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Conversions Sri Lanka (un)Ltd.

By Atul Rawat

The Organiser

Economic liberalization comes with various kinds of frauds. Some are economic in nature, some are not. If one remembers, the colonialism during the last centuries began from Europe with motives that are sometimes summed up as three "Gs"- the Gold, the God and the Glory. The twenty-first century version of cooperation between the Gold and the God is to be seen to be believed. And it is happening right in our very neighbourhood - Sri Lanka. The neo-colonialist Christian missionaries are now-a-days registering themselves not as missionaries of one or the other charity but as companies of vanity. Particularly aggressive among these neo-missionary corporate executives are the American and South Korean merchants of faith. The Section 21 of the Companies Act of 1982 in Sri Lanka allows these missionary groups to register as corporations or companies. It states: "Any organisation whether foreign or domestic which proposes to engage in commerce or promotion of arts, sciences, religion or sport... can register as a limited company." It is this clause that the missionaries are misusing to convert people. One can easily understand that in the war-tom economy of Sri Lanka if some company gives a well-paid job, many hungary and other weaker people would easily become ready to barter their Dharma for some dollars. It is reported that more than a quarter and a hundred such companies are engaged in activities of proselytisation. Their major area of activity is the war-affected areas of Tamil majority. Most of the Tamils are Hindus. The educated and jobless Tamil youth fall prey to their activities much more easily. Sri Lanka has become very vulnerable due to the deep Hindu Tamil and Buddhist Sri Lankan divide. The violent Tamil separatist movement has created such a situation that the Christian missionaries are using the poverty created by war and the unstable situation to rum Sri Lanka into a Christian majority country. Interestingly those who are bringing the colonial poison to Sri Lankans are South Koreans who have suffered the same phenomenon and their country has itself become a Christian majority country. Avery weak string of resistance to the onslaught of Christianity seems to have begun from the Buddhist side under the leadership of Jaliya Namunni of the Centre for Buddhist Action. But there does not seem to be much awareness, not to speak of any resistance from the Hindu side. The situation has come to such a level that South Korean Christians both boys and girls lure Sri Lankans with their guitar music in the plantation areas and convert them. Americans are probably not far behind. It must be recognised that in Sri Lanka unity among Hindus and Buddhists is a basic necessity. It directly involves Indian interests, one can easily visualize how a Christian Sri Lanka may become base for anti-India activities of the Western imperialists. The Hindu organizations will have to urgently and immediately take note of the situation.