印度主教告诫政府：不能将非宗教性质国家"藏红花化"
新德里（亚洲新闻/主教团）-印度基督徒和穆斯林不断遭到印度教徒的强迫，要求他们改信印度教；圣堂、司铎和教友不断遭到暴力攻击；政治和文化领域的"藏红花化"日益加剧。这是印度主教团就人民党主席莫迪赢得大选上台以来对国内局势演变的总结，印度教激进势力不断歧视和侵犯少数派团体权益。主教团领导人呼吁莫迪总理及政府采取果断紧急行动打击极端势力分子。近日，印度一知名极端势力组织再次掀起了所谓禁止宗教信仰皈依法的运动，禁止国民从印度教改信其它宗教。主教团指出，"制止此类危险行径是我们伟大国家发展建设所必需的"。以下为印度主教团致函莫迪总理信全文：
"The Constitution of India guarantees that all the citizens of our country can profess, practice and propagate a religion of their choice. India is a land where different religious faiths have long since flourished, and our Founding Fathers made special efforts to ensure that the rights of all were safeguarded, irrespective of our religious beliefs, gender or caste. Christianity has its roots in Indian soil for more than 2000 years.
"The Christians of India believe in God and believe in the goodness of people and have been selflessly serving the people of this country in the fields of education, health care, etc. without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or religion.
"The unfortunate incidents that happened in the past few months in various parts of our country have hurt the sentiments of the Christian community and have shaken the faith in the secular fabric of the nation. The shocking incidents that have taken place against Churches, clergy and laity in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have caused great concern for the Christian community. The recent controversies in the name of religious reconversions portray a negative image of India. Communal polarization and the bid to homogenize India are posing threat to all minorities - women, Dalits, and all linguistic, cultural and religious minorities.
"The Ghar Wapsi (homecoming) programmes, the saffronisation of education and culture, and the demands for a Hindu Rashtra (nation) are again posing challenges to the secular ethos of our beloved country. Conversions of a religious nature are an exercise of one's free will and one's fundamental constitutional rights, which include freedom of conscience and of religion. Ghar Wapsi is a political process, carried out by the powerful exponents of religious nationalism - much against the principle of secularism. It does not even have the legitimacy of freedom of political expression.
"The Christians of this country need assurance from the Government that we are protected and secure and safe in our motherland. We express our strong concern on the aforementioned issues. Putting an end to such dangerous tendencies is inevitable for the growth and progress of our great nation. This great secular nation has to remain as a place where people of all religions and of different cultural backgrounds can live freely, practicing their faith without fear or threat and in harmony. While we recommit ourselves to the progress and development of our nation, we strongly urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently intervene and take appropriate action to stop incidents that are a big threat to the unity of this secular nation.
