Christian Pat for Dalit Conversion to Islam  

Mass Conversions have had the desired effect. By demonstrating the fact that they had an alternative by adopting Islam to establish their human dignity, the Harijans carried out a bloodless revolution in a tradition-bound society. The Meenakshi Puram conversion has given the country a golden opportunity to revamp its outdated social system. Unfortuntly, the country missed the point again for, instead, the Meenakshipuram conversions elicited the wrong responses from Indian society. In panic, the Hindu leaders demanded a total ban on conversions. True, they tried to carry out certain cosmetic changes like opening the doors of the temple to the Harijans. But they were not willing to face the fact that a radical change of heart and mentality is called for to reassure the Harijans that their interests would be best served by remaining in the Hindu fold. (Statesman, March 28. 82)