a Christist organisation (apparently for the construction of a school there), who ended up constructing a church for converting the local tribals. The Minister was apparently unhappy with this and was denied the protocol honours during his recent visit for Sri RamaNavami celebrations.

Money for Idgah maidan- Yes; Money for Mandir renovation - No

YSR found Rs 6 crores for the construction of the Idgah Maidan in the Holy Town of Tirupati. But can find no money when 10,000 Mandirs languish for funds in the very backward areas of his State. He will not give them Mandirs. As a true Christist he wants them to remain a fertile ground for the breed of new phoren evangelicals to arrive and harvest.

Plant a church. Plant 50. Plant 100. Plant a1000.......

YSR's folks in the Adventists will give them churches instead. Plant a church. Plant hundred. Plant a thousand. After all, did he not ask the Adventists to make a church on his farm land for the benefit of 300 converts? How can a Hindu trust this man who is more evangelical in his mission than the Pope Benedict XVII ? And the worst, he does it masquerading as a Hindu. Many would not even know that he is a convert/born again Christist.

Render the ground fertile. So the phirangis come to harvest.

With Mandirs and Mandir activity rendered systematically extinct in backward areas, it is no wonder that our Dalit and backward Hindu brethren find themselves spiritually bankrupt. Because Christists like YSR want them to be spiritually bankrupt so the missionaries can come and take over their souls with their brand of hatred of Hindu practices and Gods, disguised as love and social service. YSR is silently making room for the imported evangelicals to usurp the Dalits and the backwards so they can bear the cross for the rest of their lives. And he can bank on their votes at the call of a Samuel. Shame.

Are Hindus incompetent to run their institutional affairs?

The recent decision to facilitate Christian infiltration into the TTD affairs through the Ugranam material deal with the firm owned by a Syrian Christian of Kerala and the tele-medical facility deal he inaugurated, between SVIMS (Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences) and the Christist institutions like the Frontline / Madras Medical Mission combo of Dr.Cherian should also make the secularists proud. Because for the likes of Christist YSR, Mandirs are for mad people while the creative ones rush to the church. How can Hindus expect him to be sensitive to their issues? Tomorrow, he will have Christian auditors, Christian administrators or even Christian parishioners doing Yesu Sahasranama to Bhagawan Venkateshwara. Who knows what my grand child has to witness in this sacred Mandir years from now?

Mandir money for "secular sexual" use

A P Government had recently decided to construct guesthouses and rest rooms on various highways using the TTD money. Bhagawan's money will be put to some "secular sexual use" to create rendezvous for the benefit of some unscrupulous ministers and bureaucrats to sleep with the concubines.

Where is Hindu religious cause here? Why should one permit the TTD to become the Government appointed nodal agency to appease minorities or to undertake projects other than the Hindu Dharmic ones?

Page 3 Chairman and the Christist broker

Both The flamboyant Page 3 personality and TTD Chairman, T Subbirami Reddy (Cong-I) and the Christist YSR Government owe an explanation to the Bhaktas of Bhagawan Venkateshwara for betraying our trust. Join me in my prayers to the Kaliyuga Nayaka, Sri Venkateshwara (Bhagawan Balaji) to render the most severe punishment on each one of these starting from Christist YSR down to the last peon who is involved in this systematic assault, rape, plunder and loot of His Mandir and its possessions.

Lessons from Christist YSR Government on How to ruin a prosperous Mandir:

Let us now examine the orderly way the Christist YSR government acts to make all our Hindu Mandirs go bankrupt. Before one starts reading this, it should be stored in our minds that the Government has taken over the Hindu Mandirs as a Trustee. It has no right of ownership. And you will come to the conclusion that this A P Government is worse than the British when it comes to inflicting damage on our Hindu institutions and the Hindus as a whole.

There are 370,000 acres of Mandir lands in AP. Of this, the Endowment Department does not even have records of lands to the extent of 100,000 acres. Does this surprise you? The Hindu Religious Endowment Department is infiltrated by Christian administrators in the guise of Hindus.

So we have a trustee who does not even have proper accounting system. What should you do to him? What would you do if your accountant failed you? Trash him? Throw him out? And what are we doing to these trustees who have betrayed our trust.

A Ministry that does not have annual budgetary allocation

You might be surprised to learn that the AP Hindu Religious Endowment Department is the only department in AP which does not get a single Rupee as the Annual Budgetary allocation from the A P Government. So this Department has no Governmental source of funding. Then how does this department manage to run its blasting path of systematic destruction of our Mandirs? How does it manage the vast empire of unwanted elements in the garb of employees?

Simple. In addition to having all the Mandir resources at its control, it collects 15% of total revenues from larger Mandirs like the Tirupati Mandir and 12% from smaller Mandirs. In addition, it collects 3% uniformly from all the Mandirs towards what it has called as "common-good-fund". Anything that starts with the word Common is just plain bullshit. You saw that in the Common Minimum Programme, too. Didn't you? Now, the Government, in addition to dipping its hands into the Hundi collections can just can dip into this common- good-fund also for any activity of its choice âdepending on if the CM
was a Christist or a Muslim or a commie or an atheist or just an anti- national bloke who wants to cremate Hindu institutions and scatter its ashes across the Vatican or the Mecca like Mahmud Ghaznavi did of the Dwaraka's Murti of Bhagawan Krishna.

Check the AP government Website and show me the Endowment Department there:

It might surprise you that the Endowment Department is not featured in the Official website of the Government of AP while even the Minority Welfare Department has a link presented in the website. So our Trustee is very secretive. Wants to hide from the public glare. And least credible because he shuns the public domain. What is it afraid of?

Known Christists â unknown Christists

Take a look at the number of known Christists who ruled the State
since its formation:
1. Kasu Brahmananda Reddy
2. N. Janardhana Reddy
3. Y Samuel Rajashekhara Reddy

Add to these three Christians, sympathisers of the variety of Chandra Babu Naidu, whose regime saw the State-sponsored and facilitated upshoots of the towering statues of Mother Teresa competing with Ambedkar in every nook and corner of AP. There are also strong rumours doing rounds that Chandra Babu's wife, Bhuvaneshwari (daughter of the Late NTR) practices Christianity secretly and is in touch with the Seventh Day Adventist missionary. Readers should also know that it is believed in certain circles that Chandrababu Naidu has interests in an abattoir with Saudi links that slaughters countless cows for export of beef. If this is true I am not amazed why he was the first to take the flight to meet Vajpayee and "strongly" demand the dropping of the very idea of a "Prevention of Cow Slaughter" Bill, when BJP was Hindu enough in its early days of governance.

Sanction for the repairs â Hindus get into debt trap

Days before Chandra Babu Naidu of TDP lost his elections, he sanctioned Rs. 75 Crores towards repairs and restoration of some Mandirs in AP. The Endowment Department had no funds. The Government undertook the work. And in many cases, the presiding deities were dragged out into the open under the pretext of renovation and left to fend for themselves against the vagaries of nature. In some Mandirs, local bhaktas formed groups to facilitate renovations. Such bills ran up to Rs. 48 crores. And the Government made just a token re- imbursement, thus putting various Hindu Bhaktas into a debt trap. The Government still owes this money.

Now, where does it decide to look for the money?

The Government has already started plundering the Tirupati Balaji's wealth. Now, it ants to be seen as being fair to Him. It does not want people to perceive it as being selective in its destruction. So it tells the world that Tirupati Balaji was not willing to give money for these projects so they have to scout for another Mandir, to satiate their rapacious appetite for systematic destruction of Hindu institutions. I would like to call this as: The Secular chain reaction to the deliberate distribution of destruction.

Simhachalam Narasimha Swamy â A P Government's new target of plunder:

The Government has now set its eyes on Simhachalam. On Simhadri Narasimha Swami. And His thousands of acres of lands. These lands are in the Vizag district of Andhra Pradesh. About 1500 to 2000 acres of these lands are under illegal occupation. In most cases, it is simply not traceable as to who sold these lands and to whom; the registration has long since been done, with the connivance of various ministers and officials. Thousands of houses and bungalows have come up on these illegally occupied lands. The current occupants claim that they have been in the "enjoyment" of these lands for the past 10 to 15 years and if the Government comes forward to "regularize" the land transaction and decide on the price, they are willing to pay. Now, even squatters make the rules.

Can you give an honest figure, YSR?

Will the Government dare reveal how many practitioners of other than Hindu faith who constitute this large number of illegal occupants? Or publish the number of churches / mosques that have come up on these Mandir lands? In 1842, in the whole of Madras presidency, the number of churches were 847 and of Roman Catholic denomination. A current estimate says that there are a million churches in the same region. Where did this growth and the money for such a growth come from? In just 100 plus years.

A new Committee is born in the barn. Some have seen stars and dollar signs

A few years ago a committee was formed for the express purpose of "regularizing" these illegal occupations of the lands belonging to Simhadri Narasimha Swami Mandir. The committee lied low, perhaps taking time to make its own deals by virtue of being given he opportunity to officially deal with the squatters. Now, the Christist YSR Government has formed a new Committee comprising of a few MLAs and officials to look into this matter of "regularizing" the land in favour of the illegal occupants. This committee is expected to submit its report shortly, highlighting its observations and recommendations. The price per Square Yard is under consideration. The lands where there are no constructions will be sold "as is where is". They expect an inflow of Rs. 125 crores. Of this, Rs. 48 crores will be disbursed towards works already committed and in progress. The rest will be used for the requirements and running of the AP Endowment Department. This is as far as the 2000 acres of the Simhadri Mandir lands, now concluded as in illegal occupation by squatters, of whichever faith and denomination they belong to.

Government decides to sell Over 100,000 acres of Mandir lands in AP

In addition to the lands belonging to the Mandir of Simhachalam Sri
Narasimha Swamy, the Endowment Department has decided to sell 100,000 acres of lands belonging to various Mandirs in AP and which are either under dispute or have been illegally occupied by all and sundry. The Government has decided that a committee comprising of all the MLAs will be constituted for this purpose. This committee is empowered to decide the price. There are 370,000 acres of Mandir lands under the control of the Endowment Department. Of this, the department has no records for Mandir lands to the extent of 100,000 acres. Of the rest of 270,000 acres, thousands of acres are under illegal occupation.

Who gives this Christist Government the right to sell the Mandir lands?

Why should the Hindu Samaj remain indifferent and inactive to such naked aggression and rape of our revered institutions by a Christist? The kings of yesteryears were the Trustees of our Mandirs in their time. They were only keen to add to the Mandir assets with each passing year. The current day kings, and the born-again Christist kings like YSR, seem to deem it their duty to the church as they systematically strip us to the last fibre and parade us as pagans.

Take a look hard look at few of these facts:

1. 10,000 Mandirs in AP alone are in the worst possible state. There is no money for lighting a single lamp each day. Nor is Nivedyam presented to the Presiding Deity each day. In many Mandirs there is no money to pay for the salaries of the staff and the Archakas. WILL THEY DO THIS TO THE CHURCH OWNED LANDS?

2. The church is the largest real-estate owner in the country, next only to the Government and no single Government dares to bring this under its control. Nor can it ever dream of using the church lands for social justice measures like giving it away to Dalits or the Naxals or to Hindu religion for constructing Mandirs or the much needed Hindu schools/ Patashalas. Informed sources say that the Naxal distribution of Mandir lands in AP is happening with the very blessings of the Christist YSR. After all when it comes to Hindus, the Government which is just a "trustee" will suddenly assume "ownership" of these lands while bartering it for vote-bank politics and for appeasement of minorities.

3. Let us assume that I form a Trust and do what the AP Government is doing today as a Trustee. I would be instantly prosecuted and hauled in for fraudulent activity, betrayal of trust and would be ordered to dismantle it, under the law of the land. It is evident that the AP Government seems to conclude that it is above the Trust laws. It can do what it pleases when it comes to destroying Hindu institutions. And the trust that the Hindu Bhaktas impose on it to take care of its Mandirs be damned.

Can you expect YSR to be sympathetic to Hindu causes?

How can you expect this Christist YSR to be sympathetic to Hindu causes, its institutions and the sentiments of its Bhaktas? It is a shame that the TTD should allow him into the Hindu Mandir of Tirupati without asking him to sign the mandatory declaration of his allegiance to the Bhagawan. Worse still, he is allowed to come alone and not escorted by his wife as a Grihasta should do, when he visits the Mandir to give the Vastram to the Bhagawan during the Brahmhotsavam. I am told that she is a devout Christian and does not want perhaps to put up an act like her husband, who is bound political and monetary compulsions to deceive poor Hindus. I may be wrong on this but I have not seen her with him during such visits to the Balaji Mandir.

Hindus should understand that this AP Government is headed by a rabid Christian who cohabits with the virulent Adventists, silently promoting baptisms by the thousands in his State.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-12-2005

fwd..

QUOTEOn 16 Jan, 2005, Akashvani Tura, Meghalaya, Miss Edrilla Sangma a school
teacher conducted a half an hour programme with some students from Edenbary
Sunday School, TuraÂ from 9.30 am to 10.00 am.

A Christian-Hindu conflict was catered in this progrramme by projecting
Christian supremacy over other indigenous religious faiths. According to the
story, told by Miss Edrilla Sangma to the children, the Hindu villagers
brutally murdered a teenage Hindu boy in the village for accepting Christian
faith. The murdered boy was cremated in a nearby jungle following the
traditional rituals of his family. Miss Edrilla Sangma fabricated the story
as the murdered boy got resurrected exactly like Jesus Christ and again
appeared in the jungle as miracle of Jesus. Miss Edrilla Sangma further
added that due to the influence of this Chamatkar all Hindu villagers
embraced Christianity. Further she asked the children, My dear children,
thus you knew the divine strength of Jesus now would you also like to
embrace Christianity? All the children replied in affirmative way, and she
discarded and dejected all the traditional religious faiths of the N-E
region.

After completing this story Miss Edrilla Sangma appealed the innocent
children of various Hindu faiths and other minority Hindu tribes of Garo
Hills ( viz. Koch, Hajong, Rabha & Bodos) to accept Christianity and
encouraged them to give up their ancestral hapless gods.

To broadcast such type of programmes by the various Akashvani centers in
North East is a regular phenomenon; this kind of humiliating, communal and
inhumane programmes should be checkedÂ immediately and the culprits should
be brought to the books.

For this gross violation of secular fabric of Aakashvani we had registered a
strong protest against Aakashvani TuraÂ Â with I&B Minister, CEO Prasar
Bharati and DG Aakashvani in February- 2005.

Unfortunately we have not received any reply regarding this complaint till
the date. As Christmas and New Year approaches same incidences will be
repeated in near future.

To check the implementation of the Christian Agenda of so called secular
AakashvaniÂ Â this issue needs to be raised in Parliament.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-12-2005

those mongooid tribes are fools to be throwing away their ancient ways for the cut throat pagan religion called christianity.

Christian Missionary Role In India - 5 - Guest - 12-16-2005

No all is lost. Hindu organizations are fighting back with their full force as well. To show off their strength they are organizing a huge "Shabari Kumbh Mela" in Dang, Gujrat. Nearly 1 million tribals are expected to come together and claim themselves to be hindu. More details on http://www.shabarikumbh.org

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A huge kumbh (religious gathering) of Hindus is on the cards on February 11, 12 and 13, 2006. Named Shabri Kumbh it promises to be an unprecedented assembly of awakened Hindus. The Kumbh will be the culmination of sustained efforts towards awakening the Hindus in general and the vanavasi Hindus in the Dang region of Gujarat in particular.

Vanavasi Hindus target of Christian missionary offensive

For long, Bharat has been a special target of the Christian Church worldwide. To the Church, the Hindus represent the greatest stumbling block in their grand design to establish Christs kingdom on earth. The poor, illiterate, mild Vanvasi Hindu is an obvious target in this nefarious scheme. For years, under the garb of social service, the Church has been spreading its tentacles in far-flung, tribal regions of our country. These converted vanavasis become alienated from their customs and traditions. They get uprooted from their cultural milieu. Conversion to Christianity is invariably associated with separatism and terrorism as is evident in North-East Bharat. There are several areas in our country which have become hotbeds of christian missionary activity. The Dang district in Gujarat is one such area. The word Dang is a corruption of Dandakaranya, the legendary forest where Sri Rama and Lakshman spent some time while in exile. It is in this region that Shabari Mata, the immortal devotee of Sri Rama met her Lord and lovingly offered him sweet berries which she had tasted herself. The spot where this meeting took place is located on Chamak hill in this region. There is a temple of Shabari Mata at this site. The picturesque Pampa sarovar (lake) is located in this region. Situated on the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, this district is predominantly inhabited by vanavasi
Hindus. The district has 352 villages; the district headquarter is Ahwa. The town of Navapur in Maharashtra is close to the Dang district of Gujarat.

It is pertinent to note that the first church was established in Dang district in 1904. Since then, conversions to Christianity had been progressing at an alarming rate. In the period 1991-2001, the Christian population grew by a massive 400 per cent! The process of self-alienation and separatism which inevitably accompanies conversion had become visible in Dang. Makeshift, illegal churches had mushroomed in cowsheds and residential areas. These churches were unregistered and illegal. Such was the terrorism of Christian activists that it had become unsafe for Hindus to move out of their houses after dusk. It was in the midst of such hostile conditions that a Hindu swami descended upon Dang

Arrival of Swami Aseemananda

Swami Aseemananda, a Hindu sannyasi heads the shraddha vibhag of the Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. For over 50 years, the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram has been doing yeoman work in the vanavasi regions of Bharat. A Bengali by birth, Swamiji has spent several years in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. His innovative and bold methods in arousing the latent feeling of Hindutva amongst the vanavasis have made him a byword in the field of Hindu awakening. Little wonder then that Christian zealots have made many murderous attempts on his life. Deeply concerned by the Christianization of Dang, Swamiji resolved to stay in Dang and foil the designs of Christian missionaries. It was in August 1997 that this saffron-clad sannyasi set foot in Dang. All that he carried with him in this unfamiliar and hostile terrain were around 500 lockets of Hanuman and an unshakeable resolve! He would knock at the door of each house and would ask the inmates one question, âAre you Hindu or christian?â At the house of one such Hindu, Swamiji asked him, âMay I spend the night in your house?â The Hindu gladly welcomed Swamiji. Swamiji kept his luggage, distributed the Hanuman lockets to the children and asked them to bring their Hindu friends in the evening for a Ram katha. That night, Dang witnessed the first ever Dharma sabha. Sensing danger, Christian missionaries asked Swamiji, âWhat brings you here?â The Swami posed them the same question. We have come here to serve the people replied the Christian missionaries. âI have come here to drive away those who have come here to serveâ retorted the Swami. That was the beginning of the Hindu awakening in the Dangs.

Hindu awakening in the Dangs
In 1998, 25000 Christians embraced the religion of their forefathers in just two months. The submissive Hindu who had been hitherto terrorized by the Christian missionaries began to assert himself. âHindu jaage, Christi bhaageâ became a popular slogan of the vanavasis of Dang. From 1998-2004, a total of 55 Vishal Hindu Sammelans were organized. These were attended by a total of four lakh Hindus. As Hindus objected to conversion activities of Christian missionaries, clashes broke out.
The so-called mainstream media used this pretext to tarnish the Hindus. In December 2004, press reporters from 40 countries descended upon the Dangs and spread a misinformation campaign. As a result, the court restrained the Hindus from conducting any public ceremony around Christmas in future. Meanwhile, the tide of Hindu awakening only swelled. Today, Christian conversion activities have come to a halt not only in Dangs but also in the surrounding twelve districts.

In 2002, Hindu activists approached the famed Ramayana kathakar Sri Morari Bapu and told him, âYou mesmerise thousands with Ram Katha. We request you to organize Ram Katha in Dang wher Sri Rama himself spent some timeâ. Sri Morari Bapu readily agreed. The tremendous response overwhelmed Sri Morari . In the course of his speech, he spontaneously expressed the desire that a formal kumbh be organized at the spot where Shabari Mata had met Sri Rama. Sri Morari Bapus desire was taken up as an order to be implemented. Thus was born the idea of Shabari kumbh.

Scale of the Shabari Kumbh

Organizing a kumbh in a remote, heavily forested area is a nightmare as far as logistics is concerned. It requires steely resolve, meticulous planning and precision to make the programme a grand success. The 352 villages in Dang district had no electricity, or roads; the town of Ahwa is a good 35 km from the proposed site of the kumbh There are no medical facilities or eateries in the vicinity. But the famed organizational might of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other like-minded organizations is in full gear. Realizing the importance of such a venture to the state of Gujarat, the state government of Shri Narendra Modi has extended full co-operation. Planning started atleast one and a half years ago. A 250-200 hectare site has been chosen for the kumbh. The state government has undertaken construction of roads on a war footing. All the 352 villages of Dang have got electrification. A total of 22 check dams have been built on the river that feeds the Pampa sarovar where the holy bath will take place. A total of 20 lakh vanavasis reside in an area of 80 km around Dang. A survey of 5000 villages in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh was completed in the initial phase. Around 30-35 lakh vanavasis were contacted in this massive exercise. An estimated six lakh Hindus will attend the kumbh; of these, around two lakh are likely to stay for all three days. To arrange for their lodging, 40 townships each with a capacity of 5000 people will be erected. Each township will have 100 workers to look after various arrangements such as security, food, medical aid etc. Thus a total of 4000 workers will be required to look after the arrangements in the townships; an additional 2000 workers will be involved in other arrangemets.

About 388 vanavasi janajatis and 137 urban jatis which are currently facing missionary onslaught will be represented at the kumbh. Further, dharmacharyas from all over the country including 800 vanavasi sants will be attending the kumbh and taking part in the deliberations.

Each participant will be given a locket of his ishtadevata; Around 20 lakh lockets, 5 lakh Hanuman chalisa and 5 lakh bhagwa dhwaj will be distributed.

More at http://www.shabarikumbh.org