Indian Christians Condemn Growing Intolerance in the Country (November 2nd 2015)

Indian Christians Condemn Growing Intolerance in the Country

We, the undersigned Indian Christians as citizens of our country India and as Christians in unequivocal terms denounce the growing intolerance in the country. We also denounce the sinister attempts to do away with reservation policy and ultimately the attempt to undermine the Constitution of India; we denounce the planned move to utilize religion for politico-economic benefits; we denounce the well orchestrated efforts to use government machinery to achieve ones evil ends; we denounce all the efforts to divide the nation into fiefdom of some elements.

We denounce all the attempts to erode scientific temper and scholarship by meddling with the education system of the country. We are in  special way concerned at how the Indigenous Adivasi People in our country are being coerced to leave their traditional nature-based religious beliefs and practices and are subjected to so-called ‘ghar vapsi’ by some hindutva elements thus ushering in disharmony within their communities. Under this pretext, they are being alienated from their natural habitat and resources.

As citizens, we uphold the democratic, secular and socialist principles and practices of our mother country; we uphold the basic foundations of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in our Constitution for all the citizens of the country; we uphold the right to freedom of different cultures, religions, ways of life, beliefs, traditions, practices, customs and orientations; we uphold the right of the citizens to live a life without any intimidation by anyone; we uphold the age old tradition of living in harmony and unity by all the citizens of this country; we uphold the value of rural reconstruction and nation building.

Further, we stand in solidarity with all victims of targeted violence against Adivasis, Dalits, Women, religious minorities and people of other orientations. We uphold freedom of expression and ways of life. We are in defence of human rights defenders and advocacy groups.

We stand in solidarity with all those from various walks of life, faiths, traditions, backgrounds, cultures, communities, professions and orientations who have raised voice against the growing intolerance in the country and call upon all the citizens to resist every move to create crisis and conflict by some vested interests.

We invite others too to stand up at this time and express concern and do whatever is needed to uphold inclusive development, peace, unity, integrity, sovereignty and harmony in our Country India.

Citizens of India

Mr. Francis Colaco – Former DGP Karnataka

John Dayal – Member, National Integration Council, Writer and Activist

Archbishop Thomas Macwan, Archbishop of Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Henri Tiphagne–Secretary, Human Rights Defenders Alert (HRDA), New Delhi

Ms.Virginia Saldanha - Secretary, Indian Christian Women's Movement, Mumbai

Dr. Astrid Lobo - Satyashodhak, Mumbai

Darryl  D'Monte  – Journalist, Maharashtra                  

Dr. Walter Fernandes – Social Scientist, Guwahati

Dr. Prakash Louis – Patna

Cedric Prakash – Human Rights Activist , Ahmedabad                       

A.C. Michael – Former Minority Commission Member, Govt of Delhi

Lukose Vallatharai IAS (Rtd) – Bengaluru

Philomena Fernandez – Goans in Gulf

Dolphy Dsouza - Police Reforms Watch, Mumbai

Eugene Culas, Director - Voice of Dalit International, UK

Prasanna Thomas, Bengaluru

Florence Fernandes - Mumbai

Dr. Kochurani Abraham - Indian Women Theologians Forum, Kottayam

Managing Committee Members of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, Kalina Unit

BG Koshy - The Rainbow Forum, Bengaluru

Margaret Gonsalves - ANNNI Charitable Trust, Maharashtra

Mary Alfred - International Travel House, Mumbai

John D’souza, Ahmedabad

Dominic Emmanuel – Media Person, Delhi

Edwin D’souza - Sindhudurg   

Dr. Felix Raj – Principal, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata

Dr. Hazel D'Lima - Mumbai

Aasha Ramesh – Bengaluru                      

Deepak Mukarji – Delhi                            

Clement Pereira – Bengaluru                     

Alana Golmei – Manipur                         

Ajaya Singh – Bhubaneswar                       

Manju Tirkey – Rourkela   

Maria Pragasam – Tamil Nadu

Swebert D’silva - Mangaluru                       

Harvey Hoddings – Bengaluru        

Joseph Amodia, Ahmedabad                    

Cynthia Stephen – Bengaluru                             

Dr. Keith D’Cunha – Bengaluru                          

Helen Saldanha – New York  

Greta Cutinho, Mumbai                    

Alex Ekka – Ranchi                                   

Marie Charmaine  Lamount -  Bengaluru  

Rajesh M Singh – Bengaluru  

Agapith Tirkey – Pathalgaon, Chhattisgarh                   

Dr. Goldy George – Raipur                       

R. Viegas – Mumbai                                  

Gracias C – Bengaluru                                        

Benny Chiramel – Trivandrum    

Lona Pinto, Ahmedabad                       

Venus Mario John – Bengaluru                           

Lynette Gomes – Mumbai                         

Sebastian Poomattam – Chattisgarh         

Harry Pereira – Bengaluru                         

Anthony Dias – Mumbai                                    

Santona Das – Bengaluru                                    

M. Shimray – Manipur                       

A R F Viegas – Mumbai                                     

Fredrick Francis – Bengaluru                          

Rebecca Kurian – Bengaluru                              

Angela L Viegas – Mumbai    

Beena Macwan, Ahmedabad                   

Omena Matthan – Bengaluru                    

Eldred Tellis – Mumbai                      

Loyola Azavedo – Mumbai                          

Fulgence Lakra – Jashpur                         

Sannybhai – Surat                                              

Mario Jason Braganza – Thane                           

Prasanna Thomas – Mumbai              

Aloysius Irudayam - Madurai,                            

Joe Mattam – Vadodara

Joe Xavier – Madurai                                

Rosely Cheeramkunnel – Mumbai             

Sr Mariola BS – Mangalaru                      

Velangani Sinnamuthu – Kalol, Gujarat

Stan Swamy - Ranchi

A.J. Philip - Delhi

Stanley H Mark - Bengaluru

Jothi – Kolkata

Alwyn D’Souza – Bangkok

Julius Gonsalves - Bengaluru

Dorothy D'Souza - Pune

Manu Alphonse – Chennai

Fredrick Francis - Bengaluru

Ruth D’Souza - Maharashtra

Benedict Joy -  Bengaluru

R. Viegas – Mumbai

Philu Thomas - Pune

Rapheal RSM - Bengaluru

Xavier Jeyaraj - Kolkatta

William Stanley – Vizag

Lewis James – Bengaluru

Dr. Rudi Heredia - Mumbai    

Bobby – Delhi

K.M. Selvaraj – Ooty

Freda Coelho -  Ahmedabad

Anoushka Viegas - Mumbai

Ruby – Jammu

James Pochury - Nagaland

Xavier Manjooran – Songad, Gujarat

Shanta Mathai – Bengaluru    

Nithiya Sagayam – Trichy

Apem Shangh - Manipur

Premalatha  Kumar – Bengaluru      

Lydia Fernandez – Bengaluru

Mathai Kochuparampil – Ahmedabad        

Prashant Olalekar – Lonavala

Valerian Mendonca - Belgium

Rita Puthenkalam – Bihar

Leela Jose - Kochi

Enid Fernandes – Mumbai

Antony Arulraj - New Delhi

Dinesh Braganza – Mumbai

Mathew AJ – Trichy

Rohit James Joseph – Mumbai

Sr Jessy Leena BS - Mangalaru

Velangani Sinnamuthu – Kalol, Gujarat

Lynette Viegas – Lector, Our Lady of Egypt Church, Mumbai

Praxedes Gomes – Senior Citizen, Mumbai

Sahaya Philomin Raj – Tamil Nadu

Valerian Mendonca - Doctoral Researcher, Belgium

Owen Chourappa – Kohima

David Solomon - Dumka

Varkey Perekkatt - Delhi        

Jacob Kujur – Pathalgaon

Lilly Pereira BS - Austria

Lourdu Raju. D. Joy – Khammam, Telangana 

Dr. Pius Kizha - Kerala

Nestor J Rodrigues - Bengaluru

Samuel Kapani - Austria

Vedanayagam – Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu

Arockiasamy Arulandu - Madurai

 

RUPERT MAYER: A PROFILE IN COURAGE AND COMMITMENT by Fr. Cedric Prakash sj (November 3rd 2015)

RUPERT MAYER: A PROFILE IN COURAGE AND COMMITMENT

-Fr. Cedric Prakash sj*

“Rupert Mayer – who?” Many would perhaps not have heard of this great Jesuit – who had the courage to take on Hitler and the Nazi regime at the height of their power! 

Born in 1876, into a well-to-do family of Stuttgart, Germany, Rupert joined the Jesuits as a Diocesan Priest in 1900. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola influenced him greatly.  He writes “now I know my purpose, and the next step is to translate my conviction into action and to put all possible effort into educating myself for my calling.”

He was a Jesuit ‘par excellence’ totally committed to the tasks entrusted to him. He suffered a lot but he never complained about the pain he went through.  He was a brilliant speaker and a prolific writer who used both the pulpit and the pen very effectively to speak truth to power.

Long before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated; Rupert Mayer was passionate about the rights of all particularly when the Nazi regime denied the ordinary people freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

In 1923, he accepted an invitation to address a fledgling group of national socialists on the theme ‘Can a Catholic be a national socialist?’ He accepted the invitation as a challenge totally prepared to go into a den of lions. Those who invited him felt that they had an easy victim so when he stood up to address them, the huge crowd gave him a tremendous applause. Mayer began “I am afraid, gentlemen that your applause has come a little too soon. My answer to your question can only be a negative one: NO! A Catholic cannot be a Nazi!” The early ‘applause’ of the crowd turned to ‘boos’ but Rupert Mayer had made his point!

Throughout his life, he was a strong and blunt critic of the Nazi regime.  The Nazis did not take his criticism lightly and he was imprisoned from 1937 till 1945 - either in a concentration camp or in exile outside Munich. The solitary confinement did not break his spirit. It was an occasion to deepen his spirituality.  This is evident in a letter which he wrote to his mother “In these last weeks in solitude I believe I have come into far closer contact with God Almighty in my own self and in the same measure I have become more detached and withdrawn from earthly things. So I feel not the least worry or anxiety about my future.  I place all that in God’s good hands.  In myself I am completely contended and at peace.”

Though Mayer suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazi regime, he did not compromise.  His resolute courage also earned him the admiration of his detractors; so much so that they were afraid to allow him to die a martyr’s death in a concentration camp and sent him to live in exile in a monastery at the fag-end of his life.

The courage and commitment of Mayer is epitomized in this prayer which he wrote in 1941 and sent to a nun with the following addendum written by hand: “This pray brought me much comfort in most difficult times. I hope that it will give you also some joy”.

Lord, as you will, so let it be for me; And as you will, so will I walk that road;

Help me only to know your will!

Lord whenever you will, then is the time; And whenever you will, then I am ready,

today and always.

Lord, whatever you will, that I accept, And whatever you will, is gain for me;

Enough, that I belong to you.

Lord, because you will it, it is good; And because you will it, I have courage,

My heart rests safely in your hands!

As we celebrate the memory of Rupert Mayer on November 3^rd, let us pray that in some small way each one of us, emulate his courage and his commitment.

3^rd November, 2015

*(Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is the Director of PRASHANT, the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace.)

Address: ‘PRASHANT’, Hill Nagar, Near Saffron Hotel, Drive-in Road, Ahmedabad - 380052

                         

Whose India Is It? by Gautam Adhikari (edit Pg TOI) October 31st 2015

Today’s intolerant hordes would do well to read the Constitution, plus Vivekananda

Clouds are gathering over the idea of India, threatening to shut out the sun of liberal democracy. The light of liberalism opens minds. It shines on debate and diversity. It radiates tolerance. That is how the founding fathers of the nation saw it. So, they wanted India to be liberal and tolerant.

They wrote a Constitution proclaiming ‘liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship’ as a founding principle of this republic. Today, there’s a growing anxiety in the air, an anxiety about the life of that principle. People in India, as well as in other parts of the world, have begun to wonder: Is India tolerant? Is it safe to live or travel in those swathes of the country where the beast of intolerance prowls? Is it safe to dine in public if you eat meat and fish?

Is it a safe home for a Christian or a Muslim or a Buddhist or an atheist or even a Hindu of any shade different from the one declared as exclusively authentic by the marauding mobs of Hindutva? Will it turn into a Pakistan, where if you don’t surrender to an exclusive brand of Islam as defined by the radicals, being a Muslim by faith is no longer enough to ensure safety? Ask a Shia or an Ahmadiyya or a liberal. Jinnah himself won’t qualify to be Islamic in today’s Pakistan.

Just as Gandhi and Tagore and, yes, even Vivekananda would blink in disbelief at the kind of India demanded by today’s intolerant hordes. It won’t be possible to enter into a detailed discussion in this space but here are two thoughts for consideration: One, India is not a Hindu nation, not even a ‘Hindu-majority’ country in constitutional terms. Two, Hinduism can be seen as a way of life or a portmanteau term to describe a civilisation. It’s not a single-faith dogma.

On Point One, the framers of the secular Constitution were careful to avoid any reference to Hinduism as a requirement for citizenship. Article 25 assures citizens ‘freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion’, which means any religion. Sub-clause 2(b) mentions Hindu religious institutions only in the context of the state’s ability to provide ‘for social welfare and reform’ and explains ‘Hindus’ here to mean also Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.

Clearly, the founding fathers were determined to ensure that India would not be a Pakistan, which had been created solely as a home for Muslims. India would be a democratic, secular entity in which people of any faith or no faith would be able to pursue their preferred way of life or religion. Unless there is any highly unlikely move to throw out the Constitution and rewrite its basic tenets, it would remain totally unconstitutional to call India a Hindu nation.

Although the census might say that India contains a majority of persons who describe themselves as Hindu, it remains a constitutionally secular republic which does not officially recognise any religious identity as a defining characteristic of an Indian. In fact, among those who say they are Hindu by faith or custom there exists such a range of belief and practice that, in a sense, every single religious sect, caste and ethnic group can be considered a ‘minority’ in a secular India which does not recognise any section of its diverse population as dominant. The Jains and the Sikhs saw this as a door to get minority status. Others, like dalits, can as well.

Point Two. Indians have just two secular faiths in which all communities, castes and ethnic groups believe: Bollywood and cricket. The religious picture, especially of Hinduism, reflects myriad realities. Even Diwali, assumed to be the quintessentially Hindu festival, is an occasion when Bengalis and eastern Indians worship a blood-drunk Kali, not sweet Lakshmi. Navratri in Gujarat has little connection with Dussehra in north India even as they happen at the same time.

And, vegetarianism is not, repeat not, a required Hindu practice. Going by available surveys, a minority of Indians are vegetarian, including a minority of Hindus. Not even Hindu brahmins are all vegetarian. Kashmiri and eastern Indian brahmins eat meat and fish. And ancient Hindus merrily ate beef after sacrificing bulls way back then.

If you don’t believe me, read the literature. For spiritual endorsement, read Vivekananda.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.