By Chhotebhai (Allan de Noronha)
THE POLITICAL SCENARIO
This topic was chosen before the recent 'rapid changes' that
took place in the Bihar elections. Till Bihar happened, the
political scenario was dominated and determined by Namo and
the BJP. There was talk of a ten-year mandate, and
possibility of a 2/3rds majority that would enable major
amendments to the 'Secular, Socialist' Indian Constitution.
This would strike at the root of our modern Indian nation,
with a not so hidden agenda to revert to an idyllic Vedic
era. Post Bihar this threat may have receded, but it cannot
be considered dead or buried, as there are too many
'resurrections' in politics.
I have no hesitation in saying that under the guise
of 'development' there is a desperation to
establish a Hindu Rashtra in India. There are
similarities and differences in this aspiration
from Huntington's 'Clash of Civilizations' in the
West, where radical Islam is pitched against what
was once European Christendom. One wants
Islamisation, the other Hinduisation, but there the
similarity ends.
Organizations like the IS are like mad dogs, which are more
dangerous than an enemy. An enemy's moves can be anticipated,
and a counter strategy prepared, as in a game of chess. Not
so with a rabid creature, precisely because there is no
rationale to its actions, the 'why' factor. Hence one cannot
predict the where, when, who, what or how of their actions.
This is further accentuated by a suicidal approach, where
there is no attempt to hide one's tracks or get away, defying
analysis by criminologists.
Perhaps this is why the West has not been able to come up
with a credible response, and reacting with more violence,
which is only aggravating the situation.
Hindutva fascists, however, are a study in contrasts. They
avoid the 'confrontational' approach. Those who did adopt it
post-Dadri paid a heavy price for it in Bihar. They prefer
the 'infiltration' approach, which is a silent, often
innocuous, penetration; something that the Marxists earlier
used to good effect. For example, till today nobody has been
able to shake off the Left stranglehold on the Jawaharlal
Nehru University, Delhi.
The right wingers in India will not attempt to
destroy through physical violence (aberrations
apart), but will try to capture the mind space.
They will not show their true colours, or talk of
religion. 'Culture' would be their buzzword, be it
for yoga or Vedic Maths. Remember that even Mao
talked of a 'cultural revolution'.
What is their basis for culture? Our ethnic origin/ancient
civilization. So the first attempt is to debunk the 'Western
theory' of an Aryan invasion. This achieves two things --
first the cultural superiority of the vedic era, and
secondly, demoting the adivasis (original inhabitants) to the
status of vanvasis (forest dwellers).
This is not even Hinduism, but caste-based Brahminism, which
dovetails with the RSS ideology and worldview. Unfortunately,
just as Macedonian Emperor Alexander the Great could not
penetrate beyond the Indus, so too the Brahminical forces
could not dent the impregnable fortress of Bihar with its
resurgent and belligerent subaltern classes, led by the
indomitable Lalu.
But infiltration is a slow and steady poison. There is the
story of the frogs in a cauldron of water. The heat was
turned on slowly and the frogs were lulled into a false sense
of comfort, leading to complacency. By the time the heat was
really turned on the frogs were too weak to jump out and save
themselves.
Entrapment is another form of infiltration. For this I will
borrow a quote from the Bible. "Your enemy, the devil, roams
around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1
Pet 5:8). St Peter used this analogy because he knew how
lions hunt. Lions, infact, do not hunt. They just roar,
stampeding the unsuspecting quarry in the opposite direction,
where the pride of lionesses is lying in wait for them. Here
again realization dawns too late.
Now juxtapose this on current events like beef, the
Uniform Civil 2~Ccode, being packed off to Pakistan
or Ghar Vapsi. These are the lions roaring, to
create panic in their intended target group
(Muslims and Christians), who will react and run
without thinking (and say or do things that they
normally wouldn't). They get trapped by such
provocation and become victims of the cultural
czars. If the Christian community in India is able
to fathom the game plan of the 'enemy', it can
evolve a calibrated response.
Is that a big IF?
OUR CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
This requires mature and informed leadership and
spokespersons. Unfortunately, they are sadly lacking in both
style and substance. (Remember that presidential debates on
American TV have a major impact on electoral outcomes,
something proved by team Modi in 2014 and team Nitish now).
The latest faux pas is the bishops' support to the
Missionaries of Charity to surrender their licenses for
adoption. This was a tactical blunder, just what the BJP
wanted. They roared and we panicked in an irrational manner.
Instead, we should have stood our ground and fought it out.
CHRISTIAN ISSUES
What are the issues on which we seem vulnerable? A. Our
service institutions b. Conversions and C. Christian morals.
A. Institutions: The not so subtle attack on adoption centres
is only the latest. For years there have been concerted
attempts, including through the judiciary, to curtail the
rights of minorities to autonomously run their own
educational institutions. The most infamous is what came to
be known as the 'Fifty Percent Judgment' in the St Stephen's
College case. As All India Catholic Union (AICU) National
President I had unsuccessfully contested that in the Supreme
Court. Our institutional strength has become our Achilles
Heel, possibly leading to a compromise on other issues, in
order to protect them.
There is talk of setting up a benchmark for classifying a
'minority institution', depending on the percentage of
minorities in such an institution. Several 'prestigious'
institutions could easily fail such a test, and come under
government control.
B. Conversions: Despite official Census of India statistics
of the Christian population, we seem vulnerable, though the
Catholic Church is sitting pretty because it is so
comfortable that it doesn't want to evangelize. Teaching
history and Maths is not evangelization!
C. Moral Values: We are sometimes attacked because of our
stand on marriage, divorce, abortion, homosexuality etc. Even
in the adoption row we have taken the high moral ground that
doesn't cut much ice in a secularized society.
OUR CALLIBRATED RESPONSE
In general I would say that we are woefully lacking in
grassroots leadership, both among the hierarchy and the
laity. For several years now I have not seen or heard of the
AICU speaking up, issuing statements or directives on burning
issues that affect the community.
There is nothing in the Catholic media, let alone the secular
print or electronic media. It is pathetic to see our
representatives being made into mincemeat by the anchors on
almost all TV channels. Besides the public perception created
by the media, there are many steps that we ourselves can
undertake. Our Concerns may be vast and varied, but if we
increase our areas of control we will proportionately
diminish our areas of concern. Where do we start?
1. INSTITUTIONS: Primarily by increasing our control over
them and giving them a more pronounced Catholic character --
by having more Catholic students, staff and management. We
must learn to trust the laity, who likewise are expected to
act in a responsible manner.
2. CONVERSIONS: Statistics apart, there is no need to be
apologetic, without being foolhardy. If companies can
propagate toothpaste and undergarments, what's wrong in our
sharing what is most precious -- our faith? There is also an
urgent need for authentic inculturation. If we are truly
Indian we are easily accepted as Christians.
3. MORALS: Our TV spokespersons should be well versed in both
Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The
Catholic Church has a very balanced view on homosexuality,
neither condemning, nor condoning; and Canon Law very clearly
subjugates itself to Civil Law in the rules concerning
marriage. It also respects the purely civil effects of
divorce. On adoption, instead of taking the moral high
ground, we should have proffered cogent arguments showing how
the government's new guidelines are an affront to the dignity
and privacy of an orphan child. It would have cut more ice.
As for abortion, we should not try to defend the
indefensible. We will only isolate ourselves. We should admit
there are some grey areas where there is a need for dialogue
and development of thought.
CONCLUSION:
There is no such thing as a fringe element. In the
analogy of the lion and lionesses, both were on the
fringe of the theatre zone; but they were central
to the entire plot! I conclude with another
analogy, of the cauldron of milk and the bystanders.
Seeing the cauldron lying unattended one of the bystanders
siphoned off some and took it home in a bottle. Another who
wanted to drink some milk was rudely shoved aside and told
that he was not entitled to it. In the ensuing melee a third
surreptitiously put some poison in the milk, causing it to
split. Seeing all the rapid developments the leader of the
group told everybody to keep quiet and not talk about it!
The cauldron is a symbol of Indian society, and the
bystanders the various stakeholders. The thief is Corruption,
and the deprived person is symbolic of Casteism. The venomous
one is Communalism. It takes ages to build social cohesion,
but it can take a split second to engineer polarization. The
fourth C is Censorship that is now being used to keep the
game plan under wraps.
Recent events in Bihar have shown that Corruption and
Casteism pale into insignificance before Communalism, that is
the real danger to our country. That is not the 'heaven of
freedom' that Rabindranath Tagore dreamt of. Yes indeed,
eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Let us not be
found wanting.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Born in 1951, college dropout, married to
Meera Carvalho, Kanpur-based Allan de Noronha (Chhotebhai) is
the father of Mariam and Avinash. He is the author of four
books, a former National President of the All India Catholic
Union, former Director of the International Council of
Catholic Men, President Kanpur Catholic Association, Founder
Secretary Manav Sadhbhav Abhiyan, Founder President,
Krishnanagar Nagrik Samiti, and Founder Convenor Kanpur
Nagrik Manch. Chhotebhai traces his roots to the Bardez village
of Aldona, though his family has been settled in Kanpur for the past
three or more generations. Contact him via noronha...@gmail.com
