The RSS mouthpiece’s attempt to brand Christians as “traitors” is not just a distortion of truth but a deliberate assault on the very fabric of India’s democracy. Far from betraying the nation, Christians have been at the forefront of nation building founding schools, universities, hospitals, and social institutions that uplift millions, serving without discrimination of caste, creed, or religion. To vilify such a community is to deny history itself and to fan the flames of communal division for political ends.
The latest article published in Kesari, the mouthpiece of the RSS, is not just a piece of writing it is a deliberate campaign of hate designed to malign the Christian community in India. It labels Christians as “traitors,” questions their loyalty to the Constitution, and paints every act of service and sacrifice by the Church as a conspiracy. This is not journalism. This is venom, manufactured to fracture society and pit Indians against one another.
The Kesari article attempts to create the illusion that Christians are secretly engaged in conversion conspiracies. It drags up isolated incidents, twists them, and then uses them to slander an entire community that has been a pillar of India for centuries. What it conveniently ignores is that the Indian Constitution the very document the RSS claims to protect explicitly grants freedom of religion, including the right to profess, practice, and propagate one’s faith. If conversions occur by free will, they are neither illegal nor unconstitutional. To call such choices “treason” is to spit on the very spirit of democracy.
What the RSS refuses to acknowledge is the undeniable contribution of Christians to India’s progress. Missionaries brought education to the remotest corners of this country, building schools and colleges long before governments could. Some of India’s most prestigious educational institutions St. Stephen’s in Delhi, Loyola institutions, and countless others are fruits of Christian sacrifice. Healthcare, too, owes much to Christian vision: missionary hospitals, leprosy centers, orphanages, and rural clinics continue to serve millions, often in places where no government facility exists.
Far from being “anti-national,” Christian institutions have nurtured some of India’s greatest minds scientists, judges, administrators, and freedom fighters. The blood of Christians is also part of the soil of Indian independence: from Kuriakose Elias Chavara’s vision for social reform to the many priests and nuns who stood with the marginalized against colonial injustice. To erase this history is nothing but a crime against truth.
The editorial in Kesari weaponizes the word “conversion.” It tries to convince Hindus that Christians are out to “destroy culture” and “weaken society.” But what really weakens society is poverty, illiteracy, hunger, and corruption issues the RSS has little interest in addressing. It is Christian schools that uplift Dalits, Christian hospitals that heal the poor, and Christian social workers who rescue abandoned children and rehabilitate the destitute. If this is “conversion,” then it is a conversion from despair to dignity.
Let us be clear: forced conversion is not Christian teaching. The Church explicitly rejects coercion in matters of faith. Faith, by definition, is a free response. What frightens the RSS is not forced conversion but voluntary conversion the fact that when people experience love, equality, and service in Christian communities, they freely choose to follow Christ. This is not treason. This is freedom.
The most dangerous part of the Kesari article is not its lies but its intent. It is part of a larger project to isolate minorities, vilify them, and create a climate of hostility that justifies discrimination. To remain silent in the face of such poison is to allow India’s democratic fabric to be shredded thread by thread. Political leaders, especially those who claim to believe in secularism, must stop hiding behind evasive statements and clearly declare where they stand: with the Constitution or with hate.
The record is clear. Christians build schools, hospitals, orphanages, and homes. Christians give their lives in service in leprosy colonies, in tribal villages, in disaster zones. Christians are part of the Indian story, not enemies of it. The RSS, on the other hand, builds walls of suspicion, spreads fear, and thrives on division.
The truth is simple: Christians are not traitors. Those who accuse them are betraying the Constitution, betraying history, and betraying India itself.