I am sorry for the slight delay in commenting upon the latest issue of the paper. It is one of the best you have done recently. There are two points I liked specially .The first is the editorial on the latest Encyclical, including its beginning. The second is the long letter to the editor on the national education policy about which I had written last month. Even if our wise bishops decided to ignore it, now at least someone has taken it up. PTK
The October 21st Virtual Press Conference, organised by PUCL, and addressed by representatives of Opposition Parties and eminent personalities, gave a new awakening against the BJP government’s use of the draconian UAPA. The Conference witnessed the Party representatives and other eminent persons unanimously calling for removing from the Statute Book the draconian UAPA. This ‘hangover of British colonialism’, they felt, is an inhuman and barbarous law and an affront to humanity. It was pointed out that this obnoxious and anti-people Act is used to punish people as anti-national. Britain, the prime architect of this ancient centuries-old law, found it obsolete and abolished it in 2009. And we, here in India, use this archaic law to target rights activists or those who condemn social injustices or voice dissent against the government. The speakers pointed out that this law is not exactly misused as often understood. It is truly used to treat people cruelly and inhumanly by arresting them without warrant and detaining them in jail on flimsy and fabricated charges to rot in jail. The tool the government uses is the government-controlled National Investigating Agency, NIA. Inflicting such cruelty on 83 year old Fr Stan Swami or 80 year old Varavara Rao or the paralysed and wheel chair driven professor Saibaba demonstrates the sinister and heartless intent of the government. The video-recorded message of Jharkhand Chi
The New Education Policy begins with the UN goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” It continues, “Such a lofty goal will require the entire education system to be reconfigured to support and foster learning.” This hasty conclusion shows a total lack of respect for and knowledge of the educational process which is cumulative and gradual. It therefore makes proposals which will be devastating to the educational system in India. The NEP document uses very beautiful language to describe the principles, processes and goals of education but it proposes solutions which will be most damaging to education. Anti-Constitutional, anti-Minorities 1. No Christian educator was involved in the whole exercise, inspite of Christian educational institutions being among the most sought after and highly rated. Was there an ulterior motive? 2. No mention of Minority Education Rights at all. A Total eclipse! What about Art 30 of the Constitution? 3. Under Constitutional values, there is no mention of Secularism – one of the pillars. This is obviously deliberate. Is this to inaugurate Hindutva? 4. Parallel to removing Constitutional guarantees to Minorities, the reservations for SCs and STs also do not find mention. This cannot but be deliberate. The Supreme Court had guaranteed that the basic character of the
When I started my journey from Kerala, my native place in southern India, my mind was full of hopes of a bright future. I had somehow collected enough money for a post-graduate course abroad. After my studies I should find a job to pay off the debts and support my parents. I landed at Frankfurt airport, the fifth largest city in Germany. One of my friends had arranged for his acquaintance to pick me up from the airport. I had two big suitcases, a cabin luggage and a hand luggage. I was also wearing three shirts to reduce the weight of the suitcases. I looked around for a trolley to keep my luggage when I noticed a board written “50 cents for trolley hire.” So I kept my hand luggage on top of my cabin bag and turned around to get the coins. As I moved forward to get the trolley I turned back and was shocked to see that both my cabin bag and hand luggage had disappeared. My hands froze and I ran around with my other two suitcases, asking the people around me. I managed to reach the police counter. Their first response was that it was my duty to look after my belongings. They asked me to fill in a complaint about the loss of property. I then realized I did not have my friend’s mobile number or address to submit to the police. In my panic, I even struggled to speak properly with the little English that I knew. I could see the police officers make fun of my decision to keep both my mobile and passport in the hand lugg
Four decades ago as a student of philosophy I was shocked to learn the expression, “God is dead” by Friedrich Nietzsche, a 19th century German philosopher. Seeing the addiction of people to religion and its innumerable rituals another German philosopher Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the masses.” Despite being a student of philosophy I could not accept both Nietzsche-Marx because I was also addicted to religiosity and dogma in those days within the walls of the seminary. After crisscrossing the whole country, learning the life of people from diverse backgrounds, reflecting on the religious practices of people of all faith over four decades, I started understanding things in a different perspective. The rat race of people of all religions to construct worship places, ashrams and organizing innumerable religious festivals to attract crowds convinced me of the power of religion as ‘opium of the masses.’ This religious industry has become a lucrative business in India. The nexus between politicians and god-men of all faith has succeeded to enslave the masses. In order to keep the masses enslaved in their addiction, the mafia of politicians and priests construct temples, churches, mosques and other worship places. Many of these worship places were erected on the dead bodies of many innocent human beings. Because of this very reason God is not present in these magnificent structures. God is dead. He is