It’s that time of the year when one must keep one’s selfish feelings aside and take part in celebrating our differences and religious divides. December is a month for reflection and of thanksgiving for the lives we live and pray for the future to come. It’s time to think of the nation as a whole, and that all religions are equal. At this Christmas season, celebrate the concept and spirit of ‘sarvadharma samabhav’ (equal respect for all religions), which Mahatma Gandhi embraced and wanted India to follow.
Within weeks, the holy week of Christmas will be upon us. We need to offer the Lord our thanks for keeping the land safe from external war, and to quell the forces of evil that are destroying the peace and the democratic faith in our country. Let the angry waves of intolerance dissipate in quick time so that the country can march forward on the path of righteousness and prosperity.
Recent events have cast a long shadow on the sorry state of the nation. The political ill-winds are blowing true and hard, and are causing social disturbances. Worst of all, India’s agony over religion, which began decades ago and well-articulated in the book by the same name written in 1995 by Gerald James Larson, is still evident today. In the opening lines of his preface, Larson says, “The present book began as an enquiry into the contemporary religious crisis in India with special reference to the on-going debate between those who argue that India is out to maintain its identity as a ‘secular state’ without any special consideration for a particular religious tradition and those who argue that the modern nation-state of India should give greater prominence to its specifically ‘Hindu’ heritage.”
There’s little doubt the religious overtones have become tenacious and malicious. The debate continues, and one can see talking heads on TV news channels arguing endlessly and, at time, shamelessly why India should abandon its pluralistic nature and embrace majoritarianism, or rather majoritarian democracy. The issue of secularism or majoritarianism ignites such heated national discourse in the print, electronic and digital media that it seems the country is caught in the nemesis of its own making. To me, this aspect of India’s nationhood is deadwood. Expanding on the developmental and societal issues is of prime importance.
We have seen how the on-going, unbending and unpalatable debate on nationalism is consuming the energies of the nation. In this context, the Archbishop of Gandhinagar, Thomas Macwan, landed himself into a muddle when, in a pastoral letter, he asked his parishioners to pray to “save our country from nationalist forces.” Those who understand Indian politics thoroughly can know what the bishop means by “nationalist forces.”
Though this statement was plain vanilla, it was his call for voting for humane leaders who believe in the sanctity of the Constitution that touched a raw nerve in Gujarat, and which is seen as the crucible for electoral power between the ruling BJP and the rejuvenated Congress in the elections this month. Modi’s credibility is on line, as this is Gujarat’s first election after the CM catapulted himself to Delhi as PM.
Shockingly the Church’s leader was slapped with a notice by the Election Commission for a remark that brings into question the freedom of speech that’s kicking dust in India. However, no such action was taken by the EC over the statement by the priest of the Swaminarayan temple to vote for the BJP. Contrasting both statements from the respective church leaders, the Vadal Swaminarayan priest’s outburst seemingly went against the Model Code of Conduct. But, as expected, the EC will “investigate”. It’s now commonly assumed that the government bodies are controlled by the political bosses.
It’s apt to remind ourselves that Mahatma Gandhi, for who the place is named, had high respect for Christianity while insisting that Indians should keep their windows open for all cultures to blow into their room. Gandhi often quoted Christ but he never gave his reasons why he never became his follower. I bring this up because of the recent controversy surrounding another Gandhi — Rahul Gandhi. What does it matter if Rahul is a Catholic or a Hindu? Playing the religious card has become political gamemanship. Religion and marriage is personal. I mention marriage because of the ruckus of a Hindu girl wanting to marry a Muslim man. Instead of tackling “love-jihad”, it would be good to concentrate efforts on “jihadi-terrorism”. This reminds me of what the late PM of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, said, “There’s no place for the state into the bedrooms of the nation.”
As the nation is troubled by religious and moral dilemmas, we must join Bishop Macwan in prayers for India to maintain its democratic faith. We must pray that the good tidings of Christmas sweep across the land and save our country in the face of religious jingoism. We need to hold hands and work together to serve the nation in its march forward. As the Mahatma himself said, “The hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray.”
(Eugene Correia is a senior journalist who worked for the Free Press Journal, and The Hindu.)
