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THE
NATION: RELIGION
At
Cross Purposes
The decision of some Christians to participate in a US panel hearing angers
the community
by
Lakshmi Iyer
 |
| Indian
Christians holding a protest rally in New York during Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit. |
The
American urge to play globo-cop has put the minority Christian community
in India on the backfoot. The US Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF)-an agency of the country's legislative branch-is holding
a public hearing on religious freedom in India for the first time since
the panel was founded in 1998. To be held on September 18 in Washington,
the hearing is taking place under the International Religious Freedom
Act to give independent recommendations to the US President and the Congress.
The panel acknowledges that it is focusing on India as "the BJP's
rise to power has led to increased assaults on religious minorities".
Three Indians-including EXPAT academic Sumit Ganguly, Bangalore-based
Mumtaz Ali Khan and All India Catholic Union Vice-President John Dayal-are
taking part in the hearing. It is Dayal's participation that has raised
the hackles of the Christian community, in particular, of the 25-member
Christian MPs' Forum (CMF). In fact, Dayal's initiative to take the battle
against Hindu fundamentalism to the US has created a distinct disquiet
in the community. The minority group apprehends that Dayal's move, along
with the demonstrations by EXPAT Christians against Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee during his US visit, could prove to be counterproductive.
"We could just be inviting a Hindu extremist backlash," rues
a Congress MP. He says by deposing before the US panel Dayal has given
Hindu extremist groups valid reason to doubt the integrity of the community.
It is not only the laity but also the clergy which does not wish to associate
itself with Dayal's decision. "We have nothing to do with Dayal's
decision to appear before the US panel," says Catholic Bishops' Conference
of India (CBCI) Deputy Secretary-General Father Donald D'Souza. Dayal
tactically asserts that he is going to Washington as an Indian Christian
and not as a representative of any organisation. "I am going there
to speak for the Christians who have been raped and murdered," he
says. He defends his proposed appearance by citing the recent Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) show in Staten Island with Vajpayee in tow. He also clarifies
he is not helping the US police India, adding that "the US Government
already knows what is happening in this country".
Private Agenda: The Christian MPs feel Dayal is pursuing a private
agenda to the community's peril. M.J. Mattathil Varkey, an MP from the
Christian-dominated Kerala Congress, deplores Dayal's decision to internationalise
domestic issues, saying, "We are not happy with Dayal. His action
is not good for the nation and will tarnish our image." Similarly,
CMF Chairman Paty Ripple Kyndiah disapproves of Dayal's antics. "It
is against national interests. We have to seek redressal of our grievances
within the nation," he says. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A. Sangma
endorses Kyndiah's views. "This is our internal problem. We are capable
of solving it," he asserts.
The politicians got wind of the hearing when Swami Agnivesh publicised
his refusal to accept the USCIRF invitation. The Arya Samaj leader dubbed
the US panel's activities as "American invasiveness" into the
domestic affairs of the country and urged other invitees to boycott the
hearing. His call spurred the parliamentarians to urge the CBCI to isolate
Dayal, with former Union minister Margaret Alva warning that she would
dissociate herself from the organisation if it got involved with the US
panel. "I am very clear about this. I am a nationalist. We will hold
morchas and dharnas within the country but not collaborate with foreign
countries," says Alva. She admits that western countries have been
taking keen interest in the attacks on the community. "They invite
us over for lunches and dinners and make polite inquiries about the incidents,"
she says.
Clearly the politicians are not comfortable with some Christian leaders
widening the differences between the two communities. "It is the
fringe groups that create problems for us. A majority of Hindus are secular,"
says Congress MP Mabel Rebello. Her colleague in Samata Party Beatrix
D'Souza denies Christians are being persecuted. "Our churches are
packed every Sunday," she says.
The MPs acknowledge that there is need to curb the influence of fundamentalists
over the community and the Church. According to the clergy, however, the
politicians are themselves to blame for allowing men like Dayal to head
the Indian Christians. "The MPs are reluctant to exclusively identify
themselves with the community. They do help but it is Dayal who sticks
his neck out for us," says a priest. Which means while politicians
shun sectarianism, minority communities could become susceptible to undesirable
manipulation.
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