Verghese V Joseph –
Just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged BJP leaders to reach out to every section of society, especially the minorities, Union minister of state for minority affairs John Barla on Saturday said there was a need to highlight contributions of the Christian community to get “respect from government”.
While addressing a Peace Rally in Kolkata, Barla strongly refuted allegations of conversion by Christian groups, and underlined the “immense contribution” of the community to the progress of the country.
On January 17, during the National Executive meeting of the BJP in Delhi, Modi had repeated that the BJP should reach out to groups such as Pasmandas, Bohras, Muslim professionals and educated Muslims “without electoral considerations”. “The call was mainly to build confidence among these communities,” a senior BJP leader had said.
Barla rejected allegations that Christians are engaged in converting people, and asserted that the community has made immense contributions to the progress of India. In spite of contributions in the field of education and philanthropy, he said Christians have not found their due recognition.
“We want nothing but peace … Time has come to be united,” Barla, himself a Christian, said, adding that members of the community should not face injustice as was the case in Chhattisgarh.
To things in perspective, the Catholic Church has been present in India for over 2000 years and since the birth of Christianity with the advent of Apostle Thomas to India in the first century after Christ. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is the apex body of the Catholic church in India which has approximately over 22 million adherents in India.
The CBCI is made up of 174 Ecclesiastical jurisdictions, with over 200 active bishops and 64 retired bishops. The church in India is actively involved in nation-building.
Today the church in India runs over 54,000 educational institutions which impart top-class education to nearly 6 crore children and youth; and runs over 20,000 hospitals, clinics, dispensaries, and other health-care centers. It is also involved in disaster and calamity relief as well as social service work and assistance to the poor in the very remote areas of the country through the services of over 60,000 priests; 90,000 sisters and thousands of laymen and women.
Attacks on Church and its Institutions
On January 2, a church was vandalised and six police personnel, including an IPS officer, were attacked and injured during a protest by tribals in connection with an alleged religious conversion in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur city.
“If we do not tell the world (about our contribution), we will get beaten up instead,” said the MP of Alipurduar in West Bengal.
He said that besides schools, there are hospitals, health centres, old age homes and other facilities run by Christians with their funds, but still, they do not get respect.
Barla said, “From the time I became a minister, as the minority minister, as Christian, I thought – what is our contribution to the country? What have we given and what have we got in return? – both before and after Independence. What respect did we get for our contribution?”
There are Christian schools in the remotest area of the country where there are no government institutes, he said.
Eminent personalities such as freedom fighters Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi, politicians LK Advani, Arun Jaitley, Smriti Irani, JP Nadda, “Pawar family” and filmstar Shah Rukh Khan – have all studied in Christian schools, Barla claimed.
Barla said, “Christian people are not against the government. Businessmen and politicians send their children to Christian schools. Then why will we get beaten up? Why will Christians will be blamed for conversion?”
He said that the community also has a fault.
“The fault is that we are not showing our contribution to the nation. That’s why we did not get any respect from the government,” the minister said at the Peace Rally.
Such rallies will be held all over India next year to show the contribution of Christians to the nation, Barla said adding: “It is not a political issue. Christians only want peace and development.”
The Union Minister Barla won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Alipurduar in North Bengal, where a majority of the population is either Adivasi Christian like him or Muslim.
On Friday, Barla listed the many contributions of the Christian community and said: “After so much contribution, there is no respect. Why are there allegations that we convert people? No, we don’t convert people.”
He further stated that, “There are Christian schools in the remotest area of the country where there are no government institutes… Christians are not against the government. Businessmen and politicians send their children to Christian schools. Then why do we get beaten up? Why are Christians blamed for conversion?”
One reason, Barla said, was that Christians had failed to showcase their contribution to the nation. “That is why we have not got any respect from the government.” However, he added: “It is not a political issue. Christians only want peace and development.”
A senior BJP leader said Barla’s stand was not surprising given the support he needs of the Christian community to win. However, he said, “It is true that in the last few years, when we have emphasised more on a Hindutva agenda and tried to consolidate Hindu votes, it has not helped us mobilise votes against ruling parties in states (with high minority populations) like West Bengal, Kerala and some North-eastern states. So, we have to come out from that, which is what the PM said, and concentrate more on minority communities.”
Barla also mentioned the recent attacks on Christians in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, in connection with alleged religious conversions. While at least one BJP leader has been arrested for the violence, Barla said the party was not involved and the violence was between two groups of tribals.
Paritosh Canning, the president of the Bengal Christian Council and Bishop of Calcutta, Church of North India, said, “Our objective is to bring all Christians of West Bengal on a single platform. We also want to highlight the contribution of other minorities — Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc — to build the country, state and society.”
Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said, “The BJP has realised that the acceptance of its Hindutva politics is decreasing. Now, they are trying win over the minorities. But the minorities know what the BJP is and what it has done in the past. All they are doing is nothing but drama.”
TMC MP Shukhendu Shekhar Roy said, “Because of the anti-people economic policies of the BJP, the gap between the rich and poor is increasing. The BJP is losing its acceptance day by day. Now, they are shedding crocodile tears for minorities.”
Later, he told reporters that the BJP was not involved in the Chhattisgarh church violence and it was between two groups of tribals.
Barla also alleged that the West Bengal government did not submit any proposal for the development of minority people.
Paritosh Canning, president of the Bengal Christian Council and Bishop of Calcutta, CNI, said the minister was invited to the rally as a part of the Council.
“Our objective is to bring all Christians of West Bengal on a single platform. We also want to highlight the contribution of other minorities – Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc – to build the country, state, and society,” Canning said.
Organised by the Bengal Christian Council and other organisations, participants of the Peace Rally marched for around two kilometers from St Paul’s Cathedral and to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Mayo road.