Telecom Engineering
Stressed Secularism
Dt: 9/4/15
Stressed Secularism
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Js Joseph Kurian of the Supreme court took objection to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court calling for a conference of the Chief Justices of High Courts and Justices of the Supreme Court on Good Friday 3 April 2015. Instead of excusing himself for his absence on some ground like that he has to perform certain obligatory religious rituals, he expressed himself against calling the conference. He held it to be an assault on secularism and discrimination against Christians as such a conference was not held on Ramnavami or Deepavali of Hindus or on any festivals of Muslims .
2. Js K.T. Thomas formerly of the Supreme Court effectively answered Js. Kurian by writing that thousands of policemen who are Christians perform duty on Good Friday; in the year 2007 the then Chief Justice held a conference of all Chief Justices of High Courts and Justices of the Supreme Court on Good Friday. Nobody ever took any objection then. He further said that in the USA where 97% of the people are Christians, Good Friday is not even a government holiday. Actually, Js K.T Mathews’ rejoinder should have closed the matter but since Js Kurian Joseph holds the incident as subversive of secularism it needs comment.
3. Till 1996 – ‘97 Prophet Mohammed’s birthday was not a Central Government holiday. When Sri V.P.Singh was the Prime Minister his party the rump of Janta was courting Muslims for votes and even without any request or demand from anybody of Muslims. V.P.Singh unilaterally declared Prophet Mohammed’s birthday as a Central Government holiday. This is nothing but a non-secular and communal act by misuse of government power. Now nobody can withdraw that holiday lest the government would be accused of Hindutva fundamentalism. Prophet Mohammed’s birthday is not a holiday in many Muslim countries in the world, just as Good Friday is not a government holiday in the US.
4. We seem to be reverting to pre-1997 religious divisiveness. Until 1940, Muslims and the Muslim League said that Muslims were a minority requiring special measures to protect their religion and culture. But after 1940, they said they were not part of the Indian nation but separate nation by dint of their religion and then they voted and rioted to achieve their declared objective of dividing India and carving a homeland Pakistan for the subcontinent’s Muslims. But the bulk of those in what is India who created Pakistan remained in India and are now reverting to their divisionism and demands for reservations, proportional representation, special rights and privileges not available to the majority Hindu community.
5. Unfortunately, now Christians egged on by international missionary and proselytising organizations are on the path of separatism and hyper-sensitivity as evident in the stand of Js Kurian Joseph. Sri Eduardo Faleiro the former Minister in Congress cabinets in his article, “Conversion and Re-conversions” in the April 2015 issue of South Asia Politics quoted a message of Impact Nations a Christians organisation with its offices in USA and Canada saying , “ India soon to be the most populist nation on the earth is a country like no other. It is estimated that there are now over 150 mln (37.5 mln according to the 2011 census) believers but more than a billion have yet to turn to Christ. India is in revival. Our partners in north India have Baptised over 80,000 new believers in 2014. They have seen over 200 people raised from the dead. What is happening is historic”.
6. The same issue of South Asia Politics refers to an article in the Indian Express dated Oct 2008 in which it is mentioned that “of the 42,353 who adopted Christianity in Odisha‘s Kandmahal region during 1991-2001, only 2 followed the law to change religion. According to the district collectorate the Christian population in Kandamahal was 117,950 in the 2001 census up from 75,597 a decade earlier. The Christians growth rate in the district was 66% as against 18.6% for the over all population growth in the district”.
7. In the light of these facts it is quite obvious that there is a widespread fraudulent effort by various proselytising Christian organisations to convert Hindus but not disclosing the fact of conversion for government records, obviously to fraudulently avail of privileges government gives to Hindu S.Cs. This is amply proved by the census figures in respect of Andhra Pradesh where the Christian population has been declining, census after census from 4.19% in 1971 to 1.44% in 2001.
8. The views of Js Kurian Joseph reveal that even among influential Christian intelligentia Pakistaniant type separatism and over sensitivity against Hindus is building up. This is entirely due to the Congress captured by Sonia Gandhi and the regional parties competing fiercely for the votes of minorities in the name of secularism and minorioty welfre (recall Muslim First programs of UPA government) . So is it unnatural for Hindus to get alarmed by the frauds being indulged in by conversion enterprises and the traditionally divisive religious group which is again on the path of militant separatism? If Hindus do not strive to build up an egalitarian community transcending caste and region, they are bound sooner rather than latter, to be a victimised minority in their only land that is called, India and not Bharat. (877 words)
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