Niyogi Committee report on Christian missionary activities

"Those Missionaries whose primary object is proselytization should be asked to withdraw. The, large influx of foreign Missionaries is undesirable and should be checked."

"The best course for the Indian Churches to follow is to establish a United Independent Christian Church in India without being dependent on foreign support."

"The use of medical or other professional services as a direct means of making conversions should be prohibited by law."

"To implement the provision in the Constitution of India prohibiting the imparting of religious education to children without the explicit consent of parents and guardians, the Department of Education should see that proper forms are prescribed and made available to all schools."

"Any attempt by force or fraud, or threats of illicit means or grants of financial or other aid, or by fraudulent means or promises, or by moral and material assistance, or by taking advantage of any person’s inexperience or confidence, or by exploiting any person’s necessity, spiritual (mental) weakness or thoughtlessness, or, in general, any attempt or effort (whether successful or not), directly or indirectly to penetrate into the religious conscience of persons (whether of age or underage) of another faith, for the purpose of consciously altering their religious conscience or faith, so as to agree with the ideas or convictions of the proselytizing party should be absolutely prohibited."

"Religious institutions should not be permitted to engage in occupations like recruitment of labour for tea gardens."

"It is the primary duty of Government to conduct orphanages, as the State is the legal guardian of all minors who have no parents or natural guardians."

"Government should issue an appeal to authoritative and representative Christian Missionary Organisations and to Christians in general to come together and to form an authoritative organization which should lay down and inform Government in clear terms the policy which the Missions and Christians in general will follow in respect of propagating their religion, the methods to he followed in conversions, the type of propaganda which will be promoted and the attempts which will be made to confine their evangelistic activities within the limits of public order, morality and health."

"An amendment of the Constitution of India may be sought, firstly to clarify that the right of propagation ha been given only to the citizens of India and secondly that it does not include conversion brought about by force, fraud or other illicit means."

"Suitable control on conversions brought about through illegal means should be imposed. If necessary Legislative measures should be enacted."

"Advisory Boards at State level, regional level and district level should be constituted of non-officials, minority communities like Tribals and Harijans being in a majority on these boards."

"Rules relating to the registration of Doctors, Nurses and other personnel employed in hospitals should be suitably amended to provide a condition against evangelistic activities during professional services."

"Circulation of literature meant for religious propaganda approval of the State Government should be prohibited."

"Institutions in receipt of grants-in-aid or recognition from Government should be compulsorily inspected every quarter by officers of Government."

"Government should lay down a policy that the responsibility of providing social services like education, health, medicine, etc., to members of scheduled tribes, castes and other backward classes will be solely of the State Government, and adequate services should be provided as early as possible, non-official organizations being permitted to run institutions only for members of their own religious faith."

"A separate department of Cultural and Religious affairs should be constituted at the State level to deal with these matters which should be in charge of a Minister belonging to a scheduled caste, tribe or other backward classes and should, have specially trained personnel at the various levels."

"No non-official agency should he permitted to secure foreign assistance except through Government channels."

"No foreigner should be allowed to function in a scheduled or a specified area either independently or as a member of a religious institution unless he has given a declaration in writing that he will not take part in politics."

"Programmes of social and economic uplift by non-official or religious bodies should receive prior approval of the State."

"[Masat Baiga of Jokari:] Christians play drama against Hindu religion. The people agreed to send a copy of the drama. Christians want to destroy Sarnas of Adivasis saying that there is ghost in it. They are prevented from sending pupils to Adivasi schools. Christians preach Jharkhand. Cows are used by them for ploughing instead of bullocks with a view to hurt our religious feelings. They are also forced to eat beef."

"[Ladhuram of Raykera:] Place of worship where they had installed Mahadeo has been ploughed down."

"The Christians destroy Sarnas, if the Uraons do not become Christians. The number of Christians has increased after the merger of States. The Pracharaks threaten that they will drive away those people who do not become Christians, as soon they are going to have Jharkhand. The Pracharaks tell them that the Hindu religion is bad. They preach Jharkhand. The Luther Mission particularly does so."

"[Pathakhji:] Laxminarayan has constructed a tapara on the spot selected for temple and therefore it is not possible to construct a temple there."

"[Bhairam Kunbi of Aolia:] I used to pray Hanuman and Shankar in front of the church, where their idols are. While I was ringing the bell after puja the father, who is a Patel, said that I should not ring the bell, because it makes noise in his bungalow. The temple is very old. The church is only about 40 to 50 years old. The church bell rings thrice a day. We have not taken any objection."

"[Shri Dongre, Secretary, Buldana District Jansangh:] We have no objection if a person is converted by mental and spiritual satisfaction, i.e., conviction. But missionaries do not stop with preaching their religion. A new tendency is created among the converts. There is peaceful work in this district. Where mass conversions have taken place, there is aggressive action. For example, in Travancore, 200 Hindu temples have been destroyed. In Chikhli taluq, there are churches, schools and other means of prachar at Yeota, Malwandi, Manubai, Eklara, Kawhala, Amdapur, Undri, Mes, Antri, Develgaonmahhi, Deulgaonraja and Dhau. The mission school in Chikhli has 300 students. Of these, 5 to 6 per cent are Hindus, 5 to 6 Muslims and the rest Christians. Every day a prayer is sung in the school according to the Christian religion. In Bombay State, Gita recitation has been stopped, as ours is a secular State. Missionaries may conduct schools but politics and religion should not be allowed to interfere with the education of our young generations. Christian schools are not closed even on gazetted holidays, particularly on Hindu festival days. Diwali holidays in mission schools are hardly for three days when other schools give ten days holidays for Diwali. Hindu teacher get holidays with some difficulty, but Hindu students do not get them at all, because they have free education at Christian hands. Poor boys are attracted to their schools because they get there freeships. They are afraid of taking leave, because if the do so, the may be removed from the school. Mission schools charge Rs. 5 as fee for IXth class. In this way monetary aid is rendered to 70 families. Only such people are rendered help, in whose case there are some chances of conversion. About 50 families of students receive help. Hindu names of students are changed to Christian names in their schools without baptism. This amounts to fraud. Concrete cases of this will be given in future. Bible period is compulsory in Chikhli mission school. The reason for this is said to he that about 80 per cent of the students are Christians. Most of the boys are indirectly completed to be present at these Bible classes."

"Another plate used by Christian missionaries for religions preaching is their hospital. In Chikhli mission hospital, non-Christian patients are told that prayers are offered to Christ for their recovery. They are given medicines and thereby they recover. Poor patients are misguided. They are made to believe chat Christ has recovered them. Those who have no faith in prayers are also subjected to such phenomenon. A book of Rev. Baba Padmanji was given under the pillow of a patient for his early recovery. Rev. Baba Padmanji wrote his novel in 1956 to show that Christian religion is better than Hindu religion. In this book he criticises Bhisma and others who are held in high esteem by Hindus. Hindu Gods are abused in the books, which are used as a means of prachar."

"An example of aggressiveness of missionaries in Kelvad, mass meeting may be given on one of the boards exhibited in the meeting it was painted that everyone should take a vow that he would convert at least one man during the year. In Manubhai village, it was preached that theirs was not Indian nationally. Missionaries speak highly of America and try to create affinity towards it. In cinema slides, they compare poverty in India and wealthy living in America, thus lowering India in the eyes of its sons. It is preached that we should live like America."

"Shri V. L. Appa, Chairman, Janpad Sabha: The world is advancing. Our secularism and political solidarity should not be disturbed. We have experience of the Muslim rule. We have to save secularism. If missionaries here have our welfare at heart, they should hand over their funds to the State in the name of Christ. They may insist on having their own personnel for execution and set up their board to see that their policy is implemented. There should therefore, be no objection to entrust Government with the funds. If this is done dissatisfaction and distress among our minds may go away. Mass conversion is a horrible thing. It should be stopped. In a family, every individual member should have full freedom to decide before conversion. In Travancore, over 350 temples were destroyed. This has appeared in news papers. There is a most pathetic crisis in the book of Laxmibai Tilak, which it is said that her husband repented and repented for having become a Christian. One Deshpande from Malkapur came to me for employment. That man was not wanted at home and was in search of a guardian. He came in contact with a missionary and got himself converted. He was married in Bodwad to a girl by Christians. He became an enthusiastic missionary. I state this to show that there is a psychological moment in the life of a man, which changes him. But this moment is temporary. There are some tricks of missionaries like “bolka dhalpa” (a speaking wooden piece). Deshpande was working as a teacher in Bodwad. His father’s name is Ramrao. His whereabouts are not known to me. I want that there should only be mental conversions. There should be a permit or a licence system for conversion. There should be no mass or family conversion. (Reads out from his application.) Conversion should be checked in all cases except where they are by conviction. Social and religious ideas go simultaneously. We may give Indian Christians full liberty, but the foreign element cannot be trusted."

"Shri Nandkishore: He explained the temple case of Shahapur. He said “The land was given to my brother-in-law. He is about 8 to 10 acres. The land on which the temple stood was not sold. I was present at the time of the transaction. It was some time in 1941. The temple was in good condition then. The well nearby was also in good condition. I was ill and had been to Surat for treatment before 1½ years. About 11 months ago I came back. My sister-in-law is in Piparia. Before I left for Surat the Shivling and the temple were intact. This may be about two years back. I had brought a ‘Kalas’ (dome) with me for putting it on the temple, because I recovered from illness. When I came I was not well. I expressed my desire to my friends at Shahapur. They informed me that the temple had been destroyed. I do not know anything, about its destruction."

"Shri Ayodhyaprasad informed that one Mr. Doma had done this in about 1951. “When I was going by that road, I saw some 10 to 20 Christians destroying the temple with some labourers. The temple was repaired some time in 1940. The ‘Sikhar’ (work of masonary on which the dome is put) was alright there. There was no daily worship because it is not necessary”. Rama Kotwar informed that when he was going by the road before 3 years, he saw the temple being destroyed. He told Mr. Doma not to destroy it, but Mr. Doma informed him that he had purchased the property and the temple was his property."

"Hindus want to construct a Hanuman temple, but the Christians say that it would be near the church. The patel is a Christian and therefore he does not give any land for the temple."

"The Raj-Mohini and Gahira Guru Hindu cults of the Adivasis and their ancient religious beliefs are being attacked with such recklessness that the sensibilities of the people of other faiths are being mortally offended."

"The whole history of the foreign missionaries in Chhota-Nagpur reveals how they tinder the pretext of taking up the cause of the tribal people misled them into the belief that they were separate from the Hindu community, the Hindu are aliens and their enemies, the Hindu landlords were their exploiters and oppressors, and turbulent rivalry with the Hindus and the embracing of Christianity were the only possible solutions for the solution of their problems. And thus ultimately led them into open feuds with the Zamindars and brought about their mass conversions to Christianity."

"The Hindu Oraon women have nut on their foreheads three tattoo marks. This custom is said to be connected with a story of their bravery and gallantry on three consecutive occasions in the mediaeval period, which is believed to be a historical fact. While the Oraons as a community were living in the Rohatasgarh on three occasions the Muslim invaders came on with a deadly attack on them. On all these three occasions the male members of the community were unfortunately dead drunk with wine which had made them completely unconscious of the calamity. But the womenfolk of the community on all these three occasions are said to have put on the garb of males and fought and defeated the invaders with bows and arrows. From this time onward the Oraon women have been keeping these three marks on their forehead in memory of the wonderful bravery of the above fact which is cherished as a sacred heritage. The Roman Catholic Missions have made to disappear two marks and have permitted only one. But the Protestant Missions have proved more ruthless in wiping out all the three marks."

"The converts not only cannot participate in dances and folk songs, of the Hindu Tribals but also they are forbidden to sing among themselves their traditional folk songs. For this purpose, the missions have brought about changes in the mode of dances and introduced their own ideas in the folk songs which converts can play and sing. While the Hindu tribals dance and sing in the villages, the converts have to do it in the Mission or Church premises only."

"In regard to the marriages it may significantly be mentioned that the converts are still following the custom of marrying within the tribal community and for this purpose they have not completely detached, themselves from their old community. An Oraon Christian boy is prepared to marry a non-Christian Oraon girl, but he will not marry even a Christian Munda girl. But in this connection the missions have succeeded in forbidding marriages of Christian girls with non-Christian boys. This has helped the missions to satisfy the traditional instinct of the converts as well as to achieve additional number of converts through the non-Christian girls who are married to Christian boys."

"The non-Christian tribals observe Sarhul Pooja when they perform pooja of the God Mahadeo and worship the trees on their Sarana. This almost coincided with the Easter of the Christians and hence no difficulty is felt by the missions as the converts are kept engaged in the observance of the Easter. The non-Christians offer their prayers on the Sarana while the converts do it in their churches. The non-Christians dance and sing in their own villages or with group of different villagers. The converts are not permitted to join with them and hence they perform these in the church or mission premises."

"He told me that it was no more available in the Government shops because Christian missionaries had bought all available copies and destroyed them. Even in libraries, it was rarely available because the same missionaries had seen to it that copies were removed, or borrowed and not returned."

"The name of this volume which combines the reprint with an introduction has been suggested by Arun Shourie, as in the case of Hindu Temples: What Happened to them."

"The Vedic tradition advises people to be busy with themselves, that is, their own moral and spiritual improvement. Several disciplines have been evolved for this purpose tapas (austerity), yoga (meditation), jñAna (reflection), bhakti (devotion), etc. A seeker can take to (adhikAra) whichever discipline suits his adhAra (stage of moral-spiritual preparation). There is no uniform prescription for everybody, no coercion or allurement into a belief system, and no regimentation for aggression against others. The Biblical tradition, on the other hand, teaches people to be busy with others. One is supposed to have become a superior human being as soon as one confesses the ‘only true faith’. Thenceforward one stands qualified to ‘save’ others."

"The fourth phase which commenced with the coming of independence proved a boon for Christianity. The Christian right to convert Hindus was incorporated in the Constitution. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who dominated the scene for 17 long years, promoted every anti-Hindu ideology and movement behind the smokescreen of a counterfeit secularism. The regimes that followed continued to raise the spectre of ‘Hindu communalism’ as the most frightening phenomenon. Christian missionaries could now denounce as a Hindu communalist and chauvinist, even as a Hindu Nazi, any one who raised the slightest objection to their means and methods. All sorts of ‘secularists’ came forward to join the chorus. New theologies of Fulfilment, Indigenisation, Liberation, and Dialogue were evolved and put into action. The missionary apparatus multiplied fast and became pervasive. Christianity had never had it so good in the whole of its history in India. It now stood recognized as ‘an ancient Indian religion’ with every right to extend its field of operation and expand its flock. The only rift in the lute was K.M. Panikkar’s book, Asia and Western Dominance, published from London in 1953, the Niyogi Committee Report published by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 1956, and Om Prakash Tyagi’s Bill on Freedom of Religion introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 1978."

"The Constitution of independent India adopted in January 1950 made things quite smooth for the Christian missions. They surged forward with renewed vigour. Nationalist resistance to what had been viewed as an imperialist incubus during the Struggle for Freedom from British rule, broke down when the very leaders who had frowned upon it started speaking in its favour. Voices which still remained ‘recalcitrant’ were sought to be silenced by being branded as those of ‘Hindu communalism’. Nehruvian Secularism had stolen a march under the smokescreen of Mahatma Gandhi’s sarva-dharma-samabhAva"

"It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that the “architect of modern India” was no more than a combined embodiment of all imperialist ideologies which had flocked to this ancient land in the company of alien invaders Islam, Christianity, White Man’s Burden, and Communism."

"The Christian missionary orchestra in India after independence has continued to rise from one crescendo to another with the applause of the Nehruvian establishment manned by a brood of self-alienated Hindus spawned by missionary-macaulayite education. The only rift in the lute has been K.M. Panikkar’s Asia and Western Dominance published in 1953, the Report of the Christian Missionary Activities Committee Madhya Pradesh published in 1956, Om Prakash Tyagi’s Bill on Freedom of Religion introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1978, Arun Shourie’s Missionaries in India published in 1994 and the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Bill introduced in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly by Mangal Prabhat Lodha, M.L.A. on 20 December 1996."

"Secularism in the modern West had symbolized a humanist and rationalist revolt against the closed creed of Christianity and stood for pluralism such as has characterized Hinduism down the ages. But Pandit Nehru had perverted the word and turned it into a shield for protecting every closed creed prevailing in India at the dawn of independence in 1947 Islam, Christianity, Communism."

"“Colonel Murphy went immediately to Udaipur and visited 15 of the villages, his visit being without any previous intimation. He found that the statement that the movement of the people in the Udaipur State towards Christianity was entirely spontaneous and actuated by a knowledge of the benefits to be received was entirely incorrect. The people concerned had no knowledge whatever regarding such benefits and had been actuated by one idea and one idea only, that being the receipt of money from the mission on loan……… He found that the information bad been disseminated throughout this area of the State that loans were to be readily obtained at the mission station at Tapkara on a note of hand without security, all that was required of payers being that they should have their top-knot cut off …… that when one member of a family had taken a loan all the members of that family were shown as would be converts……… Christian schools had been started by catechists who had invaded the State from Jashpur and in one instance a mission teacher had stopped the boys from going to the State school. People questioned made it plain that their only purpose in going to the mission station had been to get money and all said that without this payment of money none would have sought to become Christian.”"

"“Mr. Blakesley made a thorough enquiry in Jashpur and submitted a full report to the Local Government in 1913. He found that the movement towards Christianity in the Jashpur State was in no sense a religious one, it was one actuated in lesser measure by the expectation of social benefits to be obtained, Christians being able to get their children married by the missionaries in the adjoining districts of British India without incurring heavy expenditure, but the real governing causes were political and agrarian………. He found that the missionaries had advanced loans to many of their converts and that the missionaries had a considerable hold on them by means of these loans. He found that the catechists interfered on every possible occasion in the temporal affairs of the Christian converts. ‘These catechists carried complaint to the missionaries, wrote petitions for the converts, accompanied them to the courts, worked out cases for them and generally acted as unrecognised Vakils, the State authorities having no control over them at all’.”"

"“Describing the position as it is today in Jashpur, the Superintendent gives the population of the State as 193,000, the number of Catholics 50,000 and the Lutherans 4,000. Christians are now to be found in practically all villages of the State (and continuous pressure is being exerted by the Fathers to secure conversion of the remaining part of the population.)”"

"“This officer is of opinion that in course of time the Jesuits will convert all the aborigines of all the States in this part of the Agency. If this were to occur and foreign priests were to be given full freedom of entry and residence the result might be virtually a foreign Government of the whole group.”"

"“I have shown the admissions of the Jesuit Archbishop of Calcutta and of the Anglican Bishop of Ranchi that, in so far as religion is concerned, the change of faith has practically no meaning for adult men and women amongst aboriginal people. It is to my mind clear from the methods adopted by the Roman Catholic Missionaries that they too know that the theory of freedom of conscience is a sham. They know fully well that, as the historical account of missionary enterprise which I have given abundantly proves, the aboriginal people of this part of India change their faith and accept Christianity in the expectation only of material benefits to be received. True religion has nothing whatever to do with the matter.”"