Mohan Bhagwat, heal thyself

Mohan Bhagwat should practice what he preaches. Before making uncharitable charges against Mother Teresa for conversion-based-service, he should, as head of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, examine the framework his own organization works in, and consider whether or not a fundamental course correction is in order if indeed its claim to social service is to be credible.

The RSS is selective in the areas of its so-called social service. It does no social service work where minority communities live. The schools it runs are wholly devoted to promoting cultures related to Hindutva. Its organization, the Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad, working supposedly for "the uplift of tribal communities", seeks to subordinate tribal cultures within the Hindutva fold by imposing the worship of Hindu gods and goddesses. It targets poverty-stricken Christian tribals for enforced conversion or Ghar wapasi, and in its absence creates divisions and hostility within the community based on religion….

As illustrated in numerous official reports, the RSS has been held responsible for a large number of the communal conflagrations that have taken place in India since independence. It first creates the violence, and then selectively works among one section of the victims. It made its name during the bloody aftermath of the partition, working in Hindu refugee camps. It continues that strategy. But not just in relation to Muslims. Citizens of Delhi who had mobilized in large numbers against the horrendous anti-Sikh violence in 1984 created networks which worked round the clock to offer solidarity and solace to the thousands who had become victims. The RSS was conspicuous by its absence.

Therefore when the Sangh attacks Mother Teresa, let them first turn the mirror on themselves…
Mother Teresa started her work in Kolkata and in 1952 she set up the Nirmal Hridaya Home which took in destitutes, the abandoned, the sick and the dying off the streets of Kolkata. They were cleaned, fed and cared for. Many died within a few days of being rescued, but she and her band of dedicated volunteers made sure there was dignity in death. She ran a children's home for those discarded by their parents because of a disability, left bundled on some street corner. Many of the children were then adopted. The couples who adopted them were not chosen for their religion. There was therefore no question of conversion of the children since the adopted parents could belong to any religion. She also set up a home for those afflicted by leprosy and trained them to be self-sufficient.

Her biographer Navin Chawla writes of her response to his question of whether she did convert people to her religion. He writes "Without a moment's hesitation, she said, 'I do convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu, a better Muslim, a better Protestant, a better Sikh. Once you have found God, it is up to you to do with Him as you wish.' She believed that conversion was God's work, not hers…"

She loved the poor, that is something beyond the RSS to understand, since it only knows how to convert love into hate.

By: Brinda Karat