• QUESTION:
• What is attitude of the church to Hindutva ideology politics in India as the CBCI meeting concluded in Bangalore?

ANSWER:

The CBCI meeting held in the first week of February in Bangalore concluded with a note of hope that we shall be able to overcome the present difficulties where there is an unprecedented religious polarization, which is harming the cherished social harmony existing in our country and endangering democracy itself. The meeting reiterated the Church’s commitment to serve the weaker sections of society, irrespective of caste, creed, and gender to ensure that the benefits of development reach the least and the last. The meeting appealed to our political leaders to make all attempts to preserve the basic structure of the Constitution, particularly the Preamble that declares India to be a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC committed to Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. While Hindutva is a political ideology that encompasses the cultural justification of Hindu nationalism and the belief in Hindu hegemony within India, the meeting reminded every-one that ours is an ancient civilization with a rich cultural heritage of unity in diversity. The Hindutva ideology is promoted for political gains. It will destroy the lives of people and instill fear and anxiety in India’s minorities. Every human being in India deserves a decent and normal life, and let religion not break us into warring factions. Our country still has not fully coped with the violence that erupted during the division in 1947 and the violence that followed after the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. We need to learn hard lessons from history.

Bp Sebastian Adayanthrath
Mandya