Bishop’s fear of ‘a government that has become a nightmare to the poor and the minorities’

Posted Apr 10, 2018

[Anglican Communion News Service] The moderator of the united Church of South India, Bishop Thomas K Oommen, has accused the Indian government of being “a danger to the very fabric” of the country. In an open letter, he accuses the government of adopting “Hindutva supremacist ideology” – an extreme form of Hindu nationalism; in a country whose constitution “declares liberty, equality, and fraternity as its ideals; assures social, economic, and political justice to the citizens of India; offers liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; provides equality of status and opportunity to all the people; and strives to promote fraternity among all the citizens.”

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  1. Joe Prasad says:
    April 11, 2018 at 9:42 am

    Bishop Oommen has accused the Indian government of being “a danger to the very fabric” of the country. It would help if there were some statistics provided of vandalism, murders and other criminal activities committed in the name of Hindutva otherwise the Bishop’s letter can be applicable to any government in India.

    In a pluralistic society like India or for that matter any country, minorities must respect the rights of those in majority. In India, unfortunately this has not been the case and often certain segments of Muslims seem bent on creating problems for non-Muslims such as the burning of Hindu pilgrims which led to the Hindu-Muslim riot in Gujarat. Earlier it was the Shah Bano case which indirectly led to the Babri Masjid demolition. Hindu being a fragmented society based on casteism has often been preyed by proselytizing religions such as Islam and Christianity.

    I don’t know what changes the current Indian government are proposing in textbooks but some correction needs to be made especially in history. Leaders such as Bhagat Singh who led a violent struggle against the British are described as terrorists; in contrast, in Western nations, such leaders would be described as freedom fighters. When I went to school in India many years ago, history books often reflected poorly on many things that were native to India including character of the people. This was definitely a distortion through ignorance which I doubt or willfully. In the West, blacks no matter how hardworking and honest were often depicted as lazy, thieves, savages, etc. etc. No wonder Blacks have learnt to stand up and fight for their dignity.

    With the introduction of insurance in India in a major way, one will see a stronger role of corporations in government functioning. In the West, it seems that the corporations are the ones who write the laws and elect politicians favorable to their bidding. It is a matter of time before the same happens in India no matter which government is in power.

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