The civil society people in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh committed to secularism and composite culture, have initiated a series of programs to promote communal harmony and peace.
The programs, held under the banner of “Paigam-e-Muhabat (Message of Love), are being held in the wake of hate speech, exclusive and divisive ideologies being spread by the fundamentalist forces.
Under the leadership of Indian Missionary Society Fathers Anand Mathew and Praveen Joshi the campaign was held on January 8 in Assi Ghat on the bank of Varanasi. It was here that three days ago divisive elements had exhibited posters to warn non Hindus against visiting the river bank. The artistes of Prerna Kala Manch, the theater troupe of Vishwa Jyoti Communications of the Indian Missionary Society, presented the message of unity in diversity through songs on fraternal love, unity in diversity, and short skits on communal harmony. Well known poets of Varanasi and around recited poems and couplets during the cultural evening.
The campaign addressed the issue of sectarian exclusivism and appealed people to exercise their franchise in the election to the state legislative assembly which was announced earlier in the day. The poets through their songs appealed people to beware of polarization by the political leaders based on faith and caste.
A street play titled “Bhookh banam Dharm” (Hunger versus Religion) the artistes depicted how the politicians divide the peace loving society so as to polarize the voters in the name of faith, caste and class.
Daily Archives: January 14, 2022
Indian ‘prophet’ stuns politician with surprise gift
A self-proclaimed prophet in the north-eastern Indian state of Mizoram has caused a stir by presenting a black shawl – a symbol of mourning – to Chief Minister Zoramthanga at a Sunday prayer service.
The episode took place at Zarkawt Presbyterian Church in the state capital Aizawl on January 2. Eyewitnesses said Zoramthanga was seated behind the church elders near the altar. At the conclusion of the service, he was approached by local prophet Lal Rinwama, who was seated in the back row with two men, and presented with a traditional Puandum or black shawl.
Zoramthanga did not resist as the shawl was being wrapped around him. However, he quickly put it down on the pew, they added. Mizoram is a predominantly Christian and mostly Presbyterian state, but the tribal roots of its people ensure some superstitions continue, including the belief in local “prophets.”
It is not known why Lal Rinwama, also known as Awmtea, chose to offer the symbol of mourning to Zoramthanga, a former insurgent leader who surrendered in 1986 to join mainstream Indian politics. One person present inside the church later said that the chief minister looked “calm and not much disturbed.”
Scepticism over official claim that Haryana vandals who destroyed a statue of Jesus on Christmas night were drunk
Christian leaders in India have sought an impartial probe into the destruction of a cent-ury-old statue of Jesus Christ at a British-era Catholic church in Ambala in the northern state of Haryana.
Two men were seen on CCTV footage scaling the church compound on Christ-mas night and destroying the statue after breaking open the casket.
Police arrested two suspects after three days and a court remanded them into judicial custody. But church leaders suspect the case may get diluted with the investigating officer saying the suspected vandals were drunk.
“The police officers tasked with the investigation is siding with the suspects and trying to dilute the crime on the plea that they acted under the influence of liquor,” said Father Patras Mundu, parish priest of the Holy Redeemer Church in Ambala Cantonment in the Diocese of Simla-Chandigarh.
The police did not charge the arrested suspects for viola-ting the curfew orders imposed in the city, he said, adding that one of the arrested is a government employee and hence familiar with the laws of the land.
Catholic religious question silence of Indian Church on violence
A group of progressive Catholic religious in India have questioned the silence of the official Catholic Church over the continued violent attacks on Christians and other mino-rity communities across the country.
They want the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) to take up the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure immediate action against the perpetrators of hate crimes against minorities.
They also want regional bishops’ conferences to raise the issue of Christian persecution with respective state governments.
The Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace, in a letter dated Jan. 10 addressed to Cardinal Oswald Gracias, expressed shock over the silence of the CBCI even as targeted violence against Christians continued unabated in the country.
“During the two days, Dec. 24-25, the media reported seven well-planned attacks on Christian institutions across the country,” while “in the year 2021, there were 486 incidents of violence against the Chris-tian community in India, accor-ding to the United Christian Front,” the forum said.
Naga Christians walk against Indian army abuse
Thousands of people, mostly Christians, in India’s north-eastern state of Nagaland took part in a two-day walkathon from commercial hub Dimapur to capital Kohima demanding the repeal of the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and justice for Naga Christians killed by the Indian army last month. Protesters including civil society activists and women and children took to the streets on Jan. 10-11 and carried placards demanding the repeal of the controversial law which was enforced in Nagaland to curb secessionist groups and armed rebellion in 1956.
‘Unzen Hell’ a reminder of Christian persecution in Japan
The journey through Nagasaki Prefecture starts from a small town with a curious name, Obama, which has no relation with the former US president (but did make it globally notorious for a while) and only means a small beach.
It is in fact a small spa resort on Kyushu, Japan’s third-largest island, overlooking the open ocean. From here you get on a bus that climbs the sharp curves of the mountains up to a height of 700 meters. Then you finally reach Unzen, a mountain village that sprang around its famous thermal baths, the hottest in all of Japan, they say here, with temperatures reaching 120 degrees.
At some point in the 17th century, it was the site of Christian persecution when the rulers immersed Christians in the boiling waters to force them to renounce their faith.
Touristically speaking, it is the perfect venue for all those looking for a memorable snapshot to hang in that space of fleeting self-gratification on the various social networks. From the earth rise, for 20 or 30 meters, large fumes that surround a hotel whose foundations dig right into the boiling thermal waters. One wonders what technical tricks the engineers have put in place to keep those gigantic structures, some centuries-old, standing on that incandescent quagmire.
The gargling of the continuous bubbling of water, stones and mud evokes ghosts of otherworldly landscapes. It is no coincidence that the place is known as “Unzen Hell.”
Judge asks Indian priest to face trial for alleged hate speech
The top court in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state has ordered a Catholic priest to face trial for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and criticized Christian missionaries claiming Jesus Christ as the only true god.
The Madras High Court on Jan. 17 said that “the offending speech” of Father George Ponnaiah, a vicar of Kuzhithurai Diocese, “prima facie attracts the offenses” under various clauses of the Indian penal code.
Catholic union seeks fair probe into Modi Punjab fiasco
The All India Catholic Union, the largest laity group in the country, has expressed concern over the aborted visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Punjab. “The Catholic Union prays, as does every Indian citizen, for the long life of Narendra Modi and all others put in high offices of governance in India,” John Dayal, spokes-person of the union, told on Jan. 8.
Salesian who lived founder’s kindness dies
Members of the Calcutta Salesian province has mourned the death of Father Samuel Sudorshon Mondol, a former director of Novices.
The Salesian priest died in Kolkata at 8.45 am on December 28, 2021. He was 49. Father Mondol “had been undergoing immunotherapy since two months for sicknesses related to his liver, and recently, the kidneys. Of late he was undergoing palliative care.
Asian dioceses can learn from German synodal path
The ongoing diocesan synods across the globe, preparing for the 2023 Synod of Bishops in Rome, can learn a few lessons from the explosive German synodal path on subjects detrimental to the long-cherished views of the hierarchical, clericalist, magisterial and male-dominated Catholic Church. The Asian Church especially has to follow thoroughly the outcome of the German synod path, which has taken up burning issues like clerical abuse for discussion. The lack of a power-sharing mechanism within the Asian Church was brought to the fore when a lay Catholic in the southern Indian state of Kerala challenged the Eastern-rite Cardinal George Alencherry’s authority to sell some pieces of land in Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese.