Under the banner of Christi Asmita Manch,
Pune, a protestant ecumenical group, a one-day seminar was organised on 9th
May 2015 at Christ Seva Prem Ashram, Pune. Christ Seva Prem Ashram is a
historical ashram where Mahatma Gandhi stayed for 10 days in the year 1932.
About 150
delegates from various protestant churches attended the seminar. The main theme
of the seminar was “Response to the attacks
of religious fanatics on the Christian
community and its ministries”. The conference began with a worship service
led by the Rt. Rev. Naresh Ambala. In the devotion he encouraged the
participants to be prudent and wise like serpents and innocent like doves. The
seminar was inaugurated by Hon. Bhai Vaidhya, an eminent socialist and former
Home Minister of Maharashtra. In his inaugural address, citing examples of
Chakravarti Ashok Samrat, Badshah Akbar and Shivaji Maharaj, he established
that this nation has been always secular, multi-religious and multi-cultural
nation. He said, historically this country was never a Hindu Rashtra. He
cautioned the participants citing the example of Godhra massacre in Gujarat
during then chief minister and present Prime Minister of India, Hon. Narendra
Modi, and the growing influence of right-wing forces in the country
The first
session was led by Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary, NCCI. He presented
a synopsis of the presentation made by Dr. Dr. T.K Oommen, Emeritus Professor,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi at the National consultation organized
by the National United Christian Forum on “Upholding Constitutional Rights of Minorities, with
Special Reference to the Christians” on 17th March, 2015 in Delhi.
The Hindu animosity towards Christians is based on the perception that 200
years of colonialism irreversibly transformed the Hindu ethos of India and that
Christians continue to indulge in illegal and immoral conversions of Hindus to
Christianity. No amount of argument
citing facts and figures, quoting chapters and verses from the constitution and
other relevant legal documents will convince the hardcore Hindutva advocates to
change their perceptions. Therefore we
need a new perspective to understand the problem; we need to wear a new lens to
comprehend it. Some dimensions of this
lens are: (1) The Hindu understanding of the state-society relationship,
wherein the society or samaj has precedence over the state is
crucial. (2) The legal systems in India contribute to the intensity of
state-society disjunction in India .They are the State Legal System (SLS), the
religious legal systems (RLSs) and folk legal systems (FLSs).(3) Third, we need to understand violence in all
its manifestations, physical, structural and symbolic. (4) Secularism is a
virulently contested concept in contemporary India. The way out is to abandon
the advocacy of cultural monism and nurture the existing cultural pluralism of
India; to conceptualise India as a national state. Only in a national state
minorities of all varieties be it religious, cultural (linguistic) or racial
can flourish.
The second session was led by Adv. Aseem
Sarode, a social activist and an ardent fighter for human rights. Citing the
example of Jesus Christ, he said that humanity is the true religion and attacks
on Christian are attacks on humanity and their human rights. Therefore, every
person who believes in the Indian constitution should come together to fight
against this menace. He also cautioned the Christians that since they are
blamed for conversions through allurement, Christians need to follow the laws
of the land carefully. Documentation, both paper and electronic, regarding
genuine conversions needs to be meticulously done and maintained.
The third session was led by Dr. Kumar
Saptrishee, a socialist and former MLA of Maharashtra State. He assured the
Christian community that he and his organization is with Christian community in
this fight against religious fanaticism. He said that, “We will organize
protest march against atrocities and attacks on Christian community and their
institutions”. He said that in every religion in India, there are 5% true
followers, 5% malevolent elements and 90% nominal followers. The 90% nominal
followers can be influenced by either 5% true followers or 5% malevolent
elements. If the latter increase, the balance of goodness in society is lost
and hence injustice increases.
The plenary session was held under the
chairmanship of Bishop Naresh Ambala, wherein suggestions for future action
were received.
The
Sessions were moderated by Bishop Andrew Rathod, Dr. Snehal Padhare and Mr.
Ashok Angre. Mr. Ashish James, Mr. Shirish Hiwale, Mr. Ashish Jhadav, Mr. Moses
Kalkoti, Mr. Vasant Gajbhiv, Mr. Mohan Shinde and Adv. Rajandre Apte worked
hard to make the conference a success. The meeting was concluded with closing
prayer offered by Rev. Ashakant Ramteke and benediction by Bishop Naresh
Ambala, the presiding officer of the conference.
