WE SHALL OVERCOME
By P.N.BENJAMIN
Deep-rooted fatalism, dumb acceptance of misery, a raging sea of poverty, and a few islands of vulgar luxury, inhabited by a few who behave as if nothing has happened. This is India today. And this should disturb every sensitive Indian today. The time is long past when one could pacify one’s conscience by angry outburst or exposure of a few misdeeds. The situation is far more serious, the prospect grimmer.
The cancers that have grown in the vitals of India are so horrendous that whole limbs may decay and die before some sort of curative effort succeeds in the rest of the system. Men of vision, integrity and merit were at the helm of affairs in the early years of this nation. A different set of qualifications has now become necessary to attain and then retain office. Men and women of merit have disappeared from the higher echelons of power.
The welter of crashing values, the miasma of poverty, the insensate outburst of religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, regionalism and casteism: it is chaotic. One is also shocked at the sight of brute force trampling upon the underprivileged, while the elite enjoy all the inevitable accompaniments of permissive morality, addiction to vicarious violence, erotic and narcotic fantasies.
Caught in the immediacy of the present we may be agonizing over these maladies. There is still hope. “There is an ebb and tide in the affairs of man. Things will change”. This may be the darkest hour before the radiant dawn. God has not gone bankrupt. He can make the blind see, the deaf hear and the lame cross the mountain. If past is any pointer to the future, there is indeed hope. There is resilience in our people, which no combination of adversities can kill. Our ideals and principles might appear to be in eclipse. But, eclipses are short-lived.
In an atmosphere surcharged with cynicism on the one hand and despair on the other, we would do well to go out anywhere, amidst the din and bustle of the factories or vast expanses of the fields, in the beehive of busy offices or in the boisterous, crowded campuses – among men, women, the young and the old – you will hear a thousand and one questions why things have gone wrong and what’s the way out of it.
Dedicated men and women, sacrificing comfort and many allurements of the consumerist society are building a new India in the remote villages and hilly regions of this vast land of ours. There abound in this country today men and women of finest moral qualities, experts in their respective fields seeking to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to serve the community by disseminating it to the public. In the prevailing darkness they move about like figures in silhouettes; soon the sun shall arrive and identify them, and among them shall be seen new leaders with a new message of enriched patriotism. A new resolve to make this land of ours a better place to live in. The saga of such endeavours is hardly publicised by the media addicted to the burlesque of present-day politics. But they give us reasons for hope.
The reserves of India are too strong to be contained by the unworthy for too long. Today’s rulers as well as the ones waiting in their wings to be future rulers must necessarily be themselves marginalised sooner or later because they are superficial manifestations of a superficial phenomenon; neither they nor the phenomenon that sustains them have any validity in the general scheme of human progress.
Like wars, seemingly hopeless political cancers help steel a nation’s nerve and accelerate the maturing process. India will then step out of the new into the newer.
P.N.BENJAMIN
501, Indira Residency
Hennur Road
Kalyan Nagar
Bangalore 560 043
Tel. 08025435716
Mob. 09731182308
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Responses to SONG OF MARY
RESPONSES TO SONG OF MARY
Jeykar Jerome
Many thanks for your Christmas message. Frankly I had never thought of the Magnifact in this way. Wishing you and Mrs Benjamin (your only wife !) a Blessed Christmas and God's blessings all through the New Year.
Veena & Jayakar
Dear brother,
Thank you for the engaging article with the usual original look at history and the scripture.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Love and regards,
A.P.Durai
Mark Tully
The Song of Mary
From: markandgilly@gmail.com
To: benjaminpn@hotmail.com
Dear Benjamin, Many thanks for your theological Christmas card. Best
wishes to you and your family for Christmas and the New Year. Mark
M.V.Nadkarni
Dear Mr Benjamin,
Thank you for the beautiful song.
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and happy New year.
With warm regards,
Yours sincerely,
M V Nadkarni
P.N.Seshadri
Thank you Mr. Benjamin.
"sarve janah sukhinO bhavnatu" is the centarl thought that our Indian people are advised to remember always.
THE SONG OF MARY holds the same rich thought and it is universal.
I still remember from a lesson - Sermon on the mount- in my high school (1955) english book - Blessed are the Meek, for
they shall inherit the earth. Also another lesson I remember from Gurudev Tagore's Githanjali " strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart". Sometime I wonder the story of humans world over seems to has some thing else to say - obsession with acquisition and control.
No wonder Che Guvera said "My revolution stems from my love of my people". Society is being constantly and deliberately disturbed by
the modern merchants with impunity. The silent suffering cry of billions - from all forms of life - is deafening.
Regards
Seshadri
Sister Amala
Thanks !!!
Wishing you too a blessed and gracefilled Christmastide and a New Year that fulfills many of our deep desires to see the Reign of God established.
Keep up the good work !!!
Amala
--
Sr. Amala, 101 Maria Kripa Apts II,
12 Davis Rd, St Thomas Tn,
Bangalore 560084 Tel: 080-25470645
Susan Varkey
Dear Benjichayam and Maychechy,
Wish you Happy and Meaningful Christmas( in whichever way you define the word)
How is Nina and family? I had heard about Nina 's hospitalization.Thank God she is okay.
What's Maychechy up to these days?
Here we are fine. We get about 10 days of vacation. Our boys )who are away in University) will come home for Christmas.Looking forward to it
Any trips to Kerala planned?
Love and prayers, Susan.
Dr. David Scot
Dear PNji,
(Apologies for the devanagari script; my computer doesn't have the appropriate script for Kannada.
Hearty thanks for the meditation on the Magnificat, a truly revolutionary document. Indeed this is a fitting cap for the other two documents -- the USCIRF Report on Karnataka and Mark Tully's lecture -- you have sent recently.
All in all, this comes with hearty expectation and hope that the cosmic revolution initiated by the birth of the Christ will come a little closer to fulfilment in the New Year ahead.
Peace and Joy,
David Scotachen
Maher Spurgeon Madras C hristian College
Dear Brother Benjamin
Thank you for your thought provoking Christmas Thought.
Wish you a merry Christmas and a blessed New Year
Spurgeon
Chaplain
Madras Christian College
Rev. Kiran Sebastian
Dear Mr Benjamin,
This comes to thank you for your meaningful and powerful words - as usual they offer much to reflect upon and challenge us to be open to the invasion of the spirit.
Wishing you and your family all the very best for a meaningful and happy Christmas and a new year filled with invigorating hope.
With many greetings and warm good wishes,
Kiran
Rev. Dr. J. Jayakiran Sebastian
7301 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119-1794
http://www.ltsp.edu/people/jsebastian
FRANCIS Good neighbor
Dear Mr. Benjamin,
Greetings!
An analytical and powerful message on the eve of Christmas!
God bless you and keep you in good health and spirits!
Regards,
M.Francis
Rev. Dr. M.J.Joseph
Dear friend
May the song of Mary be heard from the Churches, the temples .mosques and the pagoddas.May it help the worshipper to bow his/her kness and touch the earth for Peace on Earth.
Wishing you the blessings of the Almighty.
MJJ,Devalokam,Eco-Baba!
MANI CHACKO
Dear PNB,
Thanks for the most inspiring reflection on the Magnificat. I do hope it will sink deeply into the minds of those who read it.
Let me take this opportunity to wish you both a meaningful Christmas and a peaceful New year.
Warm Regards,
Achen
Rev.Dr.Mani Chacko, Ph.D( Lond.)
Director
Ecumenical Christian Centre
Post Bag 11
Whitefield
Bangalore - 560066
Karnataka
India
Telephone : 0091 80 2845 3158 ( Direct )
0091 80 2845 2270
Dear PN
What an appropriate thought on this festive occasion.You have rightly concluded it by your last two paragraphs.
Thank you and wishing you and your family all the best during this Chistmas and for ever.
Sincerely
K.v.Rajagopal
Jeykar Jerome
Many thanks for your Christmas message. Frankly I had never thought of the Magnifact in this way. Wishing you and Mrs Benjamin (your only wife !) a Blessed Christmas and God's blessings all through the New Year.
Veena & Jayakar
Dear brother,
Thank you for the engaging article with the usual original look at history and the scripture.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Love and regards,
A.P.Durai
Mark Tully
The Song of Mary
From: markandgilly@gmail.com
To: benjaminpn@hotmail.com
Dear Benjamin, Many thanks for your theological Christmas card. Best
wishes to you and your family for Christmas and the New Year. Mark
M.V.Nadkarni
Dear Mr Benjamin,
Thank you for the beautiful song.
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and happy New year.
With warm regards,
Yours sincerely,
M V Nadkarni
P.N.Seshadri
Thank you Mr. Benjamin.
"sarve janah sukhinO bhavnatu" is the centarl thought that our Indian people are advised to remember always.
THE SONG OF MARY holds the same rich thought and it is universal.
I still remember from a lesson - Sermon on the mount- in my high school (1955) english book - Blessed are the Meek, for
they shall inherit the earth. Also another lesson I remember from Gurudev Tagore's Githanjali " strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart". Sometime I wonder the story of humans world over seems to has some thing else to say - obsession with acquisition and control.
No wonder Che Guvera said "My revolution stems from my love of my people". Society is being constantly and deliberately disturbed by
the modern merchants with impunity. The silent suffering cry of billions - from all forms of life - is deafening.
Regards
Seshadri
Sister Amala
Thanks !!!
Wishing you too a blessed and gracefilled Christmastide and a New Year that fulfills many of our deep desires to see the Reign of God established.
Keep up the good work !!!
Amala
--
Sr. Amala, 101 Maria Kripa Apts II,
12 Davis Rd, St Thomas Tn,
Bangalore 560084 Tel: 080-25470645
Susan Varkey
Dear Benjichayam and Maychechy,
Wish you Happy and Meaningful Christmas( in whichever way you define the word)
How is Nina and family? I had heard about Nina 's hospitalization.Thank God she is okay.
What's Maychechy up to these days?
Here we are fine. We get about 10 days of vacation. Our boys )who are away in University) will come home for Christmas.Looking forward to it
Any trips to Kerala planned?
Love and prayers, Susan.
Dr. David Scot
Dear PNji,
(Apologies for the devanagari script; my computer doesn't have the appropriate script for Kannada.
Hearty thanks for the meditation on the Magnificat, a truly revolutionary document. Indeed this is a fitting cap for the other two documents -- the USCIRF Report on Karnataka and Mark Tully's lecture -- you have sent recently.
All in all, this comes with hearty expectation and hope that the cosmic revolution initiated by the birth of the Christ will come a little closer to fulfilment in the New Year ahead.
Peace and Joy,
David Scotachen
Maher Spurgeon Madras C hristian College
Dear Brother Benjamin
Thank you for your thought provoking Christmas Thought.
Wish you a merry Christmas and a blessed New Year
Spurgeon
Chaplain
Madras Christian College
Rev. Kiran Sebastian
Dear Mr Benjamin,
This comes to thank you for your meaningful and powerful words - as usual they offer much to reflect upon and challenge us to be open to the invasion of the spirit.
Wishing you and your family all the very best for a meaningful and happy Christmas and a new year filled with invigorating hope.
With many greetings and warm good wishes,
Kiran
Rev. Dr. J. Jayakiran Sebastian
7301 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119-1794
http://www.ltsp.edu/people/jsebastian
FRANCIS Good neighbor
Dear Mr. Benjamin,
Greetings!
An analytical and powerful message on the eve of Christmas!
God bless you and keep you in good health and spirits!
Regards,
M.Francis
Rev. Dr. M.J.Joseph
Dear friend
May the song of Mary be heard from the Churches, the temples .mosques and the pagoddas.May it help the worshipper to bow his/her kness and touch the earth for Peace on Earth.
Wishing you the blessings of the Almighty.
MJJ,Devalokam,Eco-Baba!
MANI CHACKO
Dear PNB,
Thanks for the most inspiring reflection on the Magnificat. I do hope it will sink deeply into the minds of those who read it.
Let me take this opportunity to wish you both a meaningful Christmas and a peaceful New year.
Warm Regards,
Achen
Rev.Dr.Mani Chacko, Ph.D( Lond.)
Director
Ecumenical Christian Centre
Post Bag 11
Whitefield
Bangalore - 560066
Karnataka
India
Telephone : 0091 80 2845 3158 ( Direct )
0091 80 2845 2270
Dear PN
What an appropriate thought on this festive occasion.You have rightly concluded it by your last two paragraphs.
Thank you and wishing you and your family all the best during this Chistmas and for ever.
Sincerely
K.v.Rajagopal
A theological Christmas card
The celebrated BBC bureau chief in New Delhi for for more than thirty years, Sir Mark Tully, has described the following article by me (already posted here) as "the theological Christmas card"
THE SONG OF MARY
By P.N.Benjamin
There is more to Christmas than peace and goodwill. The story of the birth of Jesus Christ begins with a revelation to a peasant girl that she would be the mother of the Messiah – the Saviour of the world. She would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God. She was so overpowered by the message that she breaks into poetic utterance:
“My soul doth magnify the Lord/ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour…/He hath showed strength with his arm/He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts/He hath put down the mighty from their seats/And exalted them of low degree/He hath filled the hungry with good things/And the rich he hath sent empty away…”
This Song of Mary is called the Magnificat. Mary sees a vision of a new order of things where the weak and the poor will throw off their shackles. It is a song of liberation for man as well as for woman.
The Song of Mary reflects the teachings of the prophets of the Old Testament in the Bible. These prophets denounced the oppressors of the people, those who would sell the needy for a pair of shoes. The prophets were constantly exhorting the people to “untie the knots of the yoke, and loose the fetters of justice, to set free those who have been crushed”. And, Mary belonged to this oppressed section of the people.
It might seem strange that in this momentous hour of her life when the angel had cast her in this stupendous role, she should be preoccupied with justice for her people. But one can well imagine that, then as now, this was a burning question. The Jews were under the Roman yoke and longed for the Messiah who would liberate them. Mary’s Song is a song of deliverance not only from foreign domination but the oppressor within the gates.
She did not know then that beginning with the Magnificat the road would end at the Cross where she would stand weeping for her son would show the world an entirely new way. But now it is a cry for justice, liberation from the tyranny of the rich and the exalted. Thus, woven into message of peace and goodwill is also the lesson that these conditions can only come when there is social justice.
It is unfortunate that the Church has sidestepped this problem dispensing charity while ignoring the deeper claims of equality. The Song of Mary is a reminder that charity without justice is an insult, and peace only a graveyard where there is no equality.
Yes, the voice of Christmas cries in the wilderness. It is not a call to violent revolution – for violent revolutions always end in tyranny of one kind or another. Christmas calls for a change of heart, a turning away from oneself to one’s neighbour, and therefore to God. We like to imagine that religion is a love affair between man and God. But the face of the neighbour intrudes.
Christmas reminds us that in a creative relationship there is God, man and always his neighbour – only in such a cooperative partnership can we hope for a restructuring of the social fabric, which will be permanent. In short, Christmas comes to remind us that we are all inextricably bound together in this brief sojourn on this troubled planet – that either we are ALL saved or we are ALL damned for we are all human, all vulnerable, all in need of one another.
With greetings of peace in this Christmas season and happy New Year.
P.N.BENJAMIN
Christmas Day 2010
Dec, 25, 2010
THE SONG OF MARY
By P.N.Benjamin
There is more to Christmas than peace and goodwill. The story of the birth of Jesus Christ begins with a revelation to a peasant girl that she would be the mother of the Messiah – the Saviour of the world. She would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God. She was so overpowered by the message that she breaks into poetic utterance:
“My soul doth magnify the Lord/ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour…/He hath showed strength with his arm/He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts/He hath put down the mighty from their seats/And exalted them of low degree/He hath filled the hungry with good things/And the rich he hath sent empty away…”
This Song of Mary is called the Magnificat. Mary sees a vision of a new order of things where the weak and the poor will throw off their shackles. It is a song of liberation for man as well as for woman.
The Song of Mary reflects the teachings of the prophets of the Old Testament in the Bible. These prophets denounced the oppressors of the people, those who would sell the needy for a pair of shoes. The prophets were constantly exhorting the people to “untie the knots of the yoke, and loose the fetters of justice, to set free those who have been crushed”. And, Mary belonged to this oppressed section of the people.
It might seem strange that in this momentous hour of her life when the angel had cast her in this stupendous role, she should be preoccupied with justice for her people. But one can well imagine that, then as now, this was a burning question. The Jews were under the Roman yoke and longed for the Messiah who would liberate them. Mary’s Song is a song of deliverance not only from foreign domination but the oppressor within the gates.
She did not know then that beginning with the Magnificat the road would end at the Cross where she would stand weeping for her son would show the world an entirely new way. But now it is a cry for justice, liberation from the tyranny of the rich and the exalted. Thus, woven into message of peace and goodwill is also the lesson that these conditions can only come when there is social justice.
It is unfortunate that the Church has sidestepped this problem dispensing charity while ignoring the deeper claims of equality. The Song of Mary is a reminder that charity without justice is an insult, and peace only a graveyard where there is no equality.
Yes, the voice of Christmas cries in the wilderness. It is not a call to violent revolution – for violent revolutions always end in tyranny of one kind or another. Christmas calls for a change of heart, a turning away from oneself to one’s neighbour, and therefore to God. We like to imagine that religion is a love affair between man and God. But the face of the neighbour intrudes.
Christmas reminds us that in a creative relationship there is God, man and always his neighbour – only in such a cooperative partnership can we hope for a restructuring of the social fabric, which will be permanent. In short, Christmas comes to remind us that we are all inextricably bound together in this brief sojourn on this troubled planet – that either we are ALL saved or we are ALL damned for we are all human, all vulnerable, all in need of one another.
With greetings of peace in this Christmas season and happy New Year.
P.N.BENJAMIN
Christmas Day 2010
Dec, 25, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Demands of Christians in Karnataka
The Chairman
Karnataka State Minorities Commission
Bangalore
Dear Mr. Chairman,
Christians in Karnataka
An e-mail interaction
Immediately after the Nandi Hills meeting of the Commission, I rushed the following e-mail to a group of Christian leaders and laymen belonging to various Christian denominations and churches.
My mail to them said: “I need a little help from you urgently. I shall be thankful if you could please rush me a note on the Christian community in Karnataka, their fears, anxieties, agonies, aspirations and social conditions, children's educational needs - about everything that matters to them and what they expect from the present BJP government etc. Not forgetting the developmental programmes meant for them and also about the attacks on them and then, of course, the cow-slaughter bill.”
Those who participated in interaction included:
1. Bishop Samuel Mathew (Believers Church)
2. Fr. Faustine L. Lobo (Catholic Church, Bangalore)
3. Fr. Jayanathan (Catholic Church, Bangalore)
4. Emerson Samuel (Ecumenical)
5. Georgy C. George (Catholic)
6. Brig. (Retd) Chacko Abraham (Orthodox)
7. Mrs. Molly Varghese (Mar Thoma)
8. Rev. Dr. Thomas Ninan (CSI)
9. Siddartha, Fireflies Ashram (Catholic)
10. Suhas Jeede (Methodist)
11. Dr. Thomas George (Catholic)
12. Noel Noronha (Basel Mission)
13. Ram Sunder (Catholic)
14. Dr. C. Alex Alexander (Orthodox)
15. Mr. Philip Mathew (Mar Thoma)
16. Dr. K. C. Samuel (Mar Thoma)
17. Rev. Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel
18. Dr. Thomas George (Catholic)
19. Mathews Philip (Orthodox)
20. Rev. C. S. Hoolgery, (CSI North Karnataka)
21. Rev. Daniel Honnayakar,
22. Rev. P. F. Gedeon, (CSI KND)
23. Pastor John Wesley Baptist Church North Karnataka
24. Pastor Moses Murugavel - Baptist Church in Northern Karnataka.
What emerged from the interactions is:
1) 83% of the population of Karnataka is Hindus, 11% are Muslims, 4% are Christians, 0.78% are Jains, 0.73% are Buddhists and with the remainder belonging to other religions.
2) As for the distribution of Christian population in Karnataka, Southern Karnataka has relatively more concentration with Bangalore City accounting for 5.9%.
3) Christians by and large live above Poverty Line in cities like Bangalore, Mangalore and Mysore. But, their condition elsewhere in Karnataka is miserable and pathetic.
4) Accordingly and justifiably, the participants in the discussion felt that at least 30% of the Rs.207 crores allocated in the 2010-2011 State budget for the Karnataka State Minority Development Corporation must be utilized for the developmental schemes meant for the Christian community.
5) Several participants expressed their disappointment that poor and needy Christians have not yet been able to avail themselves of any benefits worth mentioning from the various government schemes meant for the minorities in Karnataka. They have brought to my notice that almost the entire benefits of the schemes meant for minorities in Karnataka are being used by one single community - the majority community among minority communities. This anomaly needs to be corrected urgently.
6) For instance, during 2008-2009 the Government had allocated Rs. 167 crores for minority development. Out of which Rs. 37 crore had been earmarked for housing, Rs. 15 crores for shaadi mahals and Rs. 5 crore for a Haj bhavan. But, no money seems to have been spent on the Christian community. It is also observed that the announcements of the schemes are done in Urdu and no one else can understand them except the Muslims.
7) Christians complain that they are not invited to the so-called awareness building meetings. Even when invitations are extended, they do not reach them on time. The Christian leaders felt that the community leaders should be informed of these meetings well in advance so that their members could participate in them and bring their grievances to the notice of the Commission.
8) The Minorities Commission doesn’t seem to be aware of the need for a well-planned, well-informed and properly executed awareness building meeting, which will include the Christian community representatives. The itinerary of the commission should be fixed well in advance and be made known to all the minority communities in time so that they can participate at the meeting and present their demands. On the contrary, it is unfortunate that Christians are often blamed by the Commission for not attending the meetings.
9) There is no clarity about the schemes that benefit the Christian community. How do they apply for benefits from various government schemes? Whom to apply? There is urgent need for simplifying the procedures. What can the minorities Commission do about it? Can the Commission allow the representatives from the different minority communities to choose the eligible candidates and present to the Commission?
10) There is fear and anxiety in the minds of Christians because of the continuing violence against them in various parts of the State. They are concerned about the silence of the Minorities Commission in this regard. They are intrigued by the Commission’s inaction in not sending any fact-finding teams to the trouble spots and not taking any initiatives to defuse the tension. There is no representation to the Somashekar Commission by the Minorities Commission so far on behalf of the Christian Community.
11) Their question is “If there are alleged aggressive conversion activities by some Christian preachers or extremists in Christian community who denigrate Hindu gods and their rituals as barbaric, why should the innocent be punished? However, they feel that the State is duty-bound to prevent attacks on Christian community and bring the perpetrators to books. Why the State is allowing the groups to take law into their hands? Because of the government’s apathetic reaction Christians have lost trust in the present government. What can the Commission do about it?
12) It is also true that false cases have been filed against pastors who may not have been into conversion business but who organize worships and prayers for their people. Looks like the local police all over the State is waiting for anyone to rush to them with a complaint against a Christian priest or a pastor, so that they arrest them within no time, without even checking whether there is a prima facie case at all. How does it happen without the connivance of those who are in power? So, there is room for fears and anxiety among Christians.
13) The other issue is, of course, the cow slaughter. “It is the right to food that is at stake along with the right to livelihood of those who are involved in the meat, leather and cosmetics industry”, say Christian leaders. How can the food habit of one is to be questioned? As a matter of fact, it is the farmer who is protecting the cow and not the Govu Shaalas. If cow slaughter is banned the farmer will not rear cow at all because it is not economical for him to look after the unproductive cow and rear a milch cow.
14) A Christian representative(P.N.Benjamin) wanted to know why the Commission sent a letter to the PRO of the Bangalore Catholic Diocese, calling for details about the Church’s assets. It should be borne in mind that the PRO is not the custodian of the assets of the Catholic Church and that the Catholics are NOT the only Christian denomination in Karnataka. All Catholic churches or institutions do not come under the purview of the Bangalore Diocese.
15) The participants suggested that the Minorities Commission appoint an expert committee to study the socio-economic conditions of the Christian community in Karnataka because there is no authentic data available about them in any of the official documents.
16) They pointed out that the officials of the state Minorities’ Development Corporation and the Minorities Commission make the procedures for grants and scholarships difficult and arduous whenever Christians approach them for this purpose. This has led Christians getting frustrated and thus tend to abstain from approaching the Commission or Minorities Corporation,
17) The Christians have not been able to avail themselves of the Government’s Aradhane schemes that support construction of religious places.
18) The officials make it so difficult for Christians when they approach them and the officials even indicate that without a bribe grants are not sanctioned. It sounds so absurd that one has to pay a bribe to get what is rightfully theirs. Giving a bribe is against the spirit of Christian Faith.
19) Lastly, an important suggestion made by the Christian participants in the e-mail interaction is that the chairmanship of the Commission be rotated among the other minority communities also. All the persons who occupied this post in the past have been representatives of a particular minority community which is a gross injustice and disservice to the democratic fabric of the country.
20) Lastly, there are no Christian employees/officers in the Minorities Commission or Minorities Development Corporation as well as the Minoirites Department
P.N.BENJAMIN
Christian Member in the KSMC
20 May 2010
Karnataka State Minorities Commission
Bangalore
Dear Mr. Chairman,
Christians in Karnataka
An e-mail interaction
Immediately after the Nandi Hills meeting of the Commission, I rushed the following e-mail to a group of Christian leaders and laymen belonging to various Christian denominations and churches.
My mail to them said: “I need a little help from you urgently. I shall be thankful if you could please rush me a note on the Christian community in Karnataka, their fears, anxieties, agonies, aspirations and social conditions, children's educational needs - about everything that matters to them and what they expect from the present BJP government etc. Not forgetting the developmental programmes meant for them and also about the attacks on them and then, of course, the cow-slaughter bill.”
Those who participated in interaction included:
1. Bishop Samuel Mathew (Believers Church)
2. Fr. Faustine L. Lobo (Catholic Church, Bangalore)
3. Fr. Jayanathan (Catholic Church, Bangalore)
4. Emerson Samuel (Ecumenical)
5. Georgy C. George (Catholic)
6. Brig. (Retd) Chacko Abraham (Orthodox)
7. Mrs. Molly Varghese (Mar Thoma)
8. Rev. Dr. Thomas Ninan (CSI)
9. Siddartha, Fireflies Ashram (Catholic)
10. Suhas Jeede (Methodist)
11. Dr. Thomas George (Catholic)
12. Noel Noronha (Basel Mission)
13. Ram Sunder (Catholic)
14. Dr. C. Alex Alexander (Orthodox)
15. Mr. Philip Mathew (Mar Thoma)
16. Dr. K. C. Samuel (Mar Thoma)
17. Rev. Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel
18. Dr. Thomas George (Catholic)
19. Mathews Philip (Orthodox)
20. Rev. C. S. Hoolgery, (CSI North Karnataka)
21. Rev. Daniel Honnayakar,
22. Rev. P. F. Gedeon, (CSI KND)
23. Pastor John Wesley Baptist Church North Karnataka
24. Pastor Moses Murugavel - Baptist Church in Northern Karnataka.
What emerged from the interactions is:
1) 83% of the population of Karnataka is Hindus, 11% are Muslims, 4% are Christians, 0.78% are Jains, 0.73% are Buddhists and with the remainder belonging to other religions.
2) As for the distribution of Christian population in Karnataka, Southern Karnataka has relatively more concentration with Bangalore City accounting for 5.9%.
3) Christians by and large live above Poverty Line in cities like Bangalore, Mangalore and Mysore. But, their condition elsewhere in Karnataka is miserable and pathetic.
4) Accordingly and justifiably, the participants in the discussion felt that at least 30% of the Rs.207 crores allocated in the 2010-2011 State budget for the Karnataka State Minority Development Corporation must be utilized for the developmental schemes meant for the Christian community.
5) Several participants expressed their disappointment that poor and needy Christians have not yet been able to avail themselves of any benefits worth mentioning from the various government schemes meant for the minorities in Karnataka. They have brought to my notice that almost the entire benefits of the schemes meant for minorities in Karnataka are being used by one single community - the majority community among minority communities. This anomaly needs to be corrected urgently.
6) For instance, during 2008-2009 the Government had allocated Rs. 167 crores for minority development. Out of which Rs. 37 crore had been earmarked for housing, Rs. 15 crores for shaadi mahals and Rs. 5 crore for a Haj bhavan. But, no money seems to have been spent on the Christian community. It is also observed that the announcements of the schemes are done in Urdu and no one else can understand them except the Muslims.
7) Christians complain that they are not invited to the so-called awareness building meetings. Even when invitations are extended, they do not reach them on time. The Christian leaders felt that the community leaders should be informed of these meetings well in advance so that their members could participate in them and bring their grievances to the notice of the Commission.
8) The Minorities Commission doesn’t seem to be aware of the need for a well-planned, well-informed and properly executed awareness building meeting, which will include the Christian community representatives. The itinerary of the commission should be fixed well in advance and be made known to all the minority communities in time so that they can participate at the meeting and present their demands. On the contrary, it is unfortunate that Christians are often blamed by the Commission for not attending the meetings.
9) There is no clarity about the schemes that benefit the Christian community. How do they apply for benefits from various government schemes? Whom to apply? There is urgent need for simplifying the procedures. What can the minorities Commission do about it? Can the Commission allow the representatives from the different minority communities to choose the eligible candidates and present to the Commission?
10) There is fear and anxiety in the minds of Christians because of the continuing violence against them in various parts of the State. They are concerned about the silence of the Minorities Commission in this regard. They are intrigued by the Commission’s inaction in not sending any fact-finding teams to the trouble spots and not taking any initiatives to defuse the tension. There is no representation to the Somashekar Commission by the Minorities Commission so far on behalf of the Christian Community.
11) Their question is “If there are alleged aggressive conversion activities by some Christian preachers or extremists in Christian community who denigrate Hindu gods and their rituals as barbaric, why should the innocent be punished? However, they feel that the State is duty-bound to prevent attacks on Christian community and bring the perpetrators to books. Why the State is allowing the groups to take law into their hands? Because of the government’s apathetic reaction Christians have lost trust in the present government. What can the Commission do about it?
12) It is also true that false cases have been filed against pastors who may not have been into conversion business but who organize worships and prayers for their people. Looks like the local police all over the State is waiting for anyone to rush to them with a complaint against a Christian priest or a pastor, so that they arrest them within no time, without even checking whether there is a prima facie case at all. How does it happen without the connivance of those who are in power? So, there is room for fears and anxiety among Christians.
13) The other issue is, of course, the cow slaughter. “It is the right to food that is at stake along with the right to livelihood of those who are involved in the meat, leather and cosmetics industry”, say Christian leaders. How can the food habit of one is to be questioned? As a matter of fact, it is the farmer who is protecting the cow and not the Govu Shaalas. If cow slaughter is banned the farmer will not rear cow at all because it is not economical for him to look after the unproductive cow and rear a milch cow.
14) A Christian representative(P.N.Benjamin) wanted to know why the Commission sent a letter to the PRO of the Bangalore Catholic Diocese, calling for details about the Church’s assets. It should be borne in mind that the PRO is not the custodian of the assets of the Catholic Church and that the Catholics are NOT the only Christian denomination in Karnataka. All Catholic churches or institutions do not come under the purview of the Bangalore Diocese.
15) The participants suggested that the Minorities Commission appoint an expert committee to study the socio-economic conditions of the Christian community in Karnataka because there is no authentic data available about them in any of the official documents.
16) They pointed out that the officials of the state Minorities’ Development Corporation and the Minorities Commission make the procedures for grants and scholarships difficult and arduous whenever Christians approach them for this purpose. This has led Christians getting frustrated and thus tend to abstain from approaching the Commission or Minorities Corporation,
17) The Christians have not been able to avail themselves of the Government’s Aradhane schemes that support construction of religious places.
18) The officials make it so difficult for Christians when they approach them and the officials even indicate that without a bribe grants are not sanctioned. It sounds so absurd that one has to pay a bribe to get what is rightfully theirs. Giving a bribe is against the spirit of Christian Faith.
19) Lastly, an important suggestion made by the Christian participants in the e-mail interaction is that the chairmanship of the Commission be rotated among the other minority communities also. All the persons who occupied this post in the past have been representatives of a particular minority community which is a gross injustice and disservice to the democratic fabric of the country.
20) Lastly, there are no Christian employees/officers in the Minorities Commission or Minorities Development Corporation as well as the Minoirites Department
P.N.BENJAMIN
Christian Member in the KSMC
20 May 2010
Christian population in Karnataka
Secretary,
Karnataka State Minorities Commission
Dear Mr. Atiq Ahmed,
greetings to you.
I have just seen on the internet that the latest(2010) estimate of population in Karnataka is as follows:
Population of Karnataka consists of:
Hindu - 83%,
Muslim - 11%,
Christian - 4%,
Jains - 0.78% and Buddhist - 0.73%
I shall be grateful if you could double-check this figures and let me know the position.
Please accept my greetings on Bakrid
Yours sincerely
Benjamin
16/11/10
Karnataka State Minorities Commission
Dear Mr. Atiq Ahmed,
greetings to you.
I have just seen on the internet that the latest(2010) estimate of population in Karnataka is as follows:
Population of Karnataka consists of:
Hindu - 83%,
Muslim - 11%,
Christian - 4%,
Jains - 0.78% and Buddhist - 0.73%
I shall be grateful if you could double-check this figures and let me know the position.
Please accept my greetings on Bakrid
Yours sincerely
Benjamin
16/11/10
Monday, December 20, 2010
Break free from evil moulds
BREAK FREE FROM EVIL MOULDS
To begin the New Year with forebodings may sound like a pessimist’s pastime. But there are few stout hearts today that can face it with buoyant self-confidence. Deep-rooted fatalism, dumb acceptance of misery, a raging sea of poverty and a few islands of vulgar luxury, inhabited by a few who behave as if nothing has happened. This is India today. And this should disturb every sensitive Indian in the New Year. The time is past when one could pacify one’s conscience by angry outbursts or exposure of a few misdeeds. The situation is far more serious, the prospect grimmer.
In spite of six decades of effort, our society is still disfigured by gross unfairness which, without constant correction, feeds strongly upon itself. It has helped create a meaner, more selfish and more dangerously tense society – the crushing poverty and misery.
Gross and stubborn inequality is incompatible with justice and fairness and we cannot hope to bring about changes until we launch a major attack on the unjustified disparities that still divide us from one another. We cannot be content with anything less than the elimination of poverty as a social problem. It is a formidable task, but not an insurmountable objective.
We have to break the mould of customs, selfishness and apathy which condemns so many of our fellow-countrymen to avoidable indignity and deprivation. To do that we have to recast the mould of politics. In place of envy, we must put the politics of compassion. In place of politics of cupidity, the politics of justice. And, in place of the politics of opportunism, the politics of principles. Only so can we hope to succeed. Only so will success be worth having.
P.N.BENJAMIN
Christmas Season 2010
To begin the New Year with forebodings may sound like a pessimist’s pastime. But there are few stout hearts today that can face it with buoyant self-confidence. Deep-rooted fatalism, dumb acceptance of misery, a raging sea of poverty and a few islands of vulgar luxury, inhabited by a few who behave as if nothing has happened. This is India today. And this should disturb every sensitive Indian in the New Year. The time is past when one could pacify one’s conscience by angry outbursts or exposure of a few misdeeds. The situation is far more serious, the prospect grimmer.
In spite of six decades of effort, our society is still disfigured by gross unfairness which, without constant correction, feeds strongly upon itself. It has helped create a meaner, more selfish and more dangerously tense society – the crushing poverty and misery.
Gross and stubborn inequality is incompatible with justice and fairness and we cannot hope to bring about changes until we launch a major attack on the unjustified disparities that still divide us from one another. We cannot be content with anything less than the elimination of poverty as a social problem. It is a formidable task, but not an insurmountable objective.
We have to break the mould of customs, selfishness and apathy which condemns so many of our fellow-countrymen to avoidable indignity and deprivation. To do that we have to recast the mould of politics. In place of envy, we must put the politics of compassion. In place of politics of cupidity, the politics of justice. And, in place of the politics of opportunism, the politics of principles. Only so can we hope to succeed. Only so will success be worth having.
P.N.BENJAMIN
Christmas Season 2010
AMBROSE PINTO
AN OPEN LETTER TO FATHER AMBROSE PINTO
Dear Father Ambrose Pinto,
It is intriguing that you have been selected by the BJP government in Karnataka as a recipient of this year’s Rajyotsava Award. Hearty congratulations.
But, touch your heart and give me an honest to God answer: Are you worthy of this honour? Can you deny the fact that every time you open your mouth and wield your pen it is only to spew venom on the Hindu community whom you have always termed as Bhraminical? RSS, VHP. Bajarangi Dal and BJP bashing has been your second nature? In addition, you have a soft-corner for anti-national elements, separatists and the Naxalites and their ideologies through your writings and speeches. I am telling you these facts because I have been critically following your writings and activities in the past two decades or more as a freelance journalist.
Needless to add, self-styled Dalit and minority leaders like you have emerged bereft of principles. Our national life has been polluted by the venality of the discredited men like you. You have therefore no moral right to criticize the ‘saffron brigade’.
My only appeal to you, in the name of the Rebel of Nazareth (Jesus of Nazareth), is to refuse to accept the award conferred on you by the ‘Hindu extremist’ BJP government – if you have an iota of that precious quality called self-respect left in you. I pity the ignorance of those who recommended your name for the coveted award.
God bless
P.N.BENJAMIN
Bangalore
Dear Father Ambrose Pinto,
It is intriguing that you have been selected by the BJP government in Karnataka as a recipient of this year’s Rajyotsava Award. Hearty congratulations.
But, touch your heart and give me an honest to God answer: Are you worthy of this honour? Can you deny the fact that every time you open your mouth and wield your pen it is only to spew venom on the Hindu community whom you have always termed as Bhraminical? RSS, VHP. Bajarangi Dal and BJP bashing has been your second nature? In addition, you have a soft-corner for anti-national elements, separatists and the Naxalites and their ideologies through your writings and speeches. I am telling you these facts because I have been critically following your writings and activities in the past two decades or more as a freelance journalist.
Needless to add, self-styled Dalit and minority leaders like you have emerged bereft of principles. Our national life has been polluted by the venality of the discredited men like you. You have therefore no moral right to criticize the ‘saffron brigade’.
My only appeal to you, in the name of the Rebel of Nazareth (Jesus of Nazareth), is to refuse to accept the award conferred on you by the ‘Hindu extremist’ BJP government – if you have an iota of that precious quality called self-respect left in you. I pity the ignorance of those who recommended your name for the coveted award.
God bless
P.N.BENJAMIN
Bangalore
THE MAGNIFICAT- the Song of Mary
THE SONG OF MARY
By P.N.Benjamin
There is more to Christmas than peace and goodwill. The story of the birth of Jesus Christ begins with a revelation to a peasant girl that she would be the mother of the Messiah – the Saviour of the world. She would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God. She was so overpowered by the message that she breaks into poetic utterance:
“My soul doth magnify the Lord/ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour…/He hath showed strength with his arm/He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts/He hath put down the mighty from their seats/And exalted them of low degree/He hath filled the hungry with good things/And the rich he hath sent empty away…”
This Song of Mary is called the Magnificat. Mary sees a vision of a new order of things where the weak and the poor will throw off their shackles. It is a song of liberation for man as well as for woman.
The Song of Mary reflects the teachings of the prophets of the Old Testament in the Bible. These prophets denounced the oppressors of the people, those who would sell the needy for a pair of shoes. The prophets were constantly exhorting the people to “untie the knots of the yoke, and loose the fetters of justice, to set free those who have been crushed”. And, Mary belonged to this oppressed section of the people.
It might seem strange that in this momentous hour of her life when the angel had cast her in this stupendous role, she should be preoccupied with justice for her people. But one can well imagine that, then as now, this was a burning question. The Jews were under the Roman yoke and longed for the Messiah who would liberate them. Mary’s Song is a song of deliverance not only from foreign domination but the oppressor within the gates.
She did not know then that beginning with the Magnificat the road would end at the Cross where she would stand weeping for her son would show the world an entirely new way. But now it is a cry for justice, liberation from the tyranny of the rich and the exalted. Thus, woven into message of peace and goodwill is also the lesson that these conditions can only come when there is social justice.
It is unfortunate that the Church has sidestepped this problem dispensing charity while ignoring the deeper claims of equality. The Song of Mary is a reminder that charity without justice is an insult, and peace only a graveyard where there is no equality.
Yes, the voice of Christmas cries in the wilderness. It is not a call to violent revolution – for violent revolutions always end in tyranny of one kind or another. Christmas calls for a change of heart, a turning away from oneself to one’s neighbour, and therefore to God. We like to imagine that religion is a love affair between man and God. But the face of the neighbour intrudes.
Christmas reminds us that in a creative relationship there is God, man and always his neighbour – only in such a cooperative partnership can we hope for a restructuring of the social fabric, which will be permanent. In short, Christmas comes to remind us that we are all inextricably bound together in this brief sojourn on this troubled planet – that either we are ALL saved or we are ALL damned for we are all human, all vulnerable, all in need of one another.
With greetings of peace in this Christmas season and happy New Year.
P.N.BENJAMIN
By P.N.Benjamin
There is more to Christmas than peace and goodwill. The story of the birth of Jesus Christ begins with a revelation to a peasant girl that she would be the mother of the Messiah – the Saviour of the world. She would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God. She was so overpowered by the message that she breaks into poetic utterance:
“My soul doth magnify the Lord/ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour…/He hath showed strength with his arm/He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts/He hath put down the mighty from their seats/And exalted them of low degree/He hath filled the hungry with good things/And the rich he hath sent empty away…”
This Song of Mary is called the Magnificat. Mary sees a vision of a new order of things where the weak and the poor will throw off their shackles. It is a song of liberation for man as well as for woman.
The Song of Mary reflects the teachings of the prophets of the Old Testament in the Bible. These prophets denounced the oppressors of the people, those who would sell the needy for a pair of shoes. The prophets were constantly exhorting the people to “untie the knots of the yoke, and loose the fetters of justice, to set free those who have been crushed”. And, Mary belonged to this oppressed section of the people.
It might seem strange that in this momentous hour of her life when the angel had cast her in this stupendous role, she should be preoccupied with justice for her people. But one can well imagine that, then as now, this was a burning question. The Jews were under the Roman yoke and longed for the Messiah who would liberate them. Mary’s Song is a song of deliverance not only from foreign domination but the oppressor within the gates.
She did not know then that beginning with the Magnificat the road would end at the Cross where she would stand weeping for her son would show the world an entirely new way. But now it is a cry for justice, liberation from the tyranny of the rich and the exalted. Thus, woven into message of peace and goodwill is also the lesson that these conditions can only come when there is social justice.
It is unfortunate that the Church has sidestepped this problem dispensing charity while ignoring the deeper claims of equality. The Song of Mary is a reminder that charity without justice is an insult, and peace only a graveyard where there is no equality.
Yes, the voice of Christmas cries in the wilderness. It is not a call to violent revolution – for violent revolutions always end in tyranny of one kind or another. Christmas calls for a change of heart, a turning away from oneself to one’s neighbour, and therefore to God. We like to imagine that religion is a love affair between man and God. But the face of the neighbour intrudes.
Christmas reminds us that in a creative relationship there is God, man and always his neighbour – only in such a cooperative partnership can we hope for a restructuring of the social fabric, which will be permanent. In short, Christmas comes to remind us that we are all inextricably bound together in this brief sojourn on this troubled planet – that either we are ALL saved or we are ALL damned for we are all human, all vulnerable, all in need of one another.
With greetings of peace in this Christmas season and happy New Year.
P.N.BENJAMIN
Sunday, December 5, 2010
HOLY FAMILY CHURCH HINKAL MYSORE
ATTACK ON HOLY FAMILY CHURCH IN MYSORE
REPORT OF THE BIRD-RSS FACT FINDING TEAM THAT VISITED MYSORE ON 19 February, 2002
PREAMBLE
THE dictum – “Let our words be matched by deed” – made full sense when the leaders of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) in Karnataka and the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) decided to send a joint fact finding team to Mysore for gathering first-hand information on the violent incident on 17th February 2002 (Sunday) at the Holy Family Catholic Church. It was also to reassure the Christian community that the RSS and BIRD share their anxieties, concerns, and fears and stand by them in this hour of crisis.
The RSS was thus honouring its commitment, in letter and spirit, it made to the Christian community at the first meeting between RSS and BIRD in November at the Bible Society of India in Bangalore. The commitment was that in the event of future violence against Christian community anywhere in Karnataka, the RSS leaders would rush the trouble spot along with representatives of the BIRD to defuse the tension and restore peace and normalcy in the area.
The team led by Dr. Upendra Shenoy, included Mr. V. A. Gopala and Mr. Chandrashekar Bhandary of the RSS and Dr. Thomas George of Asian Council for Communal Harmony, and P. N. Benjamin of the BIRD. They reached Mysore by 11.30 a.m. They could not meet the Catholic Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Roy immediately as planned because he was leading the protest march of Christians at that time.
MEETING WITH RSS/VHP LEADERS
So, they first met Dr. V. V. Bapat. He is a well-known pediatrician and the Mysore District president of RSS. According to him the root cause for such communal tension and hatred is the issue of conversion. He agreed that there should be a mechanism to defuse communal tension and prevent violent incidents in the future.
Later the team went to the residence of Mr. V. Vittala Rao, a prominent merchant and an activist of the RSS in Mysore. There they met Mr. Sadashiva, Pracharak Pramukh of RSS (South Karnataka) and Mrs. Veena Bapat, social worker and VHP activist. Mr. Sudhakar Shetty, President, Hotel Owners’ Association, Mysore, also took part in the discussion. (The association has over a thousand members. Mr. Shetty does not belong to any groups – political or religious.)
While all of them condemned the attack on the church, they wondered why so much of media hype is given to such a minor incident of violence and questioned the authorities’ over-reaction. They expressed their dissatisfaction at the double standards followed by the media and the government in the light of the unabated violent incidents in the neighbouring Madhikere where the Hindu temples were ransacked and desecrated a few weeks back.
They also expressed their disapproval of the activities of certain Christian groups distributing pamphlets ridiculing Hindus and urging poor and lower strata of the Hindu community to convert them to Christianity. Whatever had happened at Hinakal Church, “ is nothing but an out-burst of some accumulated anger against the conversion activities systematically carried out in and around Mysore by Christians”. According to them the root cause was the distribution of the pamphlets and the attack was only its effect”. Of course, one may claim that there is nothing wrong in distributing pamphlets and may justify it as within one’s constitutional right, but if the contents of the pamphlets are outrageous to the sentiments of the majority community it is natural that they react violently. No doubt violence is unjust but unfortunately in an emotionally surcharged situation, discretion becomes the casualty”, they averred.
The fact finding team and the participants in the discussion were unanimous in their opinion that every citizen of this country has the right to preach, practise and propagate his/her own religion but that should not cross the limits of decency and should not hurt the sensitivities of adherents of other faiths.
While strongly condemning the violence in the church, Dr. Upendra Shenoy impressed upon them the urgent need to enter into an open-hearted discussion and dialogue with the Christian community to diffuse the prevailing tension and to dispel mutual fears and misunderstandings. To achieve this goal and to prevent recurrence of such incidents of violence in future, he added, they must find permanent machinery - a platform for joint meetings of representatives of the two communities. Dr. Bapat, who later joined the group, agreed, as per Dr. Upendra Shenoy’s suggestion, to coordinate the proposed peace initiative (an initiative similar to BIRD) comprising of both Hindu and Christian representatives.
DIALOGUE WITH CATHOLIC BISHOP AND OTHER LEADERS
In the afternoon (2.15 p.m.) the team met Bishop Dr. Joseph Roy at the Bishop’s House. Bishop Roy warmly welcomed the fact-finding team. Father Noronha and Father Leslie Morris were too joined the discussion. Dr. Bapat and Mr. Vittal, as representatives of RSS/VHP also participated.
Bishop Roy, Fr. Noronha, and Fr. Leslie spoke in detail about the attack on the Holy Family Church. They expressed their sorrow, anxieties, and fears about the recurring violence against the Christians. Bishop told the team that one youth, by name, Kumar, was the main culprit behind the violent incident at the church. He further told that the same youth had created a scene during December 2001. At that time when members of the Holy Family Church were visiting Catholic homes, singing carols, as is the custom among Christians everywhere in the world during Christmas season, some youngsters from nearby village led by Kumar, threatened them and damaged the musical instruments. The incident was reported to the police authorities, but no action has been taken till today on the complaint.
According to the Bishop, on Sunday, 17 February, at about 10 a.m., Kumar intruded in to the room where Father William, parish priest of the Holy Family Church was talking to four VHP leaders. He used some abusive language against the priest. The parishioners present there objected to it. This led to a commotion. Kumar went out to return immediately, accompanied by about fifty emotionally charged youths. They were at nobody’s control. They ransacked the priest’s room, entered the church and damaged some furniture and broke window glasses. In the melee a few parishioners sustained minor injuries. They included women and children.
Bishop Roy also spoke highly appreciatively about the timely intervention of Mr. Pappaya, a village leader of Hinkal, who rushed to the spot and chased the unruly mob away. It was this man, a Hindu, who prevented the situation being turned into a bloody battleground that would have resulted in unimaginable loss of property, limbs, and even innocent lives.
The Catholic priests who were present at the dialogue emphatically told RSS-BIRD team that the Catholic Church does not indulge in any conversion activities and wondered why they are being accused of these activities and why the Catholic priests and nuns and their institutions are always the targets of violent attacks and vandalism.
Mr. Benjamin shared the priests’ concern. He said that among the Christian community, only Catholic priests and nuns are murdered and raped mainly because they are easily identified as Christians by the dress they wear. They are the visible Christian missionaries in the eyes of ordinary people. They are always dressed in cassocks and robes. Most of the Hindus and other religionists, including the enlightened media persons, do not know that Christians are divided into hundreds of denominations whose priests, preachers, and pastors rarely put on their cassocks and move around. (It is said that there are about 37 Christian denominations operating in Mysore itself.) “Although my analysis may sound too simplistic, I firmly believe that it is this mistaken identity that makes the Catholic priests and nuns always the victims of vicious attacks, brutal murder and rape, while the fanatic and fundamentalist fringe of Christian denominations who provoke, ridicule and belittle the Hindu way of life go scot free”, Benjamin added.
Mr. Sadashiva, Pracharak Pramukh of RSS South Karnataka, produced two pamphlets distributed allegedly by the Holy Family Church members. On close scrutiny it was found these were printed, published and distributed by some revivalist Christian organization in Bangalore.
Dr. Upendra Shenoy appealed to the Bishop and the priests to set up a peace committee consisting of representatives of Christian and Hindu communities, which would have regular meetings and interactions so that violent incidents could be nipped in the bud itself in future. He informed the gathering that he has named four RSS/VHP leaders in Mysore to be part of the committee. They are: Dr. Srinivasa Murthy (Sanghachalak, Mysore Division of RSS), Dr. V. V. Bapat (Sanghachalak, Mysore District), Mr. Madappa, Mr. Shyam Bhat and Mr. Keshava Murthy (Advocates). Dr. Shenoy requested the Bishop to nominate Christian representatives to the committee. The Bishop agreed to consider the suggestion and would inform Dr. Bapat about it soon.
“Should there be any sign of tension building up between Hindus and Christians and possibility of recurrence of violence, please get in touch with Dr. Bapat who would in turn rush to the spot along with RSS/VHP members and help iron out differences and bring peace”, assured Dr. Shenoy on behalf of the RSS and VHP to the Church leaders present at the meeting.
Dr. Thomas George of Asian Council for Communal Harmony informed the gathering that he came with the RSS-BIRD team because the Archbishop of Bangalore, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Pinto, had asked him to do everything possible to bring peace between the Church and the Hindu community in Mysore. He also said that the Archbishop had informed Bishop Roy previous day itself about the team’s visit.
Mr. Vasukhi of ANI, Mr. Bhanutej of The Week, Father Melvin, and Mr. Sajan K. George, who ‘dramatically’ appeared on the scene in the midst of the talks, were present until the end of the dialogue.
Immediately after the meeting with the bishop and others, in an interview to ANI- a TV channel- Dr Upendra Shenoy condemned in strong words vandalism at worshiping places, including the violent incident occurred at the Hinkal church.
MEETING WITH ADVOCATES
Later the team met a few advocates at the District Court. Advocate Shyam Bhat whose clientele list includes local churches, questioned why the Christian missionaries are partial towards poorer section of Hindus while rendering services. He wanted to know why slums dominated by Muslim population are ignored for service activities. He also spoke about the simmering anger in the Hindu minds for various other reasons, for example, commercialisation of the Church property donated by the former Maharaja of Mysore for charitable and educational purposes. Advocate Mr. Medappa too expressed similar opinions. According to them, there is no mention in the FIR of the involvement of any advocate in the Hinkal vandalism.
The team also met Advocate Keshava Murthy who has been implicated in the case. To a blunt question by Mr. Benjamin about his reported connection with Bajarang Dal, he replied: “I am too old to be a member of Bajarang Dal. That says it all, Mr. Benjamin”. Our enquiries revealed that Mr. Keshava Murthy is a highly respected and well-known senior advocate in the Mysore Bar. He is a former principal of Hassan Law College. He is involved in various social service activities, including orphanages in slums in and around Mysore City.
VISIT TO HOLY FAMILY CHURCH
The RSS-BIRD delegation visited the Holy Family Church and met the parish priest Father William at about 6 p.m. We had a long and cordial talk with him at his residence. Dr. Upendra Shenoy and Dr. Thomas George spoke to him on behalf of the fact-finding team. They said that the team was visiting him and members of his parish to get the first hand information on the violent incident in his church and also to express their regret over it. They also assured them that they stand by the Catholic Church now and would continue to do so in the future too. They also told Father William and the parishioners that dialogue alone would be the only antidote to violence in future.
Father William told the team that when he was engaged in cordial talks with VHP leaders on Sunday morning after the Holy Mass, Kumar who had threatened the members of the parish in December, suddenly appeared on the scene and created a ruckus. (Father William’s version of the incident is exactly the same as that of the Bishop and others told us earlier. So, there’s no need for its repetition). Fr. William emphatically denied the charge that pamphlets encouraging conversion to Christianity originated from his church. They were distributed by some other Christian denominations. He too made it clear that the Catholic Church does not believe in conversion. He said: “Catholics at Hinkal live in peace with neighbours of other faiths. There has been nor quarrel or misunderstanding between them so far. Those who are involved in the incident are outsiders… It was the village leader Mr. Pappanna’s timely intervention that prevented further violence”. He also agreed that inter-religious dialogue is necessary for defusing tension among different communities. Father William said that the attack was an unexpected one. He had no knowledge of any violence brewing or erupting around his church. It looked as though it were not pre-planned, he said. The team’s visit to the church ended in a very cordial and friendly note.
Father Malcolm Bogadi, a former priest of the Holy Family Church, and Messrs. A. James, Jayakumar, Wilfred, Deepak and Ambrose (all members of the parish) were present at the meeting. The team rounded off the visit after calling on Dr. Srinivasa Murthy, Sanghachalak of RSS, Mysore Division, and listening to his version on the Church incident, which too tallied with the facts we had already gathered. He readily agreed to be on the proposed peace committee/initiative in Mysore.
FINDINGS OF THE RSS-BIRD TEAM
1. What happened at the Holy Family Church, Hinkal was a minor local incident and it should have been localized and contained.
2. There was no need for blowing it out of proportion and flashing it on national and international media. It was a classic example of making a mountain out of a molehill. On the other hand, when eight innocent Hindus, including three children were brutally massacred in J&K on the same day there was not a a word of condemnation from the so-called defenders of minorities from the secular and human rights warriors and even the media. A Hindu temple at Coorg too was under attack a couple of weeks back allegedly by a group belonging to a minority community. But why were these incidents of brutality not given wide publicity by the press. The media should have followed a similar attitude towards the Hinkal incident too.
3. We are of the opinion that the incident was not pre-planned. We agree with Father William in this context.
4. We believe that the violent incident took place due to “mistaken identity” as explained by Mr. Benjamin during the talks with Bishop Roy and others. In the eyes of the Hindus and even to the media persons, the Catholic priests and nuns are the “visible” Christian missionaries. They move around in their official dress (cassocks and robes) and are mistaken for preachers, priests, and pastors of Christian groups who use doubtful methods and words that are derogatory to neighbours of other faiths “to gain converts”. There are hundreds of varieties of Christian sects in India- a fact seems to be unknown to non-Christians and media persons alike.
5. We are convinced that the Catholic Church does not encourage conversions to Christianity.
6. We are, again, convinced that the pamphlets urging conversions were NOT distributed by or originated from the Holy Family Church. They were printed, published, and distributed by some fundamentalist Christian groups unconnected with mainline churches. The mainline churches are Catholic, CSI, CNI, Mar Thoma, Syrian Orthodox, and Jacobite.
7. Self-styled leaders of Christian community and unscrupulous politicians are using ordinary Christians as cannon fodder for their narrow and selfish ends. This seems to have happened in the Hinkal incident also. Those who claim to be spokesmen and defenders of the Christian Faith and the Indian Christian community spread distress and division and to all appearances, enjoy the grace and favour of the State Government. This encouragement helps the growth of powerful elements of separatism and disunity.
8. Whenever two communities are at loggerheads, emotions should not be allowed to take its own free course. Facts should be bared and emotions should be contained. Regular meetings among various communities will be a bulwark against the recurrence of communal tensions and passions and also ‘a guarantor of peace and amity between different religious communities. ’
THE ROAD AHEAD
1. We have underlined the importance of establishing friendly relations and collaboration on issues of common interest and in pursuit of amity and peace between Hindus and Christians in Mysore.
2. Our experience is that inter-religious communities often spring up in response to crises and public emergencies also.
3. We are aware of the vital need of forming inter-faith communities in rural areas.
4. Every person and institution, especially places of worship, should take the initiative in forming inter-religious communities in cities and rural areas.
5. Dialogue is a necessary tool for overcoming alienation and halting the march of hatred and misunderstanding.
6. Engaging in dialogue will enable us to graduate from coercion to the art of persuasion and the resources of civilized world
7. Our mission to Mysore has renewed our conviction that to be religious is to grow in openness to other traditions.
CONCLUSION
Conscious of our limitations in facing challenges posed by the prevailing tension and misunderstandings between Christians and Hindus in Mysore, consequent to the recent incident of violence at the Holy Family Church, we fellow pilgrims of inter-faith pilgrimage, affirm our faith in one another, and our hope for a society where divisions will cease and people will live together in harmony, respect, love and compassion. Our hearts are full of gratitude for the leaders of the Catholic Church and Hindu community in Mysore who extended their full support and co-operation in our humble initiative to iron out differences between the two communities through free, frank and openhearted talks and promised to establish a permanent peace initiative to continue the dialogue process in Mysore. We are confident that these leaders will be channels of peaces in that city and its surroundings so that in the days to come they will be able to prevent recurrence of communal violence.
The road ahead of the peace-makers is long, narrow, and arduous. The coming together of RSS and BIRD amounts to no more than, as it were, striking a match in a dark immense cavern, to dispel the surrounding gloom. We hope and pray such initiatives for peace and communal harmony will soon spring up in various parts of Karnataka.
We returned home on the night of 19th February confirmed in our resolve to work more effectively with added vigour and spirit for a harmonious family of faiths.
REPORT PREPARED BY:
P. N. BENJAMIN, Co-ordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD)
Tel. 080 5486880
E-mail: benjaminpn@hotmail.com
IN CONSULTATION WITH
CHANDRASHEKHAR BHANDARY V. A. GOPALA
RSS Prachar Vibhag Pramukh RSS, Prachar Vibhag Pramukh
Karnatak Uttara and Dakshina Bangalore, Tumkur and Mysore
& Dr. Thomas George
REPORT OF THE BIRD-RSS FACT FINDING TEAM THAT VISITED MYSORE ON 19 February, 2002
PREAMBLE
THE dictum – “Let our words be matched by deed” – made full sense when the leaders of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) in Karnataka and the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) decided to send a joint fact finding team to Mysore for gathering first-hand information on the violent incident on 17th February 2002 (Sunday) at the Holy Family Catholic Church. It was also to reassure the Christian community that the RSS and BIRD share their anxieties, concerns, and fears and stand by them in this hour of crisis.
The RSS was thus honouring its commitment, in letter and spirit, it made to the Christian community at the first meeting between RSS and BIRD in November at the Bible Society of India in Bangalore. The commitment was that in the event of future violence against Christian community anywhere in Karnataka, the RSS leaders would rush the trouble spot along with representatives of the BIRD to defuse the tension and restore peace and normalcy in the area.
The team led by Dr. Upendra Shenoy, included Mr. V. A. Gopala and Mr. Chandrashekar Bhandary of the RSS and Dr. Thomas George of Asian Council for Communal Harmony, and P. N. Benjamin of the BIRD. They reached Mysore by 11.30 a.m. They could not meet the Catholic Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Roy immediately as planned because he was leading the protest march of Christians at that time.
MEETING WITH RSS/VHP LEADERS
So, they first met Dr. V. V. Bapat. He is a well-known pediatrician and the Mysore District president of RSS. According to him the root cause for such communal tension and hatred is the issue of conversion. He agreed that there should be a mechanism to defuse communal tension and prevent violent incidents in the future.
Later the team went to the residence of Mr. V. Vittala Rao, a prominent merchant and an activist of the RSS in Mysore. There they met Mr. Sadashiva, Pracharak Pramukh of RSS (South Karnataka) and Mrs. Veena Bapat, social worker and VHP activist. Mr. Sudhakar Shetty, President, Hotel Owners’ Association, Mysore, also took part in the discussion. (The association has over a thousand members. Mr. Shetty does not belong to any groups – political or religious.)
While all of them condemned the attack on the church, they wondered why so much of media hype is given to such a minor incident of violence and questioned the authorities’ over-reaction. They expressed their dissatisfaction at the double standards followed by the media and the government in the light of the unabated violent incidents in the neighbouring Madhikere where the Hindu temples were ransacked and desecrated a few weeks back.
They also expressed their disapproval of the activities of certain Christian groups distributing pamphlets ridiculing Hindus and urging poor and lower strata of the Hindu community to convert them to Christianity. Whatever had happened at Hinakal Church, “ is nothing but an out-burst of some accumulated anger against the conversion activities systematically carried out in and around Mysore by Christians”. According to them the root cause was the distribution of the pamphlets and the attack was only its effect”. Of course, one may claim that there is nothing wrong in distributing pamphlets and may justify it as within one’s constitutional right, but if the contents of the pamphlets are outrageous to the sentiments of the majority community it is natural that they react violently. No doubt violence is unjust but unfortunately in an emotionally surcharged situation, discretion becomes the casualty”, they averred.
The fact finding team and the participants in the discussion were unanimous in their opinion that every citizen of this country has the right to preach, practise and propagate his/her own religion but that should not cross the limits of decency and should not hurt the sensitivities of adherents of other faiths.
While strongly condemning the violence in the church, Dr. Upendra Shenoy impressed upon them the urgent need to enter into an open-hearted discussion and dialogue with the Christian community to diffuse the prevailing tension and to dispel mutual fears and misunderstandings. To achieve this goal and to prevent recurrence of such incidents of violence in future, he added, they must find permanent machinery - a platform for joint meetings of representatives of the two communities. Dr. Bapat, who later joined the group, agreed, as per Dr. Upendra Shenoy’s suggestion, to coordinate the proposed peace initiative (an initiative similar to BIRD) comprising of both Hindu and Christian representatives.
DIALOGUE WITH CATHOLIC BISHOP AND OTHER LEADERS
In the afternoon (2.15 p.m.) the team met Bishop Dr. Joseph Roy at the Bishop’s House. Bishop Roy warmly welcomed the fact-finding team. Father Noronha and Father Leslie Morris were too joined the discussion. Dr. Bapat and Mr. Vittal, as representatives of RSS/VHP also participated.
Bishop Roy, Fr. Noronha, and Fr. Leslie spoke in detail about the attack on the Holy Family Church. They expressed their sorrow, anxieties, and fears about the recurring violence against the Christians. Bishop told the team that one youth, by name, Kumar, was the main culprit behind the violent incident at the church. He further told that the same youth had created a scene during December 2001. At that time when members of the Holy Family Church were visiting Catholic homes, singing carols, as is the custom among Christians everywhere in the world during Christmas season, some youngsters from nearby village led by Kumar, threatened them and damaged the musical instruments. The incident was reported to the police authorities, but no action has been taken till today on the complaint.
According to the Bishop, on Sunday, 17 February, at about 10 a.m., Kumar intruded in to the room where Father William, parish priest of the Holy Family Church was talking to four VHP leaders. He used some abusive language against the priest. The parishioners present there objected to it. This led to a commotion. Kumar went out to return immediately, accompanied by about fifty emotionally charged youths. They were at nobody’s control. They ransacked the priest’s room, entered the church and damaged some furniture and broke window glasses. In the melee a few parishioners sustained minor injuries. They included women and children.
Bishop Roy also spoke highly appreciatively about the timely intervention of Mr. Pappaya, a village leader of Hinkal, who rushed to the spot and chased the unruly mob away. It was this man, a Hindu, who prevented the situation being turned into a bloody battleground that would have resulted in unimaginable loss of property, limbs, and even innocent lives.
The Catholic priests who were present at the dialogue emphatically told RSS-BIRD team that the Catholic Church does not indulge in any conversion activities and wondered why they are being accused of these activities and why the Catholic priests and nuns and their institutions are always the targets of violent attacks and vandalism.
Mr. Benjamin shared the priests’ concern. He said that among the Christian community, only Catholic priests and nuns are murdered and raped mainly because they are easily identified as Christians by the dress they wear. They are the visible Christian missionaries in the eyes of ordinary people. They are always dressed in cassocks and robes. Most of the Hindus and other religionists, including the enlightened media persons, do not know that Christians are divided into hundreds of denominations whose priests, preachers, and pastors rarely put on their cassocks and move around. (It is said that there are about 37 Christian denominations operating in Mysore itself.) “Although my analysis may sound too simplistic, I firmly believe that it is this mistaken identity that makes the Catholic priests and nuns always the victims of vicious attacks, brutal murder and rape, while the fanatic and fundamentalist fringe of Christian denominations who provoke, ridicule and belittle the Hindu way of life go scot free”, Benjamin added.
Mr. Sadashiva, Pracharak Pramukh of RSS South Karnataka, produced two pamphlets distributed allegedly by the Holy Family Church members. On close scrutiny it was found these were printed, published and distributed by some revivalist Christian organization in Bangalore.
Dr. Upendra Shenoy appealed to the Bishop and the priests to set up a peace committee consisting of representatives of Christian and Hindu communities, which would have regular meetings and interactions so that violent incidents could be nipped in the bud itself in future. He informed the gathering that he has named four RSS/VHP leaders in Mysore to be part of the committee. They are: Dr. Srinivasa Murthy (Sanghachalak, Mysore Division of RSS), Dr. V. V. Bapat (Sanghachalak, Mysore District), Mr. Madappa, Mr. Shyam Bhat and Mr. Keshava Murthy (Advocates). Dr. Shenoy requested the Bishop to nominate Christian representatives to the committee. The Bishop agreed to consider the suggestion and would inform Dr. Bapat about it soon.
“Should there be any sign of tension building up between Hindus and Christians and possibility of recurrence of violence, please get in touch with Dr. Bapat who would in turn rush to the spot along with RSS/VHP members and help iron out differences and bring peace”, assured Dr. Shenoy on behalf of the RSS and VHP to the Church leaders present at the meeting.
Dr. Thomas George of Asian Council for Communal Harmony informed the gathering that he came with the RSS-BIRD team because the Archbishop of Bangalore, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Pinto, had asked him to do everything possible to bring peace between the Church and the Hindu community in Mysore. He also said that the Archbishop had informed Bishop Roy previous day itself about the team’s visit.
Mr. Vasukhi of ANI, Mr. Bhanutej of The Week, Father Melvin, and Mr. Sajan K. George, who ‘dramatically’ appeared on the scene in the midst of the talks, were present until the end of the dialogue.
Immediately after the meeting with the bishop and others, in an interview to ANI- a TV channel- Dr Upendra Shenoy condemned in strong words vandalism at worshiping places, including the violent incident occurred at the Hinkal church.
MEETING WITH ADVOCATES
Later the team met a few advocates at the District Court. Advocate Shyam Bhat whose clientele list includes local churches, questioned why the Christian missionaries are partial towards poorer section of Hindus while rendering services. He wanted to know why slums dominated by Muslim population are ignored for service activities. He also spoke about the simmering anger in the Hindu minds for various other reasons, for example, commercialisation of the Church property donated by the former Maharaja of Mysore for charitable and educational purposes. Advocate Mr. Medappa too expressed similar opinions. According to them, there is no mention in the FIR of the involvement of any advocate in the Hinkal vandalism.
The team also met Advocate Keshava Murthy who has been implicated in the case. To a blunt question by Mr. Benjamin about his reported connection with Bajarang Dal, he replied: “I am too old to be a member of Bajarang Dal. That says it all, Mr. Benjamin”. Our enquiries revealed that Mr. Keshava Murthy is a highly respected and well-known senior advocate in the Mysore Bar. He is a former principal of Hassan Law College. He is involved in various social service activities, including orphanages in slums in and around Mysore City.
VISIT TO HOLY FAMILY CHURCH
The RSS-BIRD delegation visited the Holy Family Church and met the parish priest Father William at about 6 p.m. We had a long and cordial talk with him at his residence. Dr. Upendra Shenoy and Dr. Thomas George spoke to him on behalf of the fact-finding team. They said that the team was visiting him and members of his parish to get the first hand information on the violent incident in his church and also to express their regret over it. They also assured them that they stand by the Catholic Church now and would continue to do so in the future too. They also told Father William and the parishioners that dialogue alone would be the only antidote to violence in future.
Father William told the team that when he was engaged in cordial talks with VHP leaders on Sunday morning after the Holy Mass, Kumar who had threatened the members of the parish in December, suddenly appeared on the scene and created a ruckus. (Father William’s version of the incident is exactly the same as that of the Bishop and others told us earlier. So, there’s no need for its repetition). Fr. William emphatically denied the charge that pamphlets encouraging conversion to Christianity originated from his church. They were distributed by some other Christian denominations. He too made it clear that the Catholic Church does not believe in conversion. He said: “Catholics at Hinkal live in peace with neighbours of other faiths. There has been nor quarrel or misunderstanding between them so far. Those who are involved in the incident are outsiders… It was the village leader Mr. Pappanna’s timely intervention that prevented further violence”. He also agreed that inter-religious dialogue is necessary for defusing tension among different communities. Father William said that the attack was an unexpected one. He had no knowledge of any violence brewing or erupting around his church. It looked as though it were not pre-planned, he said. The team’s visit to the church ended in a very cordial and friendly note.
Father Malcolm Bogadi, a former priest of the Holy Family Church, and Messrs. A. James, Jayakumar, Wilfred, Deepak and Ambrose (all members of the parish) were present at the meeting. The team rounded off the visit after calling on Dr. Srinivasa Murthy, Sanghachalak of RSS, Mysore Division, and listening to his version on the Church incident, which too tallied with the facts we had already gathered. He readily agreed to be on the proposed peace committee/initiative in Mysore.
FINDINGS OF THE RSS-BIRD TEAM
1. What happened at the Holy Family Church, Hinkal was a minor local incident and it should have been localized and contained.
2. There was no need for blowing it out of proportion and flashing it on national and international media. It was a classic example of making a mountain out of a molehill. On the other hand, when eight innocent Hindus, including three children were brutally massacred in J&K on the same day there was not a a word of condemnation from the so-called defenders of minorities from the secular and human rights warriors and even the media. A Hindu temple at Coorg too was under attack a couple of weeks back allegedly by a group belonging to a minority community. But why were these incidents of brutality not given wide publicity by the press. The media should have followed a similar attitude towards the Hinkal incident too.
3. We are of the opinion that the incident was not pre-planned. We agree with Father William in this context.
4. We believe that the violent incident took place due to “mistaken identity” as explained by Mr. Benjamin during the talks with Bishop Roy and others. In the eyes of the Hindus and even to the media persons, the Catholic priests and nuns are the “visible” Christian missionaries. They move around in their official dress (cassocks and robes) and are mistaken for preachers, priests, and pastors of Christian groups who use doubtful methods and words that are derogatory to neighbours of other faiths “to gain converts”. There are hundreds of varieties of Christian sects in India- a fact seems to be unknown to non-Christians and media persons alike.
5. We are convinced that the Catholic Church does not encourage conversions to Christianity.
6. We are, again, convinced that the pamphlets urging conversions were NOT distributed by or originated from the Holy Family Church. They were printed, published, and distributed by some fundamentalist Christian groups unconnected with mainline churches. The mainline churches are Catholic, CSI, CNI, Mar Thoma, Syrian Orthodox, and Jacobite.
7. Self-styled leaders of Christian community and unscrupulous politicians are using ordinary Christians as cannon fodder for their narrow and selfish ends. This seems to have happened in the Hinkal incident also. Those who claim to be spokesmen and defenders of the Christian Faith and the Indian Christian community spread distress and division and to all appearances, enjoy the grace and favour of the State Government. This encouragement helps the growth of powerful elements of separatism and disunity.
8. Whenever two communities are at loggerheads, emotions should not be allowed to take its own free course. Facts should be bared and emotions should be contained. Regular meetings among various communities will be a bulwark against the recurrence of communal tensions and passions and also ‘a guarantor of peace and amity between different religious communities. ’
THE ROAD AHEAD
1. We have underlined the importance of establishing friendly relations and collaboration on issues of common interest and in pursuit of amity and peace between Hindus and Christians in Mysore.
2. Our experience is that inter-religious communities often spring up in response to crises and public emergencies also.
3. We are aware of the vital need of forming inter-faith communities in rural areas.
4. Every person and institution, especially places of worship, should take the initiative in forming inter-religious communities in cities and rural areas.
5. Dialogue is a necessary tool for overcoming alienation and halting the march of hatred and misunderstanding.
6. Engaging in dialogue will enable us to graduate from coercion to the art of persuasion and the resources of civilized world
7. Our mission to Mysore has renewed our conviction that to be religious is to grow in openness to other traditions.
CONCLUSION
Conscious of our limitations in facing challenges posed by the prevailing tension and misunderstandings between Christians and Hindus in Mysore, consequent to the recent incident of violence at the Holy Family Church, we fellow pilgrims of inter-faith pilgrimage, affirm our faith in one another, and our hope for a society where divisions will cease and people will live together in harmony, respect, love and compassion. Our hearts are full of gratitude for the leaders of the Catholic Church and Hindu community in Mysore who extended their full support and co-operation in our humble initiative to iron out differences between the two communities through free, frank and openhearted talks and promised to establish a permanent peace initiative to continue the dialogue process in Mysore. We are confident that these leaders will be channels of peaces in that city and its surroundings so that in the days to come they will be able to prevent recurrence of communal violence.
The road ahead of the peace-makers is long, narrow, and arduous. The coming together of RSS and BIRD amounts to no more than, as it were, striking a match in a dark immense cavern, to dispel the surrounding gloom. We hope and pray such initiatives for peace and communal harmony will soon spring up in various parts of Karnataka.
We returned home on the night of 19th February confirmed in our resolve to work more effectively with added vigour and spirit for a harmonious family of faiths.
REPORT PREPARED BY:
P. N. BENJAMIN, Co-ordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD)
Tel. 080 5486880
E-mail: benjaminpn@hotmail.com
IN CONSULTATION WITH
CHANDRASHEKHAR BHANDARY V. A. GOPALA
RSS Prachar Vibhag Pramukh RSS, Prachar Vibhag Pramukh
Karnatak Uttara and Dakshina Bangalore, Tumkur and Mysore
& Dr. Thomas George
Collapse of moral standards
COLLAPSE OF MORAL STANDARDS IN MEDIA
P NBENJAMIN
THE FOURTH Estate ranks first in shaping public opinion when society is politically literate and socially insensitive even in this information age and knowledge era.
We have not yet fully realized the profound importance to our democracy of an educative, objective newspaper, which publishes promptly and marshals information without fear and favour, affection and ill will. Journalistic independence, intelligence, investigative ability and probity are integral to the greatness of the Press. In the Mudroch epoch, sex, vulgar values, purchase of the readers’ souls and propaganda which beats cultural heritage and vintage traditions, are apt to captivate readership and buy up the media with monopolistic hunger. There are newspapers even today, which are no mere mechanical messengers but are dailies with a message, which makes the reader more informed, illumined and thoughtful.
John Pilger (Hidden Agenda) writes: “ I have become convinced that it is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers, without understanding the hidden agenda of the message and the myths that surround it. High on the lists is the myth that we now live in an “information age” – when, in fact, we live in a media age, in which the available information is repetitive, ‘safe’ and limited by invisible boundaries. In the day-to-day media, much of this is the propaganda of Western power, whose narcissism, dissembling language and omissions often prevent us from understanding the meaning of contemporary events. ‘Globalization’ is a prime example. This smokescreen extends to journalists themselves.
Fawning servants, obedient aides, and the symbols of success surround the powerful in the country. In our country those who reach the mountaintop are so pampered and so insulated by the trappings of power that they can easily forget that they are servants, not masters, of the nation. It is far more pleasant to write puffery about the powerful in the social, political and religious fields, of course, than it is to probe their perfidy. “ Public officeholders are usually likable; that is why they get elected (or continue to occupy high positions in public and religious and educational institutions). Many reporters taken in by this “personal charm”, are awed by the “majesty” of office/position; and they become publicists rather than critics of the men who occupy the offices”(The Anderson Papers).
Jack Anderson, wary of the collapse of moral standards in the media observes that they become the lap dogs of government (and also powerful persons in the private institutions) instead of watchdogs over them. They wag their tails and seek approval instead of growling at the abuses of power. The reporters who go along with the powerful, and act as explainers and apologists for those who violate the public trust, must be considered accessories to the pillage. Like the politician and special seekers, these men sell a little of themselves each day; and the chumminess between the power structure and the Press apparatus robs the reports of integrity. Erosion of integrity seems inevitable. If power belongs to the people and the Press is a trustee, resistance to exotic pressure is a new challenge to the Indian media
Spare a moment to consider corruption among journalists themselves? The media seldom expose journalistic corruption except when the delictum is so flagrante that there can be no conceivable defence. Members of a guild protect their own. But what about the large tracts of real estate in the State capitals and district headquarters which every State Government thinks it worthwhile labelling a Jornalists Colony? What about the gifts in cash and kind reporters on the business pages are liable to receive for lauding a particular scrip or company? What about the wining and dining journalists accept, so much so that even a charitable initiative goes without newspaper coverage if it goes without cocktails?
The editorial elite have been living off the fat of the land. This sort of culture produces its own branch of experts who know little about journalism. In the old days editors avoided parties given to launch consumer products like plague. Now virtually everybody is usually seen at such bashes. It has to expose a whole section of the incestuous elite to the loud sniggers of every video watcher.
Journalists should be pointing a finger at the mirror. Doctors on graduation vow to follow a code of ethics. Its breach may be as common as its observance, but at least they know when they transgress. Journalists have no such code. What they are taught in journalism schools I don't know; but in the profession certainly there is no consensus. Journalistic ethics, like the law, have to evolve in tune with the times, not merely become elastic.
It is high time Indian newspapers and journalists returned to their moorings and maintained their high standards. Why? Because the media influences what people think of and the way they think. If the focus is wrong, direction is lost. A people without reliable news, rooted in its vintage values and primitive of its progress will sooner or later be a people without the basis of swaraj.
Newspapers by plurality of editions, should not indulge in fragmentation and localization of news, missing the national perspective which alone keeps alive the unity and integrity of the country. They, with their long history of glory in the field of nationalist struggle and thereafter for the freedom of the Press, have a soul to preserve and a struggle to wage, so that they are no longer opium but tonic. The patriotic duty of the Fourth Estate today is to stress democratic discipline, expose untruth wrapped in gloss and party and individual interests in appealing dross.END
P NBENJAMIN
THE FOURTH Estate ranks first in shaping public opinion when society is politically literate and socially insensitive even in this information age and knowledge era.
We have not yet fully realized the profound importance to our democracy of an educative, objective newspaper, which publishes promptly and marshals information without fear and favour, affection and ill will. Journalistic independence, intelligence, investigative ability and probity are integral to the greatness of the Press. In the Mudroch epoch, sex, vulgar values, purchase of the readers’ souls and propaganda which beats cultural heritage and vintage traditions, are apt to captivate readership and buy up the media with monopolistic hunger. There are newspapers even today, which are no mere mechanical messengers but are dailies with a message, which makes the reader more informed, illumined and thoughtful.
John Pilger (Hidden Agenda) writes: “ I have become convinced that it is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers, without understanding the hidden agenda of the message and the myths that surround it. High on the lists is the myth that we now live in an “information age” – when, in fact, we live in a media age, in which the available information is repetitive, ‘safe’ and limited by invisible boundaries. In the day-to-day media, much of this is the propaganda of Western power, whose narcissism, dissembling language and omissions often prevent us from understanding the meaning of contemporary events. ‘Globalization’ is a prime example. This smokescreen extends to journalists themselves.
Fawning servants, obedient aides, and the symbols of success surround the powerful in the country. In our country those who reach the mountaintop are so pampered and so insulated by the trappings of power that they can easily forget that they are servants, not masters, of the nation. It is far more pleasant to write puffery about the powerful in the social, political and religious fields, of course, than it is to probe their perfidy. “ Public officeholders are usually likable; that is why they get elected (or continue to occupy high positions in public and religious and educational institutions). Many reporters taken in by this “personal charm”, are awed by the “majesty” of office/position; and they become publicists rather than critics of the men who occupy the offices”(The Anderson Papers).
Jack Anderson, wary of the collapse of moral standards in the media observes that they become the lap dogs of government (and also powerful persons in the private institutions) instead of watchdogs over them. They wag their tails and seek approval instead of growling at the abuses of power. The reporters who go along with the powerful, and act as explainers and apologists for those who violate the public trust, must be considered accessories to the pillage. Like the politician and special seekers, these men sell a little of themselves each day; and the chumminess between the power structure and the Press apparatus robs the reports of integrity. Erosion of integrity seems inevitable. If power belongs to the people and the Press is a trustee, resistance to exotic pressure is a new challenge to the Indian media
Spare a moment to consider corruption among journalists themselves? The media seldom expose journalistic corruption except when the delictum is so flagrante that there can be no conceivable defence. Members of a guild protect their own. But what about the large tracts of real estate in the State capitals and district headquarters which every State Government thinks it worthwhile labelling a Jornalists Colony? What about the gifts in cash and kind reporters on the business pages are liable to receive for lauding a particular scrip or company? What about the wining and dining journalists accept, so much so that even a charitable initiative goes without newspaper coverage if it goes without cocktails?
The editorial elite have been living off the fat of the land. This sort of culture produces its own branch of experts who know little about journalism. In the old days editors avoided parties given to launch consumer products like plague. Now virtually everybody is usually seen at such bashes. It has to expose a whole section of the incestuous elite to the loud sniggers of every video watcher.
Journalists should be pointing a finger at the mirror. Doctors on graduation vow to follow a code of ethics. Its breach may be as common as its observance, but at least they know when they transgress. Journalists have no such code. What they are taught in journalism schools I don't know; but in the profession certainly there is no consensus. Journalistic ethics, like the law, have to evolve in tune with the times, not merely become elastic.
It is high time Indian newspapers and journalists returned to their moorings and maintained their high standards. Why? Because the media influences what people think of and the way they think. If the focus is wrong, direction is lost. A people without reliable news, rooted in its vintage values and primitive of its progress will sooner or later be a people without the basis of swaraj.
Newspapers by plurality of editions, should not indulge in fragmentation and localization of news, missing the national perspective which alone keeps alive the unity and integrity of the country. They, with their long history of glory in the field of nationalist struggle and thereafter for the freedom of the Press, have a soul to preserve and a struggle to wage, so that they are no longer opium but tonic. The patriotic duty of the Fourth Estate today is to stress democratic discipline, expose untruth wrapped in gloss and party and individual interests in appealing dross.END
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