Don’t let hate-mongers run riot

A gentleman whom I have never met wrote a letter to me last week. He is 74 and holds a post-graduate degree in arts from Punjab. He begins his epistle by stating, “Your role in Punjab as the police chief was very laudable.” Thank you, sir. I wish to remind you that the Gita enjoins every individual to do his or her duty without expectation of a reward or recognition. Similarly, the Bible taught me that Christ was a servant of the people, and I, as his follower, should serve humanity. This is one Christian precept that I have followed. But even God likes to be praised. And I am only human. On the other hand, our Prime Minister is claiming an aura of divinity. I get the distinct feeling that he likes to be praised. In this human failing we are partners!

So, when you say that my articles are replete with “anti-Modi and anti-Hindu voices”, I am astonished and constrained to respond. When did I ever speak against Hinduism or Hindus? My ancestors, like the ancestors of ‘99.9 per cent’ of the Christians in India, were Hindus, if you include the worship of nature, like in most tribal communities, as part of Hinduism. Tribals populating the North-East are largely Christian. At present, they are politically aligned largely with Narendra Modi’s party. Perhaps you forgot about their existence.

I admit to criticising Modi at times. In mature democracies, criticism of rulers is an accepted practice. Rulers have to be accountable to the ruled. Before Modi and Amit Shah took over the reins of government in Delhi, I had written against Congress rulers in Maharashtra. While in service in Punjab, I had spoken in closed-door meetings against the Congress’ protection of those accused of inciting violence against the Sikhs in the 1984 pogrom. Rajiv Gandhi disapproved of my views. If you count views against wrong policies as being anti-Modi, so be it. Lynching of cattle traders and beef eaters and using bulldozers to punish Muslim offenders are anathema to fair play and justice. I will continue to speak out against affronts to the rule of law on which governance is based universally.

The accusation that I am anti-Hindu is ridiculous and preposterous. This week, the US-based daughter of one of my first bosses in the police paid me a visit. Vasant Vinayak Nagarkar was a Chitpavan Brahmin from Pune. He asked me to come and stay with him and his family during my training. I did so and became a part of his family in a manner of speaking.

During my career in the IPS, I have served under Hindu bosses. They have always been kind to me, with one stray exception. The majority of the officers who reported to me were Hindus. After my retirement, many of them have been in touch with me. If they felt that I was anti-Hindu, they would have kept their distance. As a human being — a Christian one — I do not and will not hate other human beings.

Religious identities were never a part of the official lexicon before the Modi-Shah duo came to power. The first Prime Minister from the BJP was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a statesman to the core. On assuming charge of his august office, he offered me governorship, something no Christian can hope for in Modi’s reign. In today’s dispensation, governors have a more active role to play to ensure that single-engine governments fall in line. To identify a suitable Christian who fits that bill would be well-nigh impossible.

A strange statement made by you in your letter is that I am wrong when I affirm that terrorism cannot be exterminated by “guns and bullets” alone. My conviction is based on my experience in Punjab and the experience of law enforcers in Ireland and elsewhere in the world where terrorists have operated. You subscribe to the muscular beliefs of Home Minister Shah, who cites his government’s strong-arm policies in Kashmir as evidence of that unscientific belief. I beg to differ. Terrorism continues to plague J&K and will keep doing so till the majority of the Kashmiri Muslim community is won over. My advice to you is not to accept every word that emanates from the mouths of our rulers. They are politicians. We are not.

Another assertion that you make is that “Muslims have a latent mission to Islamise India”. Surely, not all Muslims think of such unattainable goals! Some diehards do. They belong to the category of dreamers and extremists. Their ilk can be found among all religious denominations. Not too much attention should be paid to such extremists. There is not a ghost of a chance that our glorious land will be Islamised. And remember that the bulk of the Muslim population in India is only concerned about feeding their children and themselves. In today’s atmosphere of hate and divisions, poor Muslims are finding it difficult to eke out a living.

You pontificate that the “proselytisation practised by Christian missionaries is the worst, most shameless, inhuman” and that “converted people seek foreign guidance, showing little love for their erstwhile Hindu lineage”. Truly, I find it difficult to find evidence to justify your findings. The proselytisation that led to the Christianisation of my ancestors and the local Marathi-speaking East Indians (named after the East India Company) in Bombay was effected by Portuguese missionaries in the ‘Age of Faith’ four or five centuries ago. As for seeking foreign guidance, statistics show that most of our compatriots settled abroad are not converts to Christianity. A stray individual may be motivated to convert. Usually, this occurs when an inter-religious marriage takes place. Such conversions will not make any dent in the dominance of the majority community in the political and social life of the nation.

You end your letter by appealing to me “to show to your fellow Christians and Muslims to respect Hindus” and not to “tease, kill” them! I can only say that you have been misinformed. I have not heard of any Christian killing or being killed by Hindus but my Muslim brothers have certainly been chosen for that cruel ‘pastime’. Since they are humans like me and also like those who have killed them, I grieve that my country’s majoritarians should copy the despicable practices reported from the failing state on our western border.

I am aware that the doubts you expressed in your letter are troubling many other Hindu friends of mine. You will be delighted to learn that I, as an individual, am opposed to conversions from one faith to another. What I would like is a conversion of each and every one of my compatriots to a belief in humanity.