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ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL Regd Office: 1 Amar Jyothi Colony, New Bowenpally, Secunderabad 500 011 Andhra Pradesh Phone No: 27868907 Fax: 27868908 President Dr Joseph D Souza Secretary General Dr John Dayal PRESS STATEMENT Hyderabad, March 15th, 2004 [Statement by All India Christian Council President Dr Joseph D Souza and Secretary General Dr. John Dayal at the conclusion of the two day 5th annual meeting of the National leadership of the Council. Hyderabad has a special place in the annals of the Christian Council. The Council was launched soon after the historic mass rally of the Christian people at the Nizam College grounds in Hyderabad in 1999 in the aftermath of the brutal killings of the Australian social worker Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons in Orissa. In the five years of its existence, the Council has grown in size and stature as one of the three national ecumenical Christian organisations in the country. Internationally, it is accepted as the authentic voice of the Christian community in India on issues of freedom of faith and human right, as also for its global advocacy of the aspirations of Dalits and other marginalized groups in collaboration with international partners including Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and Dalit Solidarity networks.] The National leadership of the All India Christian Council, which met in Hyderabad over two days on 11th and 12th March 2004, has said the coming General Elections mark a watershed in the evolution of the democracy Indian state rooted in values of truth, unity in plural culture, and solidarity between communities, specially religious communities. This solidarity and unity must be based on mutual respect, dialogue, reconciliation and commitment to justice. There is no space in this for ideologies of suspicion, hate and divisiveness, of narrow nationalism. Nor for economic policies in which farmers commit suicide, tribals are robbed of their forest birthright, landless labour starves, the gap between the rich and the poor grows, and those guilty of mass murders of religious minorities, escape just punishment, the Council said. It is a matter of national grief that while on the one hand justice still eludes the victims of Gujarat's violence in 2002, political leaders who are guilty of graft and masterminding communal violence, remain above the law. The leadership meeting was also addressed by Baroness Caroline Cox, head of Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Deputy speaker of the British House of Lords, Dalit leader Udit Raj, noted Editor V T Rajskehkhar of Dalit Voice, and radical political scholar and author Prof Kancha Ilaiah. On Friday, the Council organised a meeting on National harmony together with a community lunch at the Narayanguda YMCA in which leaders and representatives of all religious communities, apart from dignitaries from the UK, US and national Dalit and Civil Society organisations took part. The Press Statement, issued on behalf of the Christian Council by its President, Rev Dr. Joseph D Souza, and Secretary General Dr. John Dayal, called on all political parties to commit their election manifestos to a safety net for the poor who have become victims of the runaway process of globalisation and its partners in Indian monopolies. The Council also urged political parties and alliances to assure Dalits and minorities of not just safety and security, but to ensure their full participation in national prosperity, including jobs in both the public and the private sectors. The Council said the Christian community must play its rightful role in the political life of the nation. The Church does not participate in electoral politics as it believes that Religion and Politics should not mix. But it recognizes that Freedom is God's gifts to humankind, and democracy is rooted in the Kingdom values of the Holy Bible. The church, of course, does not dictate political preferences of the people other than saying that informed choices in voting must be made on principles of integrity, harmony, peace and justice. Expressing concern at the continuing violence against Christians, specially in the Tribal belt of India, the Council expressed solidarity with the victims and demanded that state and Central governments make adequate compensation and restitution, and actively pursue the perpetrators of violence, even if they were political leaders as was the case in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. The entire tribal belt is serious affected, but even here, Rajasthan, MP and Orissa are special focus of renewed communal activity. The Council said as many as 600 cases had been recorded in 2003 and many times more may have gone unreported. ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
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March16, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]The millions who cannot vote >> |
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