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Dalit group's statement stokes Church-VHP fire

George Iype in New Delhi

Just as the anti-Pope campaign by organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad appeared to be petering out, the Catholic Church on Tuesday was painted into a corner by a statement terming the Hindu religion "bloody and rabid".

The statement did not come from the Church itself. But in its eagerness to fight the VHP's campaign, the Church had roped in an obscure dalit organisation -- the Bahujan Swayamsewak Sangathan -- and distributed its statement at its own media briefing.

"As the day of arrival of our saviour [the Pope] is fast approaching, fear is mounting in the minds of the treacherous, rabid Hindu society and its accomplice organisations," the BSS statement distributed by the Church's apex organising committee for the visit of John Paul II said.

The statement said Hindus had been exploiting the majority of dalits, tribals and backward castes "in the name of their bloody religion".

It went on to add that the Hindus [Aryans] are alien to India whereas Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists have not come from England, Turkey, Arabia or Iran, but from the soil of India and have suffered tyranny through the ages at the hands of Hindus.

"Hinduism is so weak to withstand any iota of reality as it is based on fictions and fantasies. Even after 52 years of Independence, they do not want to give the due to the oppressed and exploited and victims of their own sin," the BSS added.

Sensing that there was nothing Christian in the contents of the BSS statement, the Protestant Church theologian who also addressed the media disowned the remarks. But some observers said the Catholic Church is groping in confusion on the eve of the Pope's visit.

On one side is the eagerly awaited all-religion meeting on Diwali -- November 7 --where the Pope is expected to preach religious friendship and harmony to usher in the third millennium.

On the other side is the Church's eagerness to somehow defend itself against the anti-Christian propaganda of outfits like the VHP.

To stress the first point, Protestant theologian Valson Thampu remarked that the Pope would be in India as "a pilgrim". He quoted from John Paul's statements made during his visit to India in 1986 to show that the pontiff knows well that "the strength of Indian culture is its resilience".

"But the strength of Indian culture and diversity is under threat because of the anti-Christian campaign going on in the country," he added.

"As a state guest, the Pope is coming home to the people of India. We are a pluralistic society and it is naive to expect any uniformity of opinion, especially on a historic event like the papal visit," Thampu said.

Church leaders also claimed that the intense national debate on the papal visit had served as the ideal curtain-raiser. "The basic issue is not whether the Pope is popular. The crucial issue is if religion should be turned into a curse rather than a blessing. At the present stage of our national evolution, it is positively suicidal to allow religiosity to degenerate into a theatre of conflict," the Protestant theologian said.

He said that as India moves into the new millennium, the need of the hour "is to relocate religions in a model of harmony". "But this calls for a shift from divisive religiosity to integrative spirituality," he added.

Church leaders stressed that religions must shape a shared agenda for the good of the people and stand by their needs and struggles, and "the multi-religious meeting that the Pope will attend on November 7 will be the right step in that direction".

"The Church is hoping that the all-religions meeting will result in a climate of co-operation and friendship between religions in India," Father Dominic Emmanuel, one of the leading organisers of the papal visit, said.

Church officials later admitted that inviting non-Christian leaders and organisations like the BSS to attack the VHP serves no purpose except to worsen the rift with Hindu groups.

Thus, to show that the community holds no grudge against those who have been protesting against the papal visit, Fr Emmanuel said, "We have forgiven the Shiv Sainiks who burnt an effigy of the Pope in New Delhi".

"The Pope had gone and met the man who tried to assassinate him [in 1981] and forgave him. If an attempt on the life of the Pope can be forgiven, certainly the Pope would forgive those who tried to burn his effigy in front of the Red Fort last week," the church official added.

EARLIER REPORT:
Church leaders disown abusive statement

ALSO SEE:

• Pope to celebrate Diwali with Mass
• Bajrang Dal warns of 'second phase' of action
• Archbishop to call Krishna Kant's bluff
• Pope to underline dialogue with other religions

The Pope's Visit

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