Q: A judge of the High Court of Tamil Nadu spoke against Christian conversion by missionaries and also against co-education.  Co-education was also spoken against by an MP in the North. Does such remarks by educated people signal the slow setting of enlightenment in independent India?

A: “Today I think there is a sort of polarization taking place in the country. Sadly, such an undercurrent does not auger well for democracy. Secondly, due to caste divisions and various other discriminations, human minds are prejudiced; one feels insecure in the presence of the other. People should recognize one another as brothers and sisters and live in equality and fraternity, enjoying equal dignity in a democracy. There are some who fail to see this. Such people are trying to politicize and polarize everything for their personal gain by dominating others. We fail to accept democracy where equality and secularism should be the foundations. Educated people can be prejudiced if they don’t have an open mind. As someone from Karnataka said, our minds should have eyes and our hearts should have ears to be sensitive to others. Unfortunately, we have prejudiced people who want to dominate other weaker sections and subjugate them to their own caste interests and political motives.  But there are also very open-minded people in this country who respect and believe in human dignity, irrespective of caste or religion. The presence of these saner elements should not be overlooked. Democracy has its ups and downs.  I think India is just now going through a difficult time. I am confident that Indians will remain as good as they always were and sanity will ultimately prevail. We know how to respect one another.”

Bp Henry D’Souza
Bellary