Chucrh and the election of a new President for India

Church and choosing the new President of India

http://www.ucanindia.in/news/church-and-choosing-the-new-president-of-india/17902/daily

JOHN DAYAL

Political pundits, and the street soothsayers, are sure that Purno Sangma, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, former Union Minister, former Chief minister of Meghalaya and currently a member of the Nationalist Congress Party, is not going to be elected the next President of the Republic of India.

And yet, at least two major church organisations in the country have backed Sangma as their choice of the first Christian and the first Tribal Head of State of the 62 year old Republic. And many others are taken up by the baby faced devout Catholic famously remembered as much for the drinks he serves at his residence as for carrying the statue of Infant Jesus on his head in his parish procession.

Purno  has sought high office all along after he found himself as the Congress Party’s choice of Speaker of the Lok Sabha. In that office, he earned brownie points for presenting a jovial face in a house where rustic humour and not urbane wit was the norm, and confrontations, then as now, often ended up in vicious mayhem in what is called the “well” of the House. But he remained a political lightweight despite his family’s rule in the tiny northeast state he calls home. And therefore he was given no credence when he thought he could become prime minister or president.

In fact he found himself in the political boondocks when he targeted Sonia Gandhi for her Italian birth at the dawn of United Progress Alliance –I [UPA-I],  exiting the Congress saying it would be a national shame if Gandhi were ever to be made Prime Minister.  He joined Sharad Pawar in forming the Nationalist Congress Party, but has not been a major figure till he suddenly hit the headlines as the presidential nominee of Orissa’s  chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha. Not surprisingly, Sharad Pawar has disowned him and said he will back whosoever Sonia Gandhi chooses. The Opposition National Democratic Alliance of the BJP of course will not have anything to do with him either.

So why did a section of the Christian community back him so vociferously? The roots lie in the community’s  political naiveté. Barring a discussion in the Andhra organisation of all local churches, there has not been a debate even at the diocesan level on this important issue. Are we  saying we have not trust in Rashtrapati Bhawan hopefuls Pranab Mukherkee, Manmohan Singh, former Bengal Governor Gopal Gandhi, and current Vice President Ansari? Do we think only a person of our community can safeguard our interests?

Perhaps it would have been better for churches, educators, social scientists and activists from the clergy and laity to have come together and discussed the issue and then made a statement giving not names of individuals but the qualities the community looked for in Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, irrespective of their religious identity.

The community could have listed qualities and commitments they sought : A distinguished academic and career record; a sensitivity towards issues of the poor, the Tribals, the backward and the marginalised, towards Dalits in general and Dalit Christians in particular; and no whisper of any sectarian or communal bigotry.

This would rule out the Facebook and Twitter candidates – celebrities  such as Shah Rukh Khan, Amir Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, the two women, including the one who is a Christian, who sent those missiles and rockets up -- a la President Kalam – and uban middle class icons Hazare, Kiran Bedi and Agnivesh, Navin Chawla who wrote a book on Mother Teresa, and officials from the civil and defence services.

The community would have to apply the same criteria of excellence even for a Christian candidate. One former minister said in many public meetings that they had won not on the Christian vote in their constituencies but because of the vote of the Hindus, and were therefore, could not be asked to focus on the Christian community.

This argument explains why the Christian representatives in Parliament have not succeeded in winning battles for the political issues pertaining to the community --so apparent in the Right to Education Act, the Article 341 (iii) issue relating to the Scheduled Caste rights of Dalit Christians, and scores of other issues that emerge from Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal, Rajasthan, Karnataka and so on. The two Anglo Indian MPs in the Lok Sabha are not there as representatives of the microscopic Anglo Indian community.

There are, of course,  many Christian names to consider, possibly for the Vice President’s post. Foremost among them, I would say, is Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva who has kept her political record clean, has practiced her faith openly, and has a strong political lineage. She could perhaps also reach out to the vote banks of women party heads such as Mamta, Mayawati and Jayalalitha with whom she has personal rapport. Former Orissa governor and Indian Administrative Service retired  officer MM Rajendran's name has been also suggested, though he has been politically inactive for a very long time and has therefore slipped off the political radar. Governor Jamir from Nagaland has also been shortlisted by some Christian organisations. There are several others too. All political lightweights.

If the community really wants a Christian President, it must be prepared for heart-break, now and possibly for many years to come. Even if a Christian were to be elected in some miracle. once in office, he or she would not be able to address our issues openly, tied as he or she would be in protocol and the structure of the government. Even if he or she were to reject a Bill, for instance if a future government were to bring about a national bill against conversions in India [several states have this law], at best she may end it back for reconsideration by the government, but if it cam back a second time, the President would have no role in it becoming the law of the land.

But one fears it is much too late this time. The community nationally is politically absolutely not really relevant, not enough to even have a Christian name in the serious political discourse preceding the Presidential elections.

The RSS in the current issue of its mouthpiece Organiser and Panchjanya charges Christians, specially Catholics, of being the caucus around Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and her sword arm in governance, so to say. They even identify Jews with Christian or Biblical names to be part of this lobby.

 What we actually need is larger Christian participation in the grass roots political systems of India, from the Panchayat upwards, and a larger participation in the civil services. Our voice must be heard at all levels, instead of expecting a Christian minister or MP or MLA waving the magic wand. The President of India does not have this magic wand as he or she remains a figurehead, the central figure in set-piece national functions doing the bidding of the Council of Ministers, which of course is chosen by the political party or parties in power.

[These are my personal views and do not necessarily reflect the discourse in the All India Christian Council and the All India Catholic Union, and any other organisation I am a member of in the Church and the Government.]

Letter to Prime Minister on Errors in Caste Census

Dr. John Dayal

Member, National Integration Council

Government of India

Member, National Monitoring Committee for Minority Education,

Government of India

Secretary General, All India Christian Council

Imm. Past National President, All India Catholic Union

505 Link Apartments, 18 IP Extn. Delhi 1100092 INDIA

Mobile +91 9811021072 Land +91 11 22722262

Email: john.dayal@gmail.com;

15^th April 2012  

Dr Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister of India

South Block, Central Secretariat

New Delhi 110001

Re: Serious flaws in enumeration of Caste census will impact on Dalit, OBC and MBC Christians

Dear Prime Minister

Easter Greetings

I am writing to you as a Member of the National Integration and on behalf of the All India Christian Council to draw you urgent attention to serious deficiencies in the enumeration process in the national Census on Caste which is now underway. Unless corrected, the enumeration will lead to falsification of the data and will seriously impact on the interests of the Christian community in general and on the rights of those of the community people who trace their origins to India’s Dalit and OBC groups.

This is from my own personal experience and the experiences of other Christians in various parts of the country.

Two enumerators, a lady and a gentleman, came to my house and interviewed me as the head of the household. They asked me my name and personal details. Thereafter they asked me my religion. I told them. They then sought to leave. I asked them if they would not ask me my caste. They had no answer. I told them they had to ask, even if I thereafter said I had no caste, or declared any other caste. They again had no answer. I must also mention that they did not ask us about the religion of every individual member of the family, possibly presuming that everyone shared the same faith. This may or may not be always true. In many urban families, there may be spouses, sons or daughters in law who are Tribals, OBCs or of Dalit origin. The Enumerating Staff have patently not been properly instructed and trained.

This failure to ask about the caste of those declaring Christianity as their religion is a major procedural lapse that introduces an avoidable error in the data and will skew the statistical computations. The Registrar General of India will not be able to determine the caste diversity in the Christian community with any exactitude.

Article 341 (iii) of the Constitution or its predecessor the Presidential Order of 1950, which the community has challenged through Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court of India, cannot be used as an excuse, as the RGI’s office seem to be doing, as this is a mere enumeration exercise and does not pre-suppose any consequential benefits  at this stage. Even otherwise, OBC and MBC Christians, including the Latin Rite of Kerala have acceptance in official records of several States.

The Dalit Christians have, of course, for more than half a century repeatedly urged the government to grant them Schedule Caste status, a demand supported by various national Commissions, a large number of State governments and national and regional political parties. The CPI-M, for instance, renewed this demand at their recent meeting. We have consistently urged the Government of India to give a positive response to the Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court on this issue.

The Government of India should immediately direct the Census Commissioner and Registrar General of India to ensure that in the on-going exercise, Christians should be enumerated for their caste origins. For many, this is an assertion of their Identity. Individuals can, should they so want, will continue to have the right to say they do not want their caste to be recorded. The enumeration staff should be appropriately instructed and trained in this matter.

Thank you

God bless India, and God bless you

Yours sincerely

John Dayal

A  reminder to the Sage of Bengaluru

You went to a Catholic college but most Indians must be Naxals, dear Sri Sri, because they went to government schools?

JOHN DAYAL

Mukund Murari Singh of Haridwar and Ravi Shankar Ratnam of Bengaluru do not know each other, but Singh does not like what Ratnam says.  In a rejoinder on the internet to  well publicised speech of Ratnam, Mukund Murari Singh rubbished his claim that students who go to government schools end up as Naxalites. “Dear Mr Sri Sri, I did my schooling from Government Schools (Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan) across the length and breadth of India. I also completed my engineering from a Government College (IIT). I assure you, none of my classmates or me have ended up as Naxals. Ignorant statements like these reek of upper-class ignorance and indifference. Sincerely, Proud Indian and a Patriot.”

Ravi Shankar Ratnam, as everyone knows, is the name Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was born with before he heeded a complaint from Pandit Ravi Shankar, the Sitar maestro, not to copy his name. In 1990, the former student of Maharishi Yogi  shed the Ratnam, added two Shris and founded the Art of Living movement, going on to open an ashram and an NGO in Geneva, the city of the United Nations offices. His official website, and his hagiographers, will of course not tell you such interesting titbits. They are busy rewriting a nice persona for him. His official bio notes he was a child prodigy, reciting the classics at age four, and graduating in Physics at age seventeen. A little research unearths the fact that he studied at St Joseph’s college in Bangalore, as it was then, and graduated at the more normal age of twenty-one.

Sri Sri, to use the name h gave himself rather than the one his parents did, is not unknown to controversy.  He has drawn much flack for his absolute support to Hindutva and to the “sants” of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the same ones who so strongly supported the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the hate campaign against Christians. Sri Sri will not be remembered for any major campaign in support of the Muslim victims of the 2002 Gujarat violence or the 2008 pogrom against Christians. He also has a controversial position on Kashmir, taking a hyper nationalist and religious line that entirely ignores the suffering of the Muslim population of the valley at the hands of not just the terrorists, but the Army and paramilitary forces garrisoned there  for their protection. When the chips are down, Sri Sri has the exact same position as any other Hindu religious persona in the corral of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh.

It is not surprising that with his ideological mooring, Sri Sri takes a “nationalist” position on political dissenters and those who rebel against administrative and political situations that lead to large scale internal displacement, cast violence, usury in farm loans and the alienation of forests and tribal lands to  Indian and national monopolies. This is the conclusion I reached after a solitary interaction with him at Vellankani during an annual general meeting of the Conference of Catholic Priests of India not too long ago. It is a moot question if the god man understand the factors that have led as many as nine states of the Indian union, as an effective ground for the Maoists, the contemporary  inheritors of the Naxalite image. One is tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt in statements he makes. Specially since he has backtracked, as explained in his statement made in  the holy city of Haridwar on 24 March., when he clarified that not “all” students of government schools were becoming Naxalites. "Children who have joined the Naxal movement, most of them have come out of the government schools. This same statement has also been said by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Union Rural Development Minister, on January 22, that the Maoists have recruited these children from tribal and government schools. But I never said that all students coming out of government school are becoming Naxalites, there have been some really talented students who have come out of these schools as well. The lack of spiritual and moral education in government schools has made the students of these schools more vulnerable to join the Maoists. The truth is that I never said that all such students are of violent tendency, but those children who have shown such tendency have not come out of mission schools where moral and spiritual education is imparted without generalizing it." he added.

This certainly was an improvement on his original reported statement which, simplified further by news agency reporters and headline writers, had said that state-run schools are turning into a breeding ground for Maoists. "I feel that all state-run schools and colleges should be privatised and that the government should not run any school. Often it is seen that students from government schools end up as Maoists or militants," news agencies had reported him saying at Jaipur. The threat of spreading extreme ideologies stemmed from a lack of quality education. "All regions, which are inflicted with Maoists and militancy do not have good schools. If students are able to get education instilled with Indian values, they will never deviate onto the path of violence and corruption," he had said at the silver jubilee celebration of Adarsh Vidya Mandir Jaipur in Ambabari.

The Adarsh Vidya Mandir school is run by the RSS. The RSS, through its Ekal Vidyalaya programme, has promised to set up a school each in the country’s 500,000 villages in India. It already has several thousand of such schools. It is another point that at the village level schools, the RSS has kept its academic programme out of official scrutiny. The educational standards, teachers qualifications – in many schools, there is just one teacher – and the curricula and pedagogy have never been examined by the state and central governments and their agencies.  Religious minorities have charged these schools with the teaching of a warped Indian history and a focus on hate for minorities and  against those who do not fit the Sangh definition of nationalism and patriotism.
The guru could not go unchallenged. Teachers present at the function protested,, as did others. The Art of Living volunteers present at the main gate got into a heated argument with the protesting teachers who demanded a public apology for the remark. Police present in the auditorium swung to action and disperse the teachers outside the venue. A criminal complaint was later filed by local lawyers - Surendra Dhaka, Jai Prakash  Sharma and Manu Pancholi - in a lower court charging Sri Sri with the offence of spreading hatred in society and defaming people passing out of government schools. "We also feel that his statement is anti-Constitution as it goes against Article 21-A where the government is bound to provide free and compulsory education to children of the age group six to 14 years," one of the petitioners said. "Ravi Shankar is reproducing the ideology of hate as presented by Golwalkar and Savarkar which schools like Adarsh Vidya Mandir teach in the country when he said that Adarsh schools should be set up everywhere in the name of Bharatiya Sanskriti," said Kavita Srivastava, general secretary of PUCL

Sri Sri has however still not clarified that when he talks of private schools full of culture and tradition and values, he is referring to  just Christian, or Muslim and, more plausible, Hindu missionary schools including such as run by the RSS, the RK Misison and the Anlgo Vaidic societies, or is he talking of private schools run by mercenaries, fly by night operators, and big corporations who run high income chains, branding their schools as so much merchandise. Of the last, the Delhi Public School society is one example, with schools in every state, practically, an several abroad. One school in Delhi offers its rich clientele – there is no other word to describe the families who send their wards here – not just education with a  laptop  for everyone in the totally air conditioned  building, but also such extra curricular as golf, horse riding and polo and, indoors, billiards. The fees is perhaps  Rs 50,000. A school in Bengaluru, I was authoritatively  told, charges Rs 10,00,000. Even a school run by the society named after the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurthy charges Rs 100,000.

The Sage of Bengaluru – his ashram is in the countryside outside the IT city – could more fruitfully have called for a learned  and constructive debate on how to reach quality education to every child in the  age group of 6 years onwards covered in the Right to Education Act, in effect to every young citizen of India, be he or she be born in a hut in a hamlet or in a hospital in a metropolis.

As the data goes, less than 20 per cent of children go to private schools.  Researchers Geeta Kingdom and colleagues say “In India, human capital formation has traditionally occurred in government funded schools but since liberalisation in 1991, private schools increasingly offer an alternative.  According to household survey data, private schooling participation in rural India has grown from 10% in 1993 to 23 percent of the student population in 2007; this is much higher than in most developed countries. Private school participation is considerably higher in urban India. The high demand hints at dissatisfaction with government schooling and the superior results of private schools suggest that these schools may do a better job, on average, than government schools.

They however record that private schools in India have generally less qualified teachers than government schools and operate using much lower levels of capital. However, private schools operate within the market and as a result have strong incentives to be competitive. Private schools hire teachers who often do not have a teaching certificate and pay them a fraction of the salaries of government schools, but they hire more teachers to reduce class sizes. The heads have far greater control over hiring and firing of teachers and thus are able to exhibit tighter control, have higher attendance and only retain effective teachers.

Observers note that the “opportunity for the business of education in India” is huge. India has the world’s largest population of school going children at over 200 million. There are only about  75,000 private schools in India. While some of the ultra rich schools have found avenues to bend the law by sharp auditing practices, schools have to, by law, remain non profit. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal is on record saying those seeking to make profits out of schools “can take a hike”. According to a research report published in January 2009 by IDFC SSKI, only $180 million of private equity investment has taken place in the formal education sector -- from playschools, to coaching classes, online tutoring and digital content for schools.

According to research studies, of the total schools, about 87.30 percent schools are located in the rural areas. The number of primary schools has increased 8,09,108, influenced by the impact of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan under which a large number of schools have been opened. As of 30th September 2008, as many as 1,26,335 primary and 48,994 upper primary schools/sections have been opened under Government management since the inception of SSA.

The condition of schools run by the government is improving from its dark ages in the 1970s and 1980s before Operation Blackboard and other Missions were launched. There still remain  many schools without blackboards About 88 percent of the 1.29 million schools that impart elementary education in the country now have drinking water facility in school. And  67 percent schools in the country now have access to common toilets in 2008-09 compared to only 62.67 percent in the previous year, government data shows. More than 50 percent of total 1.29 million schools now have girl’s toilet compared to 50.55 percent in the previous year. 14 percent schools have computer in  schools with percentage of such schools as high as 85.88 percent in Chandigarh, 85.84 percent in Delhi, 79.93 percent in Kerala and 89.74 percent in Lakshadweep compared to only 0.68 percent in Bihar and 3.59 percent such schools in Uttar Pradesh.

Researchers say enrolment both at the primary and upper primary level of education has also increased significantly. The enrolment increased from 101.16 million in 2002-03 to 131.85 million in 2006-07 and further to 134.38 million in 2008-09. Over a period of time, enrolment in upper primary classes has also shown consistent increase.  From a low of 37.72 million in 2004-05, it has increased to 53.35 million in 2008-09.

A very significant research finding is that at the primary level, the share of Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribe enrolment with respect to total enrolment works out to 19.94 and 11.68 percent respectively. Notably, at all levels, government schools are the main providers of educational needs of both SC and ST children. The share of OBC enrolment in the elementary classes is 42.26 percent. The apparent survival rate (to Grade V) improved to 76 percent in 2008-09. This is also reflected in retention rate at primary level which is estimated to be 75 percent.
The national government educational data is staggering in all segments. The total number of teachers in 2008-09 suggests that about 5.79 million teachers are engaged in teaching in schools imparting elementary education in the country. The data also shows appointment of a large number of teachers across the country consequent to the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan.

The curricula – much of it approved and formulated by the National Centre for Educational Research and Training, NCERT, brings a certain uniformity is the standard of education. It is no one’s point that the government’s – both state and central – educational programme can be at par with the best in the private sector. But many government schools, especially those run by the centre, compete effectively with their private counterparts in the results for the Class Tenth and Twelfth board examinations. Much remains to be done to make education a reality for every single child, and even more remains in the areas of higher education, vocational studies and brining technological courses to rural India, but the progress has been significant.

And there is no data available from the Bureau of Police Research and Development has no data that would go to show that students of government schools, and colleges,  join the Maoists any more than anyone else.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will, perhaps, next time not take on the very, very large alumni of government schools,  or the collective might of the teaching faculty.
 

ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL Press statement New Delhi, March 29, 2012 Christian Council condemns Saudi Grand Mufti Call For Destruction Of Churches In West Asia The All India Christian Council has condemned the call by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.” Christian Council President Dr Joseph D’ Souza, said the Mufti’s controversial statement placed Christian churches throughout the Arabian peninsula in jeopardy and could have repercussions for religious minorities in other countries. Council secretary General Dr John Dayal called upon the government of India and other civilised countries to use their good offices to ensure that the nations in the Arabian peninsula rebuffed the Wahabi Imam’s bigoted statement, and assured the safety and security of churches in the Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Christianity is already forbidden in Saudi Arabia which has no churches. West Asian media had reported the controversial statement in the context of another statement by a Kuwaiti member of parliament who reportedly called for the ‘removal’ of churches in his country. Legislation was also recently introduced in Kuwait’s parliament that would mandate the removal of Christian churches from the country and impose strict Shariah laws. Kuwait has later clarified the legislation would not remove the churches, but prohibit further construction of Christian churches and non-Muslim places of worship in the country. The Saudi Grand Mufti emphasized that because Kuwait is part of the Arabian Peninsula, it would be necessary to destroy all churches in the country. There are a large number of Christians living in Saudi Arabia and the other countries of the Arabian gulf, many of them from India and the Philippines, with their population estimated at over 3.5 million, over 800,000 of them in Saudi Arabia alone. The All India Christian Council has been following developments in the region with growing alarm and concern as Christians continue to be coerced and harassed at various times. It is particularly disturbing because India has a large number of its citizens, mostly labour but also businessmen, engineers and medical personnel, in the region. A large number of migrant from the states of South India are Christians. The All India Christian Council said the Mufti’s statement flew in the face of the United Nations Charter and the UN Declaration On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Intolerance And Of Discrimination Based On Religion Or Belief. Released for Publication by Dr John Dayal. For further information, please contact at +919811021072

Boycott Maldives Tourism

Tourists, please boycott Maldives till democracy is restored JOHN DAYAL I cannot swim. I do paddle a little, and sometimes even float on my back if the water is tranquil. I none the less took courage and “dived” into the azure deep, picked up the lovely coral from the absolutely white sand under water even as a hundred colourful butterflies, masquerading as so many tiny tropical fish, fluttered around. Thankfully, the waters were but four foot deep for miles around in the lagoon. I still have that sparkling white coral branch displayed in my living room, a memory of my visit to the Maldives, a string of coral atolls just south of India’s Lakshadweep Island group. The Maldives are prime attraction for all sorts of tourists – newly-married couples in search of nurturing solitude, western tourists seeking sun and sand, Indian businessmen seeking a quiet place to drink, perchance to make a deal. They have also attracted the occasional Wahabis, because of whose influence sometimes the Maldivian immigration and customs frown if you are brining your own whisky, which they confiscated once if possibly not now, and the Bible, not a wanted book in some extremist countries. The Island democracy with a population of just 400,000, has seen not too many governments in the years of its coming of age. India helped thwart a coup against long-serving President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom once. It was in 1988 when India launched Operation Cactus Gayoom’s request. An Indian Army Para brigade at the airport on Hulule island, adjacent to Male and another Indian Warship at the mouth of the haven over-whelmed the Sri Lankan mercenaries, members of the Tamil PLOTE group who had grabbed hostages from ashore, hijacked a merchant vessel, the Progress Light anchored in Male harbour, and were challenging the government. Gayoom eventually lost power after ruling for thirty years, but this time in a democratic election. He lost to a young political activist Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed was a popular man, and immediately attracted a global following for his charm and avowed belief in the democratic process and issues such as secularism, a fresh wind after Gayoom’s oppressive regime. But he must have also made enemies, as is now becoming clear. One fine morning on 7th February his year, Nasheed went to the neighbouring Army garrison to ask the officers there to take action against a section of the police which had apparently turned hostile. Much to his shock, Nasheed discerned that the Army officers too had joined the police, making it clear that the coup, as it was, was a well planned one. Nasheed told the international media later that he was given an ultimatum to hand over power to his deputy, Vice president Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik . Manik immediately assumed power in the blood-less coup. Soon thereafter, he wanted Nasheed arrested, and asked the courts to issue the necessary warrants. Nasheed is still free, but the situation remains tense. India has its western navy ready just in case it has to take action to prevent the island’s fragile peace from being violated. This writer, asked by international media, had expressed deep concern at the coup. Others too had expressed concern. India however has adopted a watch and wait strategy, presumably hoping that there will soon be fresh elections and democracy will be restored in the atoll-nation where the only threat once was from global warming which could threaten the security of the atolls which are in most places barely a six foot altitude from sea level. International groups have now expressed concern saying the Maldives coup, portends very badly for human rights. One group, the Friends of the Maldives, has issued a call for a campaign urging people not to visit the resorts owned by supporters of the coup. The Human Rights group has received coverage in the United Kingdom. “The current political turmoil in the Maldives has deterred people from visiting the islands. We feel the situation is not so bad, as the airport and resort islands are not linked to any population centres. But we strongly recommend the advice given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK,” the group said in a statement this week. The group gave a list of islands and resorts that, it said, international tourists “should avoid, based on our close information on the ground.” The resort atolls, it said, are “places linked to individuals or groups who we suspect to be involved in the subversion of democracy and in human rights abuses in the Maldives.” The Friends of Maldives reported that currently, a large part of the population of the Maldives is demonstrating every day for early elections and for an end to police brutality. Although the demonstrations happen mostly in the capital Malé and other populated islands, there is a possibility of industrial actions, strikes and other form of protests in resorts that have links to those suspected to have involvement with the coup and related human rights abuses. While these protests don't pose any danger, it is an inconvenience best avoided by holidaymakers. “This is one reason to avoid these resorts. We also urge you to consider the idea of being a responsible traveller. Don’t let your pleasant holiday contribute to the suffering of others, whether it is to the Maldives or to any other place. Find out the background of the places you visit. In many cases, you can enjoy your holiday knowing you have helped, simply by being selective,” the advisory said. The resorts on the “avoid” list include the Bandos resorts owned by new President Waheed Deen), the Sun Island Royal Island and Paradise Island resorts and Spas owned by Gasim Ibrahim. According to the western media, Ahmed Naseem, the ousted foreign minister, faced opposition last year when he became the first Maldivian official to visit Israel. He said religious orthodoxy has become the norm as more people go to study in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. "This country had no one wearing headscarves 10 years ago" but it is common now, he said. The political opposition, he added, capitalized on this growing religiosity by portraying Nasheed as un-Islamic. "They're using Islam as a tool." A Western diplomat was quoted saying the nexus between Islamists and some politicians was a concern for the nation's stability. American media quoted Nasheed’s loyalists saying the coup plotters were loyal to former President Gayoom. President Nasheed had attempted to launch a corruption investigation into Gayoom, an authoritarian leader who ruled for 30 years. When a senior judge blocked the probe, Mr. Nasheed last month asked the army to arrest the judge, igniting anti government protests. Western newspapers said the party of Mohamed Jameel, who was sworn in as home minister this week, issued a pamphlet last month claiming that empty bottles of alcohol, which is forbidden for Maldivians, were found in offices of Nasheed's government. It blamed the government for planning to sell land to Israel. The pamphlet said the then-president was working to undermine Islamic law in the country. India has not issued any advisory to tourists going to the Maldives. Indian Human Rights groups are also yet to take an initiative in the matter.

MONITORING FREEDOM OF FAITH

Human rights activists across the world will be happy at the news that Italy has set up a Commission for Monitoring Religious Freedom in all countries. This is the second such commission in the world after the troubled United States Commission for International Religious Freedom which, in recent years, has been beset by funding problems despite a very good record in “naming and shaming” countries where religious minorities are persecuted by the State or by majority groups. Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi and Mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno signed a protocol of understanding today at the foreign ministry in Rome establishing the “Osservatorio della libertà religiosa” (Observatory for Religious Freedom) for the study, analysis and monitoring of freedom of worship around the world. During the signing ceremony Minister Terzi reconfirmed Italy’s determination, along with the Holy See, to act in every international setting on behalf of the assertion of the universal values of interfaith dialogue and tolerance, underscoring the decisive role of the diplomatic network in maintaining Italy’s high profile in those countries where religious minorities continue to be the target of violence, discrimination and persecution. Italy has committed in the UN and the EU to ensure that fostering freedom of worship and peaceful co-existence between faiths would continue to be one of the distinguishing features of the ethical dimension of Italian foreign policy. Human rights issue were part of the discussions at the European Union-India summit on strategic partnership in Delhi in Early February 2012. There had been demands internationally that the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission make human rights a central part of their discussions with Indian officials. The human rights situation in India is “much poor”, international and Indian groups have said in documents prepared for the second Universal Periodic Review that India faces in Geneva in the meetings of the United Nations Human Rights Council. While India boasts of a number of human rights organisations created by parliament, the record in all areas of human rights, including freedom of faith, remains dismal. India has yet to enact adequate laws or implement policies to protect marginalized communities, particularly Dalits, tribal groups, religious minorities, women, and children. The government also routinely fails to take action in cases of serious human rights violations, particularly all forms of sexual assault against women, communal violence, enforced disappearances in conflict areas, extrajudicial killings, torture. These issues are compounded by the widespread impunity for abuses and the corresponding problems of access to justice and adequate compensation, international groups such as Human Rights Watch have said. India will really have to clean up its act if it is to really police human rights violations in other countries, especially in south and west Asia.

THE CHURCH AS A SERVICE PROVIDER

‘Pick our hot chestnuts from the fire, teach our children, and heal our sick, but no Evangelisation please,’ says the government. And, of course, nothing doing on Dalit Christians’ rights JOHN DAYAL The dapper Union minister, Jairam Ramesh, is a very nice person, a gentleman. He deserves a reply. And since the princes of the Church have not been voluble for reasons they know best, let us venture a response. The Times Now TV Satellite channel headlined its report on Ramesh speaking at the Golden jubilee of Caritas India at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi, on Friday 20th January 2012, saying pithily “Help us in Naxal areas but no religious mobilisation: Ramesh.” Despite the paraphrasing, the headline does catch the sense and the mood of what Ramesh told his audience of Cardinals and ordinary Bishops and clergy. It also makes clear that like most people in India, and specially politicians ranging from the Marxists at one end and the Sangh Parivar at the far right, Ramesh too has not been able to differentiate between the Church as a mission obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ to serve the poor, the deprived, the sick and the marginalised, and any service-provider running educational and health institutions for commercial gain, and occasionally, for political advantage. That the government thinks of the Church not only as just a mere service provider but a particularly naïve one at that, is clear from the rest of what Ramesh said. It is important, therefore, to quote the Times Now report in full: “Union Minister Jairam Ramesh made a strong pitch for roping in organisations like those run by Catholic Church to bring development in Maoist-hit areas but asked them to respect the 'Lakshman Rekha' and not engage in "religious mobilisation". "I expect Caritas to respect the sentiment of not getting involved in religious mobilisation. That is not the objective. The objective is to use the powers of the organisation like yours to help us breakdown the deficit of trust between the Government and the tribal communities. That is our objective," he said. The Minister said he does not talk about Caritas as a Catholic organisation but as a social organisation run by Catholics. Focusing on the issue of Maoist influence, Ramesh said the challenge is "how we deal with the whole issue of Maoist violence which is spreading across large parts of tribal areas. Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh. All central Indian tribal belt today is in the grip of what our Prime Minister has described as the most serious internal security challenge of our country." The Minister said that people in these areas are unable to carry out their very existence in peace, normalcy and harmony because of the growing incidents of an ideology that is dedicated to the overthrowing all democratic institutions. he said that organisations like Caritas and Ramakrishna Mission have a very important role to play in such areas, "provided social organisations respect certain 'Lakshman Rekha'". Foreseeing a possible opposition from BJP-ruled Jharkhand for involving Caritas India in Maoist-hit areas, Ramesh said "you must be prepared for this" and said "the ultimate objective of course is to create an environment in which peace returns." Three important issues arise here. What is the nature of service the Catholic – and Protestant -- Churches provide to the country, and where. Does this service and these institutions instantly become focal points of evangelisation, and thereby of proselytising. And finally, if only as a comparative study, what is the nature of service that institutions of the Hindu faith, such as Ramakrishna Mission, and the Ekal and other schools run by the Sangh Parivar, provide, and do they spread their faith in the areas they work: in affect what is the end prod duct of their very well financed and administered educational projects. Looking at the Christian [I use this better term to include all those who follow Christ. I find the terms “Catholics and Christians” a bit of an anathema and not in keeping with the unity sought in Christ] effort in education and health. It can be easily said that the Church effort, or the work of the missionaries to be precise, laid the foundations of modern medicine and modern health services in the country, including the birthing of the institution of the Indian nurse who is so ubiquitous across the globe today. This is with due respect to the traditional systems of medicine practiced by the itinerant Vaids and Hakims and Dais in rural India. Hospitals, dispensaries and medical, dental and nursing colleges now dot the landscape, especially in forest and village areas not easily accessible from metropolitan and capital cities. In the mega cities and state capitals, it needs be admitted, the Christian presence is outnumbered by commercial and glossy hospitals and colleges set up by charitable trusts, governmetns, and most of all, businessmen who charge huge capitation fees, give a long berth to meritocracy and teach anyone whose family has the money, producing doctors of great greed but little training and talent. Despite commercialization, in areas of Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, even Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, the Christian hospitals and training centres often remain the only one, specially the only ones not charging sky high fees. As Fr Kuriala, head of the Education Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference recounts, the Catholic Church has been a true pioneer in promoting modern education in the country. In fact, the first formal Christian educational enterprise anywhere outside Europe was the Santa Fe School in Goa, started in 1540. Soon more Christian Schools appeared in other parts of India: at Bassein (Vasi- 1546), at Cochin (1549), at Punnakayil (1567), in Madurai (1595). The first ever Girls’ School in India was opened by the missionaries in 1819 in Kottayam. The Church also pioneered technical education in the country, with the first trade schools coming up as early as 1842. It may also be mentioned that a Sanskrit School was opened by the Catholic Church in 1846 at Mannanam, Kerala. Though constituting only 1.6% of the population, the Catholic Church in India today runs 13,004 Schools (Lower Primary to XII), 243 Specialized schools, 450 Colleges, 2 Universities, 534 Formal Technical Institutions, 310 Non- Formal Educational Institutions. Of these nearly 60 % are in the rural areas and 40 % in the urban areas. The total number of students attending our institutions is 69, 05,566, of whom 31,76, 466 are boys and 37,29,100 girls. For the record, of the children coming to catholic schools, 53% are Hindus, 28% Christians, 8.6% Muslims and 10.1% others. The numbers of the institutions run by the Protestant Churches may be smaller, but the best of them compete well with the Catholics. For every Loyola and Xavier college, there is a St Stephens. In medical education, the Protestant college outnumber those of the Catholics. Many of these institutions, and the smaller unnamed dispensaries are deep in the forests. I have seen many of them, some in Kandhamal in Orissa where they provide the only place for a healthy birthing by a tribal woman, or assistance to a delirious patient wafting to be taken to distant Behrampur as the district hospitals in this district are an abomination. Have they become focii of conversions? They have indeed converted Indian women to give up their apprehensions on caste and creed, and come to learn the useful and glorious profession of nursing. Once when most of the nurses were Christians, and mostly from Kerala or the Maharashtra area, today nursing students come from all over the country, and most of them are Hindus. The only difference is while once the Christian nursing schools were giving a stipend to the women students, the private sector nursing colleges of today charge a hefty fees. But jobs are plenty, salaries are good and the Indian woman has shed her inhibition and defied taboos.. Bu there is no conversion to Christianity, of course. The fact that most of the alumni in Christians schools are Hindus – Christians almost never form the majority other than in religious seminaries is testimony to the fact that while the Christian schools are preferred for the value-loaded education they important, they have never been accused to inducing thier students to become Christians. Let me give contrasting examples from Ramakrishna Mission Schools in Tribal areas and the Ekal Vidyalayas. The second first. The Ekal Vidyalayas, whose scholarship, books and pedagogy has not been audited by any government agency, make no bones showing the sort of education they give. A mix of mythology and history, a harking to a Hindu golden age and heroism, the education is a hagiographic introduction to an India that cannot be articulated as history, or even as political geography because it speaks of a greater Hindu India which has never existed. It belittles Buddhism and Jainism, keeps Sikhism’s as a arm of the Hindus and cold-bloodedly converts the tribal into aggressive Hindu believer. RK Mission’s forest schools in Chhatisgarh, which I have visited, are more gentle, and do give some sort of a liberal education different from the Sangh Parivar. But thier end product is child who is no longer a tribal, but a Hindu Bengali Bhadralok! Where is the conversion, and where indeed the hiatus from the Sarna religion, the tribal Santhal or Oran culture? Why does the government and Jairam see the Church as a mere service provider? Possibly it is because Church leadership and institutional administrators have, of late, been diffident, on the back foot. In the face of persecution, they have fought shy of facing that they have been attacked because they have helped empower the poor. They are not crying out for the poor in the voice of the agitated masses. In the mouth of the Sangh Parivar, thier mute anger against empowerment of the poor becomes an argument against conversions. The two terms are seem the same. Somewhere hidden behind Jairam’s invitation of working in Naxal prone areas is also a reference to the insinuation, if not accusation by the BJP and BJD governments that Christians are working with Maoists. The Maoists have no religion, if they are rally a ideologically extremist Left. In the Mao belt, they are mostly Hindus, their leadership Brahminical. But in Andhra and Bihar and even in Karnataka, many are Muslims, even Christians and Buddhists. They swear by ideology, not by faith. But in Orissa, the government seems to be tying itself into knots trying to establish linkages between Christians and Maoists. Many innocents have been arrested and kept in jail without trial. How then does the government ask the Church to work in specified Naxal dominated areas. If it is just the states in this corridor, the Church is already present in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Andhra, working in villages and districts, running schools. They are not too involved in social action. Some are lawyers and fighting for a just wage for labourer and teacher, other work on gender issues for the women, and against trafficking and infant mortality. There is no major work in trade unions, unlike in Kerala and Tamil Nadu's fisher folk’s movement. . In the North east, the Church has also been a victim of local terrorism and insurrection. Many priests were killed in Manipur, many abducted in Assam and elsewhere where they were released in private arrangements involving large sums of money. The Church, under the dynamic leadership of Archbishop of Guwahati Thomas Menaparampil, done a lot for the peace process. So also for the Naga peace process where the Baptist Church is almost single handed responsible for a return from arms. It is a moot question if the increased presence of missionaries will close the deficit of confidence in the government. The Church cannot afford to be seen as an agent or front of the government. It will lose all legitimacy in the eyes of the people. The government, on the other hand, cannot shirk its responsibility. It must get its officers and its doctors to go to the villages. It must provide the teachers and ensure that they are available to teach. It is not the soldier alone they can send to the forest . And it must change its response to the Christian community and the Church. The government has been ungrateful, to say the least. The time has now come when we need to ask the government and the political parties if they are willing to show in word and deed their respect for us. It is not just their dastardly betrayal of the Dalit Christian. The government response is yet to be given in the Supreme court where the Dalit Christen rights is the subject of writ for half a decade. It is also seen in the government response to the issue of justice for victims of persecution in Orissa and the rest of the country. And above all, it is seen in the defence of the so called freedom of religion Acts which are possibly the greatest assault, on individual freedom and defiance of international result ions and global norms, other than in fundamentalist and totalitarian countries. The Church, finally, needs to tell the government and tell Mr Jairam Ganesh that it does not do its social work for money. It does not do it for influence. It does certainly not do it for buying converts. It does so in absolute obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christians to serve the poorest of the poor, of which there are plenty in India.