Nearly 600 years after the first Christian missionaries landed in India to convert the locals, Brahmin priests are being prepared at a seminary near New Delhi to take their religion to expatriate Hindus throughout the world -in an effort to counter the influence of Christianity.
This, and an upsurge in Hindu nationalism, coincides with a series of well organised attacks on churches, missionaries and other Christian organisations reportedly by Hindu extremist organisations across India.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad or World Hindu Council, in the forefront of criticising Christians for proselytising in India, has recently established a branch at Durban in South Africa to defend "the rights of Hindus against conversion".
Equipped with geometrical-shaped urns, water from the Ganges river - considered holy by millions of Hindus - and a variety of incense, three of 33 Brahmin graduates from the Hindu Heritage Parishthan at Modipuram, 40 miles from India's capital New Delhi, left recently for the US, Singapore and Mauritius.
"Well versed in ancient scriptures, these priests are expected to spread the virtues of Hinduism and perform rituals for the Indian diaspora," said Shashi Sham Singh, head of the seminary.
All entrants to the seminary are required to be proficient in Sanskrit and have a working knowledge of English. During nine months of training, they study ancient texts, learn to perform complicated Hindu rituals such as marriages, child-naming ceremonies and death rites, and recite lengthy and complicated Sanskrit prayers by rote. "It is not only Hinduism the priests are taught, but also other religions to enable them to counter Christian arguments," Singh said.
Over the years, Hindu religious organisations and temple trusts, like the Temple Society in North America, have "imported" Brahmin priests from India, as has the South Indian Religious Society in Singapore.
And though overseas Hindu religious organisations play a major role in importing priests, many manage to secure appointments through networking skills and personal contacts.
Priestly duties are not all about prayer but have material benefits too. A name-giving ceremony in Singapore, for instance, costs the patron $31. The sacred thread ceremony, essential for all traditional Brahmins, costs $101 and a marriage $251. Charges for all rituals and ceremonies double when conducted in the home.
Some temples allow their priests to freelance but they take a percentage of the income earned. The younger priests have reportedly become more outgoing, convinced their earning capacity overseas is tremendous, especially for those with an appealing ecclesiastical manner.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Christians organised protest marches across southern India early last month following a series of church bombings. They demanded protection from fascist and intolerant organisations determined to spread sectarian tension by spreading lies about them.
Church leaders said India's 17 million Christians, constituting around 2.5 per cent of the country's predominantly Hindu population, were under "siege" following the continuing wave of violence against them. They said this began shortly after the Hindu nationalist-led coalition government came to power over two years ago.
AT least 43 attacks have occurred since January against Christians, their organisations and institutions. These include the murder of a Christian missionary in a small town 50 miles north of New Delhi in June, the death of his Christian helper in police custody and a preacher killed in northern Punjab state.
Serial bombings of churches followed in the adjoining states of Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka. Christian leaders hold Hindu fundamentalists responsible for the attacks and blame the federal government for failing to protect them.
"The needle of suspicion for anti-Christian attacks points to fanatic Hindu groups," Father Dominic Emmanuel of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India said. These groups, many of which are linked to the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the federal coalition, were working to an agenda to persecute India's minority communities, he said.
In June, the Pope expressed his concern over the continuing violence to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who assured the Pope, during a meeting at the Vatican, that his government would protect Christians.
The recent violence culminated in a Hindu extremist murdering Graham Staines, an Australian missionary, and his two sons as they slept in their jeep in a remote village in eastern India. Their vehicle was doused with paraffin and set alight.
It took police over a year to arrest the accused who was, on at least one occasion, easily tracked down by a private television channel for an interview. A judicial inquiry into the Staineses' murder absolved any Hindu organisation of the crime.
Hindu extremist leaders justify their anti-Christian campaign on the grounds that missionaries need punishing for trying to convert lower caste Hindus to Christianity, a charge denied by church leaders.
The World Hindu Council said Christians posed a greater danger to the country than Muslims, who constitute around 13 per cent of India's one billion population. Its secretary general said Christians were attempting conversions by "trickery" and such efforts would continue to be opposed.