A pastor has openly admitted in a media debate that non-Christians are lured with sponsorship for education to convert them to Christianity. He had made this revelation while discussing about the issue of a 17 year old Hindu girl dying by suicide due to pressure exerted on her to convert.

Rev. Sam Esudoss who founded the All India Christian Rights movement has said that it is common for Christian schools to coerce poor children by suggesting that they’ll get sponsors for education if they convert to Christianity. He took part in a debate about the issue of Lavanya, a 17 year old girl dying by suicide after she was harassed for not converting to Christianity.

She had given a dying declaration where she accused the Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School staff of forcing her to convert. She had confessed that she was made to clean toilets, cook and do other menial jobs after she and her parents refused the offer to convert and get “benefits” like free education. Vexed by the harassment she committed suicide by consuming pesticide.

The issue has reverberated across the nation as a bright girl was subjected to harassment by soul thirsty missionaries which led to the loss of her life. Even as people are demanding justice for her death, Christian fanatics spread canards about the girl and reject the conversion angle. The DMK government in TN has also come to their aid with the minister of the school education declaring that there is no conversion angle and that he has video recorded statements of 30 students of the school to prove it.

In this situation, perhaps in the confidence that the DMK government will protect missionaries at any cost, Sam Esudoss, a Pentecostal pastor has openly admitted in media that poor children are offered enticements like sponsorship for education to convert them to Christianity. While talking in a debate program in Behind Woods media, he said, “I don’t know how long BJP will keep making false charges about conversion in TN. We can infer from their own statement that it is a lie. Her(Lavanya) parents were asked to convert 2 years ago but the girl hasn’t converted in these 2 years. Then what threat was there? Isn’t it a lie then? When someone comes seeking admission, questions like whether they have money or sponsor (to afford the education) comes to fore”.

He implied that the nuns could have merely suggested the option of getting a sponsor by converting to dismiss the forced conversion charges. He also made it out like the girl could have misunderstood their intentions and made it look like a very ordinary thing. He said, “These are questions normally raised in Christian schools. It is a norm in Christian schools to say you’ll get a sponsor if you convert to Christianity. What did the kid understand, what did she say? BJP has no opportunities in TN. DMK is leading the state on the right path.”

It is to be noted that Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School where Lavanya studied is a government-aided RTE-exempted minority institution. As a minority institution it is also eligible for the centre’s Development of Minority Educational Institutions scheme. With so much government aid the school could have offered free education for the poor. But Lavanya was harassed in the name of help even after her parents refused the offer saying they can afford her education.

Coming back to the pastor, right before the 2019 Loksabha elections, Sam Esudoss had asked his followers to vote for DMK. In a sermon he said “We have pledged them our support and received some promises. We have gotten some promises from their politicians. Leaders and brothers who lead the party have assured us that they will protect Christians”. He also assured his followers that with the help of such political power they “will bring India under Jesus”. It should be kept in mind that TN CM MK Stalin had said in a Church of South India event, “This government was formed by you(Christians)”.