Mrs Ghandi

Saving Mr. and Mrs. Ghandi,

In my various assignments in developing countries I would sometimes find myself in a large city when a huge rock star type event would blow into town. Tents, lighting and special effects paraphernalia, huge speaker towers and stages would suddenly appear in a centrally located park.

Warm up noise would sound for miles as guitars twanged, brass horns blasted and loud drums thumped.

In these instances my hotel would be in a central location in countries such as India, Fiji, Pacific Islands Africa and East Asia.

Curious, I would walk over closer to the noise to see what it was all about.

In many, if not most cases, it was an American style evangelistic outfit setting up one of their crusades to save souls in non Christian areas of the world. They would paratroop in, set up, perform for a couple of nights, instruct others how to conduct door to door visits and blast out to another location.

One event in particular in India caused me to return to my room and write this fictitional piece about how the follow-up visitation interviews might have been conducted by those seeking to convert the “heathen”.



The Title: Mrs. Ghandi,

Knock Knock,

Hello Mrs. Ghandi, Is Mahatma home?

Ans. No, He is marching across India today. Can I help you?

Well yes. I have heard he is a very wise and good fellow but I have some very, very important information for him.
I hear he is a Hindu and as a Christian I am fearful for his soul.

Ans. What do you mean? He is a very religious man. He has studied all the major religions. Even though the Reformed church in South Africa would not let him in to worship in their church because of his color, he has high regard for Christians. He admires Jesus very much. He would go so far as to claim he is a follower of Jesus’ way of doing things.

Mrs. Ghandi, I’m afraid you don’t understand. His remaining a Hindu, devout as he is; I must tell you that if he should die this minute he would go straight to Hell and burn in agony in eternal pain forever. I must see him to warn him so that he will make Jesus his Savior. He must leave this Hindu thing behind.

Ans. Well thank you for this information about how your Christian god deals with those who seek to serve the almighty in other ways.

Well, there is still hope, Mrs. Ghandi. Here is a Bible and please tell Mahatma we are having a meeting, actually a rally in Allahabad next week and an American trained preacher with a Hindi translator will seek to save him.

Ans.Thank you but he already has a copy of this Bible. Are you so sure that unless my husband accepts your religion that your god will treat him so badly? My husband has given his life to Peace and understanding between all people. He is a very religious and dedicated person. Right now he is the spiritual leader of this nation. Leaders around the world greatly admire his example. He has shown that love and passive resistance can overcome violence and hatred.

I’m sorry Mrs. Ghandi. That’s the way it is. I have to go now. There is a Dr Mullick in Calcutta I need to see him to warn him as well. He is a Hindu also and has met Mr. Ghandhi and as a result is serving the poorest of the poor. It will be a shame to see him go to Hell also.

Good Day.

End of story

Post Script: Dr Biral Mullick M.D. with whom I was privileged to serve in East Bengal and Bangladesh was one of the most devout and sacrificial servants of human need that I have ever met. Mahatma Ghandi actually visited the Mullick home in Calcutta when Biral was a young boy. Biral’s clinic was located in Calcutta’s largest slum, Howrah, which is also known in the book and movie,” The City of Joy.”

In the case of India, the Christian church was brought there over 2000 years ago in Kerala by the disciple known as St.Thomas. For centuries the church served faithfully in what has always been a devout Hindu nation. The Christian minority has enjoyed peaceful relations and has received many tributes especially for their substantial educational and medical contributions to India.

Recently, churches have been burned and Christians driven from their villages as a result of this new Western style aggressive evangelism.

The remains of St. Thomas can be viewed in a church in Madras.

As I sat at my desk, listening to the Christian “Rock” concert heat up I asked myself, “Chuck, do you still want to be known as a Christian around here?”