John Monteiro
It amazes me to see that the Arab world has so much temperament for religious tolerance in not only tolerating different religious denominations but supporting it in terms of security and permissions to coexist in an Islamic world. I lived in the Gulf for 18 years and I have seen that during important festivals like Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, the government deputes full security to make sure that the services go peacefully. Even to the extent of providing traffic control, firefighting, ambulances and doctors on site in support.
Now let’s look at our own country where people of different religions live shoulder to shoulder to one another. We are all Indians and have equal right to live and practise our religions peacefully. A country where people what to live peacefully with one another, may it be a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or sheik. We all love our country but will the recent political outfit allow this? The BIG question is arousing bitter taste in the mouth from the recent incidences. To name a few; the desecration of the statue of our Mother Mary at Bandra, the Sacrilege at Sogandi in the diocese of Chengalpet where the Good Friday Mass was disturbed by the RSS Tasildar. The Holy Communion pulled from the altar, priest, nuns, women and children aggressively pulled away from the place. What a shameful act is this? Why are these religious fanatics behaving in this shameful manner? If the government has no control over this, the satiation is going to go out of hand. The writing on the wall is loud and clear. A country where we all once lived in absolute brotherhood is being held at ransom by few uneducated brainless rascals.
My family and I supported the Modi government but not to see what is going around, if the Government agenda is responsible for all the recent disturbances, which I sincerely pray and hope not, the country is going in the wrong direction. I sincerely plead of the Modi government to make a statement in which the denominations of different religion to live in communal harmony and religious tolerance and instead of spreading hate, to spread love and peace.
