Specious arguments

THE UNION CABINET'S proposal to replace the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) with a more stringent law, to prevent the acquisition of illegal arms and explosives, may be justified as part of the ongoing global effort to strip terrorist organisations - actual and suspected - of their purse strings. It is however noteworthy that the move does not even pretend to conceal some of the core dimensions of the Sangh Parivar's divisive majoritarian agenda. For, besides the purported measures to curb foreign funding of terrorist and insurgency groups in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-Eastern States, the new Bill, to be introduced in the coming winter session of Parliament, is also said to target Christian missionaries allegedly engaged in forced conversions, and other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Under the existing law, NGOs receiving funding from foreign agencies are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs which monitors and regulates their activities. The proposed new Bill however seeks to empower State Governments and their subordinate bodies vis-a-vis NGOs in all the relevant respects. Considering that the activities of NGOs are concentrated at the grassroot level, there is the real danger of extraneous pressures being exerted on them by the powers that be in the respective States not to utilise foreign funds for politically inconvenient projects.

The question of changing religion is part of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to Freedom of Conscience under Article 25, whereas ``forced conversion'' is a vague formulation bandied about by the Sangh Parivar. The large followings that the Chinmaya Mission and the Hare Rama Hare Krishna movement have acquired among Christian denominations across North America and Europe over the decades amply illustrate that conversion is a two-way process, not something peculiar to Christianity alone. The same could be said for the circulation of funds within different communities across national borders.

The other specious argument is that secessionist movements in the North-East have gained ground because of the predominance of a large converted Christian population. But the fact is that the population of border regions in many countries is multi-ethnic in composition and separatist activities are a common spectacle. Ironically though, two major separatist movements in India were witnessed in the Hindu majority State of Tamil Nadu and the Sikh majority State of Punjab. But the Government's impending move, singling out missionaries and madrassas for scrutiny, is reminiscent of the selective and systematic targeting of minorities that has become almost a routine occurrence. After all, it was none other than the Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee, who issued a call to debate ``conversions'' in the aftermath of the attacks on Christians in Dangs district of Gujarat in December 1998 and the murder of the Australian Missionary, Graham Staines, the next month. It is hardly surprising that the Government should bracket NGOs in a similar manner considering the strong support they have extended to various minority communities on several human rights and ecological issues. The very real and legitimate concerns of national security in today's geo-political climate can hardly be over-emphasised and no effort should be spared to curb the growing menace. But it is part of the same effort to recognise the need to come to grips with the political dimensions of the question of security. The Vajpayee Government has been clearly found wanting in these respects in recent months. The selective ban on the Students' Islamic Movement of India, the promulgation of the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance and now the proposal to repeal the FCRA and put in place a law that would strike at the very roots of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights belong to the genre of politics that seeks to legitimise arbitrary and authoritarian measures in the cloak of national security.

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Section  : Opinion
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