NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 10, 2008: Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, Hindu leader of Orissa, was attacked in his car on December 24th by a group of locals who allegedly were religious extremists. Lakshmananda has been leading an anti-conversion movement in the area and several clashes followed his hospitalization. What follows is an interview where Swami explains his view of the events reported by HPI on January 3rd, here.
Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati: “I can well understand the wounded psyche of Hindus against the Christian evangelists. There was no problem when Christians were not here in Paikia. With their numbers increasing, they forcefully took away Hindu girls, forced the neo-converts to eat beef. They set several temples on fire. They threw mortal remains of cows on mandirs. Kondh tribal’s Goddess Dharani Mata’s places of worship in several villages were dishonored. The sacred sword at a temple at Bramhanigaon was forcibly taken away by the converts who melted it in public and prepared weapons with that looted material. What was the need to do so?”
“World Vision (a US-based humanitarian organization) is notorious for pumping money into India for religious conversion and their mischievous conversions in the aftermath of the tsunami are well-known but equally well hidden from public discourse. World Vision is one of the top donors to NGOs in India I am therefore not at all surprised that the Hindus of Orissa are now beginning to summon the will to react to their forceful influence.”
“Christians in India must understand, and understand fast, that they cannot be protected by the US state department writing its annual vituperative anti-Hindu reports on religious freedom and human rights. Christians can be protected only by the good will of the majority Hindus in whose midst they have to live. Christians have to earn the good will of the Hindus instead of demanding special protection and special rights.”