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02/19/2015INDIAFor Indian Jesuit, Narendra Modi's bluff will be called sooner
or laterby Nirmala CarvalhoFr Cedric Prakash, SJ, director of the Prashant
Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace in Gujarat, speaks about the prime
minister's statement on religious freedom. Leader of a right-wing Hindu
nationalist party, Modi said that his "will be a government that gives equal
respect to all religions". Yet, he has failed to mention attacks on churches
and minorities across the country.Mumbai (AsiaNews) - "Sooner or later Narendra
Modi's bluff will be called," said Fr Cedric Prakash, SJ, director of the
Prashant Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace in Gujarat, as he spoke to
AsiaNews about the Indian prime minister's recent statement in defence of
religious freedom.Modi's words "surely look good on paper, but many are
wondering if he will actually 'walk his talk'," noted the clergyman after the
prime minister told a Syro-Malabar gathering in Delhi that his government would
give "equal respect to all religions"."My government," the prime minister said,
"will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the
undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without
coercion or undue influence. My government will not allow any religious group,
belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others,
overtly or covertly. Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all
religions."Many in India and around the world have praised Modi's statement.
The prime minister, head of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), had been criticised for not speaking out against recent attacks on
churches in Deli and for failing to respond to concerns raised by US President
Barack Obama over rising religious intolerance in India.However, Modi "was
groomed and nurtured by the right-wing Hindu groups commonly referred to as
Sangh Parivar," Fr Prakash said. "He is an integral part of them, shares their
ideology and world view. It is they who catapulted him to power."Sangh Parivar
groups (which are close to the ruling BJP) believe in Hindutva, an ideology
that advocates the creation the Hindu Rashtra, a country that is 100 per cent
Hindu with no place for religious minorities.In his youth, Modi was a member of
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary organisation that is part
of the Sangh Parivar."At no point in his speech did he condemn or take a
position against attacks on Christians and other minorities in India," said the
Jesuit clergyman about Modi's words. "If he was serious he would first repeal
the draconian and unconstitutional anti-conversion law that he introduced in
Gujarat in 2003." At that time, Modi was chief minister in that state.Speaking
to The Times of India, Surendra Jain, joint general secretary of the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad, another Sangh Parivar group, indirectly confirmed Fr Prakash's
analysis."The Prime Minister did not say 'minorities' nor did he mention any
particular religion," Jain explained. "The news traders are misreading his
message to suit their agenda," he added.Since he did not mention any names,
"you have to see in what circumstances" Modi spoke. "The supposed attacks on
churches have been going on for a while now but the PM never came out and spoke
[about them]. He spoke only after the Delhi Police pointed out that 206 temples
were attacked. He spoke on a day a temple was vandalized in the
US."==========Delhi polls, NRIs forced Modi U-turn on
faithhttp://www.thehindu.com/news/national/delhi-polls-nris-forced-modi-uturn-on-faith/article6909736.ece
Representatives of Christian groups met PM Modi on Christmas eve to request him
to assuage their fears of the ghar vapsi and attacks on churches, but he
refused to do so.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement at a Church function
on Tuesday calling for religious tolerance and freedom underline a course
correction brought about by a series of events in the past three months.Mr.
Modi had been remaining silent despite the demand from Christian leaders that
he speak out against conversions and attacks on Church institutions.“There had
been a sustained signature campaign by a U.S.-based group of Indians to apprise
President Barack Obama of the attacks and strong public opinion that found
expression in national and international media asking for Mr. Modi to break his
silence,” said a Christian leader who was among those who met the Prime
Minister and urged him to make a statement.Mr. Obama’s remarks in New Delhi on
January 27 and at the National Prayer Breakfast shortly after his return to the
U.S. could have led to the change in stance, experts said.The Delhi election
results, which saw the Aam Aadmi Party trump the Bharatiya Janata Party, made
Mr. Modi break his silence.“The rejection in Delhi has given the BJP a big
jolt, leading to a course correction and a perception management exercise,”
Balveer Arora, political scientist, said.Till recently, Mr. Modi had maintained
that while the government would ensure the security of everyone, he would not
issue a statement in favour of any community or on religious issues to keep the
focus from shifting from development. On Tuesday when Mr. Modi spoke, he made a
strong statement against violence “against any religion on any pretext.” He
later tweeted his remarks.Modi held out against speaking on conversions, church
attacksRepresentatives of Christian groups met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at
his 7 Race Course Road residence on Christmas eve to request him to assuage
their fears of the re-conversion (ghar vapsi) campaign of Sangh affiliates and
attacks on churches, but he refused to do so, at least two members of the
delegation confirmed it to The Hindu separately.“We want to thank him for
speaking at last. We had been requesting him to do this. We would like to see
in the coming days what measures the government takes to stop hate crimes
against minorities,” said Vijaysh Lal, executive director of the Evangelical
fellowship of India, who was in the delegation.“We had been seeking an
appointment since June and we finally got it on December 24. We repeated our
request to the PM to make a statement on the attacks on Christians, but he
refused. He said don’t go by what the media says,” another delegation member
said. “We came out disappointed.”As the news of the meeting spread among
members of the community, the sense of disappointment grew, he said.After the
attack on St. Sebastian Church in Delhi on December 1, the Christian community
in the national capital sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister the next day
regarding “incidents of violence against our churches and personnel in the
country.” The memorandum listed the Delhi incident, along with several
instances of violence against Christians in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and
the rest of India.“We hope and pray that such discrimination and targeted
violence will be ended by strong political will and administrative action,” it
read. “You and your government are poised in a unique moment in the history of
the nation to ensure that all people, irrespective of faith, feel secure. Small
religious communities such as the Christians need to be reassured they are
protected and are secure and safe in their motherland.”=======
