Archbishop emeritus Joseph Powathil, former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), has come down heavily on the Hindutva forces, who had reportedly called for turning the entire population of India Hindu by 2021, comparing them with the Islamic State (IS) who were trying to establish a theocratic State in West Asia. In an article in the latest issue of Laity Voice , a Catholic journal, the archbishop said this move worked against the contents of social contract the people of this country had entered into themselves. The issue of conversion had come up in the Constituent Assembly. While the Constitution ensured total freedom to believe, practice, and preach one’s beliefs, the fact that neither fraud nor force should be used for this transformation in belief remained a natural corollary to this freedom, he said.
He said that when extremist elements in a religious community, which formed 80 per cent of the population, declared that they would decimate those who followed other beliefs, it was only natural that the marginal minorities became apprehensive. The statements and actions from those in authority also pointed to the same direction.
The articles also referred to issues, including the government decision to turn Christmas day into a working day, the attack on places of worship, and also to hold ‘ghar vapsi’ on Christmas day, and pointed out that such moves were part of putting pressure on the minorities. Such actions would intensify communalism and incite communal hatred and they would be interpreted as attempts on the part of the majority community to establish their suzerainty over the minorities, the archbishop said.
The article also pointed to the silence on the part of the Prime Minister and hoped that the assurance he had given to visiting Christian leaders in this regard was sincere. He called for strengthening religious tolerance and community amity, pointing out that IS should not be a model for the nation in this regard.
