The Pioneer yesterday carried a photograph of Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu being solemnly blessed in a Hyderabad church by Archbishop M. Joji. The natal families of the TDP boss and his wife, daughter of late Chief Minister and TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao, have hitherto had an unbroken Hindu lineage. Hence Dr. Naidu’s sudden decision to invoke the blessings of the Archbishop on Christmas Day arouses deep misgivings.

To begin with, it is a new perversion in Indian politics. Far from being an expression of respect for all religions, it makes a mockery of faith for a man or woman professing (and practicing) one faith from birth, to suddenly start joining in the religious traditions of another. This is particularly so when adherence to this ‘new’ cult involves rejecting all other traditions and forms of worship.

Hitherto, Hindus have greeted other communities on their respective festivals, sharing ‘sevaiyan’ on Id with Muslim friends and respecting spaces like dargahs and pirs. Hindus have not felt called upon to observe the Bakr Id (nor were they expected to); nor it is possible for them to undertake Hajj. At Iftaar parties which are becoming a political tradition, non-Muslims do not join the communal prayers (at least so far!) Similarly, Hindus with Christian friends shared Easter and Christmas parties, and these exchanges did not cross boundaries to involve participation in the religious rites of another tradition. 

Hence Dr. Naidu’s decision to seek and be photographed receiving the Archbishop’s blessings in church on Christmas day is a sharp departure from the practice of sending greetings to Christian brothers and sisters. It is disturbing because it brings an already heavily political Christian clergy directly into Andhra politics; it also apparently confirms persistent rumours of the secret conversion of close members of his family some years ago. If such conversions are true, they should be made public forthwith, and the reasons for keeping them secret revealed.

Worse, this opens the door for the further influx of Western-Christian funds into the state, with grim consequences for the Hindu community. Already, among all Indian regional Diasporas in America, the Andhra diaspora is the most active in trying to entrench foreign citizens as legitimate stakeholders in India – in the best interests of America, of course. This new-rich class is arrogant and cocksure, and I personally have no doubt that these attitudes are behind the otherwise inexplicable murders of bright Andhra students in the United States.

Simultaneously in Chennai, AIADMK general secretary Ms. Jayalalithaa also celebrated Christmas at her Poes Garden residence. It was no ordinary cake-and-tea-and-mistletoe party for Christian friends and party workers – they should anyway have been at home or with their community. 


No, Ms. Jayalalithaa organised a proper Christian service, with Rev Raja Prabhakaran leading the prayer, followed by Churchill Joseph reciting from the Holy Bible. Then the choir troupe Christ of Every Soul sang special Christmas songs, and in the end, Bishop Samuel Sudhakar drew the curtains [http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chennaichronicle/City/Citynews.asp]

Why would a Hindu lady organise a Christian service at her home, and why would Christian priests agree to leave their own church and conduct a service at the residence of a non-believer? The question deserves an answer, especially as whispers have not yet died down about the complicity of certain nations and faith communities (with the complicity of the native Mir Jaffar’s and Benedict Arnold’s) in the tragedy that struck the Kanchi Matham in November 2004. 


It is truly shocking that even the colossal tsunami that followed this heartrending depravity has not brought moderation to the lady’s antics. Perhaps she is too deeply compromised to withdraw from paths laid out for her to walk – out of the gates of Dharma and into the deep. The Mahabharata is full of stories of rulers who brought about the ruination of their people… 


Foreign funds are now a real threat to the sovereignty and integrity of India. In Tamil Nadu, four NGOs ranked among the top 25 recipients of foreign funds in 2006-07, and foreign funding of NGOs itself rose a colossal 56%. This is deeply unsettling and calls for a complete political scrutiny of the organisations towards which the funds are diverted; the districts in which they operate; and the connection (if any) between the presence of foreign-funded NGOs and rise in conversions or Naxal activities.

Tamil Nadu alone received Rs. 2244.25 crore, making it the highest recipient state (nearly 20% of the all-India receipts) in 2006-2007. According to the recent report of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, World Vision, India (an evangelical body that was involved in the recent unrest in Orissa) got Rs. 256.06 crore; the Board for Integrated Rural Development, Tiruvannamalai received Rs. 106.99 crore; the Society for Rural Education and Development, Arakkonam Rs. 106.92 crore and Om Sakthi Narayani Siddar Peedam Charitable Trust which administers the Golden Temple at Sripuram, Vellore, Rs 59.7 crore
[http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOICH&login=default&AW=1230270935484]

The Vellore Golden Temple, with its sudden wealth and suddenly-arrived Swami, caused considerable misgivings in traditional Tamil society. Apart from the fact that the temple violates the Agamas in its obscene display of wealth, there has to be a larger, and political, purpose to directing such huge wealth from abroad towards a temple in Tamil Nadu.

Amidst whispers that LTTE cadres abroad were parking their wealth in India in this safe and open manner, came the astonishing revelation that on 16 April 2008, Mrs. Priyanka Vadra, daughter of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, used the temple for an illicit meeting with Nalini Sriharan, one of those convicted of the assassination!

Priyanka confirmed the meeting after it was leaked by Nalini’s lawyers with a view to bring it on record, but jail authorities were at a loss to explain the illegal departure of Nalini from jail, without the knowledge of the court. As the DMK regime was complicit in arranging this highly irregular meeting, it simply covered up the matter. 
 

Religious dyarchy – the overt practice of two faiths with the intent to undermine one – is the new and ugly mask of Indian secularism. Its purpose is to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. Can India wake up to the challenge before it is too late?


The author is Editor, www.vijayvaani.com