Indic faiths on the other hand, have never attempted to “convert” anyone. Indic faiths like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are pluralistic by nature, with space for dissenters. They do not see religion as a competitive enterprise, and therefore are always the target for proselyting faiths like Christianity and Islam. Truth is, pluralistic faiths like Sanatana Dharma will always be less aggressive compared to Abrahamic faiths because they do not believe in any “One God” and therefore do not see the point in “converting” people. The balance for religious conversions is fundamentally lop-sided with the pluralistic traditions at a huge disadvantage.

You might have seen the Oscar-winning movie Spotlight, Amrutaji. It is a riveting movie based on the Boston Globe investigation on the widespread sexual abuse of children by Christian clergy in the area. It was not one Church or one priest we are talking about; there were hundreds of victims and many Christian priests involved in Boston district alone. The Church had to pay over $3 billion in settlements to the sexual abuse victims, many of whom continue to be traumatised even today. The movie exposes the massive cover-up by the Church, wherein priests accused of misconduct were quietly transferred and allowed to work in other parishes, and documents were destroyed and witnesses bought over. A study by Reverend (Rev) Ronald Barton and Rev Karen Lebaczq (March 1990) for the Center for Ethics and Social Policy of the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, found that a whopping 25 per cent of Christian priests have engaged in sexual misconduct in the United States alone! Isn’t it ironic, ma’am, that the faith that is responsible for so many cases of child sex abuse is the one promoting ‘giving’ in the name of an imaginary Santa? As a parent, doesn’t this scare you?

The Church in India is responsible for one of the greatest crimes committed against humanity – the Goan Inquisition. My own family has borne the brunt of forced conversions when they had to leave their belongings and land behind in the Portuguese-controlled territories and had to start life afresh with nothing with them save the idol (murti) of their family deity and a fistful of soil from their Tulsi Vrundavan. The Goan Inquisition was described by historian Alfredo de Mello as perverse, violent acts of “nefarious, fiendish, lustful, corrupt religious orders which pounced on Goa for the purpose of destroying paganism (i.e. Hinduism) and introducing the true religion of Christ”, and yet the Pope or the Church has never expressed any real remorse for the tortures they inflicted upon the people of Goa.

Amrutaji, you have described yourself repeatedly as a “proud Hindu” in your tweet replies to me. I do not doubt that one bit, but I have just one question for you. How many times have you lent your voice to a purely Hindu campaign as a proud Hindu? How many times have you helped organise a Ramlila or presided over a children’s competition on Janmashtami where adults can ‘be Krishna’ and bring gifts to the disadvantaged?

The same Church whose prayer meetings Fadnavis has attended, has openly interfered in electoral politics in India in the past. In Goa, clergy have appealed in their sermons for Christians to not vote for the BJP. Recently, when the Gujarat elections were announced, the Archbishop of Gujarat appealed to all Christians of India to not vote for “nationalist parties” like the BJP. Your husband is one of the youngest chief ministers from the BJP with a solid track record. Did you not feel like questioning the Church as a “proud Hindu” about their policy on conversions and why they don’t want to support “nationalist” parties?

The issue is not about Santa at all. It is about an insidious campaign to subtly influence a group of people to denounce their cultural and religious traditions and adapt other, alien traditions. In an ideal world, every person should be free to participate in and learn from the culture and traditions of others, but when the participation is a one-way street, that becomes the problem.

I’m sure you have read the views of Mahatma Gandhi on the topic of conversions. Gandhiji had said, “I believe that there is no such thing as conversion from one faith to another in the accepted sense of the word. It is a highly personal matter for the individual and his God.” (Harijan, 9 September 1935)