NCM member lauds RSS 'stance'

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA, NOV. 28. Mr. John Joseph, member, National Commission for Minorities (NCM), has said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak, Mr K.S. Sudarshan's statement that the RSS is not against individual conversion is an ``indication of the amicable settlement in store'' for the key issues concerning Hindus and Christians in the country.

Talking to The Hindu here today, Mr Joseph said the statement would be considered as a welcome gesture in building peace and amity between the two communities, as none of the Christian Churches supports mass conversion.

According to Mr Joseph, who is also the coordinator of RSS- Church parleys, the dialogue has now entered a ``brighter phase'' with the RSS coming out with its official stand on conversion at the fifth round of talks with Church leaders at Aluva on Tuesday.

``It is noteworthy that many Christian leaders who had been vehemently criticising the RSS-Church dialogue and NCM's peace- building initiatives had participated in the fifth round of talks,'' he said.

The head of the Thiruvalla-based Gospel for Asia, Mr K.P. Yohannan, against whom the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had made allegations of mass conversions, had participated in Tuesday's talks.

He said the participation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the Pentecostal Federation of India, which together represent more than 90 per cent of the Christians in India, at the latest talks indicates the tremendous progress the peace process has made.

According to him, incidents of attacks against Christians in different parts of the country have come down considerably during the last one year, indicating that the message of peace has percolated down to the grassroots in the wake of the peace process. ``It's a fact that attempts by certain vested interests to precipitate the issues too have come to a halt,'' he added.

Decrying mass conversion, Mr Joseph said such incidents in certain parts of the country are the ``handiwork of certain vested interests and none of the Christian denominations has accepted it''.

He said the mass conversion like the one held at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan recently is deplorable, as it apparently challenges the self esteem of the Hindu community as a whole. Such incidents would lead to communal tension.

Mr Joseph said the flow of funds to certain agencies aimed at organising mass conversion should be discouraged.

Dismissing the criticism that many prominent Church groups such as the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church had not participated in the Aluva meet, the NCM member said the CBCI national chief, Dr Cyril Mar Baselius, and the Catholic Council of India laity secretary, Dr Cyriac Thomas, had represented all Catholic denominations in India in the talks. The NCCI president, Geevarghese Mar Coorilos, who is also the Metropolitan of the Bombay diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, was the one who led the third round of talks at Nagpur.

He said the next round of talks would be held at the RSS office in New Delhi in January, 2002.

VHP lauds dialogue

The VHP State organising secretary, Mr Kummanam Rajashekharan, has described the Aluva dialogue as a fruitful attempt in solving the issues between the two communities.

He told The Hindu that the RSS and the VHP would extend unconditional support to any move that would preserve the rich culture and tradition of the country.

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