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Re: Religious conversion of Hindus to other faiths
>X-News: soc.religion.hindu:2150
>From: Naresh Patel <104256.1324@CompuServe.COM>
>Subject:Re: Religious conversion of Hindus to other faiths
>Date: 20 Mar 1996 05:48:25 GMT
>Message-ID:<4io679$kat@babbage.ece.uc.edu>
>.....[snipped].....<
>I wonder if it is necessary to convert your religion? Surely in
>Hinduism there are other ways. I have heard that in the past a
>man can have more than one wife. Why couldnt he just marry his
>lover?
Hindu culture/ religion/ society has always reformed. The place of
logic/ morality/ equity/ justice/ compassion has always been held
supreme.
Returning to your question, I think that these " other ways " must be
rejected, should they exist - typically referring to Mrs. Ghosh's case.
India Today did not report that Mrs. Ghosh was in anyway an obstacle in
the matrimony which was consumed for 16 years.
The carnal pleasure of Gyanprakash Ghosh drove him to cohabit with a
woman and the reformed Hindu society (as most of us know it) does not
approve of such deviant behavior. So he sought ways to beat the system
and " fortunately " found one - conversion to Islam with the closeted
lover.
Regardless of what you believe in, this is most despicable. That's what
I am trying to point out. Additionally, this should STOP. In fact all
conversions, as D. Sarkar pointed out, must STOP.
In the past, a Brahmin could take 4 wives. But what is past *IS* past. The
Hindu Family Act of 1957 (?) illegalized this system. Similarly, the
remarriage of the widow and abrogation of the barbaric sati system has
been invoked by Vidyasagar and Rammohun (aided by the British), respectively.
(That does not mean that such unjust instances do not happen anymore.)
What emerges from these observations are the following:
(1) a law / penalizing system should exist to protect the innocent
(2) implementation of the law
In the Ghosh's conversion case what we see is that a law that prevents
conversions in such cases is not there. This is because in India there
is no such deterrent implemented to stop societies from degenerating.
The reason is that there exists a lot of appeasement towards minorities
(Muslim community) and this not helped in anyway the Hindu society to
remain united since independence. The reason is that UCC (Uniform Civil
Code) has always taken a back-seat for all political groups.
Lastly, Ghosh shouldn't be allowed to marry his lover simply because it
is unfair to his family to which he is legally/ morally responsible.
>peace,
>-- NP
- cheers,
deb chatterjee
(a good samaritan)
