From ink attacks to event disruptions, India asks if tolerance and acceptance of dissent is on wane

Posted on: 08:58 PM IST Oct 19, 2015

IBNLIVE.COM

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A series of incidents in the recent past have not just shamed us as a community on the whole, but have also brought to the fore an intolerant face of India to the fore. From the protests in Mumbai over the concert of Pakistani Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali to the ink attack in the national capital on Jammu and Kashmir MLA Engineer Rashid, one face of country that’s not willing to accept the views on the other side was exposed before the world.

It is disturbing how the administration is finding it tough to tame the violent protests that have constantly been able to disrupt one event after another in cities like Mumbai and New Delhi.

President Pranab Mukherjee expressed concern over the incidents and said, "Indian civilisation has survived for 5000 years because of its tolerance."

#bcci #Engineer Rashid #Ghulam Ali #pranab mukherjee

On Monday, even President Pranab Mukherjee expressed concern over the incidents. Addressing a gathering in Birbhum in West Bengal, the President said, "Is tolerance and acceptance of dissent on the wane? Humanism and pluralism should not be abandoned under any circumstance."

Pointing that the "Indian civilisation has survived for 5000 years because of its tolerance", the President said, “Assimilation through receiving is a characteristic of Indian society."

And it's not the just the President who is outraged at the development, there has been uproar on the social media as well due to the series of incidents.

Here are the incidents that have raised questions on the tolerance level of India as a society:

Engineer Rashid ink attack: A handful of activists allegedly belonging to a right-wing organisation blackened the face of independent MLA Engineer Rashid using ink for defying the ban on beef by hosting a party in Srinagar earlier in October. Rashid, who has been at the forefront of the agitation against beef ban, had earlier also faced an attack for his stand on the issue.

Reacting to the incident, former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah termed it as a tragic incident, saying it showed the growing intolerance in the society. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi should look into who is behind the attack on the MLA," said Abdullah.

BCCI meet disruption: Continuing their agitation against Pakistani personalities, Shiv Sena workers on Monday stormed the Indian Cricket Board headquarters in protest against scheduled talks with PCB chief Shaharyar Khan over resumption of bilateral cricketing ties with Pakistan. Ten Sena workers were arrested on charges of unlawful assembly but were later granted bail.

The talks on the proposed bilateral series have now been rescheduled to be held in Delhi on Tuesday.

Condemning the attack, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said, "The government will take a fianl decision on Indo-Pak series. A meeting with PCB chief doesn't mean the series is on. I strongly condemn Shiv Sena's behaviour. This is no way to lodhe protest against something."

Sudheendra Kulkarni ink attack: Last week, Shiv Sena sainiks allegedly threw ink on Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was the organiser of former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book launch in Mumbai.

"Sainiks attacked me outside my home. Eight to ten Shiv Sena activists came home and right as I was leaving black paint was smeared all over my face. I was abused by them," Kulkarni had said.

Justifying the attack, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that this was just a soft attack and it will continue such attacks as long as Pakistan is honoured in India. "This is not ink but the blood of our soldier. The ink attack is just a soft reaction on Kulkarni."

Ghulam Ali concert cancellation: Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali concert in Mumbai was cancelled after Shiv Sena threatened protest outside the venue. The concert was scheduled for October 9 in the memory of legendary singer Jagjit Singh.

Terming the decision to cancel the concert 'wrong', Ghulam Ali said, "I have not cancelled the concert but atmosphere was not conducive for me to perform. A wrong decision has been taken. We want relations between India and Pakistan to improve."

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MISSION SUNDAY- OCTOBER 18th 2015

Today as we CELEBRATE -MISSION SUNDAY- WE NEED TO REALISE that EVERY ONE of US have been ENTRUSTED with a MISSION ON THIS EARTH-
.... that is to make OUR WORLD MORE HUMANE, JUST, PEACEFUL,TOLERANT, INCLUSIVE,EQUITABLE...based on the PERSON and MESSAGE of JESUS!
The BIG QUESTION WE NEED to ASK OURSELVES TODAY is DO WE HAVE THE COURAGE to put this GREAT IDEAL INTO PRACTISE???
Can WE BEGIN IMPLEMENTING THIS MISSION TODAY- in the simple, small, ordinary things of our daily life???

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS 
FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The World Mission Sunday 2015 takes place in the context of the Year of Consecrated Life, which provides a further stimulus for prayer and reflection. For if every baptized person is called to bear witness to the Lord Jesus by proclaiming the faith received as a gift, this is especially so for each consecrated man and woman. There is a clear connection between consecrated life and mission. The desire to follow Jesus closely, which led to the emergence of consecrated life in the Church, responds to his call to take up the cross and follow him, to imitate his dedication to the Father and his service and love, to lose our life so as to gain it. Since Christ’s entire existence had a missionary character, so too, all those who follow him closely must possess this missionary quality.

The missionary dimension, which belongs to the very nature of the Church, is also intrinsic to all forms of consecrated life, and cannot be neglected without detracting from and disfiguring its charism. Being a missionary is not about proselytizing or mere strategy; mission is part of the “grammar” of faith, something essential for those who listen to the voice of the Spirit who whispers “Come” and “Go forth”. Those who follow Christ cannot fail to be missionaries, for they know that Jesus “walks with them, speaks to them, breathes with them. They sense Jesus alive with them in the midst of the missionary enterprise” (Evangelii Gaudium, 266).

Mission is a passion for Jesus and at the same time a passion for his people. When we pray before Jesus crucified, we see the depth of his love which gives us dignity and sustains us. At the same time, we realize that the love flowing from Jesus’ pierced heart expands to embrace the People of God and all humanity. We realize once more that he wants to make use of us to draw closer to his beloved people (cf. ibid., 268) and all those who seek him with a sincere heart. In Jesus’ command to “go forth”, we see the scenarios and ever-present new challenges of the Church’s evangelizing mission. All her members are called to proclaim the Gospel by their witness of life. In a particular way, consecrated men and women are asked to listen to the voice of the Spirit who calls them to go to the peripheries, to those to whom the Gospel has not yet been proclaimed.

The fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree Ad Gentes is an invitation to all of us to reread this document and to reflect on its contents. The Decree called for a powerful missionary impulse in Institutes of Consecrated Life. For contemplative communities, Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, Patroness of the Missions, appears in a new light; she speaks with renewed eloquence and inspires reflection upon the deep connection between contemplative life and mission. For many active religious communities, the missionary impulse which emerged from the Council was met with an extraordinary openness to the mission ad gentes, often accompanied by an openness to brothers and sisters from the lands and cultures encountered in evangelization, to the point that today one can speak of a widespread “interculturalism” in the consecrated life. Hence there is an urgent need to reaffirm that the central ideal of mission is Jesus Christ, and that this ideal demands the total gift of oneself to the proclamation of the Gospel. On this point there can be no compromise: those who by God’s grace accept the mission, are called to live the mission. For them, the proclamation of Christ in the many peripheries of the world becomes their way of following him, one which more than repays them for the many difficulties and sacrifices they make. Any tendency to deviate from this vocation, even if motivated by noble reasons due to countless pastoral, ecclesial or humanitarian needs, is not consistent with the Lord’s call to be personally at the service of the Gospel. In Missionary Institutes, formators are called to indicate clearly and frankly this plan of life and action, and to discern authentic missionary vocations. I appeal in particular to young people, who are capable of courageous witness and generous deeds, even when these are countercultural: Do not allow others to rob you of the ideal of a true mission, of following Jesus through the total gift of yourself. In the depths of your conscience, ask yourself why you chose the religious missionary life and take stock of your readiness to accept it for what it is: a gift of love at the service of the proclamation of the Gospel. Remember that, even before being necessary for those who have not yet heard it, the proclamation of the Gospel is a necessity for those who love the Master.

Today, the Church’s mission is faced by the challenge of meeting the needs of all people to return to their roots and to protect the values ​​of their respective cultures. This means knowing and respecting other traditions and philosophical systems, and realizing that all peoples and cultures have the right to be helped from within their own traditions to enter into the mystery of God’s wisdom and to accept the Gospel of Jesus, who is light and transforming strength for all cultures.

Within this complex dynamic, we ask ourselves: “Who are the first to whom the Gospel message must be proclaimed?” The answer, found so often throughout the Gospel, is clear: it is the poor, the little ones and the sick, those who are often looked down upon or forgotten, those who cannot repay us (cf. Lk 14:13-14). Evangelization directed preferentially to the least among us is a sign of the Kingdom that Jesus came to bring: “There is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them” (Evangelii Gaudium, 48). This must be clear above all to those who embrace the consecrated missionary life: by the vow of poverty, they choose to follow Christ in his preference for the poor, not ideologically, but in the same way that he identified himself with the poor: by living like them amid the uncertainties of everyday life and renouncing all claims to power, and in this way to become brothers and sisters of the poor, bringing them the witness of the joy of the Gospel and a sign of God’s love.

Living as Christian witnesses and as signs of the Father’s love among the poor and underprivileged, consecrated persons are called to promote the presence of the lay faithful in the service of Church’s mission. As the Second Vatican Council stated: “The laity should cooperate in the Church's work of evangelization; as witnesses and at the same time as living instruments, they share in her saving mission” (Ad Gentes, 41). Consecrated missionaries need to generously welcome those who are willing to work with them, even for a limited period of time, for an experience in the field. They are brothers and sisters who want to share the missionary vocation inherent in Baptism. The houses and structures of the missions are natural places to welcome them and to provide for their human, spiritual and apostolic support.

The Church’s Institutes and Missionary Congregations are completely at the service of those who do not know the Gospel of Jesus. This means that they need to count on the charisms and missionary commitment of their consecrated members. But consecrated men and women also need a structure of service, an expression of the concern of the Bishop of Rome, in order to ensure koinonia, for cooperation and synergy are an integral part of the missionary witness. Jesus made the unity of his disciples a condition so that the world may believe (cf. Jn 17:21). This convergence is not the same as legalism or institutionalism, much less a stifling of the creativity of the Spirit, who inspires diversity. It is about giving a greater fruitfulness to the Gospel message and promoting that unity of purpose which is also the fruit of the Spirit.

The Missionary Societies of the Successor of Peter have a universal apostolic horizon. This is why they also need the many charisms of consecrated life, to address the vast horizons of evangelization and to be able to ensure adequate presence in whatever lands they are sent.

Dear brothers and sisters, a true missionary is passionate for the Gospel. Saint Paul said: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). The Gospel is the source of joy, liberation and salvation for all men and women. The Church is aware of this gift, and therefore she ceaselessly proclaims to everyone “what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes” (1 Jn 1:1). The mission of the servants of the Word – bishops, priests, religious and laity – is to allow everyone, without exception, to enter into a personal relationship with Christ. In the full range of the Church’s missionary activity, all the faithful are called to live their baptismal commitment to the fullest, in accordance with the personal situation of each. A generous response to this universal vocation can be offered by consecrated men and women through an intense life of prayer and union with the Lord and his redeeming sacrifice.

To Mary, Mother of the Church and model of missionary outreach, I entrust all men and women who, in every state of life work to proclaim the Gospel, ad gentes or in their own lands. To all missionaries of the Gospel I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 24 May 2015
Solemnity of Pentecost

FRANCIS

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© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty -OCTOBER 17th

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17 each year since 1993. It promotes people’s awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwide, particularly in developing countries.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty promotes awareness of the need to eradicate poverty worldwide.

©iStockphoto.com/VikramRaghuvanshi

What Do People Do?

Various non-government organizations and community charities support the Day for the Eradication of Poverty by actively calling for country leaders and governments to make the fight against poverty a central part of foreign policy. Other activities may include signing “Call to action” petitions, organizing concerts and cultural events, and holding interfaith gatherings that may include a moment of silence.

Public Life

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is a global observance and not a public holiday.

Background

The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to October 17, 1987. On that date, more than 100,000 people gathered in Paris, France, to honor the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. Since that moment, individuals and organizations worldwide observed October 17 as a day to renew their commitment in collaborating towards eradicating poverty. In December, 1992, the UN General Assembly officially declared October 17 as the date for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (resolution 47/196 of December 22, 1992).

In December 1995, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997–2006), following the Copenhagen Social Summit. At the Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders committed themselves to cutting by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015.

Symbols

The United Nations Postal Administration previously issued six commemorative stamps and a souvenir card on the theme “We Can End Poverty”.  These stamps and the souvenir card featured drawings or paintings of people, particularly children, working together in the fight against poverty. Many of these images used strong colors and contrasts.  These stamps resulted from an art competition where six designs were selected from more than 12,000 children from 124 countries.

Note: Although the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was first officially celebrated by the UN in 1993, many people around the world celebrated the day annually on October 17 since 1987.

External Links

• UN website on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• Official website on World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty

‘World Day Against the Death Penalty’ by Fr. Cedric Prakash sj

‘World Day Against the Death Penalty’

-Fr. Cedric Prakash sj*

October 10^th is observed as the “World Day Against the Death Penalty”. This year the focus is raising awareness around the application of the death penalty for drug-related offences, to reduce its use. Running against the abolitionist worldwide movement, many countries added the death penalty for drug crimes in their legal system between 1980 and 2000.This trend is going down today; however, in some countries drug crimes are the main cause of death sentences and executions. Studies very clearly show that the death penalty is no deterrent to drug crimes.

The International Commission Against Death Penalty (ICDP) enunciates four major reasons why the death penalty should be abolished: (i) the risk of executing innocent people exists in any justice system, (ii) the arbitrary application of the death penalty can never be ruled out (iii) the death penalty is incompatible with human rights and human dignity (iv) the death penalty does not deter crime effectively.

Today the ‘death penalty issue’ is a major one in our country. On July 30^th Yakub Memon who was convicted for the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts was hanged to death in the Nagpur Central Jail.  All his pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears including the Supreme Court. A petition signed by over 300 eminent citizens to the President of India that he grants clemency did not evoke a response; these citizens cited procedural lapses and “disturbing aspects of this case which make the award of death sentence of Yakub Memon as grossly unfair, arbitrary and excessive”.As his final days drew near, a sense of perversity seemed to have gripped sections of Indian society. TV anchors were literally baying for his blood; newspapers screamed “vengeance”; some sadist took ‘selfies’ outside the jail not to miss out on an “important moment of history”. 

On October 1^st, a Special Court awarded capital punishment to five of those convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. There is a strange logic though: those who bay for the blood of Memom and the like- become totally “dumb” when it comes to the   ‘masterminds’ of the Gujarat Genocide of 2002 and of the several fake encounter cases which followed; these roam about with immunity and impunity; some hold very high offices of the land; some have been reinstated and even been given promotions. The Vyapam scam case which has already taken the lives of more than forty individuals and the Lalit-gate scandal are conveniently swept under the carpet. Like the Dadri incident, we hear daily of attacks on dalits, tribals, minorities and women all over.

Death penalty is no solution for any of the above perpetrators; the tragedy is that ‘justice’ seems to be very selective; public ‘opinion’ is so easily manipulated, that the sense of fair play and objectivity gets clouded in passion and subjectivity.

No act of violence can be justified; more so, when the victims are innocent people.  These dastardly acts have to be condemned; but two wrongs have never made a right, just because a person has committed a particular crime, the answer is not the death penalty.

The State has the duty to protect the ‘right to life’ of every single citizen. This is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the Constitution of India. By espousing capital punishment, the State equates itself with the perpetrator. ‘Amnesty International’ regards the death penalty as ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading’. Last August, the Law Commission of India recommended the abolition of the death penalty –except in terror-related cases. Today 140 countries (two- thirds of the world) have abolished the death penalty. It is time that India does so immediately too!

October 10^th , 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 Phone: (079) 27455913, 66522333 Fax: (079) 27489018 Email: sjprashant@gmail.com       www.humanrightsindia.in

DOES JESUS “BAN”? by Fr. Cedric Prakash sj

DOES JESUS “BAN”?

-Fr. Cedric Prakash sj*

One of the most enduring and memorable scenes for a disciple of Jesus is that of the ‘Last Supper’ which takes place on the evening before the crucifixion of Jesus. Several things take place during this very moving event: Jesus institutes what is regarded as the ‘mandamus’ (the mandate): “Love one another”, he reminds those around the table “as I have loved you”.  Jesus goes down on his knees and washes the feet of each of his disciples. He is fully aware that one of them Judas Iscariot will betray him shortly; however, he does not leave out Judas nor does he ‘ban’ him from the happenings of that eventful night. He washes the feet of Judas and he willingly shares with Judas the bread and the cup and while doing so he says “the one who shared my bread has risen against me”. (Jn 13:18).

In his life on earth, Jesus very clearly shows us that his mission was inclusive. He welcomed sinners of every kind: those who exploited others to those who were adulterous. In all this, he took an unequivocal stand for truth and justice. He had no qualms in calling the powerful and vested interests “a brood of vipers” and “whitened sepulchres”. He identified himself totally with the victims of society knowing full well that it was they who needed someone to take up cudgels on their behalf. He was also sensitive; taking extra precautions not to hurt others unnecessarily. 

‘Agnes of God’ is an American film which was made in 1985 based on a play (written earlier in 1982) by John Pielmeier. The plot hovers around a young nun, her mysterious pregnancy and a dead baby. The nun insists that the child was of a ‘virgin conception’.  Both the original play and the film did not seem to have “offended” people across the world all these years and even in Bombay when it was first staged some years ago.

Unfortunately, last week when the play directed by Kaizaad Kotwal was about to be staged there were some protests from certain individuals and groups, some even asking for the ‘banning’ of the play since it is apparently from ‘a wrongful portrayal  of the character of lakhs of clergy who are committed to a life of celibacy’. Strangely if one goes through the script of the play and even the film which one can easily download from the net, one really wonders what this “wrongful portrayal” is all about. Those protesting against the play might think they have scored some ‘brownie points’ but on the flipside they may have done the play a world of good because now with the free advertisement provided, several will now have heard of ‘Agnes of God’; will surely download the film, buy a DVD and even want to see the play!

For a disciple of Jesus, the ‘ban culture’ should be something that one should desist from.  Jesus took a stand on several issues of his time but he did not ban the women who brought their children to be blessed by him nor did he ban that sinful woman who wanted to anoint his feet with precious ointment.  For those around him, some of these things were just not appropriate.  Jesus reasoned this out with them, he dialogued, he asserted his point of view. 

A disciple of Jesus is taught that every woman and man is created in the image and likeness of God. So when an adivasi woman is gang-raped, when Akhlaq is lynched in Dadri that is the time a Christian should be outraged. It is then that we are called to be visible and vocal just as Jesus would have done in his time; just as he would have done today. A Christian’s faith cannot be shaken by a mere play even if it is “offensive”. True, everyone needs to be sensitive about the belief of another; but calling for a ‘ban’ is just not the way.

Article 19 of the Constitution of India guarantees every Indian citizen the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. This same right also resonates in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We certainly have a right to protest but the question we need to ask ourselves is “what are we protesting about?”

Pope Francis has consistently been calling all Christians to be inclusive; to be able to create space for the ‘other’; to dialogue to the point of asking all Catholic Parishes in Europe to adopt at least one Syrian refugee family. Can we learn something from his words and witness?

In the recent past, we have witnessed and experienced a spate of bans all over the country. People want to ban what we eat and what we do; what we see and what we read; Indian girls ‘should not dress up like this’ or ‘should not be out late at night’; Muslims and Christians will not be permitted to enter a garba mandap in parts of Gujarat....the list is endless indeed!  The ‘ban culture’ is symptomatic of a society becoming more fundamentalist, fanatic and fascist.

A healthy democracy has to promote freedom of thought and expression at every level and must have the courage to respect dissenting opinions and other voices. The only ‘ban’ that could be accepted on this freedom is a commitment to “ban the ban”

One hopes at least the Christians in India will help promote and defend a society which is more tolerant, more inclusive and which protects the rights and freedom of every single citizen. Above all, as Christians we need to ask ourselves, if Jesus was physically around today, would he call for a ban on ‘Agnes of God’?

7^th October, 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

Phone: (079) 27455913,  66522333  Fax:  (079) 27489018                             
Email: sjprashant@gmail.com       www.humanrightsindia.in

A ROSARY IN YOUR CAR! by Fr. Cedric Prakash sj

A ROSARY IN YOUR CAR!

-Fr. Cedric Prakash sj*

Saturday 3^rd October evening was perhaps one of those strangely ‘normal’ evenings that one could experience in Mumbai. It was hot and humid and several of those I had encountered that day were complaining about ‘the terrible weather’. I was at St. Andrews Church early that evening for the funeral mass of my dear friend, mentor and guide Bishop Ferdie Fonseca. After mass, there were the happy encounters with both friends and strangers and then a visit to the Sisters of the Holy Family Hospital, just down the road.

When I finally left the hospital around 7.00 that evening to move towards Andheri, a steady drizzle had begun. The Sisters insisted that I carry with me one of their umbrellas (of course it was a lady’s umbrella, apparently gifted to them by the local Jesuits on some Feast Day). With great reluctance I accepted their kind offer and walked outside the gate hoping to jump into an auto to my destination. There were several autos outside but every one of them was “full” with passengers.  I began walking down the road in search of one but did not meet with any success.  I was also carrying with me a rather heavy bag of snacks generously bought for me by some friends from the famous ‘Hearsch’ Bakery. Suddenly, the skies broke open and it began to rain not only ‘cats and dogs’ but ‘elephants and rhinos’.  In a matter of minutes I was drenched to my bones. That beautiful umbrella could hardly withstand the onslaught of the torrential rains leave alone protecting me!

In my bravado, I decided to continue walking ahead and not to turn back to the hospital. I also felt that if I did not get an auto, I would hail a taxi which I thought would be much easier to get.  Well, that again proved to be as elusive as a dream. Due to the rain, the traffic had become choc-a-bloc.  I started getting a bit worried because I still had to attend to a couple of other things that evening. The footpath did not seem very conducive to walk. The rains had increased even more. The going had become tough indeed!

Suddenly from out of the blue, there was a beautiful young lady in front of me asking me in Hindi “Uncle where are you going?” I am not very used to total strangers asking me such questions; however, I did not even think of ignoring that question; eager to be ‘rescued’, I said “Andheri”. “What a pity”, she said, “we are not going that direction; but come along, we can see what we can do”.

Guess I was totally helpless! The rains did not seem to relent. So like a drowning man, clutching to the proverbial straw, I meekly followed the young lady not knowing where she was heading. “Damsel in distress” is a well-known phrase in English literature of a beautiful young woman being ultimately rescued by a ‘hero’; the plot scripted that evening was totally in reverse. A ‘damsel’ rescuing a senior citizen who was stranded! She walked ahead of me, a few metres up the road, where a car was parked. She opened the door of the car and asked me to get in: totally soaked I was just not going to say “no” fully aware that I was wetting the upholstery of the class Volkswagen Vento. There was a young man behind the wheel; the lady in the meantime took a seat beside him and without even batting an eyelid, they were unanimous in their generosity saying “don’t worry sir, we will make sure to reach you to an auto or a taxi to take you to your destination.”

He started the car but it was difficult for him to negotiate the terrible traffic even as the rains continued to pour. It was then that I noticed it: hanging on their inside rear view mirror was a rosary! ‘My goodness’, I said to myself, ‘they must be Catholics’. By nature, I am an inclusive person. Some of my closest friends are non-Christians and even those who do not believe in any God. I do not think that one should wear one’s religion up one’s sleeve. So I took the next step and asked their names.  ‘Andre Lobo’, he said and she ‘Rhianna Prabhu’; then like one of those difficult puzzles we began connecting the dots and crosses. Small world indeed! I asked them, “why did you have to stop?” “So what if there was a stranded stranger at the kerb?” “Why were you willing to take the risk?”; their answers were not easily forthcoming but basically they said, they just felt that they just wanted to do something for someone. Andre very generously conceded that “it is Rhianna who is touched and oozes with compassion”.

They had to drive quite a distance almost to the highway before Andre could step out and find an auto for me. But all the way, they were cheerful enough to make me feel that I was not a bother at all; I was aware though that they were going out of their way – to be of help to me!

That evening and even now as I write this, I have been reflecting ‘what if there were no Rhiannas and Andres in Bandra and Bombay, in India and in the rest of the world? They had the guts to share the comfort of their luxurious car with someone they really did not know; all they saw was a ‘drenched stranger in distress’. It reminded me of Pope Francis’ call to every Catholic Parish in Europe to take in at least one refugee family from Syria. Discipleship is about witness; about concrete tangible expressions of reaching out to others. Rhianna and Andre, (though I still know fairly little about them) seemed to be doing well in life, educated and more than middle-class. They had a choice that night. They chose the harder option. 

I see the rosary dangling in the inside of their car in front of them both.  They surely need not have put it up there; but once again, they have made a choice!  Was that rosary a sign of their motivation; of them wanting to help others! A reminder of Mary: that all - embracing woman, the Mother of Jesus – who reached out to her kinswoman Elizabeth and ultimately reached out to all? Is it a reminder to them - and to all of us - that little selfless acts of kindness help in making our world a better place?

October 7^th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in a month which has been dedicated to the rosary.  Many of our families seem to have done away with the time-tested practice of the daily recitation of the rosary in the family; however, there are still some who faithfully carry it in their pockets, wear it around their necks and even hang it out on their inside rear view mirror of their car. I am not one who is easily given into ritual or religious props. Some years ago, I had written an article entitled “Is the Rosary in my pocket?” Today, after that memorable experience with Rhianna and Andre, I ask myself, “do I see a rosary in your car? or if you don’t have a car, is there one in your pocket? And if so, does the rosary motivate you to reach out to others?”   

6^th October, 2015

(* Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is the Director of PRASHANT, the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace.  He is the recipient of several national and international awards including the Legion of Honour from the President of France and the Kabir Puraskar from the President of India)

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

Phone: (079) 27455913, 66522333 Fax:  (079) 27489018                             
Email: sjprashant@gmail.com       www.humanrightsindia.in

India fails to heed its father's call( Multiple incidents of mob violence mar Gandhi's legacy of nonviolence) by Fr Cedric Prakash (October 2nd 2015)

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India fails to heed its father's call

Multiple incidents of mob violence mar Gandhi's legacy of nonviolence

Various images of Mahatma Gandhi make up a hand-made collage featured in the reception area at the Gandhi Peace Foundation in New Delhi on Sept. 8. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP)

• Father Cedric Prakash, Ahmedabad
• India
• October 2, 2015

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As the world observes International Day of Nonviolence on Oct. 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, it is simply unbelievable, but truly painful to see what is happening in India, where Gandhi championed the cause of nonviolence.

Just this week a Hindu mob lynched a Muslim man, following rumors he and his family ate beef in Bisara, a village just 40 kilometers outside New Delhi.

The murderous mob of some 1,000 people armed with swords and clubs dragged Mohammed Akhlaq and his family from their home and beat them with bricks and clubs on Sept. 28. He died the next day; his son remains in critical condition. His 82-year-old mother, wife and daughter were molested and beaten. The beef-eating rumor seemed to have originated from a nearby temple. That such an incident can take place in 21st century India should make any Indian hang one's head in shame.

If this was an isolated incident, we could attempt to brush it aside. However, we routinely hear of groups taking the law into their own hands and lynching people. Women paraded naked, people attacked, sexually violated, and sometimes killed as punishment for actions that some groups consider morally incorrect.

On March 5, another mob stormed a jail in the northeastern city of Dimapur, dragged a man accused of rape onto the streets, stripped him and lynched him. Vigilantes and moral policing seem to be the order of the day as right-wing forces in the country decide what one should eat and wear, what films one should see, what books should be read, above all whether it is "Indian culture" or not for a woman to be out late at night.

These radical forces have institutionalized violence in the country as never before. They have engaged in a multipronged program ranging from aggressive ghar wapsi [literally homecoming but which refers to religious conversions of Christians and Muslims to Hinduism] campaigns to the renaming of roads with Hindu names.

In their scheme of things, in order to establish a Hindu nation-state, they need to denigrate minorities, uphold the highly patriarchal and caste-based Manusmriti code [an ancient Indian legal compilation that divides society into four main groups based on four occupational groupings: Brahmin (priests), Kshatriya (warriors), Vaishya (traders) and Sudra (menial workers)], tamper with India's constitution and above all negate the ideals of a democratic India based on pluralism, justice, liberty and equality for all.

One of their key outfits — the "Sanathan Sanstha" — is held responsible for the murder of the communist politician Govind Pansare; they also are reported to be behind the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and M.M. Kalburgi.

Violence holds sway even as the country celebrates another birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of truth and nonviolence. Symbolically enough, in June 2007, the U.N. General Assembly through a resolution declared the day as International Day of Nonviolence, which is certainly an unparalleled tribute to the father of the Indian nation.

The resolution for this observance states: "the day is an occasion to disseminate the message of nonviolence, including through education and public awareness; it reaffirms the universal relevance of the principle of nonviolence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and nonviolence." Mahatma Gandhi did his best to mainstream the doctrine of nonviolence. He was unequivocal about that.

Unfortunately, there are those from the political class, the corporate sector and others with vested interests who have completely disregarded what Gandhi epitomized, preached, lived and died for. Nonviolence is more of a utopia because we have not had the courage, the humility and the determination to mainstream it.

Tribal people across India are robbed of their water, forests and land with impunity. Faulty land and mining laws legitimize the way big players not only deplete precious natural resources but also destroy the identity and livelihoods of local tribal people.

Human trafficking and bonded labor has become an accepted practice in several parts of the country with thousands of children working in cotton fields, at brick kilns, in the stone-cutting industry and other forms of hard labor. There are an estimated 60 million children working in India's agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors according to a recent report released by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

The high rate of female feticide, the way the girl child is treated and the inability of most men to treat women as equals is a powerful indicator of a violent society. Caste discrimination, honor killings, the inhuman practice of scavenging are all part of a canvas of institutionalized violence in India.

Early this week, a special court in Mumbai sentenced five people to death, holding them responsible for planting bombs on city trains, which resulted in a series of explosions killing 188 commuters and injuring many more on July 11, 2006. When Yakub Memon was hanged on July 30 for his involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings a sense of violent perversity seemed to grip large sections of the country. India has increased its military budget by 11 percent and is today the world's biggest arms importer. All this is certainly symptomatic of a violent state.

If we are serious about nonviolence becoming a tangible reality, we must be able to mainstream it in every dimension of life: in our attitudes, articulation and action. Precious little seems to be done about this.

We would do well to pay heed to the words of Gandhi, who wrote in his Harijan journal on July 20, 1935: "Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. Destruction is not the law of the humans. Man lives freely by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother, never by killing him. Every murder or injury, no matter for what cause, committed or inflicted on another is a crime against humanity."

Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash is the director of Prashant (Tranqulity), the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Center for Human Rights, Justice and Peace.

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