Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal
Kanyakumari, 5-6 July 2003

Resolution – 3

Pope’s Statement is interference in the internal
affairs of Bharat

The Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal of the RSS takes
strong exception to the reported accusation of the
Pope John Paul II that “free exercise of the natural
right to religious freedom” is prohibited in Bharat.
Addressing the Bishops of Bharat during their recent
visit to the Vatican, the Pope made an uncalled for
interference in the internal affairs of the country
when he commented “Unfortunately, in some regions the
state authorities have yielded to the pressures of
these extremists and have passed unjust conversion
laws…” and exhorted the Church in Bharat to
“courageously” continue with evangelisation.

His statement calling the Indian laws banning
conversions by force, fraud or allurement promulgated
by certain States as ‘unjust’ is highly condemnable,
as it is a direct challenge to the sovereignty of
Bharat.

It is common knowledge that force, fraud or allurement
is at the root of mass conversions so rampant in
Bharat. Further the experience of Bharat is that
conversion is not just a change of the form of worship
or prayer, but subversion of national loyalty.
Therfore certain States such as Madhya Pradesh
(including Chhatisgarh), Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh
have promulgated laws prohibiting forced conversions
long ago, while two more States i.e. Tamilnadu and
Gujarat also have joined the list recently. They have
acted in the best interests of the country and hence
deserve congratulation. It is high time that other
States also enacted similar laws prohibiting
conversion.

The ABKM urges the Government of Bharat to lodge a
protest with the Pope for his uncalled for exhortation
to the Christian missionaries to carry on their
campaign of conversions defying the law of the land.
The ABKM would like to remind to the right thinking
Christians not to submit themselves to the dictates of
an extra-territorial authority and vilify their own
countrymen.

That Bharat is a land of peace and tolerance should
not be construed as a licence to anyone to infringe on
our national ethos and disturb peace.

The ABKM also urges the Hindu society to thwart the
nefarious designs of conversion and also be vigilant
to ensure that the concerned Governmental authorities
do not remain inactive in the face of such fraudulent
activities and enforce the law in letter and spirit.