New Delhi/Bengaluru: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops’ Conference (KRCBC) have condemned strongly and unequivocally the dastardly, brutal and cowardly murder of the senior woman journalist, Gauri Lankesh, Editor of the Kannada weekly, Lankesh Patrike.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the CBCI said, “We salute her for the courage with which she wrote, the conviction with which she lived her life and the boldness with which she fought the forces of evil, hatred and corruption.”
KRCBC release emphasised that she was a person brave and courageous, ready to express her views regarding the social situations. She wrote convincingly risking her life for the truth she held as proper and She will be remember forever for the courage she manifested.
The murder of this versatile and brave journalist follows other crimes of hatred of recent times: the murders of Sahitya Academy Award Winner and Writer M M Kalburgi in Dharwad, thinker Govind Pansare in Kohlapur, thinker Narendra Dabholkar in Pune, the mob lynchings by Gau Rakshaks in the name of protecting cows, political killings in Kerala and other such hate crimes, CBCI said in a statement.
“This hatred cannot build a New India. We need love, peace and harmony and we appeal to all leaders, peoples, communities and persons in our beloved India to shun the ideologies of hatred. Let our traditional values of peace, harmony, brotherhood and tolerance prevail at all cost. Let us isolate the forces of hatred and cutting across the political, social and religious spectrum unite to build a free, democratic, secular and progressive India,” the CBCI added.
CBCI stated that, “This murder comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told the nation in his Independence Day speech, “Violence has no place in free India.” CBCI joins the voices to his and to the voice of Civil Society to unify the hearts of all those fighting hatred, caste, regional or religious bigotry and fundamentalism.
KRCBC too remarked that Human hatred does not have any special place in new India. India needs love, peace and harmony and it appealed all leaders and people to project this ideology. It said that KRCBC stands with Prime Minster Narendra Modi who in his Independence Day speech said, “Violence has no place in free India.” KRCBC urged everyone join together to advocate peace and non violence in our beloved country.
The Secretary General of CBCI, Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX, said, “Let us remember for our New India what the Father of our Nation wrote in Young India in 1925: ‘By a long course of prayerful discipline, I have ceased for over 40 years to hate anybody. I know that this is a big claim. Nevertheless, I make it in all humility. But I can and I do hate evil wherever it exists. My non-co-operation has its root not in hatred, but in love. My personal religion peremptorily forbids me to hate anybody. I learnt this simple yet grand doctrine when I was 12 years old through a school book, and the conviction has persisted up to now. It is daily growing on me. It is a burning passion with me.” (YI, 6-8-1925, p. 272)
The Catholic Church along with the Bishop Mascarenhas and Archbishop of Bangalore Most Rev. Dr. Bernard Moras and the Bishops urged all to pray for peace, harmony and non violence. “We pray that the Divine Light may have its victory over the darkness prevailing. We express our deep condolences to the family of Ms Gauri Lankesh and pray that the Lord of peace may shower his plentiful blessings on them and on our beloved country India,” they added.
Indian Catholic Matters wholeheartedly supports CBCI, Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas; KRCBC, Archbishop of Bengaluru Rev. Dr. Bernard Moras; Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights, in their stand against the recent crimes of hate and condemns in strongest terms the dastardly killing of the journalist Gauri Lankesh. Jai Hind!