Since missionaries themselves are trying to convert people of other religion into chiristianity, it can be inferred that they view other religions as being inferior to christianity...any sane person can figure that trying to convert other people is beliving that one's own religion is superior to others, i.e. a blatant disrespect and intolerance of other religions...therefore these missionaries who (at times with the help of financial,educational or other material greed) convert people of other religions into chirstianity ust be outlawed....

1. like i said earlier, proselytize itself is based on the idea that other religions are inferior to one's own

2. i feel utterly ashamed and disgusted that these white assholes from Europe and America think they can buy us with money to convert into their religion, which i feel is a great strike to our pride

....this wrting of mine should not be inferred as a reaction to the declaration of nepal as a secular state...heck, i am not hindu myself...but the point is how long are we to remain like cheapshots who will do anything for the whiteman's money? isn't it time that proselytize and conversion using financial or other "similar" means be outlawed? of coures, conversion based on one's own wish will be legal, but any group organised to convert religions must be banned if we have any sense of pride and dignity left

This is such a ridiculous issue,

first of all do all hindu really abide by hinduism.

I bet more than 50% of hindus in USA eat BEEF. they say, what's wrong in it.

Muji haroo, if you want to be a hindu be all the way through it. Why the name only.

As for me, ys i am a hindu. I have nothing to say about secularism or even conversion. One of my promise to myself is that i will convert at least one christian into hindu in my lifetime. I will make a trend within my family , to convert at least one christian to hindu.

Hey Kalke Kapil,
Expalin what the fuk you doin here ? How you can in WWW and a Nepali at the same time ? WTF Don't give us your bullshit either Kapil. What the fuk is a a tremite called missionary ? They have tricked people to convert ? Hmmm.. The only reason people will convert is ONLY IF THEY ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THEIR CURRENT RELIGION. IF THEY WANT TO CHANGE THAT THEIR PREROGATIVE NOT YOURS. STAY THE FUK OUTTA OTHER PEOPLE"S LIVES MORON.
Hindu's, Buddhists and Muslims are alos good in Social Service. Maybe you are blind but all those beggars outside Temples, Vihaars, Stupa's, and Mosques get fed by THE PEOPLE everyday. he he

Dont go on rampage after christianity only? Few missionaries are good but most of them are for the motives of Conversion only. You Know guys--Islam is also on the same trend but not in full swing as compared to Christainity.

I have the information since few years back that religious moslem organisations from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Mainly rich muslim countries are pumping huge amount of money to built madarasa, Mosques outside of nepal to flourish the Islam. Mainly the money came here is donation from the rich and Muslim religious organisations.

I have read about it some time back in one of the popular newspaper. Many mosques built around Terai regions and swift increase in the population of Muslim lot are testimony to it. Time is not far away to witness the muslim extremist activities in the path to destabilisation of nepal if such trend goes on and on. Lets hope it wont happen here like India. Government should draw the line to restraint such trend from muslim community abroad if true.

Hinduism does not allow conversion from non Hindu to Hindu as far as I know.
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On the theme of this thread:

NO. We should not ban missionaries, especially if they are providing whatever little help that helps our underprivileged and needy. If some of them decides to change their religion, oh well, what can we do, it's a matter of personal choice.

That said, yes, we should however, in no uncertain terms, explain to the foreign missionaries that preaching/influencing for the sole aim of "expanding" their religion and "asking" them to forsake whatever religion the unfortunates comes from, is not appreciated. Having been in many of those missionaries programs while in India, I kind of got sick listening to their so obvious ways of saying, "LEAVE YOUR RELIGION" by continuously trying to imply saying "COME, WE ARE THE ONLY ONE TO SAVE YOU."

No there is nothing wrong with it. They have freedom to do so, yes, but what they also should be careful is, in doing so are they HURTING other religions sentiments? If the missionaries would rather expect to "expand" their empire, so to speak, without regard to other's sentiment, then I'm afraid, they do have to face a backlash, just the way our annoyed Hindu populace does for the reasons thereof.

Personally, I can not decidedly say whatever happened regarding Hinduism vis-a-vis Nepal is good or bad. In due time, we shall know. However, ideally, I would imagine that the title of a Hindu nation and principle/practice of secularism would have been perfect.

But we do not live in a perfect world now, do we?

Nonetheless there is one thing I am certain about. That is, a national referendum is REQUIRED to make a decision so huge that it impacts a nation and its subject at large, regardless of their physical being. Without which, none of us shall be surprised if we wake up next morning only to read that Nepal's name has been changed to "New America." Not that it's a good or a bad thing, but would it make us a "khaire" white/black and moreover, would Nepal be America, positively speaking?

The BOTTOM LINE: Let the people decide.

A national referendum please!

IndisGuise:)

LIVE AND LET LIVE....THAT WAS THE ONLY REASON FOR THE FINAL CALL TO SECULARISM.
PEOPLE IN THIS GENERATION ( EXCLUDING THE BLINDED ORTHODAX GROUP) ARE ENLIGHTENED ENOUGH TO REALISE THAT RELIGIONS (WHATEVER IT IS) ARE ALL MAN -MADE...A WAY TO DISCPLINE THEMSELVES WHEN THEY STARTED TO LIVE IN A COMMUNITY.ONE COMMON GOAL WAS TO BELIEVE IN A STRONG FAITH.....THE ALMIGHTY.

OVER THE PERIOD...BY THE NAME OF RELIGIONS ....THE WORLD HAS EXPERIENCED MORE DIFFERENCES ,DISCRIMINATION,HATRED AND WAY TO FOOL THE IGNORANTS
(EG: SOME ENTITLED THEMSELVES AS THE GOD INCARNATION)

.BE IT CHRISTIAN , HINDU,MUSLIM ,OR AETHIST OR PEOPLE WHO BELIEVES IN GOD BUT NOT ANY RELIGION ...OR BE IT PEOPLE WHO BELIEVES ALL....EVERYONE HAS REALISED A CALL TOWARDS MODERN CIVILISATION.....A CALL TO GIVE THEM A CHOICE TO CALL THEMSELVES AN INDIVIDUALISTIC RATHER THAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR GROUP...BLACK COMMUNITY/WHITE COMMUNITY/HINDU COMMUNITY/MADHESE COMMUNITY/BAHUNS COMMUNITY/ETC ..THIS HAS DONE NOTHING BUT BROUGHT DIFFERNCES AND WAR IN SOCIETIES.
SECULARISM IS ONLY WAY TO BE A GLOBAL INDIVIDUAL -UNLESS ONE WANTS TO TAG THEMSELVES IN A NARROW PERSPECTIVE---

Dreamz,

You live in a world of 'dreams'. It is a fact, which we all Hindus are proud of, that Hindus are the most epace lving people. We have never attcaked or converted people in different countries or religions.

What you write is really nice but LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM REALITY. We Hindus are simple & peace loving, CENTURIES OF WORLD HISTORY TELLS US THAT HINDUS HAVE ALWAYS SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF EXTERNAL FORCES/RELIGIONS!!!!!!!!!!

SO what are you WRITING, WAKE-UP!!!!!!

The REALITY is that SECULARISM is DANGROUS for Nepal!!!!

Read news? Well check it out today (MAY2, 2006) there was complete bandh in BIRGUNJ because people were protesting against Nepal NOT BEING A HINDU STATE!!!!!! All shops, offices, schools etc have been closed!!!!!!

KALKE
HA HA HA IF WE ARE LIVING IN OUR DREAMS THEN YOU ARE FCUKN DELUSIONAL.

SECULARISM IS NOT BRINGING PROTESTS...BUT THESE OTHODOX 'BHEDA' PEOPLE ARE.WHY CANT THESE ORTHODOX RESPECT HARMONY AND PEACE............BHEDAS IN THIS ERA THEY STILL CANT SEE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANIMALS AND MEN.
THEY ARE LESS WORRIED ABOUT PEOPLE BEING KILLED THAN A COW BEING BUTCHERED.
SHAME

LET ME REPHRASE' THEY ARE MORE WORRIED ABOUT A COW BEING BUTCHERED THAN THOUSANDS 0F PEOPLE BEING KILLED IN THEIR SO CALLED HINDU STATE'

THESE BHEDAS WHEN WILL THEY FINALLY START LIVING IN PEACE AND HARMONY....

Indisguise, I think, put forward a good point. Should Nepal hold a referendum to call itself a Hindu Nation or a secular nation?

Socrates once said that a country that is ruled by the force of a majority does not necessarily protect the interests of minority.

In Nepal's context, if the majority of the voters are Hindus (some say 80%, but I think it is less of a majority than that) vote to name Nepal a Hindu Republic of Nepal (much like Islamic Republic of Pakistan), what are the ramifications?

(a) How does that affect other religions? Does that mean there is less protection and/or privilege for them?

(b) Who gains to win from Nepal being proclaimed Hindu nation? I would say the more extreme sect would appreciate this. And, by in large, most Hindus in Nepal are moderate. So, the people I see who stand to gain on this most are the Indian extremists.

(c) Just looking at this whole scenario from "benefit & loss" point of view, what does the either status look like?

Religious wars have broken out in places in Africa due to proselytization by missionaries, and this is a fact. If anybody here knows about the 700 club, televangelists like Pat Robertson have openly declared wars against other religions, Hinduism and Islam included. You cannot spin around this fact. The next thing to realize is that Hinduism doesn't allow for conversion of people. Why is this a big concern? It's a big concern because the Hindu population will in the long haul be reduced to virtually ZERO, because this hemorrhaging is just a one-way street. In other words, people leave Hinduism, but don't enter it. The next thing to ask is this: WHY ARE THERE NO HINDU NATIONS IN THE WORLD TODAY? All you Buddhists, Christians and Muslims have countries that are specifically declared Buddhist, Christian or Muslim, but Hindus don't have one. Only recently, I read this one article that claims that in countries with Christian roots, like many European countries, liberals( people who are against religion) don't tend to procreate, as a result of which, the population of the fundamentalist faction is supposed to fly through the roof in the future. We all think that European countreis are secular, and we need to copy them. It's not such a clearcut issue. As I said, fundamentalists are on the rise in these nations as well, and the number is only going to increase. Just think about the ramifications for a second. It means that these missionaries will start converting more and more people all across the world. Their primary target will of course be Hindus and Buddhists. One can even say that Buddhism isn't even a religion, but just a philosophy. I mean they don't even have a deity. Buddha isn't a "God", is he?
That's that. Why are you guys ignoring the fact that in secular India, Hindu fundamentalism is on the rise? The BJP came out of nowhere and rose to power, as you all may know. Hindu nationalism is a big threat to India's secularism. So let's think about this for a second. What are the reasons why Hindu fundamentalism is on the rise in India? For one, it is because there are no Hindu nations on the planet, PERIOD, while all other major religions have nations that have these religions declared official. Hinduism has NONE at this point in time. Declaring Nepal a secular state only adds fuel to the fire, because, just a few days ago, Hindus from all over could at least be proud that there is at least one nation that is still a Hindu majority. Now we have NONE. If you guys can't see that this is a big issue for Hindus all over the world, then may god help you. Second point is that the Indian government has thumbed its nose on Hindus. At least that's how Indian Hindus feel. So what do they do? They decide to take extremist positions, because that's the only way to fight for their rights that they think are being infringed upon.

Now, we are at a point of no return. Redeclaring Nepal a Hindu nation will surely cause a riot in Nepal. Look, we are going to have problems with Hindu fundamentalism in Nepal. We are a secular nation now, and it's going to remain so from this point on. But be wary of the fact that Hindus have been riled up by this asinine declaration they made to palliate the Maoist affliction. Look, here's what's got to happen. The government needs to take an active role in promoting "religions", MUCH LIKE in AMERICA, where faith-based Initiatives mostly help Christian groups. Sure, America has its fair share of fundamentalists, but they don't go on a riot like in India. Nepal is a Hindu majority, and the government taking an active role in promoting Hinduism will only help keep the fundamentalist rioters in check. Plus, who do we want to look up to: India, a travesty of a country, or America, a success, by any stretch of the imagination?
Sure, let missionaries do their work in Nepal, but Hindus won't rest quietly. If you think so, you must have a bug up your derriere.

IF INDIA WERE A HINDU or MUSLIM TATE.TODAY ..COULD IT STILL BE DEVELOPING AS BE AN EMERGING ECONOMY??? OR WOULD IT BE IFACING NEPAL'S CHAOTIC STAT

Seriousguy,
Salute to you. Please contribute more info and try & educate some of the fools/illiterates on Sajha.
Nothing to add.
THANKS

Christian missionaries are active in Nepal because Christianity as a whole is in serious decline in the western world. One way to cover those losses is to get converts from the poor nations.

Typo:
read
", Hindus from all over could at least be proud that there is at least one nation that is still a Hindu majority"
as
" Hindus from all over could at least be proud that there is at least one nation that is still a Hindu country"

Anyway, I do think that Hinduism needs to be reformed ASAP. The Japanese fought Christian aggression by educating their citizens. In the early 1900's, Japan was already producing more books than European nations! Only a couple of centuries ago, Japan was completely isolated, and look how they managed to turn themselves around. So this should be a lesson for Hindus. We need to do something about the caste system, which is the primary cause for this hemorrhaging. I think we need to take a more draconian approach, whatever that may be, because otherwise people are not going to listen.
According to this site:
http://www.baobab.or.jp/~stranger/mypage/chrinjap.htm

There were only a million or so Christians in Japan. I think we need to educate the masses, and do that quickly, because otherwise we're on the verge of extinction. I mean that's how Japan fought these Christian fruitloops.

IF INDIA AND OTHER EMERGING ECONOMIES HAVE REALIZED THE BENEFIT OF GLOBALISATION AND SECULARISATION LONG TIME BACK.....AND WHEN WE HAVE SEEN THE POSITIVE INFLUENCES ON THEIR ECONOMIES......
WHY ARE WE STILL BEING PARANOID?
LET'S BE LESS PROUD OF BEING THE ONLY HINDU STATE AND MORE ASHAMED OF BEING THE MOST POVERTY STRUCK-COUNTRY ?

IT'S TIME TO PUSH OURSELVES TWDS THE TREND OUR CLEVER NEIGHBOURS(EMERGING ECONOMIES-NO NEED TO MENTION THE NAMES) HAVE CHOSEN CENTURIES BACK-INSTEAD OF FURTHER PUSHING US BACK.
GONE ARE THE DAYS -TO FIGHT IN THE NAMES OF RELIGIONS.

IT'S A SHAME NOW THAT NEPAL IS GOING DOWN AND DOWN EVERY YEAR

seriousguy
In fact India is also a nation with Hindu majority.

dreamz- being Hindu has nothing to do with economy. When Nepal is secular, a problem has arisen.. new one.. one more on top of others ie now there will be religious violences, just like in India.

Yes, that's why I changed the typo above. Another thing is this: Nepal is splintered as is. We have various ethnic groups/interest groups etc vying for power already . With Christians and Muslims working their "magic", Nepal will be even more splintered in the future. Conflicts may erupt because of this. I think we need to salvage whatever "unity" we have if we want to develop our country. Why splinter Nepal any more than it is today?