{"id":4503,"date":"2014-02-09T09:14:01","date_gmt":"2014-02-09T03:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/?p=4503"},"modified":"2014-02-09T09:16:58","modified_gmt":"2014-02-09T03:46:58","slug":"arunanchal-pradesh-to-become-a-christian-state-in-thirty-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/?p=4503","title":{"rendered":"Arunanchal Pradesh To Become A Christian State In Thirty Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u091c\u093f\u0938 \u0924\u0930\u0939 \u0938\u0947 \u0935\u093f\u0926\u0947\u0936\u0940 \u092a\u0948\u0938\u0947 \u0938\u0947 \u0905\u0930\u0941\u0923\u093e\u0902\u091a\u0932 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0926\u0947\u0936 \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u093e\u092f\u093e \u091c\u093e \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0905\u0917\u0932\u0947 \u0924\u0940\u0938 \u0938\u093e\u0932 \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u092e\u093f\u091c\u094b\u0930\u092e \u0915\u0940 \u0924\u0930\u0939 \u0905\u0930\u0941\u0923\u093e\u0902\u091a\u0932 \u092d\u0940 \u092a\u0941\u0930\u094d\u0923\u0924\u0903 \u0907\u0938\u093e\u0908 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0926\u0947\u0936 \u092c\u0928 \u091c\u093e\u092f\u0947\u0917\u093e . \u0907\u0938\u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u092e\u093e\u0928\u0902 \u0915\u093e\u0902\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0947\u0938 \u0915\u093e \u092c\u0939\u0941\u0924 \u092f\u094b\u0917\u0926\u093e\u0928 \u0939\u0948. \u0927\u0940\u0930\u0947 \u0927\u0940\u0930\u0947 \u0909\u0924\u094d\u0924\u0930 \u092a\u0942\u0930\u094d\u0935 \u0915\u094b \u0917\u0948\u0930 \u0939\u093f\u0928\u094d\u0926\u0942 \u0938\u0902\u0938\u094d\u0915\u0943\u0924\u093f \u092c\u0928\u093e \u0926\u0947\u0936 \u0938\u0947 \u0905\u0932\u0917 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u0915\u093e \u0937\u0921\u094d\u092f\u0902\u0924\u094d\u0930 \u0939\u0948 . \u0907\u0938 \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u0905\u092e\u0930\u0940\u0915\u093e \u0915\u0947\u00a0\u092e\u093f\u0936\u0928\u0930\u093f\u092f\u094b\u0902 \u00a0\u0915\u093e \u092a\u094d\u0930\u092e\u0941\u0916 \u0939\u093e\u0925 \u0939\u0948 . \u0907\u0938\u0915\u093e \u0935\u093f\u0930\u094b\u0927 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u0935\u093e\u0932\u0947 \u092e\u0941\u0916\u094d\u092f \u092e\u0902\u0924\u094d\u0930\u0940 \u0915\u0940 \u0939\u0947\u0932\u0940\u0915\u093e\u092a\u094d\u091f\u0930 \u0915\u0940 \u0926\u0941\u0930\u094d\u0918\u091f\u0928\u093e \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u0930\u0939\u0938\u094d\u092f\u092e\u092f \u092e\u0943\u0924\u094d\u092f\u0941 \u0939\u094b \u0917\u092f\u0940 . \u0926\u0947\u0936 \u0915\u094b \u0907\u0938 \u0935\u093f\u092d\u093e\u091c\u0928 \u0915\u0947 \u0937\u0921\u094d\u092f\u0902\u0924\u094d\u0930 \u0915\u094b \u0938\u092e\u092f \u0930\u0939\u0924\u0947 \u0930\u094b\u0915\u0928\u093e \u0906\u0935\u0936\u094d\u092f\u0915 \u0939\u0948 .<\/p>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4283\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4270\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4277\">\n<div id=\"yiv3032668445\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\" id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4280\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4279\"><b id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4278\">According to the 2011 census religious demographic data (which the GOI refuses to reveal even today in 2014), Christianity is the majority religion in Arunachal Pradesh thanks to an endless supply of foreign funds to Catholic Predatory NGOs.<\/b><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4286\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4288\"><b id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4287\">This, in spite of the fact that the law (Freedom of Indigenous Faith Act of 1978) still outlaws missionary work in Arunachal Pradesh.<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4290\"><b id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4289\">The floodgates of vulture-like Christian missionaries to Arunachal Pradesh were opened under the regime of Rajiv Gandhi (1984-1989) who had to bow down to the wishes of his Italian Catholic wife (Antonio Maino a.k.a Sonia Gandhi) and permit the Catholic Missionaries who subsequently went on a proselytization rampage in Arunchal Pradesh ever since then.\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4291\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><b>In 2010, the Catholic Church in Arunachal&#8217;s Miao\/Changlang area built a\u00a0<\/b><b>Massive, Open-Air 36 Feet Tall Jesus Idol &#8211;\u00a0<\/b><b>the Largest Idol of Jesus in ALL of ASIA.<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4294\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4293\"><b>Please see the yellow-highlighted sections below.\u00a0<\/b><b id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4292\">This NYT article below clearly points out that the Christians have gained power through the Congress Party whose Catholic CM Nabam Tuki is going all out to fund the building of Itanagar&#8217;s largest Catholic cathedral and turn Arunachal into Christachal.\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>How this Catholic CM Nabam Tuki was put in place is a Machiavellian coup where non-Catholic CMs were removed from the throne in unscrupulous ways.\u00a0<\/b><b>The previous Arunachal CM Jarbom Gamlin (who followed the Donyi Polo indigenous faith) was forced to step down by the Congress party, while his predecessor CM Dorjee Khandu (a Buddhist) was killed in a mysterious helicopter crash.<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Watch for a full-blown Christian terrorist insurgency that will wage a &#8220;Arunachal for Christ&#8221; Campaign similar to the genocidal terrorist groups of the Christian Nagas, Kukis, Bodos, Mizos, Garos et al !<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/india.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/04\/a-competition-for-converts-in-arunachal-pradesh\/?_php=true&amp;_type=blogs&amp;ref=asia&amp;_r=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/india.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/04\/a-competition-for-converts-in-arunachal-pradesh\/?_php=true&amp;_type=blogs&amp;ref=asia&amp;_r=0<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4306\">\n<div>FEBRUARY 4, 2014, 2:48 AM\u00a0<button>\u00a07\u00a0Comments<\/button><\/div>\n<h1>A Competition for Converts in Arunachal Pradesh<\/h1>\n<address>By\u00a0<a title=\"See all posts by MAX BEARAK\" href=\"http:\/\/india.blogs.nytimes.com\/author\/max-bearak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">MAX BEARAK<\/a>, NY Times<\/address>\n<div id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4316\">\n<div><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Women in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh selling firewood in front of a wall bearing posters advertising Indigenous Faith Day celebrations in Dec., 2013.\" src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2014\/02\/04\/world\/asia\/04-christianity-IndiaInk\/04-christianity-IndiaInk-blog480.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"323\" \/><\/span>Himanshu Khagta<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Women in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh selling firewood in front of a wall bearing posters advertising Indigenous Faith Day celebrations in Dec., 2013.<\/span><\/div>\n<p>ITANAGAR, Arunachal Pradesh \u2014 Though the event they advertised had passed a month earlier, the neon-colored posters remained, clinging to the state capital\u2019s walls, lampposts and storefronts. On them were invitations to Indigenous Faith Day celebrations on Dec. 1, with slogans like \u201cCulture without faith is body without soul,\u201d and, more pointedly, \u201cImitation of alien faith is slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Implicit in the slogans for the event, which began in 2011, is the idea that this northeastern state, populated mostly by tribal people, is being stripped of its distinctive religious identity as hundreds of thousands have converted to Christianity.<\/p>\n<p>Most outsiders hear about this remote Himalayan state in the context of tensions with China over repeated\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/05\/03\/world\/asia\/where-china-meets-india-push-comes-to-shove.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">border incursions<\/a>\u00a0and blueprints to build\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/india.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/03\/05\/brahmaputra-dams-promise-prosperity-but-at-a-big-cost\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">hundreds of dams<\/a>\u00a0on its icy, blue rivers. But most Arunachal Pradesh residents are more concerned with adapting to a society increasingly drawn along religious rather than tribal lines.<\/p>\n<p>In Itanagar\u2019s residential neighborhoods, most households identify themselves with religious markers \u2014 a star lantern for Christians, and a white flag with a red sun, for animists. \u201cWe\u2019re at a junction where we are dichotomizing,\u201d said Toku Tayu Stephen, the catechist at St. Joseph\u2019s Cathedral in Itanagar.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of thousands in this mountainous and sparsely populated state have converted to Christianity in recent years, and the trend has accelerated exponentially over the past four decades. The 1971 census showed less than 1 percent of Arunachal Pradesh\u2019s residents called themselves Christian, but in 2001, 19 percent of the state\u2019s total population and 26 percent of the tribal population put themselves in that category.<\/p>\n<p>While religious data for the 2011 census hasn\u2019t been released yet, many observers say that it is likely that Christians now form a majority of the approximately 1.4 million people in the state, with some tribes almost fully converted.<\/p>\n<p>Less than a decade ago, Arunachal Pradesh was the only state in India to have a majority population adhering to tribal religions. Tribes in other northeast Indian states like the now-solidly Christian Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland converted much earlier, while Hinduism dominates the plains of Assam.<\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Women attending mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, on Dec. 23, 2013.\" src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2014\/02\/04\/world\/asia\/04-tribals-IndiaInk\/04-tribals-IndiaInk-blog480.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" \/>Himanshu KhagtaWomen attending mass at St. Joseph\u2019s Cathedral in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, on Dec. 23, 2013.<\/div>\n<p>Anthropologists like Stuart Blackburn, who have chronicled social change in Arunachal\u2019s tribes, contend that Christianity\u2019s infiltration into Arunachal Pradesh began slowly, mostly through locals who descended into the Assamese plains to be educated in well-regarded missionary schools there, only to return with a new religious zeal, as well as English-language skills and new names like John and James.<\/p>\n<p>In the 1980s and earlier, barely any convents or Christian institutions existed in Arunachal as missionary work was, as it still is, outlawed under the Freedom of Indigenous Faith Act of 1978. These days, in spite of the law, Christian schools, hospitals and churches abound, particularly in central Arunachal, where the state\u2019s most populous and powerful tribe, the Nyishis, live.<\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s chief minister, Nabam Tuki, who is both a Nyishi and a Christian, donated some of the funds used to build St. Joseph\u2019s Cathedral where Mr. Stephen, 41, has been a catechist for two years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1978 didn\u2019t matter,\u201d said Mr. Stephen, who was the son of an animist priest but converted at a convent school in Assam as a boy. \u201cOur first concern was to come back home and heal people. So much disease was there in our villages. We showed people that God could send miracles, and many people wanted to convert right away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But there were other reasons to convert \u2013 some practical, like the need for better education and healthcare, which churches promised to bring, and others more spiritual. \u201cOur people are religious by nature,\u201d said Mr. Stephen. \u201cWe\u2019ve always believed in a supreme being who will smite you if you sin, and we\u2019ve always had a mother figure like Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Stephen said that people, especially in rural areas, are still coming around to \u201cthe truth,\u201d and that Christianity was largely a unifying force in a state that has dozens of tribes whom often fought each other.<\/p>\n<p>He said that during Christmas and Easter seasons, pastors from cities like Itanagar visited villages where residents had been waiting for months to be officially converted, and performed mass baptisms. \u201cPeople are just waiting,\u201d he said, \u201cespecially to be freed from sickness.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Toku Tayu Stephen, catechist at St. Joesph's Cathedral, at his home in Itanagar in December 2013.\" src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2014\/02\/04\/world\/asia\/04-priest-IndiaInk\/04-priest-IndiaInk-blog480.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"321\" \/>Himanshu KhagtaToku Tayu Stephen, catechist at St. Joesph\u2019s Cathedral, at his home in Itanagar in December 2013.<\/div>\n<p>Nani Bath, a professor of political science at Rajiv Gandhi University near Itanagar, said many tribals converted out of a desire to be modern, since Christianity was often seen in the same boat as modernity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSee, at these churches, you\u2019d have guys playing guitar and pretty girls singing in English, and no one was allowed to drink, which was very rampant both then and now in this state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Lisa Lomdak, a linguist and colleague of Professor Bath\u2019s, said that for those with a 21st-century mindset, the traditional wedding practice of slaughtering dozens of mithuns, a type of mountain bovine, was disagreeable.<\/p>\n<p>For others, she said, the ritual slaughter was just too expensive, and converting to Christianity was one way to save money.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Lomdak, herself a follower of the Donyi-Polo faith, an organized form of animism that translates as \u201csun-moon,\u201d lamented that conversions are part of a larger erosion of tribal culture and endangerment of local language.<\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"St. Joseph's Cathedral in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, undergoing renovation.\" src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2014\/02\/04\/world\/asia\/04-church-IndiaInk\/04-church-IndiaInk-articleInline.jpg\" width=\"190\" height=\"239\" \/>Himanshu KhagtaSt. Joseph\u2019s Cathedral in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, undergoing renovation.<\/div>\n<p>\u201cEven if our kids speak our language, they aren\u2019t fluent,\u201d she said. \u201cThey aren\u2019t even competent. Wherever there is dish TV, you\u2019ll see kids excelling in English and Hindi. And when kids sing old tribal songs, other kids tell them to stop because \u2018those are not Jesus songs.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tribal religion has adapted some of the modern forms of worship in response to its dwindling followers. Within the past five years, locals say, the Donyi-Polo faith has become more institutionalized in its practices, as its leaders have realized that it suffers from being seen as a disorganized and timeworn default religion.<\/p>\n<p>From its age-old pantheon, the cosmic duo of Donyi and Polo have been promoted as the primary gods, while previously absent elements like prayer halls, designated holidays, chant books, the use of incense and ringing bells and the visual depiction of gods and goddesses have been introduced.<\/p>\n<p>To many, these spiritual building blocks are eerily reminiscent of Hinduism\u2019s. Professor Bath said right-wing Hindu organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or R.S.S., finance Donyi-Polo schools and cultural centers, promoting it as a unified Arunachali religion. The R.S.S. is aligned politically with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has lost ground in a state where Christians have gained increasing power through the Congress Party.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of R.S.S., traveled to Pasighat, in the eastern part of the state, to address 600 members of his organization at the Donyi-Polo Vidya Niketan, one of the schools funded by the Hindu nationalist organization. At numerous R.S.S.-sponsored events, the life of Talom Rukbo, the father of modern, institutionalized Donyi-Poloism, has been memorialized.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Lomdak said some Hindus may see tribal animist faiths simply as a substratum of their own. She acknowledged that the borders between her religion and Hinduism were blurry. All the same, she worried that Christianity, and not Hinduism, would prove most corrosive to her state\u2019s indigenous culture.<\/p>\n<p id=\"yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391916247504_4322\">Mr. Stephen, having just left a Mass given in the Nyishi language, presented a different take on the transformation. \u201cBefore criticizing, they should really ask themselves how \u2018alien\u2019 Christianity really is,\u201d he said. \u201cAlready, in the towns and also the villages, this religion is becoming our tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u091c\u093f\u0938 \u0924\u0930\u0939 \u0938\u0947 \u0935\u093f\u0926\u0947\u0936\u0940 \u092a\u0948\u0938\u0947 \u0938\u0947 \u0905\u0930\u0941\u0923\u093e\u0902\u091a\u0932 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0926\u0947\u0936 \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u093e\u092f\u093e \u091c\u093e \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0939\u0948&#8230; <a class=\"meta-more\" href=\"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/?p=4503\">more <span class=\"meta-nav\">&raquo;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4504,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503\/revisions\/4504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}