IT'S HARD TO PUT YOUR FINGER ON IT: THE IMAGE OF CATHOLICS IN INDIA Extracts from a paper presented at Baroda, at a seminar organised by the All India Catholic Union, Gujarat Region. The writer, Allan Noronha better known as Chhotebhai, traces his roots to Aldona village in Goa, but his family has settled in North India over generations. He can be contacted via email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
By Chhotebhai [EMAIL PROTECTED] Maqbool Fida Hussain, (the famous Indian artist) with his flowing mane and even more flowing strokes, can paint a wide canvass. He could paint Mother Teresa, Madhuri Dixit, and of course his favourite horses. Michelangelo could paint the Last Supper and the Last Judgement. Artists paint a portrait with their subject sitting still. How does one paint a picture of something that is alive and kicking, and experiencing a constant churning? Any such portrait would be severely restrictive, limited by the painter's perceptions. What would Hussain paint, if he were given the title "The Image of Catholics in India" as his subject? Would Hussein paint a blue and white canvas using Mother Teresa as his image of Catholic India? Would he paint "St. Xavier's School" with herds of children swarming around? Would he paint a bishop with a pink sash, an equally pink face, and a pink stone embedded in his episcopal ring? I would love to ask Hussain the question. However, I am daring to hazard a guess -- he would paint Catholic India as Gandhiji's famous three monkeys -- see no evil, speak no evil, do no evil. A passive image. Does this image shock you? It shocks me too, as it was not a pre-conceived image, but one that came to me as I began writing this. If I were to use just one word to describe Catholic India it is this -- passivity. I am aware that making such preposterous statement is fraught with danger. It is severely restrictive and open to criticism. There is a saying, "Fools will enter, where angels fear to tread." In fact this presentation was actually to be made by an angel face who perhaps felt that the water was too deep to tread in. He recommended to the organisers that this fool should tread water instead. So, dear friends, prepare to launch out into the deep. 35 YEARS AGO ------------ About 35 years ago Ka Na Subramaniam had written a book "The Catholic Community in India." I have a copy of it, and wanted to re-read it before starting this presentation, but could not locate it. I daresay that it is the last comprehensive and authoritative work on the Catholic community in India. No doubt several scholars have written reams of paper on the community since. But they fell into two categories -- historical, or research on specific topics. Such works are indices, but not a wide canvas. They are also of academic interest that does not appeal to those not directly concerned with a particular field of study. The task given to me therefore is a Herculean one. It is sailing on unchartered waters, as I have no precedents to go by. I am also not a scholar (I failed to do my graduation). So please bear with me if there are some historical or factual errors. To do justice to this topic I cannot be like the three monkeys. I am sharing with you what I have seen and heard with my eyes wide open, my ears to the ground, and my finger on the pulse of our people. I am not talking history now, but seeking to unravel a mystery. The very word "image" is a stumbling block. Because it is imaginary, not necessarily based on facts. If we want facts and figures on the Catholic Church in India all we need to do is to flip the pages of the "Catholic Directory of India 1998", running into over 1500 pages. That will give us statistical data, not the elusive image that we are trying to capture in this presentation. As I lead you on into deeper waters I need to place before you two basic premises: * Images are primarily subjective, and not necessarily based on objective truth, though the former may draw from the latter. If a botanist and an artist were standing together under a mango tree, the botanist would write a report on the age of the tree, its physical properties. An artist would paint it in vibrant shades of green and brown. An agronomist would calculate the cost of investment and the fruit yield. A roadside urchin would probably throw stones at the unripe fruit, not even waiting for it to mature. * The second premise is that there is no difference in the public image of Catholics and other Christian churches/sects. If a fundamentalist evangelical sect proclaims that "unless you are born again you cannot be saved," this would be perceived as applicable to all Christians, Catholics included. Let us now examine the various images before us. I have identified some of them as follows: * public image * media image * Catholics' self-image * non-Catholic image. I have further divided these images in different spheres: * liturgy * education * health * social service * human rights. We will also examine the Images according to geographical regions of India. IMAGES, OF DIFFERENT SHAPES --------------------------- PUBLIC IMAGE: Ask the average Indian what they think of the Christian in India, and you will get the reply -- "peace loving." Dig a little further and you will probably be told that they are a contented lot, who don't easily get agitated or involved in public life. You may also hear that they are not particularly ambitious. I have already sounded a warning that images may or may not be grounded in reality. There is one image that often comes to mind. When somebody wants to depict persons of different religions certain stereotypes are used. A Hindu is depicted with a tilak, chutiya and perhaps wearing a dhoti. A Muslim is depicted with a beard and achkan; while a Sikh is easily identifiable with a turban and beard. There are two caricatures used for indicating a Christian -- either a young man with a hat, suit and tie, or a woman with a cross dangling from her neck. Mercifully, the earlier Image, the topi-tiewallah seems to be receding. This is because the Christians were among the first to adopt Western culture and dress; particularly from the Goa-Bombay coast to those areas in north India where Christianity came in the wake of the British. With the advent of cable TV and exposure to a cross cultural world order almost all communities have opted for a dress form that is more user friendly -- read, a Western garb. I see the depiction of a cross, as the distinguishing mark of a Christian in India, as something very significant. It indicates that Indian Christianity has come of age, that it is not confined to any culture, and can assimilate itself in any one. Eighty years ago Gandhiji had said that he liked Christ but not Christians. Which Christians was Gandhiji exposed to? The kind who adopted garishly Western norms, when Jaikishans became Jacksons; when one would say, "Johnny, Tony, Topi, Tie, Main Hoon Isaibhai"! If you were a Christian, you were a beefeater, no less. Again I wonder what Gandhiji would say about Indian Christians today! Going by my close links with veteran Gandhians, I think that Gandhiji today would have felt very close to Christians. In the West, Gandhiji is considered a true Christian, and I share that sentiment. Christian activists in India are ideologically very close to the Gandhians. Fifty years ago the Christians of Kerala felt that the atheistic Communists were their arch-enemies. After Vatican II, and the advent of Liberation Theology, the Marxists and Christians again find themselves on the same wavelength, because India's particular brand of Marxism is theistic to the core!! What does all this mean? These are dancing images, prancing horses for Hussain, difficult to rein in. Images change with time and context, as do inter-personal relationships. WHAT NON-CHRISTIANS THINK ------------------------- About twenty years ago the Kanpur Catholic Association had conducted a survey to ascertain what non-Christians thought of us. The results were a pleasant surprise that the public perception of Christians was far more positive than we had allowed ourselves to believe. If one goes by the number of visitors to a Christian home on Christmas day, the long queues for admission in our schools and hospitals, and the number of non-Christian devotees at Marian shrines, one is left with no other choice than to conclude that, over all, Indian Christians enjoy a healthy public image. There have been two criticisms of Indian Christians that we need to face squarely -- foreign funds and religious conversions. It is estimated that Christian organisations in India receive about Rs 2500 crore (Rs 25,000 million) per annum in foreign aid. This is something that non-Christians resented. The public image was that these vast funds were used for fraudulent or coercive religious conversions, and compromised one's loyalty to the nation because of allegiance to foreign masters. Now that Hindutva organisations are tapping rich NRIs, and with globalisation's shrinking effect, the criticism of foreign funds has lost its cutting edge. The conversions bogey, as we know only too well, is a malicious propaganda used for gaining political mileage. The Census of India figures are the most authentic ones to ascertain the growth of religious groupings. And the facts are before us. The Christian population of India actually increased after Independence from 2.4% in 1961 to 2.6% in 1971. Thereafter it reverted to 2.4% in 1981 and slipped to 2.3% in 1991. The Government of India has not released the figures for the 2001 Census, perhaps because in runs contrary to its political propaganda. The Christian decadal growth date from 1981 to 1991, at 16.89%, was 5.21% below the national average of 22.10%. At the recent AICU AGM at Chennai I had moved a resolution asking the Government to release the religious figures of the 2001 Census, failing which AICU would seek redress from the Supreme Court. If I may be permitted to digress a bit, I find that the decline in Christian percentage in India from 1971 dovetails neatly into the Catholic Church's changed perception of evangelisation after Vatican II (1962-65). MACHINERY, AND NO ZEAL ---------------------- There are two more Public Images that I would like to highlight. Thirty years ago I often heard non-Christian leaders exhorting the public to work with "missionary zeal." Perhaps these old timers had actually witnessed foreign missionaries making great sacrifices for the poor among whom they worked. Unfortunately I no longer hear this term being used in public. Are we now flagging in our zeal? Even the word "missionary" has become redundant, more easily replaceable with institutional "machinery". The other term is common usage was "convent educated", since corrupted and abbreviated to "convented" in matrimonial ads. Earlier, by convent education was understood an all round grooming and education for girls, who were denied that opportunity. Today so many have jumped on to the convent bandwagon that we have names like "Shri Atal Behari Convent School" in every gully in our towns and urban conglomerates. "Convent" is no longer associated with a group of dedicated Catholic religious women. It is now a synonym for elitist education. The oldest Catholic institution in my hometown of Kanpur is St. Mary's Convent. It was colloquially known as "Bhaktin School", the school run by devotees. Again I must confess that I have not heard the term "Bhaktin" used for the last forty odd years. Times have changed, and so has our public image. I leave you to draw your own conclusions. JULIE, TONY ... AND BOLLYWOOD ----------------------------- The most enduring image of Indian Christians is that churned out by Bollywood. It is very true that Bollywood movies often depicted Christians as Julie the mini-skirted vamp or Tony the drunkard or bootlegger. Several organisations have objected to Bollywood producers about these stereotypes, and the trend has definitely changed for the better. Some Christian leaders and organisation over-react to lighthearted banter, like the nun in the Hero Honda ad. But we need to ask ourselves a very relevant question. "Why is our media image different from our public image?" We need to understand how Bollywood movies are made, and by whom. The big names in Bollywood were Punjabis -- like the Kapoors and Chopras. Christians in Punjab were basically Majbi Sikh (Dalit) converts. They were landless agricultural workers, and even sanitation workers, concentrated in Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Lahore (now in Pakistan) districts. I doubt if the Kapoor Khandan had any contact with Punjabi Christians. Hence their image of Christians is what they found in and around their film studios in Mumbai; and we cannot deny that the ones to wear micro miniskirts were mostly Catholics in the late 'sixties and 'seventies. I lived in Bombay for 2? years during the height of the mini-era. Wow! But why blame Bollywood? Our very own Mario Miranda always portrayed the office secretary (which most girls then were) as Miss Fonseca with the big bustline and short dress. BY IMAGES ALONE --------------- Cartoonists, painters, film directors go by images, real or imaginary. Have you ever seen a cartoon by Laxman showing politicians in good light? Bollywood's caricatures are not limited to Christians. Sardars were depicted as guffawing truck drivers, Banias as avaricious, Thakurs as cruel, Parsis as kinky, and Muslims as benign Chachas. This was the era of masala action movies, or mushy romances. This was also the time when communities had very little interaction with each other. We therefore tended to accentuate the differences that stood out, rather than the commonalities. Besides, who would go to see a Bollywood movie in which the entire cast was in straight jackets? I do not seek to justify the Bollywood image, but am attempting to understand it a little more objectively. It must also be said, that as with our public image, our media image has also metamorphosed over time. Film audiences have matured, forcing directors to change tack -- to be more realistic. It is a positive development. MYSTERY OF THE PRESS -------------------- Our media Image is certainly not restricted to Bollywood. The English language press, be they dailies or journals, are largely supportive, appreciative and sensitive to the Christian community in India. Could this be because several of its staffers have studied in Christian schools? Maybe. What of the vernacular press? This is the danger zone. Particularly in north India, the vernacular press has been hostile to Christians and Christian issues like conversions. Hindi papers report events differently from national level English dailies. They are more parochial in their views. During the recent riots in Gujarat it is reported that the Gujarati language papers played a very big role in inflaming passions against the Muslims. Hence I appreciate the initiative of Christian journalists in Ahmedabad, led by the redoubtable Jesuits, to build up a Gujarati language media front. In like manner, Satya Manthan Sansthan, inspired by Bishop Patrick D'Souza of Varanasi, has been bringing out a series of booklets in Hindi, seeking to correct common misconceptions. "Dainik Jagran" is the second largest Hindi daily, and it is based in my hometown of Kanpur. There were times when it spewed venom on Christians. Its editor, the late Narendra Mohan (not Modi) was even rewarded with a seat in the Rajya Sabha by the BJP. He knew my family well; so about six years ago he invited me over to his office to "discuss" Christian issues. We called it a satsang. I went "armed with documentation." He quoted from the statements of firebrand but obscure American evangelists that denounced "pagans" and hollered for conversions. I presented him with the Census data quoted above. I also read out passages from Vatican II documents, which I explained were the official teachings of the Catholic Church. He was astounded. His face went red with embarrassment and his countenance fell. He was being confronted with truth that was contrary to his prejudices. I clearly recall quoting form the "Declaration On Religious Freedom," which states, "It is one of the major tenets of Catholic doctrine that man's response to God in faith must be free. Therefore no one is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith against his own will. This doctrine is contained in the Word of God and it was constantly proclaimed by the fathers of the Church" (DH No.9). I also quoted to him from the "Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions", that referring to Hinduism and Buddhism states, "The Catholic Church rejects nothing which is true and holy in these religions. She looks with sincere respect upon those ways of conduct and life, those rules and teachings which, thought differing in many particulars from what she holds and sets forth, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. The Church therefore has this exhortation for her sons: prudently and lovingly, through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, and in witness of Christian faith and life, acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral good found among these men, as well as the values in their society and culture" (NA 2). Subsequently I had another satsang with this editor, this time accompanied by a seminary professor who was well versed with Inculturation and inter-religious dialogue. I dare to believe that these satsangs had some impact in toning down his anti-Christian rhetoric. CATHOLICS... AND NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS ---------------------------------------- This is regarding how Christians of other churches see us. In this area I must admit that my experience is limited to the north and northeast, and not the deep south or west coast, which in any case are Catholic dominated. During the British era Catholics were considered second class (the Poms looking down on the poor Irishmen). There was a basic difference between Protestant and Catholic Church structure. The Catholic Church had a vast army of priests and nuns, mostly from south India. Hence the sudden exodus of foreign missionaries did not cripple it after Independence. In contrast, the Protestant congregations suddenly found themselves orphaned, and bereft of State patronage. Several of their rural congregations were literally sheep without a shepherd. The "Formidable Catholic Church" unabashedly poached in some of these flocks, adding to its own numbers. Now, the Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches are poaching on Catholic territories with a remarkable degree of success. Therefore there is still an element of competition and mutual recrimination among churches. On the whole, however, there is a fairly healthy ecumenical spirit between the Catholic Church and other churches in India. Earlier Protestants felt that Catholics were idolators because they venerated sacred images. Here again this animosity was an import from the West. Basically, Indians are cultic, and it is now common to find Protestants keeping sacred images and even visiting Marian shrines and places of pilgrimage. Overall, Protestants would perceive Catholics as being united, disciplined and docile as compared to them. INTO THE LOOKING GLASS ---------------------- How do we Catholics see ourselves? What is our self-perception? I feel like laughing now, because I have a creepy suspicion that we Catholics have never really bothered too much, to look at ourselves in the mirror! If, like Gandhiji's monkey, we have covered our eyes with our paws, what can we see of ourselves? In personality development courses we are told about the four panes in the Zuari Window: (i) What we can see and others can also see (ii) What we can see, but others can't see (iii) What others can see, but we cannot see ourselves, (iv) What we ourselves can't see and others too can't see. Panes (i) and (iii) are what others can see -- our public image. Pane (ii) is our self image, and Pane (iv) is the dark hole that has not seen the light. It could be festering sore, or a carcinogenic growth that could be the silent killer. If this exercise were restricted to just painting a picture, then I need not touch the dark hole. But if we seek to learn something from this exercise, not just to improve our image, but to actually transform ourselves. Then we need to explore the dark hole as well. As I just said, the vast majority of Catholics would not have bothered to look into the mirror. The clergy and religious attend a variety of courses to update themselves in various areas -- theology, ecclesiology, personality development, management skills, introspection and discernment. However, the laity is largely bereft of these opportunities. There was a time, before Vatican II and easy availability of foreign funds, when the clergy was financially dependent on the contributions of the laity. In turn the laity was dependent on the clergy for spiritual solace. This was a healthy complementarity and interdependence, which Vatican II refers to as "being bound together by a mutual need " just as in a loving marital bond. Two factors have changed this bond of mutual love and respect. One partner has become too powerful and dominating, while the other has correspondingly become more docile. This imbalance is unhealthy. THE CLERGY, THE LAITY --------------------- Prior to Vatican II the clergy and religious lived an ascetic and arduous life. They have since abused the responsible freedom of Vatican II to jettison all forms of asceticism. They have "secularised" themselves in work, thought and dress, even more than the laity who are supposed to live and work in the secular sphere. With the easy accessibility of foreign funds, dollar mass stipends and mushroom growth of money-generating institutions, they are now self-dependent, leading to self-complacency. Pardon me for making such a horrific statement, but now all that they need the laity for is to produce children, so that they have enough "vocations" to keep their institutions going. The only other time that they require the laity is when somebody among them has been killed or sexually molested. Then the laity must come out in vast numbers to support them. As my friend Dr. Remy Denis of Gorakhpur says, the Church cannot walk on one leg if it seeks to get anywhere. This is precisely what is happening. The clergy and religious are using the laity as a crutch to prop themselves up. This is crippling the church. Both legs must be strong and walk in tandem. Since the laity has been reduced to a peripheral and passive role, it has become increasingly uninvolved in church life. This is evident also in the growing diffidence to Catholic associations, which are or should be the public face of the church in socio-economic, political and media affairs. This vacuum is sought to be filled by ever increasing devotional practices, or largely emotional expressions in the Charismatic Renewal. This again is because the Eucharistic Celebration, which should be the centre of Christian worship, has become a drab and routine affair, interspersed with a sonorous sermon. How can a secularised Eucharistic minister make the celebration a deep spiritual experience? He cannot. Spirituality is not an electric switch that can be snapped on or off. What is the vast majority of lay Catholic's involvement in the life and mission of the Church? We are often referred to as Sunday Catholics. Those who are involved in the catechetical ministry refer to it as a petrol-filling station, where you just come to get something, to fill up for the week. Earlier we Catholics were told that non-fulfilment of the Sunday obligation was a mortal sin, condemning us to hell. God was probably sitting in the rafters of the church building with a telescopic and attendance register. Today we can perhaps sit back and laugh at the stupidity of it all. But not so long ago such excesses were a harsh reality, with Catholics suffering deep guilt complexes over trivialities. The fear of hell has gone, only to be replaced by another one. From not getting admission into heaven, Catholics are now afraid that they won't get admission in an elite "convent" school. So the fear psychosis continues unabated. Is this fear imaginary? I don't think so. Leaders, be they religious or political, have long known that fear is a far greater emotion than love, and they have exploited this emotion to the hilt. The best way to herd the sheep, and to keep the flock together, is to cry, "wolf". So the first image of Catholics that I see is the dark hole of fear. FEAR, AND SMUG SATISFACTION --------------------------- The second image of Catholics is that of smug satisfaction. Catholics seem satisfied that they are going to heaven. Now that their children are admitted into the school also, they are reasonable assured of getting a good job. Being a nursery schoolteacher or working in a call centre is great. What more can one ask of life? If one is invited to read a scripture lesson on Sunday or gets to be in the parish council, it is like the cherry on the cake. Talk of a participatory church, accountability and transparency is like a rude encroachment on the tranquillity and equilibrium of a satiated and satisfied people. So the second image of the community that I am able to identify is satisfaction. There are things that others can't see, but we can. Others sense that we are united. This is akin to saying that bodies laid side by side in the graveyard are united, because they don't raise their voices. I do not see true unity in the Catholic community. First there is the clergy-laity divide, which is widening by the day. Then there is the ethnic divide -- the Malayalees are separate, the Adivasis are in their own cluster, the English speaking don't mingle with the local folks, and so on. This is why, in many urban areas, I have found strong associations of Malayalees and adivasis, who have more members and better finances than the cosmopolitan and heterogeneous Catholic associations affiliated to the AICU. Homogenous groups are comfortable in their own familiar milieu, and don't want others to rock the boat. To add fuel to the fire is the increasing divisiveness of Rites. This particular phenomenon was earlier restricted to Kerala. However, with Malayalees now spread all over India in sizeable numbers, this historical divide has spread like a virus throughout the Church. Unfortunately, its flames have been fanned by the hierarchy and clergy, further dividing a fractured framework. In certain parts of south India, which boasts of being an older Christian community, the caste divide is shamefully rampant. So the third image that I see of us is divisiveness. I would therefore opine that the three major characteristics that reflect our self-image are fear, satisfaction and divisiveness. IMAGES... IN DIFFERENT SPHERES ------------------------------ Let us now see what image we portray in different spheres. I must reiterate that these are images only, not an analytical study. LITURGY: This is supposed to the forte of the Catholic Church. Fortunately, after Vatican II, major liturgical changes were wrought, dispensing with the archaic Latin and switching to the vernacular. The priest facing the people, rather than having his back to them, was also a most welcome change. By liturgy, I would not like to restrict myself to the Eucharist. There are also other sacraments, particularly baptism and matrimony; where the focus should be more on the main players -- the laity. Unfortunately this is not how it comes across. In India we live in a multi-religious milieu, where we need to be far more sensitive to the religious expressions of our countrymen, especially the Hindu majority. In the sphere of liturgy there are some who resist change, but the majority of the faithful, accept what comes their way. On the whole it would seem that liturgical changes have been more cosmetic than attitudinal. A good pastor can innovate a lot to make the liturgy meaningful and participatory. But in most places lay participation is confined to reading the two lessons and prayers of the faithful. As such the laity are mere spectators, not participants. At another extreme we have had over-zealous proponents of Inculturation who tried to replace Latin with Sanskrit, both of which sound Greek to the "audience". The Eucharistic Celebration is essentially meant for Catholics. However, there are several occasions where there are a large number of non-Christians. When we invite people for a marriage, or some other such celebration, and then tell them that they are not to come forward to receive communion, it is like inviting people to dinner and then telling them that they are not worthy of it, so they may only look at the dishes and go back with empty stomachs. I feel that when we have a mixed gathering then it is more appropriate to have a para-liturgical service in which all can participate equally. I am particularly concerned about the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony. The ministers of this particular sacrament are the bride and groom. The priest is only a witness, a third party. However, when matrimony is celebrated along with the Eucharist, the priest hogs the limelight. I think that this must change. This is not to deny that the liturgy of the Catholic Church is not rich and meaningful. It certainly is, but only to those who understand it. The expressions used in the liturgy, and the symbols, are a residue of the Church Triumphant, that Vatican II sought to resituate as the Pilgrim Church. While not denying the richness of the Catholic liturgy it gives me the image of triumphalism, cosmetic change, unimaginative, alien and clergy-centric. EDUCATION: The popular image of course is that Catholic educational institutions are centres of academic excellence and strict discipline. I have no quarrel with this popular image. However, in the light of Christian values and priorities, reams can be written about the efficacy and witness value of such institutions. Infact, during the CBCI-AICU dialogue held in Bangalore on September 2001, my 15-page paper entitled "Catholic Education in India -- A Lay perspective" was presented. I cannot report the details of that paper, but I would like to report a salient finding. As per information provided in the "Catholic Directory of India 1998", which is the latest available, only 25% percent of Catholic children and youth (between the ages of three to 21 years) are actually studying in Catholic institutions. This is a startling figure, which the bishops of India are unable to face. The harsh reality is that three out of four Catholic children are not in Catholic institutions. I shall leave it at that, that the image of Catholic schools is that of academic excellence, strict discipline, and unfortunately exclusivism -- our own children having been excluded. A seminar conducted by the CCBI Commission for Proclamation, held at Varanasi in August 2003, endorses this image. HEALTH SERVICES: There is near-unanimity that Catholic health institutions, be they urban or rural, do indeed reflect the compassionate faith of Jesus the Healer. Our health services continue to serve the poor and needy, providing basic, primary, promotive and preventive health services. They truly ameliorate people's suffering. If there is one word that reflects our image in this vast sphere it is compassion. SOCIAL WORKS: The church has undertaken multifarious welfare activities in both rural and urban areas. It has also been alert to the need for disaster relief -- as caused by floods or earthquakes. When compared to Government agencies, Catholic social welfare services have been sincere and impartial. Once again the pendulum seems to have swung the other way. At the seminar at Varanasi the report for the U.P. Rajasthan region observed that major agencies like Caritas and Catholic Relief Services are not catering to the needs of poor and deprived Catholics. This aberration needs rectification. Despite this, the image portrayed is one of impartiality and genuine service. HUMAN RIGHTS: This is a comparatively new area of service for both the clergy and the laity. Several groups are involved, and usually network with other agencies having similar goals. When taking up issues of social or gender justice, there are attendant risks, because one is disturbing the social equilibrium. There are bound to be backlashes, and some of our clergy and religious have been at the receiving end of violent reactions. The best-known case was the stabbing to death of Sr Rani Maria in a bus en route to Indore. Perhaps many in the media, and even among the laity, are not aware of the involvement, particularly of women religious, in this field. It is therefore difficult to pinpoint an image of this sphere of activity. The image would therefore be hazy. FROM KASHMIR TO KANYAKUMARI, GUJARAT TO ARUNACHAL ------------------------------------------------- Just as India is a country of many hues, so is the Catholic community that is spread out from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and Gujarat to Arunachal. GOD'S OWN COUNTRY, KERALA: Described as God's own country, it was the first place in India where Christianity was established in apostolic times. Today Kerala accounts for more that two-thirds of the number of personnel joining seminaries and novitiates. The Christians of Kerala were fully integrated into their milieu, with the same food and dress habits of their Hindu counterparts. This quote from Indian church history is very telling: "Local tradition maintains that the majority of people converted by the Apostle were Brahmins and persons of other higher castes. Observes agree that the Christians still retain some customs very similar to those of the Brahmins. Some of the Christians of St. Thomas, who lived from Quilon to Palai were of the same caste as the kings of Cochin, who are called covilmar; others were Brahmins; other belalas who were an honourable race. Christians were held in greater respect than their neighbours, the Jews and the Moors". Could it be that because of this lofty position that missionaries did not emanate from Kerala for over 1900 years? Whether it is clergymen or nurses, the image of Kerala Christians is that of assimilation and hard-work on the one hand, and a tendency to be clannish on the other. BETWEEN KERALA AND GOA, MANGALORE: Moving up the coast from Kerala we come to Mangalore or South Canara. Many Mangaloreans, like their northern neighbours, the Goans, claim that they are Saraswat Brahmins. "The Saraswati was once a great river arising in the Badarpunch massif of the Garhwal Himalayan region, and flowing south westward". It is portrayed that when the Saraswati river changed course and eventually dried up due to tectonic disturbances these people of Aryan descent migrated south to Goa and Mangalore. An important aspect of Mangalorean Christians is that they too remained rooted in their local culture and language. Their attitudes are influenced by the Kerala Christians to their south, and their northern neighbours, the Goans. GOA, WHERE HISTORY HAS BEEN FAR FROM IDYLLIC: Goa today is projected as an idyllic destination for honeymooners, and an ideal place for setting up pharmaceutical, cosmetics and software industries. But the history of the Church in Goa has been far from idyllic. After the advent of the Portuguese it was tumultuous. Church historians tell us that the harshness and insensitivity of the Portuguese missionaries was because of their grounding in the Counter-Reformation movement in Europe. Be that as it may, they were terribly intolerant. Sample this: "When the Portuguese adopted the policy of conversion in the forties of the sixteenth century, they destroyed nearly three hundred Hindu temples in each of the three talukas." Here's another shameful quote: "Hindus were made to wear a dress distinguishing them from converts, convert gavnkars of whatever rank in the social hierarchy of the village would precede a Hindu gavnkar. No Portuguese officials were to employ any Hindu in Government or private service; Senvi Brahmins, who had traditionally been village clerks, were to be replaced by capable converts." What bearing does this have on our image today? The RSS and Hindutva groups spare no opportunity to drumbeat the excesses of the Portuguese, and are today seeking retribution for the same. Perhaps the harsh measures adopted by the Portuguese also pressurised the Goan Catholics into adopting a more Western form of life. The Church in Goa cannot live down its past. But it can learn lessons from history and make redoubled efforts to shed its colonial image. BOMBAY, SHORT SKIRTS AND DEEP POCKETS: Because of Portuguese repression, and limited opportunities, Goans were among the first Indian Catholics to migrate to other parts of the country in substantial numbers. Bombay was a major attraction. Perhaps Westernised Goans largely influenced the public image of Bombay, now Mumbai, Catholics; and this is the image that the czars of Bollywood projected. Ironically, even today men and women kneel separately in Goan village churches, but in Mumbai they adopted an uninhibited lifestyle. What is the public image of Mumbai Catholics? Just stand outside the gate of a church on a Sunday morning. It is nothing short of a fashion parade. It is pertinent to note that when Hindus go to their temples, Muslims to their mosques and Sikhs to their gurudwaras, they go with simplicity and devotion. Dress or undress for a party, that is your private business. But coming to church must respect its sanctity, so we cannot be dressed scantily. The other perception of Mumbai Catholics is their generosity. They don't have time, so they give money. The image of Mumbai Catholics then would be of short skirts and deep pockets. NORTHEAST, NASCENT AND PICTURESQUE: From the older Catholic communities let me now move to the nascent ones in the picturesque northeast. During the British era these territories were collectively, but erroneously, referred to as Assam. It is interesting to note that "in 1887 the Synod of Allahabad requested the Vatican for the erection of a Prefecture Apostolic for Assam, including the Principalities of Manipur and Bhutan." Protestant missionaries were in the area long before the Catholics. Today we know that Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya are largely Christian. Has anyone cared to highlight that the cleanest elections are held in Mizoram, thanks to Church influence. The truth is that Church leaders in the northeast are in the forefront of the peace process. It is the Hindutva propaganda machine that goes Goebbeling about, that Christian missionaries are fomenting trouble in the northeast. The violence there is caused by ethnic and tribal rivalries, not religion. Christian institutions are often the victims, especially in Manipur, and also in Tripura and the Bodo areas of Assam. An image is sought to be created, that Christians are troublemakers, destroying the local culture. Infact, Christian missionaries have helped preserve and promote tribal culture, and even codified their languages. The wider Catholic community needs to assiduously dispel the false propaganda and the false image sought to be created. The major failing in the area is the rivalry among various Christian churches to gain or grab more followers for themselves. The ecumenical spirit has not yet permeated the northeast. Despite this drawback they are a vibrant community. CHHOTANAGPUR, NASCENT AND TRIBAL: This leads us to another nascent tribal Church, that of Chhotanagpur and the tribal regions of central India, now covered by the modern States of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh. Like the northeast, minus the ethnic rivalry, the adivasis of the region experienced total emancipation through the holistic approach of the Belgian Jesuit missionaries. They are a truly local church, with a high degree of local self-governance in the temporal affairs of the church; something not to be found even in the older churches. The Jesuits' emphasis on education has borne fruit, as many Adivasis today hold important posts in Government. The Chhotanagpur church comes closest to being a truly local church, something that the Vatican has belatedly recognised by making Archbishop Telespore Toppo of Ranchi a cardinal. THE NORTH, A POTPOURRI OF MANY PEOPLES: This vast expanse, in ecclesiastical terms, covers the entire non-tribal regions of north, central and western India. It is a potpourri of many peoples, with just small pockets of local Catholics, mostly from a Dalit background. The Church in north India is a Church of outsiders. The first migrants to the north were the Goans, followed by the Tamilians. There were of course the Anglo-Indians, who have since migrated in large numbers to Canada and Australia. Today the major groups that form the bulk of the Church are the Malayalees and the adivasis. There are hardly any local vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Ahmedabad in Gujarat is the first diocese to have a local bishop. All the others are either Malayalees, Mangaloreans or a remnant of Goans. This vast territory, also known as the cow belt, is where the Church's impact has been minimal. However, if one were to note the contribution and involvement of Catholic associations from this region in the AICU, one is surprised to find that lay leadership is relatively strong. Perhaps these scattered groups feel the need for being together. However, the overall image, in sharp contrast to neighbouring Chhotanagpur, is that of a transplanted church, a church of outsiders. CONCLUSION: This is a long presentation, prepared over a very short period. My wife, who has been typing the manuscript, is not happy with this paper. Neither am I. Nor should you be, if you have been following it attentively. As I said at the outset, fools will enter where angels fear to tread. You in turn will be equally foolish if you believe or swallow all that I have written. It is impossible to encapsulate such a large picture on such a small canvas. Do you think that we are like Gandhiji's three monkeys? Maybe this presentation will be a small step forward to help us be a little more conscious and involved in both church and society. IMAGE CONSCIOUSNESS AND IMAGE BUILDING: Celebrities, politicians and even tele-evangelists are very image conscious. They have spin-doctors and event managers to conjure up a larger than life image of themselves. Should the Catholic community in India also embark on a similar exercise? I do not think so. Mother Teresa was the most celebrated face of the Indian Catholic church. She shunned publicity, but publicity chased her like a shadow, because of her authenticity. What we desperately need is to be much more authentic to our Christian vocation. Sure, we need intelligent and articulate spokespersons for our community, who are neither intimidated nor inebriated by pesky press reporters or TV cameras. But such faces and voices can do precious little if they are only cardboard cut outs or plastic smiles hiding unpleasant truths. Had Jesus been image-conscious he would never have earned so many enemies or died on the cross of shame. Jesus was conscious of what his Father was saying to him through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Should not we do likewise? This same Jesus was also no blundering fool. He was clear about his mission, and advised his disciples to be "cunning as snakes and yet innocent as doves" (Mat 10:16). Some earlier translations of the Bible preferred to use the term "wise as snakes". The point is that we need to strike a balance between being crafty and foolhardy. I have a few practical suggestions for improving the image of the Catholic Church in India: * The AICU (All India Catholic Union, a lay body), and not the CBCI, should be the public face and spokesperson of the Church in all socio-economic and political affairs. Catholic associations and sabhas must become more active and representative of their people. Bishops and clergy must "let go" of domination in temporal affairs. It is not enough to pay lip service to the role of the laity. The hierarchy must humble itself to actively encourage the leadership of the laity. * Knowledge is a power. The laity are powerless because they are ignorant. Don't wait for somebody to enlighten or empower you. It doesn't happen that way in real life. Look for opportunities and seize them, or else you'll cease to count in the arithmetic of our collective image. * We need many more Catholic historians. In school I hated history, because it was taught so badly. But understanding history is vital to society. As it is said, those who are ignorant of history are bound to repeat its mistakes. To this I would add that those who know history, including Church history, can be conscience keepers, to guard against repetition of the same. * We need many more journalists in the print and electronic media, and especially in the vernacular press. The CBCI's establishment of the National Institute of Social Communication, Research and Training (NISCORT) at Ghaziabad, near Delhi, is a step in the right direction. I am not M.F. Hussain. Some of my colours may have got mixed up and the shading may be wrong. Nevertheless I hope that this paper will, in some way, help us to understand, and thereby improve, our image. Jai Yesu, Jai Hind. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################