End conversion

The front-page item in the latest issue of the Organiser, notes:

The front-page item in the latest issue of the Organiser, notes: 8220;A Hindu-Christian meet was held at Kochi on September 29 at the initiative of Kerala Catholic Bishops8217; Council of India. Leading Bishops from various Christian churches, prominent sanyasis of various mutts and leaders of RSS, VHP etc participated in the free and frank exchange of ideas, which was initiated in the background of murder of Swami Laxmanand Saraswati in Orissa and resultant riots. The joint resolution at the end of the meet was a milestone. The resolution says: 8216;We call for an end to religious conversions by force or persuasion, by exploiting poverty or ignorance. Conversion by force and insult of sacred symbols of other religions would do away with communal harmony existing in the state. Each individual has the right to believe in the religion of his choice. Forcing a person to join another religion is not at all desirable. An individual should not be denied his right and freedom to believe in his own religion. Insulting another religion8217;s sacred symbols is not right.8217; A decision was taken to organise such meets periodically and to be in constant dialogue.8221;

Christian submission

The editorial in the latest issue of the RSS journal titled 8220;What a Shame!8221; writes: The Indian prime minister on foreign soil telling the world that he was ashamed of the violence in India against Christians was a shameful sight. He was responding to the European Union allegation that his government failed to prevent what it called a massacre of Christians in Orissa and Karnataka. The atrocious allegation was reportedly made during the India-EU summit at Marseille. The issue was taken up strongly with Dr Singh by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is also head of the European Council and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. There was also a report that the US president George Bush had asked the prime minister of India to give an assurance to the EU on the subject8230; No other prime minister of India would have tolerated such interference in the internal affairs of the country8230; These people talk as if globalisation is Christianisation.8221;

Messy finance

In his column titled 8220;Relax, Asian countries find India attractive,8221; the RSS journal editor R Balashankar writes: 8220;Press forward on capital account liberalisation and the development of the bond market8230; This is how our financial experts are prompting the UPA in the midst of the meltdown in Wall Street. This is strange for many reasons8230; Should India allow itself to be sucked into such a financial regime? The people who advocate such a system are of course its biggest beneficiaries.8221;

The column adds: 8220;There is a case for strengthening the financial system in India. But it is primarily the corporate debt market and banking sector. Only recently corporate investment turned to increase reliance on external finance8230; What India badly needs is not more financial sector reforms but better infrastructure 8212; better roads, transport, electricity, water and better governance.

Compiled by Suman K. Jha