Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado
| Photo Credit: File Photo
Seeking “five gifts to the Christians in India” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that would make the community happy, the Archbishop of Bengaluru Peter Machado on Monday urged the former to to put an end to the covert harassment of the community through “anti-conversion bills” being brought in 12 states across the country. He also sought direction to the States to adopt a benign attitude and give room for real freedom of religion in the country.
“The spate of enactments of the anti-conversion bills in India is hurtful and disturbing. Why should the Christians in India be considered ‘foreigners’, discriminated against and persecuted in some parts of country, even after 2000 years of Christianity in India? Twelve States of the Indian Union have passed anti-conversion bills; in some States, ostensibly named as Freedom of Religion bills. The obsession of the party in power to pass anti-conversion laws is unexplainable,” he said in a statement here ahead of the Christmas festivities. The Archbishop pointed out: “The laws themselves having stringent provisions, defy logic and can be even faulted with human rights violations, as they touch the core of liberty, choice of partners in marriage, youth and women in particular.”
Accusations of conversions, he said, have hurt Christians, as their invaluable contributions in health, education and social services, become suspect to the extent of being totally disregarded in this charged atmosphere. “There are enough laws in the country to deal with fraudulent and incentivised conversions.”
Other gifts sought
Among the other “gifts”, he said was resolving the Manipur issue. He said that Christians in Manipur have received a raw deal since the onset of the civil war, and unfortunately the place has not merited a visit from the Prime Minister, even up to now, though he is known for resolving of problems and peace-making efforts in the war-torn countries of the world.
Urging the Prime Minister to stop all attacks on Christians and their institutions, he said that the Delhi -based United Christian Forum has recorded 767 incidents in 2024 targeting Christians and 80 Christians are behind bars for professing their faith. The Archbishop also sought constitutional provisions for Christians of SC/ST origin. “Are the Christians and Muslims of SC/ST origin not citizens of this country with equal rights and privileges guaranteed to all in the country according to our constitution?”
“The Christians in India wait for the Prime Minister to be gracious enough to make the Pope Francis’s visit to India a welcome reality in 2025 by following up on the invitation extended earlier.”
Published – December 23, 2024 09:45 pm IST