Govt’s controversial ad on conversion draws flak

  • | Sunday | 13th August, 2017

He said, "This advertisement has a very dangerous motive - to instil fear among Christians and other minority communities. This advertisement has been published with mala fide intentions of creating divisions within the society and minority communities. The controversial advertisement, quoting, Mahatma Gandhi, said tribals "did not convert to Christianity for Jesus but for food".P P Verma, social activist and convener of JSM, called the advertisement an "attack on minority communities". Ranchi: Members of various social outfits, including the Jharkhand Sadbhavna Manch, demanded an apology from the state government for its full-page advertisement on religious conversion published in local dailies on Friday. While the government is quoting Gandhi on religious conversion, contrary to the advice by the father of the nation on shunning alcoholism the state government has started selling liquor recently.

Ranchi: Members of various social outfits, including the Jharkhand Sadbhavna Manch, demanded an apology from the state government for its full-page advertisement on religious conversion published in local dailies on Friday. The controversial advertisement, quoting, Mahatma Gandhi, said tribals "did not convert to Christianity for Jesus but for food".P P Verma, social activist and convener of JSM, called the advertisement an "attack on minority communities". He said, "This advertisement has a very dangerous motive - to instil fear among Christians and other minority communities. We have traced the origin of this advertisement to a book - Gandhiji Hind Swaraj Se Nehru Tak - written by an RSS pracharak Devendra Swarup. While the government is quoting Gandhi on religious conversion, contrary to the advice by the father of the nation on shunning alcoholism the state government has started selling liquor recently."Mohammad Naushad Khan, a member of Jamiat Ulama-e-Jharkhand and president of Lok Seva Samiti, said, "This is the first time in this country that any state government has targeted a particular community by misusing tax-payers' money an issuing an advertisement with vicious content. This is an attack on all communities and humanity at large."The president of the Jharkhand Sikh Federation, Jyoti Singh Matharu said the state government was using "cheap tactics" to divert public attention from the real issues of the state. "Lack of employment among youth is a huge problem but the Jharkhand government is more interested in divide and rule policy," he said.A consortium of social workers slammed the government for misquoting Gandhi in the advertisement. "The content of the advertisement proves that the BJP government in Jharkhand is more inclined to follow RSS ideology than the Constitution. The divisive language used in the advertisement is that of RSS and not of Gandhi. This advertisement has been published with mala fide intentions of creating divisions within the society and minority communities. The government has also sullied the image of Mahatma Gandhi, tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda and former Congress leader Kartik Oraon by including their name in the advertisement. They have put a communal taint on the names of these legends," read a statement by"The advertisement, as well as the Religious Freedom Bill, is against the Constitution of the country. A similar bill was passed by the Chhattisgarh assembly but has not yet been cleared by the Union ministry of home affairs. The status of such bills in Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states face a similar situation. The bill passed by the state government, too, will face the same fate," Verma said.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Latest Ranchi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles