Tag Archives: Christian Conversion in India

Returning Home: My Reconversion Story – by Shimtihun Lyngwa

Leave a reply

No, it’s not the immediate “Ghar Wapsi” effect; nor has the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have an impact in my life. My decision to leave the Christian faith and return to Niam Khasi didn’t just happen because of a few negative conversations, or a few isolated events — my decision was made because I realized I’ve been staying in the “wrong house” all these years. Two years ago, there would be no way in fiery hell that I could ever conceive of leaving the Christian faith. But here I am today.


I have received a lot of mixed reactions from being honest about my religious beliefs. For over a year, I had been terrified to tell anyone that I wasn’t a Christian anymore, because I was afraid of all the relationships I would lose, and all the people that would distance themselves from me. To me it feels like there’s a tremendous stigma in a lot of Christian circles about people leaving the church, and this assumption that I’m not a good person, or a person Christians can be friends with, because my views are now so different.


A lot of Khasi Christians I had met would refer to other Khasis who still followed the indigenous faith as “non-believers” and talk about them in a sort of vernacular that reflected an “us versus them” attitude, as though these “non-believers” were a part of the community, and that the community was a dirty and unreligious place filled with all sorts of depravity. “We are of the Khasi Community, but not of the Khasi Community,” is a catch-phrase I often heard, and while I appreciate holding onto certain Christian values about one’s conduct in life, I didn’t want people to think of me as “of the Khasi Community” — when they were thinking of the Khasi Community as such a terrible, unreligious place.

I was really scared of telling people. What I started to realize though, is that people had been distancing themselves because of my religious views, and that I didn’t want those kind of people in my life. I would rather be friends with people who would love me, regardless of my religious beliefs. And I am very happy and grateful to say that I do still have friends that are Christians, and our beliefs and views are very different, but that hasn’t had an effect on our friendship. That was very huge and important to me, Other people have, yes, chosen to distance themselves from me, or let our friendship “fade away” or have told me they were disappointed in me, or even worse, call me a hypocrite or tell me I’m going to hell, or try and “re-convert” me.


A lot of Christians I know have used the bible to justify slavery. And I have no idea how to interpret the stories in the Bible where God commands people to commit genocide, or God destroys populations and wipes out cultures, and tears entire cities to the ground, or floods the world sparing only one family and a bunch of animals. But even fast-forwarding to today, it feels like so many Christians I met were content to pick-and-choose the parts of the Bible they would follow.


There is a clear double standard in many Christian denominations in this Christian State, and because of that, churches are actually not a place for fellowship for everyone. One person told me, in a conversation we were having about abortion and human rights, that if a child gets raped, she has to keep the baby. I know that these attitudes are reflective of the extreme and fundamentalist side of religious belief, but regardless, these were people I personally knew and connected with that said this to me, and I never thought I had come from a place and had relationships with people who could demonstrate such intolerance.


Morally and ethically, I cannot follow a religion that would advocate such hate, judgment, and ignorance. I know that a lot of Christians do a tremendous deal of good things in society, and advocate on behalf of many oppressed people, but I still really sorely miss the critical conversations where these double standards exist in the Bible, the interpretation, and how that enacts itself in the world, and wish for more Christian leaders to speak about these issues. So maybe it should be up to me to fix the church, but it got to a point where I started to realize this kind of hate is larger than just a problem that needs to be fixed, but that it is ingrained into a really big part of Christian culture in the so-called “Christian State” of Incredible India.


So many church denominations are content to split up if they disagree; people believe so strongly and fervently in their interpretation of the Bible that they would sooner split up their church denomination than actively dialogue and try to understand one another. And for all of the things I can do, I cannot go up against that kind of strength of belief — to many, it is church doctrine, and not something that simply changes.
But why did I decide to return home to Niam Tynrai? I could recall the time where I “was moved by an overwhelming presence” during a climb to Lum Sohpetbneng, where everything felt very different, and I clearly felt a “sacredness” to everything and everyone gathered there. I could feel that “holy presence” every time I’m at the sacred Lum Sohpetbneng, and I can never seem to forget that feeling. But I believe I’m not the only one. There are a lot of Khasi Christians out there who weren’t given a “choice”.

There seems to be an assumption that because I’m not a Christian anymore, I no longer believe in God, but I do very much, and still wish to be included in the dialogue. There is a very fine and delicate balance between the relationship of people based on their religious beliefs, allowing room for dialogue, and the opportunity to learn from one another. Like the lesson I learned so long ago, it is difficult, but so right to exist in the liminal experience that is being able to be wrong, and being willing to learn from one another, and, like that speaker who spoke at Lum Sohpetbneng, have the courage to hold your true faith and ideas in an open hand, and truly see what it is they are made of.


Mahatma Gandhi once asked Christian missionaries, “If you feel that only conversion to Christianity is the path to salvation, why don’t you start with me or Mahadev Desai? Why do you stress on conversion of the simple, illiterate, poor and forest-dwellers? These people can’t differentiate between Jesus and Mohammad and are not likely to understand your preachings. They are mute and simple, like cows. These simple, poor, Dalit and forest-dwellers, whom you make Christians, do so not for Jesus but for rice and their stomach.”

This quote on religious conversion by the Father of the Nation got the hackles up of the Christian community. If we would have asked a similar question to Christian missionaries who came to the Khasi Hills early in the 19th century, we could have avoided this mass religious conversion altogether. But it’s never too late to return back home. I have; so should you.


(Email: shimtilyngwa@gmail.com)

Source: The Shillong Times (https://theshillongtimes.com/2020/09/01/my-reconversion-story/)

Goa Christian Inquisition was most merciless and cruel

4 Replies

Vasco-da-gama’s entry into Bharat in 1498 lead to the Portuguese invasion.  Vasco Da Gama tried to impress the King of Calicut with glass beads , scarlet hoods and coral.

On his second voyage in 1502 Vasco Da Gama came with 25 ships , thousands of soldiers and large canons. Enroute to Calicut they caught a pilgrim ship on passage to Mecca and burnt all 700 including women and children alive. He pounded Calicut city with his long range guns. When a messenger was sent by the king, Vasco Da Gama cut off his lips , and ears– stitched the ears of a dog in place and sent him back. King Zamorin was wary of the Portuguese and soon they shifted base to Cochin and then to Goa.

This was followed by the other European powers who went on to loot and deface Bharat for over 400+ years.  Among the 1st to come was Francis Xavier who was called “St.Xavier”. After failed attempts to persuade the Hindus to convert, he ordered the Portuguese Inquisition of Goa , which ran from 1516 to 1812.

Francis Xavier requesting Pope John III to go to Goa

Francis Xavier requesting Pope John III to go to Goa

Brutal methods used were – To tear off the tongues–  To blind the victim with sharp sticks or red-hot iron spikes– The pulling of the flesh with pliers– The skinning of the accused alive– Quartering (in which the victims intestines would be pulled from the body) and impaling, in which a stake would be hammered through the victim’s body avoiding the vital organs, resulting in a slow death that could last for hours or days. Details of the torture that Hindus were subjected to are at this link

Wheel of compassiontorture

A.K.Priolkar’s path breaking book “The Goa Inquisition” gives a detail account of the inquisition. While there have been some documents by Western writers too.

History of Goa inquisition The goa inquisition

However, the catholic church has not yet bothered to apologise for the atrocities committed by them. It is a pity that the Indian government chose to rub salt to the wounds of Hindus and celebrated 500 years of Vasco-da-gama’s so-called discovery of sea-route to India in 1998 as if it was a great event of celebration.  It is important that the new government not only gives the Hindus their due by seeking the rightful apology from the Vatican but also cut the missionary activities which even today run the business of religious conversion through fraud, deceit, cunning and coercion.

The below interview is also worth reading in this connection. 

Richard Zimler’s the author of “Guardin of Dawn documents the Portuguese Inquisition in India.  The following is his interview :

Zimler

Goa Inquisition was most merciless and cruel’

” Over that period of 252 years, any man, woman, or child living in Goa could be arrested and tortured for simply whispering a prayer or keeping a small idol at home. Many Hindus — and some former Jews, as well — languished in special Inquisitional prisons, some for four, five, or six years at a time.”

Richard Zimler’s novel, Guardian of the Dawn, documents the little-known Portuguese Inquisition in India, in 16th century Goa. He points out that, apart from their laws and religion, the Portuguese also imported and enforced their infamous methods of interrogation to subdue troublemakers.

Zimler has won numerous awards for his work, including a 1994 US National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Fiction and 1998 Herodotus Award for best historical novel. The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon was picked as 1998 Book of the Year by British critics, while Hunting Midnight has been nominated for the 2005 IMPAC Literary Award. Together with Guardian of the Dawn, these novels comprise the ‘Sephardic Cycle’ — a group of interrelated but independent novels about different branches of a Portuguese Jewish family.

Intrigued by his novel, as well as his reasons for writing it, Senior Features Editor Lindsay Pereira decided to ask him a few questions.

You were born in New York and went on to study comparative religion. Why the decision to write about the Portuguese inquisition in Goa — a whole other world?

About 15 years ago, while doing research for my first novel, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, I discovered that the Portuguese exported the Inquisition to Goa in the sixteenth century, and that many Indian Hindus were tortured and burnt at the stake for continuing to practice their religion. Muslim Indians were generally murdered right away or made to flee Goan territory.

I couldn’t use that information for my novel but decided, a few years later, to do more research into that time of fundamentalist religious persecution. I discovered that historians consider the Goa Inquisition the most merciless and cruel ever developed. It was a machinery of death. A large number of Hindus were first converted and then persecuted from 1560 all the way to 1812!

Over that period of 252 years, any man, woman, or child living in Goa could be arrested and tortured for simply whispering a prayer or keeping a small idol at home. Many Hindus — and some former Jews, as well — languished in special Inquisitional prisons, some for four, five, or six years at a time.

I was horrified to learn about this, of course. And I was shocked that my friends in Portugal knew nothing about it. The Portuguese tend to think of Goa as the glorious capital of the spice trade, and they believe — erroneously — that people of different ethnic backgrounds lived there in tolerance and tranquillity. They know nothing about the terror that the Portuguese brought to India. They know nothing of how their fundamentalist religious leaders made so many suffer.

What were you trying to do with this cycle of novels? Did you set out, initially, to merely inform your audience about that period in history?

I always set out first to tell a good, captivating story. No reader is interested in a bland historical text. People want to enjoy a novel — and find beauty, mystery, cruelty, love, tenderness and poetry inside it.

Within that story, I do try to recreate the world as it once was.

In the case of Guardian of the Dawn, I want readers to feel as if they are living in Goa at that time. I want them to see the cobblestone streets of the city and the masts of ships in the harbour, to smell the coconut oil and spices in the air, to hear calls of flower-sellers in the marketplace. I want them to feel the cold shadow of the Inquisitional palace falling over their lives.

In my cycle of novels, I have written about different branches and generations of the Zarco family, a single Portuguese-Jewish family. These novels are not sequels; they can be read in any order. But I’ve tried to create a parallel universe in which readers can find subtle connections between the different books and between the different generations.

To me, this is very realistic because we all know, for instance, that there are subtle connections between what our great-grandparents did and what we are doing.

The research involved in Guardian of the Dawn is obviously immense. Could you tell me a little about the kind of preparatory work you had to put in?

To write the book, I tried to read everything I could about daily life on the west coast of India — more specifically, in and around Goa — at the end of the sixteenth century. The Internet has made that sort of research much easier than it used to be, and I was able to order books about everything from traditional medical practices — including recipes for specific ailments — to animals and plants indigenous to that region.

When I write a novel, I want to get all the details right, so this is very important. Of course, it was also vital for me to know as much as I could about Hinduism and Catholicism. As you mentioned, I studied Comparative Religion at university, so this was pretty easy. One of the main characters in the novel is a Jain, which is a religion I have always been curious about, so I read three or four books about Jainism as well. It was wonderful to be able to learn a bit about Jain belief and practice. Writing is always a great opportunity for me to keep learning.

Tiago Zarco is a character you manage to strongly empathise with. Where did he come from? Was there factual data on someone he was actually based upon?

Yes, he’s someone I really like — and for whom I feel a strong empathy. He’s a good man who is changed by his suffering and who decides to take revenge on the people who have hurt him and his family. But I did not base him on a real person. I think, in a way, he was born of my previous two novels, because I tried to make him someone who could fit into the Zarco family and yet be fully developed as an individual. With Tiago, I tried to ask the question — how far can we bend our own moral code to fight evil?

In other words, can we use deception and even violence to try to destroy a cruel system of fundamentalist religious fervour like the Inquisition?

Re-examining the Inquisition seems apt, more so at a time like this when religious fanaticism is changing the world in ways unknown to us. What do you, as an author, believe we ought to take away from a study of it? I couldn’t agree with you more, and that is one of the reasons I wrote Guardian of the Dawn. Put simply, I think we all need to be alert to the intolerance in our societies and in ourselves. We ought to maintain government and religion completely separate — such a separation is the only guarantee we have of freedom of expression. We ought to learn from the ancient Asian tradition, which is to respect the religious beliefs of others and not impose our own Gods on them.

Did you visit Goa at any point? If not, what did you base your descriptions of the state upon?

No, I decided not to go to Goa, because I didn’t want any images from modern Goa to infiltrate into the novel. I didn’t want to risk inadvertently putting something from today into it. So I based my descriptions on other areas of the world I’ve visited that have similar flora and fauna — Thailand, for instance. Also, I read all I could about the city so that my descriptions of the buildings, for instance, would be accurate. I then used my imagination, which is the most important thing for a writer. I now have a landscape in my head that is Goa — and the surrounding region — in 1600. I don’t know how it developed. It’s almost magical.

Portugal, today, is still a country deeply steeped in a Catholic tradition. Do you think people are aware of the Inquisition and what it meant back then? Would they look at this as a re-opening of old wounds?

No, few people here know anything about the Inquisition. Many of them would rather not examine what their ancestors did, both in Portugal and its colonies. But others are very curious about what they didn’t learn in school about their own history. Yes, in a sense I am opening old wounds. But I think it’s important to do that. I think that we need to face the bad things we do — both individually and as a society. In general, the Portuguese have been very receptive to my books.

Guardian of the Dawn has been a Number One bestseller here, for instance. A great many readers tell me I have opened a door to a part of their history they know nothing about. I’m proud of that. And I’m proud of having made it possible for Indians and Jews who were persecuted and imprisoned to ‘speak’ to modern readers through this novel. I think that’s important because I don’t want their suffering — and their heroism — to be forgotten.

As an author — more specifically, an author devoted to history — you have a unique perspective on the past. As a journalist, how important is examining the past to you?

As a journalist, it’s important, because I think we can change the world by exposing past injustices. By writing about atrocities, we can change policy and avoid future wars. We can get war criminals punished. We can help people win fundamental human rights. Unfortunately, so much journalism is superficial and stupid that there is little room left for important articles.

Do you plan, in future, to base your work on other periods, or religious themes? Or do you plan to break away from the genre of historical fiction?

I have written a new novel that has just come out in England called The Search for Sana, which is about two women — one Palestinian, one Israeli — who grew up in Haifa together in the 1950s. It’s about how their friendship is destroyed by political events that lead to tragedy for one of them. I am now working on a novel set in Berlin in the 1930s, in which one of the main characters will be a member of the Zarco family. So this will bring the cycle up to the 20th century. Where I will go from there is anyone’s guess

Interview Source : http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/14inter1.htm

Forced conversion of Arunachal people – Letter to Prime Minister

Leave a reply

Janjati Dharm Sanskriti Suraksha Manch

K. B. Road, Paltan Bazar, Guwahati-8

Dated: 26th March, 2011

To

Dr. Manmohan Singh

The Prime Minister of Bharatvarsh

South Block, New Delhi-1

Sub: Church conspiracy and forced conversion of Arunachalee people by the nexus of NSCN (IM), NSCN (K), ANLF, Church organizations of Nagaland, politicians, bureaucrats and NGOs etc.

Hon’ble Sir,

Janjati Dharm Sanskriti Suraksha Manch would like to draw your kind attention on the topic “ Christianity: For a New Status in Arunachal Pradesh, published in ˜The Sentinel’ dated 19th March 2011 written by Wangpon Sabin, Ex-President of Tutsa Baptist Church Council, Arunachal Pradesh and also on the appeal of Arunachal Christian Forum published in a section of local media of Arunachal Pradesh on 19th March, 2011. In these writes-up, they have challenged the credence and relevance of Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 1978. Not only that, they have sought to re-define the meaning of ˜indigenous faith’ and include Christianity also in the list of indigenous faith as because 40% population, as Wangpong Sabin claims, has been converted to Christianity. He says, Today, it is estimated that more than 40% of the indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh are practicing Christianity. This matter can no more be ignored or reverted. The religious faith and practices of more than 40% indigenous citizens of a state can no more be classified as non-indigenous. He says further “ Christianity is now as indigenous as Buddhism or Vaishnavism as mentioned in the Act, the only difference being that each of them was accepted by the indigenous people in different periods of history. By saying that the church equates Christianity with Buddhism and Vaishnavism. The only difference is that Buddhism and Vaishnavism came little early and Christianity little later but the doctrines preached, as it appears from the silly arguments of Church, is all the same.

Here, I would like to state that whatever Wangpon Sabin has said is nothing but a tip of ice-berg of deeper conspiracy hatched by church and supported by foreign powers inimical to our country. After giving a small jerk, Church wants to watch the reaction from the govt and the civil society. If there is no reaction or little reaction with manageable intensity, then the church can go for next phase of their conspiracy. If there is strong reaction or opposition, the church will keep the implementation of their well-thought ˜plan’ in abeyance only to re-surface at such time a favorable govt in Itanagar is installed. Till then, the church in league with militant organizations and alien forces would work underground to over throw the constitutionally elected govt in Arunachal Pradesh and install such a govt headed by such a Chief Minister who would support Church conspiracy (i) of forcible conversion at gun-point and (ii) de-stabilize Central Government or (iii) at least influence the Central and State policies in favor of Christians by discriminating the Hindus.

This has happened in the past in January 1999 when Gegong Apang ministry was overthrown by NSCN (K) terrorists and Mukut Mithi govt was installed who soft-pedaled in favor of Church and conversion conspiracy. The Church was angry on Gegong Apang because he had passed Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 1978 which coincided with the Freedom of Religion Bill 1978 brought over by Om Prakash Tyagi in the Parliament headed by Morarji Desai. With a view to defy and express her tough opposition to Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 1978 and Inner Line Permit, the Church brought Mother Teresa – the international humanitarian mask of Church and Nobel Prize winner for conversion through service to leprosy patients and a Bharat Ratna (?) awarded by Indira Gandhi to appease Christians. But to her misfortune, she was stopped at the Bandardeva Gate by Arunachal Pradesh police. The infuriated red-faced Mother (?) of Christians called upon the international community to teach a lesson to Gegong Apang for not allowing her to enter into Arunachal Pradesh. The international Church agencies and their supporters in USA, UK, France, Australia and other Christian countries did respond at once. But of no avail. She had to return from the Bandardeva police check-post. She rushed then to Morarji Desai. Morarji Bhai told her in no uncertain terms, When the people of Arunachal Pradesh do not want you to visit the state, what is the need for you to force visit the state?. When she started narrating her service mission, Morarji simply said, Service and conversion cannot go together. The Bishop of Dibrugarh said angrily, To serve the people of Arunachal, we, the missionaries, are not required to enter the state. Since then onward, the church opened several schools and hostels in Assam near Arunachal boundary for Arunachalee students. They sent students at Shillong and elsewhere. And they converted Arunachalees, started mission work inside the Assam state bordering Arunachal Pradesh. Today, Church claims that 40% people of Arunachal Pradesh have been converted. Some of these Christians act as host of hostile elements. It may be recalled that on 3rd May 1978, the Church had organized a massive protest rallies throughout the country. In Nagaland, it became a joint protest rallies organized by church but actively joined by Naga National Council (NNC) terrorists, and all the politicians- ruling and opposition in Nagaland. Naga Student Federation (NSF) acted as overground wing of under-ground, its volunteers forced even each and every non Naga Hindu to join the protest march. The speaker after the speaker spilled venom against the country. While addressing the protest rally in Kohima local ground, Vamuzo “ a former Brigadier in NNC army and then a political stalwart in the Nagaland said, Pass the bill and divide the country. Similar drama was enacted by the League of Church, terrorists and politicians in Aizawl and Shillong. There was a peace in rest part of NE region as because there were no or less Christians.

During Mukut Mithi regime, the Church had a hey day in Arunachal. Today, two bishops “ one at Itanagar and other at Miao “ near China border are supervising the conversion crusade. Over and above, the Baptist Church is over-active in Arunachal Pradesh, more so in Tirap and Changlong districts with the help of NSCN (IM), NSCN (K) and Nagaland Baptists Church Council (NBCC). The Naga politicians and Naga Churches are sending Naga missionaries in this area so that Changlong and Tirap can be merged in Greater Nagaland. The Church has formed Arunachal Naga Liberation Front (ANLF) who is working on this line. ANLF terrorists are being trained by NSCN (IM) in Herbon Camp near Dimapur.

In the year 2003, the nexus of Church and NSCN (IM) hijacked the assembly election in Nagaland. They directed the voters at gun point to defeat Congress ministry headed by Lokshree Dr. S. C. Jamir and vote for Naga People’s Front headed by Neiphiu Rio. As a result, Jamir lost and Neiphiu Rio formed the government. Immediately after sworning ceremony, the Neiphiu Rio Govt resolved to pay rupees 60 Lakhs to church for ˜service (?) activities. Nagaland Government paid rupees 18 crores to various church organizations meant for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan. With this enormous money, the Nagaland churches are sponsoring Naga missionaries and establishing various churches in Arunachal Pradesh. ANLF terrorists are also getting their share from NBCC.

On 7th March 2011, NSCN (K) Supremo S S Khaplang has warned the ministers and legislators of Changlong and Tirap districts of dire consequences if they did not withdraw support to Dorjee Khandu Govt by 10th March 2011. NSCN (K) accused Dorjee Khandu of being the killer of Naga People of Tirap and Changlong districts. NSCN (K) did not do this at its own. The Church is behind this game.

One Wangdong Chaktey, Central Intelligence Officer of NSCN (K) served a threat letter dated 4th January 2011 to President, Central Rongfra Administrative Council (CRAC), Tirap and Changlong districts of Arunachal Pradesh in which the terrorist outfit has ordered the followers of Rangfra religion to stop all the socio-cultural and religion promotion activities of Rangsohom (Rangfra mandir) of Kothum village of Tirap district including Lazu circle and whole of the Changlang district. The outfit has ordered that non-compliance of his order would invite a dire consequence. NSCN (K) has banned the construction and repair of Rongfra mandirs in all the villages under their command. The priest, Wangjam Chaktey, 75, was tied in a post, tortured for four hours on January11. Again on February 1, 2011, Kamjam Hamphuk, Secretary of Rongfra Administrative Council of Kothum village was kidnapped and retained in their designated camp for six days till Feb 6. He was thoroughly beaten and was released only when Rs 65 thousand in cash was paid and a pig worth rupees 10 thousand was given to him. This harassment was meted out with an intention of converting the Rongfra followers into Christianity and integrating both districts – Tirap and Changlang into greater Nagaland. Earlier, similar threat letter was issued by NSCN (K) on October 30, 2011. Now also, most of the villages are under the control either of NSCN (K) or of NSCN (IM). They are not allowing villagers to move out even for their ˜kheti’ work. On January 14 this year, the Chief of Ozakho villages, Awang Wangs, the only son of his parents was shot dead. A decade ago, his father was also shot dead by Naga terrorists. But under protective cover of NSCN (K) and NSCN (IM), the Naga Christian missionaries are masquerading as peace makers with Bible in one hand and AK-47 in the other. It may be noted that the Naga Christian missionaries are in both the factions-NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K), working for the extension of sphere of Nagaland for Christ. The official logos of both the factions bear prominently the slogan-Nagaland for Christ signaling that Christianity is the only recognized religion in the area of their control.

On 13th May 2010, Lingam Hakhun Naga alias Lamba Chool Wala, the area Commander of NSCN (IM) called a meeting of Gaon Burhas and village elders along with people of all the 12 villages of Tikhak community in Putok I village in which village elders and other people of Motongsa, Longchong, Putok I, Putok II, Putok III and other seven surrounding villages participated. Lingam belonged to Hakhun Naga Community living in the villages in the bordering areas of Arunachal’s Changlong district and Assam. The meeting place was surrounded by twenty four armed terrorist of NSCN (IM) displaying their lethal fire arms. Lingam cursed that all the followers of Buddha would go to eternal hell-fire and that all of the villagers had to convert to Christianity if they wished to attain salvation. He cautioned that all followers of Buddhism must convert to Christianity failing which the villagers should be prepared to face dire consequence. NSCN (IM) had banned the celebration of Buddha Purnima in May 2010. The Tikhak Community faced the challenge boldly and saved the people from Church onslaught. In 2008, a lady was burnt to death as she refused to convert and the Ao Naga missionary was arrested for committing this heinous crime. The nexus between Church and terrorist organizations are no secret.

In South Africa, the Negros who followed their indigenous faith-Voodoo religion, were slaughtered by white missionaries. In Britain, the British who followed their indigenous faith – Dhrud religion were persecuted by Church. In USA, the janjatis – Cheroki, Inca, Maya and Aztec who followed their indigenous faith and Mayan Civilization and refused to convert to Christianity, were killed en-mass and their gold were looted in tons. When Indonesia refused to be subjugated to western Church masters, an Indonesian Christian convert-Jose Ramos Horta and Carlos Bello- the Bishop of East Timor were helped to cause mass- uprising resulting into vivisection of Indonesia creating a Christian country-East Timor. Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Carlos Bello were awarded Nobel Peace Prize for causing unrest in Indonesia. Similarly, Aung Sang Sui Kyi of Myanmar is a Christian married to an American. This lady has been awarded Nobel Peace Prize for disturbing peace and spearheading mass-movement in Myanmar. The Human Rights organizations which are the creation of Church are spreading the malicious propaganda against the elected government.

Our country Bharatvarsh is strong enough to counter Church conspiracy. Still, the west managed to award Nobel Prize to Mother Teresa for converting lakhs of people in our country under the mask of social service to leprosy patients in Kolkata. No wonder, if USA-UK combine manages to award Nobel prizes to Phizo, S.S.Khaplang, Th. Muivah and Isak Chishi Swu for waging war on our country with the help of international Church organizations.

There is clear evidence which confirms that scores of international Christian organizations are backing terrorism and separatist movements in Northeast Bharatvarsh. The Church backed organizations are providing funds, arms and ammunitions with the aim of creating a separate Christian state. The priests, pastors and church leaders act as spy.

National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) was founded in 1989 by Christian converts and since its inception the NLFT has been engaged in an armed struggle to carve out a separate Christian country-Tripura. The forced conversions at gun point are irrefutably linked to the combine of NLFT and Baptist Church.

In Nagaland, Rev. Michael Scott- a British missionary was friend, philosopher and guide of Phizo- the President of Naga National Council (NNC). NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) of Nagaland are managed by Christians with open support of Church. Because of Naga terrorism, over 40,000 innocent people have been killed. NSCN (IM) has its offices in New York, Geneva and Hague. The letter head, seals and its logo read-Nagaland for Christ. It has links with international Church organizations, ISI of Pakistan and Maoists of China. It has bases in Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. Isak Chishi Swu declared at Boveralli USA four years ago that NSCN (IM) was working to send 10,000 Baptist missionaries in neighboring states of Bharat and neighboring countries as well to spread the gospel preached by Prince of Peace-Jesus Christ. Reverend Merüpfü Kent- a fanatic Naga Baptist missionary was the chairman of NNC. Now also, Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) is headed by Rev (Dr.) Wati Aier who is an Ao Naga and Vice President of Baptist World Alliance (BWA) in charge of Southeast Asia. He was a missionary in USA and other foreign country. Recently, he received Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Award conferred by Baptist World Alliance (BWA) for uniting NSCN (IM), NSCN (K) and NNC and bringing proper alliance with Church.

In Meghalaya, the Church has converted almost 80% of Khasi and Jaintia population. The other 20% Khasis are still following the Nian Khasi religion and 20% of Jaintias are following the Niantre religion. The Church birthed Henewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) – a Christian terrorist outfits which agitates for separate Meghalaya ˜country’. Rejoy Singh Khongsha- a Khasi leader was abducted and killed by North East Red Army- a Church outfit. The Presbyterian Church of Mizoram created Mizo National Front (MNF) headed by Laldenga which killed thousands of innocent people in quest of attaining ˜freedom’ from Bharatvarsh. In Manipur, Church is funding almost all terrorist organizations. Here, Church is now bringing Korean missionaries to attract Meitei Hindus. The church buildings are coming up everywhere in Manipur when the state is burning in the flame of insurgency. The church is also found associated with smuggling and circulation of arms and fake currency notes across the border.

Hon’ble Sir, it will be seen from the fact narrated above that church works (i) through terrorism (ii) by influencing educated class through propaganda in media and educational institutions and (iii) by planting such politicians in ruling party who advance church agenda.

The destructive intension of Arunachal Christian Forum and Tutsa Baptist Church Council backed by church sponsored terrorist outfit – Arunachal Naga Liberation Front (ANLF) is very clear in their demand either to repeal Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 1978 or to amend it suitably to include Christianity as indigenous religion of Arunachalees or to exclude Buddhism and Vaishnavism from the list of indigenous religions of Arunachal Pradesh. If the church is succeeded in their game plan, Arunachal Pradesh will become Nagaland where the Church controls the political leaders, terrorist outfits like NSCN (IM), NSCN (K) and NNC, Civic organizations like Naga Hoho, Naga Student Federation (NSF), Naga Mother Association (NMA) and thousands of overground and underground NGOs. The Civil Liberties and freedom of speech of common mass are hijacked and only the diktats of church pronounced through terrorist organizations and sponsored political organizations, rules the rouste. The Church will also ruin the cultural identity inherited from our forefathers.

It is, therefore, humbly requested that rules for Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 1978 be framed and implemented strictly so that the innocent Arunachalees are protected from Church onslaught. It is also requested to institute a high power judicial inquiry commission headed by a retired justice of a High Court to investigate the subversive activities of Church in Arunachal Pradesh.

With best regards,

B. B. Jamatia

President

Mob- +91-943646516