Economics of Conversions

Religious conversions | The moment of truth | Economist.com

It is alternately amusing and alarming to read the simplistic views magazines like The Economist put out regarding conversions and castes. Or, the simplistic approach pushes their viewpoint. At least, when it comes to India and conversions there are a lot more. Simply put when there is not enough to go around for all giving benefits to a few based on their religion or caste is going to cause issues.

I do not understand why religious conversions where prosthelization is involved is not considered as dangerous as racism. After all, it comes from the belief that "my religion/ faith is better than yours. And, you are damned unless you convert to mine."

As for India, the government's effort at "secularism" has caused polarization of religions/ faiths. How you may ask. There is religion based voting districts, economic reservations. In all these, the people who practice the majority religion and the small minority religions that do not feel the need to market themselves or assert their superiority are given a raw deal. And, to add insult to injury the government controls/ appoints people to religious institutions of majority religion when they do not even monitor the source of funds for others.

Ultimately, one cannot deny the "economics of conversion." The folks who are converting (at least the majority of them) are not converting because they had the same epiphany that Marc Schleifer, mentioned in the article, had. They are trying to find their way out of oppressing economic circumstances they are in due to social (caste) or economic (access to opportunities) or both. Unfortunately, they realize a little later that the social (caste) issues cut across religion. In India, you have separate Dalit (what you generally classify as "untouchable") Christian churches in a class/ caste less religion. Christians in Kerala and Mangalore take pride it telling everyone that they were high caste Hindus before conversion. The reason most of these high caste Hindus converted was again social oppression.

I remember reading an article by Germaine Greer who questioned Mother Theresa's charity. If the poor need to give up their faith to be saved what is so magnanimous about it. That was her question. I think the answer is we are all animals - our sense of self-preservation is better defined than our sense of belief/ faith/ religion etc...

All this for a dick?

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Woman in India 'has twins at 70'

This story shows the irony that characterises most of India's achievements. Do I congratulate the doctors for this medical miracle? Do I ridicule the couple and the efforts they went to have a male child. I will go with the later because there are more like them in India.

Sometime back a friend emailed me an article about Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management's decision to name the monkey god Hanuman as the chariman of the school. Now, that takes a leap of faith (Hanuman/ monkey...leap...you get it?). I bet desis will be quick to point out that US presidential hopeful Senator Obama is reputed to carry around Hanuman charm for luck. Now I know that when Obama remarked about people clinging to "guns and religion" he was in some sense talking about himself.