Karnataka Congress Must Stop Endorsing Predatory Proselytisation

On Sunday (17 December), a Christian religious event called 'Pray for India' was to be held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

A week prior, billboards on buildings and posters on buses carried advertisements of the event featuring one pastor Alph Lukau, a televangelist who promised to be here "to bring together individuals from all walks of life for a collective moment of prayerful reflection and hope for India."

Days later, because of protests by Hindu activists, the organisers had to call off the event.

So... what happened?

Lukau is not your regular Sunday church congregation minister. As per Business Insider Africa, he is a mining baron who has become one of the richest men on the continent.

His AL Group of Companies has been involved in the production of cobalt, copper, and gold, establishing the company as "one of the leading mining companies on the continent."

So, it turns out, his videos feature a lot of people from India — especially from the south.

For instance, in this video, he walks up to a 'stranger' and identifies where he is from, what his background is, and what language the gentleman speaks. And the crowd goes berserk.

Central Bengaluru hosts several colonies that have become home to the migrant Tamil population. Anyone who has lived in the city long enough will understand the demographics well enough.

Bengaluru has more than 200 Tamil churches with a membership of more than 60,000. These statistics are from a decade ago. There would likely have been a rise in the numbers since.

Many of the priests who are a part of these churches are secretly in support of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). But as the party is absent in Karnataka, they bank on 'secular politics' to 'protect the rights of the minorities'.

More often than not, they are seen influencing their believers to vote for a certain party that suits them best.

"Ahead of Lukau's planned visit to the city, the organisers tried reaching out to the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly, U T Khader, to grant Lukau the designation of a 'state guest'. This recommendation that came in the form of a letter was then forwarded to the Chief Secretary's Office," says Girish Bharadwaj, an advocate-activist associated with the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Bengaluru.

Where Does The Congress Stand?

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is an avowed atheist (although he has contradicted himself many times in the past) and a 'rationalist'.

Many such visits, including the visit of the controversial 'faith healer' Benny Hinn, took place when the Congress was in power in Karnataka.

Hindu activists are now beginning to ask the party why they support legislation like the Anti-Superstition Act on the one hand and oppose the anti-conversion law on the other if the protection of minority rights is ultimately what they care about.

Presumably, the Congress has two ways of responding to the accusations against them:

One, maintain a safe distance from these self-styled faith healers by stating that the event was independently organised and without any direct backing from their party.

Two, state that they firmly believe in the ideas of secularism and the welfare of minorities, and hence their support is justified.

Neither justification would make for a strong enough defence. A pattern of events has already established the Karnataka Congress' intentions.

In any case, why did the organisers not approach the relevant authorities to seek the permissions?

After all, according to the norms of the Ministry of Home Affairs, "visa shall NOT be granted to preachers and evangelists who desire to come to India on propaganda campaigns, whether on their own or at the invitation of any organization in India."

Bharadwaj suspects foul play in this matter as he believes that Lukau did not seek permission from the relevant authorities — the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs — to enter India to preach.

Instead, in the writ petition, they claim to have obtained the required permissions from the Fire Department, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), and so on.

The state, at best, can grant permission for an event, but has no prerogative over visa norms.

After this development made the news, the organisers immediately called off the event due to "unavoidable circumstances."

The Resurrection Business Is (Un)Real

Be it Hinn or Lukau, evangelists of this kind have been accused of many things, ranging from financial discrepancies to fraud.

After facing criticism for his 'resurrection challenges', Lukau mentioned that "the only time he had restored life was to an unborn child whose mother had alleged that she had been told the child had died in the womb."

In 2005, when the 'Festival of Blessings' was organised in Bengaluru and Mumbai, it was attended and supported by the then-leaders of the Congress in both states.

In Karnataka, former chief minister Dharam Singh said the government "won't come in the way." Not only that, Singh and several members of his cabinet attended the event.

In Mumbai, the "festival" was attended by Congress leaders like Sunil Dutt. Responding to Sangh's criticism, he said the "Constitution has guaranteed the rights to all faiths to worship and practise their religion."

Meanwhile, the streets of Bengaluru were in chaos. Shops were shut, and nearly 10,000 policemen were deployed to maintain law and order.

Hinn's programme had also received support from journalists like Gowri Lankesh. "In India anyone has the constitutional right to propagate one's religion, to convert, and to assemble peacefully. The Sangh Parivar has been holding Hindu samajotsavs across the State and country. What moral right have they to ask for the cancellation of the programme?" Lankesh remarked back in the day.

Funnily enough, it was the Communist Party of India, among others, who opposed Hinn's programme in the city. A party spokesman had criticised Hinn's double standards, accusing him of tolerating "obscurantism in their own religion."

Hinn had flown into the city in his private multi-million dollar jet and stayed at 'the posh Leela Hotel'.

The pattern is clear, and the Congress has nowhere to run. Does it back down or go ahead with its usual rhetoric? — People know the answer to this question already.