Bp Chacko Thottumarickal, Indore

Sister Rani Maria is going to be beatified; what is its special significance?
It is a recognition of her life and works. Any beatification for that matter is recognition of the candidate’s life as a model and inspiration for the public, especially for the faithful.

Does it also have a message for the people of India, especially the people of Indore where she was killed?
She gave a message through her life, which was selfless work and willingness to give life for others.

Why did they plot to kill her?
They had many reasons for it. One was their suspicion that she was converting people through her missionary activities.

Was she really involved in conversion activity?
No, but this is what they usually accuse all missionaries of.

She was involved in the social upliftment of the downtrodden and low caste people; was that not the reality?
Yes, that was the reality, and nobody should have had any problem with that. It is easy to accuse people of conversion and terrorism as an excuse to torture and kill them.

Was Samandar Singh, who killed Sr Rani Maria, a hired gunda?
He was made use of. In that sense he was hired.

Who had entrusted him the task of eliminating her?
Some people from the town had hired him.

What did they want to gain by it?
Their interest was to obstruct mission work. They wanted to frighten and threaten missionaries by killing her.

Do you connect this with the Hindutva movement?
It is part of the Hindutva revival agenda. They have done it in many parts of the country at various times.

Hinduism is always considered to be a tolerant religion. Is that tolerance getting erased from the Indian ethos?
They haven’t yet succeeded in erasing it. Majority of the people are tolerant and peace loving. Those who take recourse to extreme ways are very few, but they are active and powerful. Tolerant people are silent and inactive, which helps the others to come into the limelight.

What happened to Samandar Singh? Has he undergone some sort of a conversion?
He was touched by the forgiveness aspect of the Church, particularly of Sr Selmy, the younger sister of Sister Rani Maria, and the family. He was impressed and inspired by that, and that changed his heart.

Did it have a similar effect on the people of Indore?
That I cannot say for sure. It may or may not have changed the mentality of the people. Definitely, there are occasions when people speak of her as an example of selfless service.

Has it smothered the hatred of those who instigated her murder? Are they well-disposed to Christians now?
Firstly, as far as I understand, they have privately admitted their role in the murder. Secondly, they are inactive and there is no violent activity at present. There is no hate propaganda against Christians going on in this area. The leadership also have had a role in bringing about the change. The type of leadership that the present chief minister is putting forward is different. He stresses an attitude of living together and working together. He gives the impression that he is for all the people.

In other words, the chief minister believes in coexistence and collaboration?
That’s it. He makes it evident that he doesn’t tolerate any violence or any kind of hatred towards any section of the society, be it Christians or Muslims.

Do the people in Indore and in Madhya Pradesh know that Sister was murdered by the RSS and is being beatified now?
Yeah, they know that. The news is appearing in the papers and other media. When the incident took place, the local media gave it wide coverage. People are aware of it.

What is the reaction of the people?
I have not come across any noticeable negative or positive reaction. Today a Hindu man came and shared with me that Sister’s beatification is a great acknowledgement of the services of the Church.

Has this murder some way affected your work there?
There was little slow down of mission work immediately after the incident. Later it picked up. There is no negative mood now.

You are engaging in your activities without any hindrance or animosity?
We face no hindrance or animosity.

How are you going to celebrate this beatification?
We will celebrate it solemnly.

Do you expect the Hindu community to participate in your celebrations?
Yeah, I think so. Vast majority of people are tolerant and collaborative and they do not approve of violence.

What will be the response of Samandar Singh and his family?
I have not met him these days, but I think he will be very happy about Sister’s beatification. He comes for all our celebrations, including Sister’s death anniversary.

Has he become a Christian?
No, he is not yet baptized.

But he is a great sympathizer of Christianity?
Yeah, he is sorry about what he has done and goes about openly saying so.

Apart from sister Selmy, who else was instrumental in bringing Samandar Singh to the point of reconciliation?
It was Swami Sadanand, a CMI priest who died of heart attack recently.

Why did he take that initiative?
Reconciliation was his style. Generally, all genuine sanyasis live a life of reconciliation, fellowship, peace and love. He belongs to that category and he believes in reconciliation. Wherever people are in hatred, including families, he used to work for peace and harmony. He was known as a man who stood for peace.

But hasn’t he also raised his voice against wrongs in the Church?
Even there I think he was taking the side of the offended party.

Now the BJP has won in UP and taken over the whole of Hindi heartland, how has it affected you as a minority?
It has not affected us in a negative way now, but we can expect that to happen in the future. At the moment we have constitutional guarantees and other rights. We have a special kind of treatment as minority. If they get such kind of majority in the election in two more places, even the Constitution can be amended to cancel the rights of the minorities.

Which means you are apprehensive?
Yeah, we and other minorities are expecting the worst.

Are you also apprehensive that it can develop into a very strong fascist movement?
Yes, it can. The uneducated, who form a big chunk of our population, can easily be manipulated by political leaders. They get emotionally charged. In the absence of a strong opposition, BJP’s strategies will easily work.

You spoke about absence of the opposition; is that the biggest danger looming over India?
There is no popular leader who can give good leadership from the opposite camp at the moment.

Do you think that democracy itself is in danger in India?
That I cannot say for certain, because people behave unpredictably in elections. There is no permanent loyalty. The next time around, people can switch over to the other side if they are not satisfied with the present government. Democracy will survive, but in what form is the troubling question.

In Europe, Hitler was elected democratically. Do you think what followed can happen also in India?
That danger is there. If it has happened in Europe, where people are more educated and enlightened, there is a greater possibility of a similar thing happening here.