It is 72 years since India promulgated its secular-democratic constitution. The nation observed the anniversary on Jan. 26, just as in previous years, with a military parade in New Delhi. But an uneasy disquiet continues across the country. Over the years, the parade added cultural tableaux from its provinces. Uttar Pradesh state’s cultural tableau this year displayed the model of the Ram temple being built in Ayodhya town at a spot where an ancient mosque stood until 1992 when Hindu radicals demolished it. The temple has political connotations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has vowed to turn India into a nation of Hindu hegemony. The pro-Hindu party came to the national mainstream promising the temple in Ayodhya, their Hindu Lord Ram’s birthplace. Almost three decades after the demolition of the mosque, a major BJP promise is getting fulfilled. The government proudly displayed it at the parade celebrating the anniversary of the nation’s secular constitution. That’s the growth of Indian democracy! True to the character of any democracy, there is a paradox in India’s polity today. While the Modi government returned to power in 2019 with an enhanced mandate and his BJP winning provincial polls, the country is gradually turning into a grieving and protesting nation. Get it Now Are common people really happy under the Modi administration? Various sections of people, including religious minorities and farmers and teachers i
The year 2020 began, as every new year does, with the promise of hope and possibilities. It soon turned into a nightmare. Covid-19 ravaged our world. Even the mightiest nations on earth have felt the chill, with 356,000 dead in the United States alone.
But with far fewer deaths from the pandemic, India still suffered possibly its worst social impact. It ruined the lives and livelihoods of over 1,000 million marginalized and vulnerable Indians. These toiling and exploited citizens have a historic resilience and a spirit strengthened and not broken in struggle and will spring back to a better life.
Our hope is rooted in our belief that the rest of the country, its government at the centre and in the states, and its institutions have learned lessons. When governance failed and institutions let down the people, including the migrant laborers trudging back home from closed factories, common people were roused by the misery and pain they saw in the images on their TVs and social media. Religious groups, healthcare workers and youth risked their lives to provide the much-needed relief…
A singular lack of meaningful planning and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, deficiencies in competence, commitment, passion and creativity in mission remain the order of the day.
Emerging India and the crisis within the Church demand a positive and proactive response from the Christian community.
We observe Minority Rights on December 18. It is time we critically examined how India empowers and protects the rights of minorities. There is no internationally agreed definition as to which groups constitute minorities. Francesco Capotorti, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in 1977 defined a minority community as a group numerically inferior to the rest of the population of a country. They could possess ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics differing from the rest of the population. They could also show a sense of solidarity to preserve their culture, traditions, religion or language. In 1992, the United Nations adopted this definition based on national or ethnic, cultural, religious identity. The international body expects the States to protect the minority communities.Minority Rights in India According to India’s latest census taken in 2011, minorities in the country are about 19.3 percent of the total population — Muslims 14.23 percent, Christians 2.3, Sikhs 1.72, Buddhists 0.7, Jains 0.37, and others such as Parsi and Jews 0.6. Except Hindus, the rest communities have been identified as minority communities. The government of India established National Minorities Commission in 1978 because, “despite the safeguards provided in the Constitution and the laws
Recently, a friend of mine, a pious Catholic-turned-Hindutvavadi, sent me an article titled ‘233 reasons why you should join BJP.’ I did not read it, just because my mind could not absorb that amount of fake news. Then came the news — 500 Christian candidates supporting BJP are in the fray for the Panchayat elections in Kerala. To my mind, there are only two reasons why a Christian would become a BJP member/supporter: either she or he is politically naïve or she or he is following the Church in Nazi times. Both are bad news for the Church. Political naivete Remember, for a Christian his or her final judgment is based on how you treat the poor and homeless (Mt.25). If anybody thinks after the last five years of experience, especially so post Covid-19, that the BJP is for the poor and downtrodden it is absolute ignorance. How were the migrant labour treated post lockdown of the country? With lathis and chemical sprays. How are the farmers being treated now on the streets of India? With tear gas and water cannons. If anyone thinks that the BJP is for the poor and marginalized, look at the data of economic performance. “Things have gone pretty badly wrong… It has taken a quantum jump in the wrong direction since 2014. We are getting backwards in the fastest-growing economy,” Amartya Sen said. How are Christians, other mi
Very rarely have I heard of bishops expressing regret. Often bishops and priests who are in powerful positions behave as if they share the infallibility of Pope. So, I was surprised to know that a bishop has expressed his regret for attending a marriage between a Catholic woman and a Muslim man inside a church. With all good intention Emeritus Bishop Mathew Vaniakizhakkel of Satna accepted the invitation by the bride’s family he was closely associated. Later the 74 –year-old prelate expressed regret because of the negative publicity about the mixed marriage propagated by a section of people with vested interests. After learning the background of this mixed marriage I am of the view that the bishop’s regret is regrettable. By succumbing to the negative propaganda of the militant elements he lost an opportunity to educate people about the importance of creating good will and harmony among people of other faiths. Mixed marriages are permitted by the Church. Father Benny John Maramparambil, the parish priest of Kadvanthra parish, had received the official non-objection certificate and the required permission from the parish priest of the bride’s parish to administer the marriage in the church. The official letter from the parish priest declaring that there were no impediments assured Bishop Mathew to attend the mixed marriage. A parish priest usually obtains dispensation under disparity of cult before issuing the n