Under the convenorship of A. Veronica Fernandes, a meeting was held at Village Inn in Kuwait City on Saturday 13th of this month at 8.30 p.m. to protest over the atrocities committed on Christians in Orissa, India.
The meeting was attended and addressed by all the Indians only from different places of India. Speaker after speaker namely Fidelis Fernandes, Sham Bondel, Mario Rebello, Carmo Santos, Rosary Ferns, Albino Fernandes and A. Veronica in their speeches showed their concern for the crimes committed on priests, nuns, orphans and other Christians by the Hindu fanatics in Orissa. Special concern was also shown towards the destruction and burning of the Churches and residential places of Christians by the fanatic Hindu mobs under the direction of VHP and other such Hindu fanatic organizations currently spearheading the hate Christians campaign.
Albino Fernandes and his group with Rosary Ferns rendered religious songs during the meeting.
All the speakers in one voice protested over the physical attacks on priests and rapes of nuns who are serving the poor and down trodden inhabitants of Orissa, irrespective of their caste and creed. What the Government of Orissa and Hindus cannot do to alleviate the sufferings of the poor in Orissa, Christian priests, nuns and other missionaries are doing. And in return to treat them so humiliatingly is not only an insult to Hinduism but it is a sin against God.
Those who spoke for the meeting also showed their total dislike for the Government of Orissa in particular and the Government of India in general for showing total apathy towards the persecution of Christians in Orissa. In one voice everyone felt that the World leaders should raise their voices in unison to reprimand India for treating its minority community so badly. World bodies protecting human rights should intervene immediately to put an end to the harassment of Christians in India. Through this harassment to Christians it is once again proved how fragile Indian secularism is.
With my head down in shame as an Indian, I express my feelings of total disgust over the inefficiency of Orissa Government in particular and Central Government in general to check the assault on innocent Christians there. Christians are peace loving people and non violence is the core of Christianity. When St. Peter used his sword to cut one ear of the Jew who came to arrest Jesus, St. Peter was told by Christ these words “Peter, put your Sword back into your bag, because those who fight with swords will die with swords only”. Christian religion does not preach the doctrine of violence and revenge. Christian religion does not preach the doctrine of “Eye for an eye and tooth for tooth”. Eye for an eye and tooth for tooth was the law of Hamurabi the ancient King of ancient Mesopotamia, presently falls in Iraq. Good that Christians are non-retaliatory in nature otherwise there would be blood bath in India if it was any other militant community in place of Christians.
Our Muslims brothers are dubbed as terrorists for clandestinely planting bombs in Delhi and elsewhere. But the greatest terrorists are the Hindu fanatics who destroy, kill and rape innocent Christians openly in front of the law enforcing authorities. It is very much surprising that the top leaders of India woke up slowly much after the initial violence. Christian Sonia Gandhi is cunningly keeping her silence just to please majority Hindu community while top Hindu personalities like Karan Thapar openly condemned this violence and said he is ashamed though never of being a Hindu but for what some Hindus do in Orissa in the name of Hinduism.
Manmohan Singh is half heartedly issuing statement without any force. In him we have a weak premier to check such atrocities on Christians. The leaders of India are protecting the perpetrators of violence against Christians. It is a shame for India to call itself a secular. If Gandhiji was alive now, he would openly declare loudly his condemnation over the events going on in Orissa and would further state that Orissa’s Hindus will receive divine punishment.
About a century back Indian sage Swami Vivekananda went on lecture tour to America. While delivering his lecture there, he said proudly as a representative of India that “India is the most wonderful land of toleration where Indians build temples for Mohamodansa and Christians. We Indians not only believe in universal acceptance but accept all religions as true”. Now let me ask: Are we worthy of this legacy? What we see in India now is total contradiction of what Swami Vivekananda said and yet we call ourselves secular. It is a shame to call India a secular.
While Orissa is burning, according to the latest reports our brothers and sisters in Mangalore are also made to suffer the same type of persecution from the Hindu fanatics. I, on behalf of all my like minded Goan friends and Goan colleagues strongly condemn the violence against our Mangalorean Christian brothers and sisters. At this hour of crisis we support our Mangalorean Christians and vouch to stand by them to face this onslaught carried against them by the Hindu fanatics.
Before the forcible annexation of Goa by Nehru’s Government in December 1961, Portuguese Premier Salazar showed his concern for Goan Christians saying if India annexes Goa by force, then the fate of Christians in Goa will be in peril because Hindus especially the fanatic Hindu influence of India will swallow Goan Christians. Are these words of Salazar prophetic? Looks like from the ongoing events. India currently is ruled by fanatics whose only motto is to turn Indians into communal. The fanatic Hindus do not want to lift the social and other standards of poor. Christian missionaries are doing the right thing for the upliftment of poor in India. Indian Christians are for the upliftment of poor while Hindus especially fanatics are not. Because they are not, they are harassing Indian Christians.
May God protect Indian Christians.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
