Dear Friends, "Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, they they will just have to sit on their blisters" Abraham Lincoln There is a lot of disinformation being circulated about the address by Fr. Cedric Prakash of Gujarat organised by the Sabha Unit of Mt. Carmel's in Bandra. >From the information we have gathered from reliable sources who attended this >meeting some of the facts are distorted. Fr. Cedric whom I know personally for the last 18 years or so is a very bold defender of human rights and he walks his talks. He is a great inspiration for all human right and civil activists. In the frightening atmosphere of the type of fascism that has taken root in Gujarat, he has stood his ground. Knowing Fr. Cedric, he is a last person to tone down or be brow beaten in expressing his view points strongly. One does not have to shout to convey the message but offcourse to drive home the point in view that it was predominantly a christian gathering was to connect with the gospel stories. We need to be bold when taking a stand and we do salute the Sabha Unit of Mt. Carmels and the Parish Priest which organised this meeting. What is interesting to note is that one of our community members who was aligned or sympathetic to the BJP complained to the Police about this meeting. It happened more so because Fr. Cedric is known for his views against human rights violations taking place in Gujarat. So there was an attempt made to derail this meeting which did not happen because the rest were all united. It goes on to prove that "No one can take away our freedom of expression if we are united". The country really does not need a cultic or a strong leader. Our country of diversity and pluralism and multi-talented citizens requiries an ennobling leader in the mould of Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela. On the other hand, we need a strong citizen movement to counter any such dictatorial leadership and ensure democratic functioning of the Government in power, upholding the rule of law, protection of the minorities and all other communities and safe guarding the Constitution. Hence as Fr. Cedric has expressed, we need leadership that will protect the Constitution and safeguard equally the fundamental rights of its citizens irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. Therefore, Communalism is more dangerous than Corruption. Let us not be allured by the vision of development which keeps 80 percent of our people out of the benefits of such development and only a few get richer at the cost of the others. It is interesting to observe that in the 2009 parliamentary elections in the North Mumbai Constituency the voting percentage was just 42%. The community voting in this constituency was 65 % against the overall 42 % because the community chose to come out and vote in large numbers because of a sustained motivational campaign by community groups. Naomi Klein had stated:" Democracy is not just the right to vote, it is the right to live in dignity" We need to have the vision of one united and peaceful India. Every Vote will therefore count. Hence "None of the Above" [NOTA] should not be an option as it is a wasted vote. But the call is to do strategic voting, mobilise citizens in our areas for an ambitious 100 % turnout for voting thus ensuring the preservation and protection of our Constitution, the plural ethos and the rich diversity of our great nation. Dolphy Dsouza - 9820226227 Former President- THE BOMBAY CATHOLIC SABHA Former National Vice-President- ALL INDIA CATHOLIC UNION Spokesperson- SOUL -SAVE OUR LAND Email: saveourlan...@gmail.com
