M L Satyan, Bengaluru, Matters India
Dear Stan, It is your birthday today here on earth! You would have completed eighty-six years, if you were around. Well, that was not to be; on 5 July 2021 you were murdered by a brutal and fascist regime, which did not want a human rights defender like you to continue living! This is your second earthly birthday up above. Not sure how you will be celebrating it! But here on earth dear Stan you are missed very much! Countless people remember you: your compassion and commitment; your courage to identify with them and their struggles. These are mostly simple, ordinary people; the Adivasis and the Dalits; the excluded and the exploited, the poor and the marginalised. You lived in their midst; you basked in their presence; you smelled of the sheep like a truly good shepherd. They celebrate you today and will always do so! There is certainly no doubt of that! But I am writing this birthday letter based on the recent conversation I had with you! I can see you smiling (you always had that halting, tentative smile – slow, gentle but warm) and I can imagine others who reading this and with a sneer saying “Conversation with Stan? There must be something wrong with him!” Well let them say what they want – but I will hold my ground! It was the night of April 13/14 (less than two weeks ago), Frs. Tom Kavala and P.M. Anthony invited me to spend the night in Bagaicha. This was your home – before the ’powerful’ so unceremoniously took you away on 8 October 2021 lik
I am raising this question purposely. Why? Let me explain. On the occasion of Easter on April 9 Prime Minister Modi visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi. The video shows that he was welcomed by the archbishop of Delhi and other prelates of the Catholic Church. He joined a select group of Catholics as they offered prayers. The Delhi archbishop presented a Crucifix to Modi. A tree was planted by Modi in front of the cathedral, maybe in remembrance of his visit to the cathedral. Jesus had twelve apostles with him. They were selected personally by Jesus based on his own selection criteria. Probably, one of the criteria must have been “courage.” ...When the High Priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching, Jesus answered him. One of guards there slapped Jesus and said, “How dare you talk like that to the High Priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have said anything wrong, tell everyone here what it was. But if I am right in what I have said, why do you hit me?” (Jn.18:22-23). Jesus expected this courage from his selected apostles and disciples. The followers of Jesus in the early Christian community demonstrated the values that Jesus preached. Many disciples went far and wide to preach the good news. Many were martyred. The only Apostle Thomas came to India and preached the good news. He had to face many obstacles and challenges. But he was bold enough to face them. Finally, he too was martyred. This is the tradition on which the Cath
A week before this year’s International Women’s Day, Bishop Paul Mattekkat of Diphu in India’s eastern state of Assam sent a letter to all his priests and religious, revising the salaries of women religious working in his diocese. The Feb. 28 letter stated that from April 2023 the revised monthly allowance for nuns working in diocesan schools would be 11,000 Indian rupees (US$135). An extra allowance would be paid to head teachers, who have specialized graduation in teaching. But undergraduate nuns teaching in diocesan schools would continue with a monthly allowance of 8,700 rupees (roughly US$107). The bishop also requests provincials not to appoint undergraduate nuns in schools as part of a diocesan policy. The bishop’s letter raises many questions: Does the monthly allowance for nuns relate to the minimum wage policy of the state? Is the Diphu diocesan policy exceptional or does it reflect practices in other Indian dioceses as well? Are nuns yearning to be a cheap workforce in Church institutions as implied in the letter? Has the Conference of Religious India, the national association of religious in the country, issued any directive on the salary/stipend of nuns working in Church institutions? Would the Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace (FORUM), which has been in existence for over the past 35 years in this country, have anything to say on this issue? I am afraid that these questions would encounter a deafening silence from Church leaders and women relig
In India, the cries for justice, are becoming louder and longer! They come from different segments of society and particularly from those who continue to be exploited and excluded! These cries are heart-rending: anyone with an iota of conscience will hear them! The sad and tragic reality is that these cries will remain unheard; those who need to hear these cries and to respond to them, have deadened their ears and hardened their hearts! Junaid and Nasir cry for justice! These two Muslim men were allegedly kidnapped, lynched, and set ablaze by a Hindutva mob in Haryana’s Bhiwani district on 16 February. They were residents of Gopalgarh village in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur.The incident happened 100 kilometers away from their village, and the Hindutva group had accused the deceased Muslim men of cow smuggling. Junaid and Nasir were apparently abducted from the forests of Piruka and taken them to Barwas village in Bhiwani, where they were burned alive. Family members also said that they were killed by members of the Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal, and that the Bajrang Dal leader Monu Manesar was behind the gruesome killing. Though Manesar and some others have been arrested, there are others on the street demanding they be released immediately and providing legitimacy to their heinous crime. The recent elections in Gujarat were a sham on Democracy; mafia of the ruling regime took away the voting ids (EPIC) from several voters prior to the elections and the votes were exercised on t
