New Delhi: A Catholic prelate has slammed sectarian politics indulged by some political parties in India and warned that people would reject any attempt to disintegrate the nation.
“It cannot be accepted that a government imposes a particular ideology on its citizens just because it won a massive majority in the election. If the governments coming to power keep changing the Constitution, no country will have stability,” warns Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Delhi.
The Syro-Malabar prelate, whose diocese covers several northern Indian states, asserted that the government, whatever its ideology, should respect the country’s constitution and follow the values it prescribes to serve the people.
In a pastoral letter that was read out in 35 parishes in the diocese on November 29, Archbishop Bharanikulangara noted certain apprehensions among people that some “ultra-religious fundamentalists have started questioning the very fundamentals of the Indian Constitution.”
This, the former Vatican diplomat warned, could “disintegrate” the country and lead to “sectarianism.”
“It cannot be accepted that one is questioned or isolated in the name of his caste, what he eats, or the religious rituals he follows,” he added.
Referring to the recent poll verdict in Bihar, an eastern Indian state, the 56-year-old prelate said the victory of the Grand Alliance there was a verdict against “sectarian politics” and a “declaration by Indian conscience that it will not support political parties’ attempts to use caste divisions, religious intolerance and sectarian mindset as campaign tools.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian people’s party) that now heads the federal coalition had tried to win Bihar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the campaigners.
In the four-page letter, written in Malayalam, Bharanikulangara recalled his experience of serving as a Vatican diplomat in an “Islamic country”, which had imposed a dress code for women. He added that the state should not interfere in an individual’s choice of religion, food habits and attire, which are “fundamental rights.”
The letter also referred to recent “incidents of intolerance” such as the Dadri lynching, the return of awards by artistes and writers, the killings of intellectuals such as M M Kalburgi, the murder of two Dalit children in Haryana, the alleged desecration of the Sikh holy book in Punjab, and the “restrictions on Green Peace and (activist) Teesta Setalvad’s organization following their criticism of some policies of the government”.
The archbishop said he wanted to enlighten the community about the need for religious tolerance. “Religious tolerance is the hallmark of Indian society. India neither has a concept of one state-one religion, nor the ruling party’s religion,” he said, adding that the Constitution ensures equality for all citizens, The Indian Express reported.
He also sought to draw the community’s attention to reports of religious conversions and “ghar wapsi”, and expressed concern over a resolution by a rightwing Hindu group seeking to reformulate the policy to check Muslim and Christian population.
Addressing the Catholic community, he said, “Do not discriminate against anyone in the name of language, religion or caste. Maintain harmony and tolerance with those who are living in your neighborhood, your gali (street) irrespective of their religion, state. You are dignified when you can mingle with and accept people with different mindsets and lifestyles.”