For Protestant leader, the government threatens poor and minorities
Mgr Thomas K. Oommen is the moderator of the Church of South India. With 4.5 million members, it is the second largest Christian denomination in the country. For him, “the current government [. . .] follows the Hindutva supremacist ideology", and the federal administration is "pro-corporate and unkind to the poor".
Kottayam (AsiaNews) – India’s central government is a threat to the poor and minorities, this according to Mgr Thomas K. Oommen, moderator of the (Protestant) Church of South India.
The Anglican bishop wrote an open letter addressed to all citizens dated 6 April, anniversary of the Salt March, the non-violent demonstration led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 against the British colonial government.
According to Mgr Oommen, living in India in the last four years, since the Hindu nationalist government of the Bharatiya Janata Party led by premier Narendra Modi took office, "has become a nightmare to the poor and the minorities in India".
He wants to share his fears "As an Indian Citizen and the head of the second largest Church in India, with more than 4.5 million members, most of them being Dalits, Adivasis, poor farmers and fisherfolks".
“It is true and sad fact that the current government that follows the Hindutva supremacist ideology seems to have consciously discounted what is stated in the Preamble of our Indian Constitution that declares liberty, equality, and fraternity as its ideals and assures social, economic and political justice to the citizens of India.” Hindutva promoters want to turn India into a Hindu state.
According to the bishop, the government has proven “to be pro-corporate and unkind to the poor by waiving [. . .] loans of rich people and corporate [interests] while not waiving [. . .] the loans of the poor farmers, not giving Minimum Support Price (MSP) to them, not addressing the issues of economic distress, joblessness, price rise by forcefully implementing policies like 'demonetisation' and GST”, the Goods and Service Tax. “In fact, corruption and scams/scandals have become a hallmark of this government.”
This is why "the Church of South India asks that the central government assure the democratic and secular fabric of India, which must be safeguarded, instead of promoting the Hindutva agenda by which it demolishes churches and mosques, vandalising religious statues and symbols , persecutes Christians and Muslims, modifies school books, inserts dogmatic and pseudo-scientific religious content, bans films, books and minority festivals, arguing that they ‘offend’ Hindu nationalist sentiment".
lastly, “The Church of South India not only stands in solidarity with the Dalits fighting for justice and equality and agitating against alleged ‘dilution’ of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, but also condemns all atrocities against the Dalits,” who suffer “torture, rape and brutal murders by Hindutva extremist forces.”
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12/02/2016 15:14
09/02/2017 09:25
