Omkar garu, situation is not hopeless. Telugu people's love for Christianity is a 'rebound' affair after their break-up with Communism. Telugu people from coast are radical, dislike rules, and always search for new things (కొత్త ఒక వింత, పాత ఒక రోత!).This is why Telugu people revert back to Shivaism time to time. Christianity's weakness is its inherent structural nature (organized religion), similar to Buddhism.OmkarC wrote: why some Andhra people are trivializing the disastrous impact of EJs, turning my beautiful Andhra into the next Nagaland.
There two phases for growth of Christianity in coastal area.
1. Radical and Egalitarian movement (1940 - 1990)
First existential challenge to Nehru came from Andhra communists around independence. Communist movement was violently crushed by Nehru with Malabar Police in late 1940s and early 1950s. PWD grounds in Vijayawada, which are ironically called as Swarjya Maidan now, was a prison camp where many were made to vanish into thin air. In one instance, a young mother with her days old baby was imprisoned and both the mother and the baby were not even given water for several days. In another particular instance, residents of an entire village, even women, were stripped naked and made to walk several kilometers. Survivors were drawn to Christianity and saw Jesus as one with compassion (Kalinga pacification redux ?). Perhaps, it stopped police harassment because of missionary/western pressure.
My paternal grandmother (Kamma community) converted to Christianity when my father was 16 years old. Until then she was a traditional Hindu, waking up early in the morning to perform puja etc. Rest of the family stayed Hindu. It was puzzling to me why she converted to Christianity. I was told my grandfather was a bad husband and it was true (Communist and gambler). But there was another deeper reason. My uncle joined Naxals and my grandmother was subjected near third-degree treatment by police (I came to know recently through a relative, Ex-Indian navy who thinks Jesus has lot of compassion). Perhaps, it was her way of showing defiance. My grandmother had made few other families to convert Christianity. But, none of them are doing financially very well.
My maternal grandmother became a deciple of Chinna Jeeyar Swamin in late 1980s. She was telling me that Telugu people are more spiritual now as opposed to when she was a kid (1920s). She had her own group of Jeeyar deciples, which cut across many caste lines, attending each others family events etc. Because of her, my parents and uncles recite Vishnu Sahasra Namam every single day! My father is a REC-Warngal alumni. He would have joined Naxals but suffering of their family because of his brother kept him away. He is forwarding REC-Warangal Alumni email chains praising Yogi Adityanath and how Babri once was a Hindu temple etc.
Yogi, because of his passionate personality, is becoming popular with radical elements. Senior journalist Satish Babu who is a Communist sympathizer is parsing Yogi.
మాస్ మహరాజ్ తో పెట్టుకుంటే మడతడిపోద్ది!
2. Giant pyramid scheme, money, and peer pressure (2004 - 2014)
Many joined Christianity simply for money. For some others it was peer pressure. Youngsters wanted to simply emulate YSR and Jagan and look cool.
We had a young maid who washed our dishes around 2004. She was from Banjara community and she was a traditional Hindu so much so that she did not even eat meat . Her husband was an alcoholic who had died because of the addiction. But, he left her with debts. She converted to Christianity, cleared debts, and started eating meat. Two years ago, I was told her present employer made her to revert back to Hinduism.
Also, we had a driver two years ago. Same pattern, his mother converted to Christiniaty. He was on the fence, attending Church mass and participating in Hindu village festivals. His attraction to Christianity was YSR and Jagan. In this regard, rise of Narendra Modi is a very important phenomenon. He is making Hindus cool now.
Lokesh is disliked by radical component of Kamma community and broader TDP constituency because TDP is a dynastic party now, which is akin to imposition of rules. But there are no other alternatives for now.