For any organization, movement or institution, the passing away of its founder is a jolting moment yet graced with gratitude for the vision transmitted and realized in the course of its trajectory. The members of the Indian Theological Association (ITA) share these sentiments at the demise of Rev. Fr Constantine Manalel, CMI, its founder and guide on the path of its significant growth. “The ITA came into existence because of the creative action of this great visionary” says its former president Jacob Parappally MSFS. “Fr Constantine challenged theologians to dialogue with the religious, social, cultural, economic and political contexts of our country while theologizing.” The launching story of Indian Theological Association has been recorded by Kuncheria Pathil, CMI as follows: ‘In the post-Vatican II scenario, it was Rev. Joseph Constantine Manalel who proposed the idea of forming an association of Indian theologians. In 1971 he had already published a theology journal, named Jeevadhara in two editions, English and Malayalam, for which he had formed a society, called, “Jeevadhara Theological Society.’ On August 28, 1975, he convened a meeting of the above society where for the first time he proposed the idea of forming an all India association of Indian theologians. The period after Vatican II was, indeed, an extraordinary spring time for the Church in India. After elaborate preparations the “Church in
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
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