116 February 2015

2 16 February 20152 16 February 2015

Model Bank Thane Branch – ATM InauguratedMumbai: Model Co-operative BankLtd.,inaugurated its 3rd onsite ATM-cum Debit Card at Thane Branch on31st January, 2015. The ATM wasblessed by Fr. AllwynD’Silva, theParish Priest of St. John the BaptistChurch.

Mr. Albert W. D’Souza- Chair-man; Mr. William Sequeira – Vice

Social activists from Mumbai Mr. Johnson Therattil andMrs. Alice Johnson Therattil Ex- Mumbai Municipal Cor-porator were honoured with an Achievement Award onSunday 1st Feb., 2015 at the 5th Anniversary Celebrationof KERALA IN MUMBAI Publications. The Award is pre-sented by Dr. K. Jayakumar I. A. S. (Ex-chief SecretaryState Govt. Of Kerala.) and present vice chancellorThunchath Ezhuthachan – Malayalam University of Kerala.The Award is confired in appreciation of excellence in thechosen fields of profession and contribution to society.

Therattil CoupleHonoured

Chairman and Directors – Mr. Paul Nazareth, Mr. Lawrence D’Souza & Adv. Pius Vas were present at the programme.The inaugural function was well attended by Shareholders, customers & well-wishers.

Kerala-based priest bags‘Best Gospel Magician’award

Kochi: FatherSaju Mathew,vicar ofImmanuel MarT h o m aChurch, Hous-ton, US, hasbeen selectedfor this year’scovetous Mer-lin Award insti-tuted by Inter-national Magi-cians Societyfor the ‘Best Gospel Magician’ category.

Dubbed as the Oscar in the field of magic, the awardwill be given to him in Houston on March 21.

This is the first time a clergy is being considered forthe award. Magicians P C Sorcar, Gopinath Muthukad andSamraj had also received the prestigious award, reportedmanoramaonline.

Father Mathew said that he was very proud to bechosen for the award. “During my seminary days itself, Ihad a passion for magic. Earlier, I used magic as a meansfor imparting Biblical stories and moral lessons to children.But later I got enough venues to present magic at variousparishes,” he said.

Father Mathew is a native of Chachipunna atPathanapuram in Kollam district. He completed his Bach-elor of Divinity from Mar Thoma Theological Seminary,Kottayam.

316 February 2015

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Cover : Give Back to YourCommunity (article on pg. 12)

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Does The Christian Community Have No Rights?The State Alas, Turns A Deaf Ear

by Artika Raj

As reports come in of the Christian community protesting outside the SacredHearts Cathedral in Connaught Place, asking the government, the HomeMinister Rajnath Singh, and the PM Shri Narendra Modi to answer why after

5 churches getting vandalised in Delhi, there is still no statement from the corridorsof power that be – today is a sad day for us. Today is a sad day for me as a citizen.As an Indian.

As I watch my fellow countrymen holding up placards that say ‘Thank YouJesus, I am An Indian’, ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall’, and ‘Sikh-Isai Bhai-Bhai’, I am moved beyond words that things have come to such a pass that a non-violent protest sees the police imposing Section 144 (preventing 5 or more peoplefrom assembling) in the area, causing much more mayhem than if they would justlet the protesters voice their genuine concerns. Concerns of a minority that needto be addressed. How does the head of a democratically elected government sitquietly and let things come to such a pass that a whole section of our ‘secular’society feels threatened to live in a home and a country they have been born andbrought up in? A nation they belong to and love as much as anyone else. It is indeedvery sad that they must stand up and articulate this love, pushed into a corner tovouch for their Indian-ness. They are being forced to demand for rights that areunquestionably theirs. Freedoms that are theirs by right.

Forgive me if I ask this most politically incorrect of questions – would thegovernment today have been as quiet and unmindful, offering cursory policeinvestigations as pacification, if only one Hindu temple had been vandalised like theChurches have been? We all know the answer to that. And it is a reflection of thedark times that are upon us, if we don’t realise this sooner, that this silentacknowledgment of the answer but not speaking up against this wrong, threatensthe very foundation of the secular credentials our forefathers built this country upon.

As young boys and girls of school going age, grey-haired old gentlemen andwomen, pristine white-scarfed nuns are jostled and pushed about, reading glassesfall askew, one shoe of a pair is left alone behind… standing-by are buses waitingto whisk them away to far off locations so as to shut down their protests. Meanwhilein other parts of the city, election campaigning in equal if not larger numbers rageson as Delhi goes to elections this weekend. Promises galore of things that shall bedone when such and such will come to power. But for now, it is the numbers andthe seats that matter, the loudest debates are on these, while a peaceful protest ismuffled.

The politics is on while humanity is being slowly silenced. And pain is all I feel.(youthkiawaaz)

Contentspg. 3 - Does The Christian ...pg. 4 - Tragic Situation...pg. 6 - An Open Letter to the Prime

Minister Modipg. 7 - Reader's Viewspg. 8 - Church Joins National ...pg 10 - Attack on Christian Churchespg 11 - Views on Newspg. 12 - Give Bank to Your Commu-

nity...pg. 13 - Be A Mentor In Your Com-

munitypg. 14 - Providing Clean Drinking

Water for 20 Paisepg 16 - I am No Namo Fanpg 18 - Food For Healthy Visionpg 13 - Inspiration!pg 20 - Matrimonialspg. 22 - The SS Troopers

4 16 February 2015

by Don Aguiar

When it rains its pours and forour beleaguered communityit has been a Biblical deluge

of miseries for a while now. Nothinglasts forever – empires, dynasties, lifeitself. That’s what makes the passing ofthe many things our community waslooked up to including sporting activitywhich was nothing short of true great-ness in the history of our parishes, ourcommunity and our country as poi-gnant – and so human. It’s not that wedid not know it was coming.

A very scientific study conductedin India shows that pastoral care in themainline churches is definitely defec-tive, and that this is particularly true ofthe Catholic Church. The tragic para-dox is that it is the Catholic clergy thatgets the longest training compared tothe pastors of other churches, and it isthe Catholic clergy that is expected tobe more committed because it is acelibate clergy—at least that is theclaim. All our pompous buildings andglamorous celebrations seem to befutile. Nay, they are part of the prob-lems we are facing.

The Cardinal, vide Pope Francisrequirement on the implementation ofa Sports Ministry in the various Arch-diocese worldwide, was very keen onstarting a Sports Cell in the Archdio-cese of Bombay and got a team com-prising of laity and priest to prepare thedocument. This team took plenty ofpains to consult the DYC, the ABE, theclergy and religious, professionals andthe parishes in order to come up withan all inclusive and progressive docu-ment. All these priests and religiousconsulted had expressed their supportfor the implementation of this cell andhad cooperated excellently with thisteam in helping them make this docu-ment. The senior clergy were happythat such a bold step has been pro-posed by the present Oswald CardinalGracias and said that this remindedthem of the late Valerian CardinalGracias who had taken many bold stepsfor the benefit and progress of thecommunity.

The completed document was

sent to the Cardinal for his views/com-ments and for him to have a meetingwith this team to discuss and be ex-plained the queries he had in this docu-ment before he puts it up at the priest /ABE principles meeting for acceptanceand implementation.

In the past our community partici-pated, controlled and dominated sport-ing activity on and off the field as well inall sporting associations BUT at presentthe other communities have over takenus and are controlling and dominatingthis activity and our community pres-ently can hardly boast of anysportsperson to reckon with or being ahigh ranking member or even a mem-ber in any of the sporting associations.

Inter-faith relations are growingincreasingly important in India today,where we still see ourselves as a threat-ened minority. These relations meanmore than just celebrating religiousfeasts together. They also relate to theway in which we see inter-faith mar-riages; engage in inter-communityprojects for common welfare; and areable to discuss our respective religioustraditions in public and without appre-hension, in order to expand our ‘demo-cratic space’. Today the rapid changesin Indian society are reflected in ourCatholic community – inter-faith mar-riages, non communication within thefamily or breakdown of the family unit,under employed or lack of employ-ment, increasing rate of divorce, etc.

It is the lay people in our diocese,in our parish, who need the clergy themost. If the clergy are eager to be insolidarity with people, then it is theirparishioners in their parishes andschools who need their solidarity themost.

Keeping this in focus and that theclergy will adopt an attitude of helpful-ness and empathy as members of thesame family as with the laity, this docu-ment took into consideration all agegroups for this cell which was for notonly games and tournaments at parishand school level but also at profes-sional level and at training potentialand talented sportspersons to be se-

lected to play for the country as well asbeing professional and would directlyor indirectly result in employment orentrepreneurship for our youth andadults, a possibility of finding their lifepartner during the many competitions,networking and interactions wherein itwill decrease the percentage of inter-faith marriages and divorces and in-crease communication within the fami-lies and the community at large whichwould hopefully result in the muchneeded requirement that will nourishthe body with dedicated activity. Fill theheart with love. Strengthen the intellectwith knowledge and lead to a muchhealthy community. It would also instillin the community a feeling of competi-tion where they can rate each other onwide ranging parameters like discipline,attendance, team building and perfor-mance and leadership qualities includ-ing honesty, selflessness, unity andpositivity.

The idea for the parish was thatsporting events would bring the familyand the parishioners together and givea boost to the SCC’s and parish cellsand associations due to them interact-ing and networking with each other inteam building for participating. For theABE schools it would be the picking ofplayers showing talent and potentialand sending them for training particu-larly for the under fourteens. For theseminary besides healthy sportingcompetition, clerical assistance andplanning and for the DYC the youth andthe adults it would give them a chancefor healthy competition as well as intraining to be professionals or refereesor even being put up for elections toone on the many sporting associa-tions/bodies.

This document called for commit-

Tragic Situation…

(Contd.. on p. 5)

516 February 2015

ment from the Cardinal to trickle rightdown to the different levels of the clergyand religious and to the laity for thesuccess in putting into action the imple-mentation of a sports cell. It was ex-pected that the parish priest and ABEprinciples would shun negativenessand fully realize the opportunity of be-ing in a responsible position in theirrespective parishes and schools andwork towards a common vision as whenyou work for a larger purpose it unlocksyour potential, makes you creative andenergetic.

It was a surprise that the Cardinalwithout asking this team for any clarifi-cation, etc. put up the proposal of asports cell for acceptance and imple-mentation in the parish at the parishpriest and ABE principles meeting. Forreasons best known to all present at themeeting the proposal was opposed,the document not discussed and Car-dinal accepted although it was whatthe Pope decreed - the implementationof a sports cell in all the archdiocese –There is a natural tendency for thebirds of the same feather to flock to-gether, but that might not augur well.The Cardinal and his clergy cannottake a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to thecommunity. Shared causes are the keyvirtue required for the community. Herethe personal relationship of the Cardi-nal with his parish priest and ABE prin-cipals is critical to advancing sharedcauses – What does matter - and causesgreat concern - is that the opposition ofimplementation of a sports cell in thearchdiocese by the parish priest andABE Principals had been hailed as the`accident' by the powers that be thatmust become `real'.

Ask yourself, when was the lasttime your parish priest, ABE principleor your bishop showed himself ac-countable for the functioning of the unit(parish, diocese) committed to hischarge? Not just financially account-able, but responsible for the planningand execution of projects undertaken?

To be a priest or religious is animportant thing & it must be looked atseriously. There must be commitmentand effort. They must remember thatpeople are observing their performancenot only in the Church but even out-

side. Some people will appreciate you,some will criticize you. In both the casesyou are the beneficiary.

One will motivate you, while theother will improve you.

This sea saw brings to the fore inour community the culture of silence,courteousness and hypocrisy in thename of humility, obedience and loy-alty in order to let drudgery set in withselfishness, resulting in the non imple-mentation of any activity that will ben-efit our community and the reason whythe other communities after copyingand adopting our models have pro-gressed and overtaken us.

Time takes its toll on the best ofus; it’s the brutal suddenness with whichthe end came that has left this teamwho took pains to prepare this docu-ment for the Archdiocese in such adaze. Long before, the community hadbeen kept abreast of this situation; theobituaries had begun to flow. An erahad ended. It was a lump-in – the-throatmoment for the committedsportspersons of our community aswell as those who wanted our commu-nity to regain its true greatness and itspast glory.

Our community including sportsfans and Clergy tend to be fickle –swinging from one extreme to another– heaping praises one moment andridicule the next. But when you see truegreatness of our community finally laidto rest the overwhelming emotion isone of sadness.

The Cardinal communicated tothis team who had taken pains to pre-pare the sports cell document – “I amsorry”. One of the team members – aclergy - graciously responded saying –“Don’t be, you have given us so much.It was lovely while it lasted.” One couldhave said it better rather than indulge inthe culture of courteousness, hypoc-risy “There was a time when the lead-ers of the Catholic hierarchy were seenand respected as community leaderswhere they worked for a larger pur-pose. That time seems to be over.”

If making money is a major con-cern of the Catholic clergy without anycommitment and effort, if there is somuch injustice within the Church, ifCatholics are leaving the Church, thenthe people most responsible for thistragic situation are our bishops / priests.

When in office they are seen spendinga lot of their time and energy in the“work” of attending functions, func-tions that do not really require theirpresence. As a result many very impor-tant pastoral and community duties areneglected. It is not enough to have amobile. We ourselves need to be mo-bile.

I am convinced that the aboveshould have been said long ago andsaid by many more. I shall not go intoall the reasons why people in the Churchdo not speak out when they should. ButI do wish to say that this culture ofsilence, courteousness and hypocrisyis not Christian, and therefore not goodfor the Church, and it does not servethe mission of Jesus. Sad to say, someof us encourage this unchristian cul-ture in the name of humility, obedienceand loyalty. We seem to be much moreworried about our personal survivaland the survival of our institutions andnot much concerned for the Church ofJesus. We need to wake up to oursituation and take the necessary reme-dial steps.

We invite readers for their re-sponse, comments, feedback, experi-ences, etc., in a fortnight on this impor-tant issue for placing the same beforethe community.

If the interest of the community isyour concern, we welcome your viewson this important issue :

email it to: secular@vsnl.com /secular@sezariworld.com

or by post/courier to:

The Secular Citizen – 99, Perin NarimanStreet, 1st Floor, Fort, Mumbai 400001,

JACK OF ALL STALLReliable House forReligious Goods

Gloria Church Bldg.,263, Dr. Ambedkar Rd.,

Byculla, Mumbai - 400027Tel.: 23725963, 23749358

Estd: 1951 Prop. B. D'Souza

(Contd.. from p. 4)

6 16 February 2015

Honourable Prime Minister

I must say at the very outset thatfor the first time I voted for the BJPcandidate in both the Parliament andAssembly Elections. Because I sawsincerity in your promise of taking In-dia on the swift path to development.You also seemed to suggest that theprogress of India would be inclusive,encompassing every section of Indiansociety.

But the events that have unfoldedin the last few months most definitelybelie these promises.

- Your much hyped promiseto bring back the black moneystashed abroad has fallen flat.You are now totally silent onthe issue.

- You promised to clean upthe administration and wakeup the sluggish bureaucracy -the bane of India’s administra-

tion. We do not see any changehere. When we go to any GovtOffice we experience the samelethargy and red tape that wehave witnessed for years.

- The Common Man is besetwith rise in prices of essentialcommodities and transportfares. This is not the develop-ment we voted for.

But what is most worrying is therise of the ugly head of Hindu Funda-mentalism in the country in such ashort time. Forced & Allured conver-sions under the banner of ‘Ghar Vapasi’go against the very grain of the IndianConstitution. Your supporters in theSangh Parrivar accuse the Christiansof converting through allurement. THISIS NOT TRUE. . There is a law in theIndian Penal Code that makes it anoffence that is punishable. To date, noChristian has been convicted by thislaw. This law is strong enough andthere is no need for any other Anti-Conversion Laws or debate on thismatter. The rabble rousing conductedby the Sangh Parrivar in this matterhave already led to the vandalising of5 Churches in the Capital which is acrying shame for this beautiful , secu-lar & tolerant nation. Not to mentionattacks been orchestrated onchurches, priests & nuns every singleday in some remote parts of India thatdoes not get reported.

Your silence in this matter cannotbe missed. You have an opinion onevery issue but you don’t seem tovoice it here. Your silence shows com-pliance to these ugly happenings.When our revered leaders came tomeet you regarding this issue, youwere absolutely cold and showed nosigns of even attempting to do any-thing to end this madness.

My question to you Sir is : Howcan you expect any development inthis country when there is such tur-moil??? Who would want to come andinvest in this country in such a cli-

mate??? These guys are sabotagingyour whole plank of development???Can’t you see it???

As Prime Minister of this countryyou took the ‘oath of office’ of defend-ing the Constitution . Are you notbreaking this promise by depriving thecitizens of this country their funda-mental right to practice & propagatetheir own religion???? If you cannotensure this as Prime minister, then Iam afraid that you will have to stepdown.

I would like to tell you Sir, that theChristian community is a peaceful com-munity. We will protest strongly with-out using violence. We are very re-spected in this country and in the worldfor our great contribution to this coun-try . Every respectable Indian I am surewill stand up to defend us.

My humble appeal to you Sir, is toreign in these divisive forces. You cando it as you have the mandate of alarge number of secular Indians. Letus all work together to build a strong &united India. Then only, will develop-ment follow. President Obama alludedto this in his last speech before he leftIndia. You called him your good friend.Please do not ignore the advice of agood friend. You will be doing it at yourown peril. You have a God given op-portunity to be remembered as theperson who changed the destiny ofIndia. Surely you do not want to beremembered as the person who di-vided & weakened this great nation.The ghost of Godhra continues to hauntyou. You would not want another ghostto haunt you for the rest of your life.

I pray that you heed my sincereappeal. And finally I would like to addthat in the next election, if I have tochoose between my security or devel-opment. I will, like all sensible Indians,choose my security.I close with good wishes & prayers foryour success in bringing India to thepath of all round progress.

Yours sincerelyFr. Anil Rego

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister Modi

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716 February 2015

Plight of formerPriests & Nuns

The news item “Former priests andnuns to pitch for their dues” (SecularCitizen, January 19, 2015) made an in-teresting and thought provoking read-ing. It was heartening to note that Catho-lic priests and nuns who have left semi-naries or convents are going to meet inKochi on 28th February, demandingsocial acceptance and protection. It istrue that hundreds of priests and nunshave left priesthood and nunhood aftersome years as they felt disillusioned ormarginalized in their pursuit of truth.Now after their departure, they are leftwith no job or no support from the rela-tives and the community. The ex-priestK.P. Shibu has rightly pointed out thatthe ex-priests and ex-nuns have also toface social boycott as leaving priest-hood and nunneries is portrayed assomething sinful.

The reason for social boycott orscorn of the ex-priests ex-nuns is thatthe Indian Catholics have attached toomuch importance to the priests andnuns in their lives. The false doctrine “Inpersona Christi”, taught in the Catechismof the Catholic Church is also to beblamed for this scenario. This Latinphrase meaning “in the person of Christ,”imbibes in the tender minds of childrenthat the priests and the bishops act inthe person of Christ, the head in theirleadership of the Church. This doctrinealso makes the priests feel proud andsuperior over the laity. In reality, the factremains that nobody can take the placeof Jesus Christ and despite Church’steaching, the priests and the nuns areno superior to the laity. But our priestsand bishops have declared themselvesto be Jesus Christ. Naturally, when theyfall, they become object of boycott andscorn. It is therefore requested that theex-priests and ex-nuns gathering atKochi should also focus on humanizingpriesthood and nunhood.

—Vincent Bagul,Mumbai

Last Prophet Of TheOld Testament

LETTER with reference to Dr.Trevor

Colasco’s commentsSir, I thank Trevor Colasco for hav-

ing taken the time to weed out fiveepisodes not mentioned, according tothe good doctor. However, I am painedto point out the reasons why they were,actually there with the exception of ‘Di-vine Mercy’ :

The Visition was given in length,Luke.1:13-15/Lk.1:20/Lk.1:60.

The Messenger was mentioned,ref.Malachi.3:1

Voice in the Wilderness, Acts.13:23Theophany, if he meant Theology,

it was all there.

NOWDr. Colasco should, in future be

aware of the writer’s (whoever it mightbe) awareness of his paper’s ‘spaceeffort’ and to conform to the best writingand research put into, let’s say 500words, with the exception of Lead ar-ticles or those subjects, topical or pro-vocative for reader’s reaction.

For myself, I did my best to portraythe Baptist in the best possible light, inthe shortest possible ‘space’ ( it was stillcontinued on page 18), and mind you,there were no advertisments or illustra-tion on page 17. I might have said muchmore.

—Melvyn Brown

The Mumbai-based Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) says it has documented 120attacks on Christians and their institu-

tions across India in 2014, with over 7,000Christians facing threats.

The Hindustan Times said the CSF re-port, made available to the newspaper, listsfive murders across India in little over a year.

Madhya Pradesh (23) and Chhattisgarh(19), both BJP-ruled states, along with Congress-ruled Karnataka (14) accountfor nearly half of all incidents across India.

Between December 2013 and December 2014, 7,000 Christians facedthreats, violence and displacement. These included 1,600 women and 500children. 300 members of the clergy and community leadership were alsotargeted during this period.

The report also expresses concern over certain moves of the Uniongovernment such as making Christmas ‘good governance day’ and foreignminister Sushma Swaraj’s call to make Bhagwad Gita the national book of India.

Joseph Dias, general secretary of CSF, told HT that the details of the reporthad been shared with human rights groups across the world. The CSF’s annualreports and their global reach offer some clues into the circumstances that ledPresident Barack Obama to call for greater religious tolerance in India.

The CSF’s 2013 report, which counted 4,000 offences against Christians inIndia, was used by Indian Christian groups in California to lobby for minorityprotection as one of the terms of reference for India-US talks. In a February 2013memorandum, these groups sought a “house resolution that would make humanrights and justice for religious minorities a priority in US-India talks.”

Former judge of Bombay and Karnataka high courts Michael Saldanha toldHT, “Representatives of countries such as France, UK, Australia, Italy as well asthe Vatican have approached us for information. These countries have thenproceeded to take these matters up with the Indian government.”

7,000 Christians faced threats in 2014

8 16 February 2015

At a time when the country is discuss-ing more seriously the growing vio-lence, strife and unrest in the societycaused by vested interests of both re-ligious and political forces, the Com-mittee for Peace and Conflict Preven-tion/Resolution of Rotary InternationalDistrict – 3040 of Indore, MadhyaPradesh has organised a three-dayNational Peace Convention in Indore,from 30 January to 1 February 2015.

The first of its kind in India by anyRotary International District, the PeaceConvention was attended by about 300persons from all walks of life and fromvarious states across the country. Theyincluded Rotarians, social activists,educationists, NGO representatives,priests and nuns, and students. Theparticipation of people from all reli-gious faiths reiterated the urgent needfor the coming together of the people ofgood will for cultivating and nurturingpeace in the place of violence andstrife, and working together for pos-sible prevention of conflicts throughadequate and effective resolutions.

Fr. Varghese Alengaden, aRotarian and the Chairman of the Orga-nizing Committee of the Peace Con-vention, explained the rationale behindthis unique initiative: “The purpose was

to gather people from all walks of lifeand propose concrete plans to pro-mote peace initiatives in the country,prevent conflicts in the name of reli-gion, caste and region and find con-crete ways to resolve them perma-nently.”

“Gandhiji’s values are thesoul of India”

While delivering the keynote ad-dress on the first day of the conventionon 30th January, Shri Tushar Gandhi,social activist, author and the greatgrandson of Mahatma Gandhi, delveddeep into the relevance of Mahatma

Gandhi in promoting peace and con-flict resolution. He explained that whereviolent methods fail to bring in lastingresults, non-violent methods of Gandhijiwill bring forth the desired results as ithappened in South Africa, Poland andelsewhere in the world.

Gandhiji had no ego problem andopenly invited his opponents, includ-ing Nathuram Godse, to direct talk anddiscussion in an attempt to resolveconflict, and turned even an insult intoa gift, said Tushar Gandhi. “Peace andnon-violence is not a philosophy. On30th January, when the Mahatma wasassassinated, peace and non-violencebecame immortal,” added theMahatma’s great grandson.

In his address, Ashok Mahajan,the Chairman of Rotary Foundation,India said, “We need an India withoutslogans, a place of peace and all inclu-sive development”. Peace and nationalintegration can be brought through loveand service, he added.

On the second day of the PeaceConvention on Saturday 31 January,Shri Eduardo Faleiro, former ExternalAffairs Minister, spoke on the role ofSouth Asia Union to promote peaceand prosperity. There is an urgent needto strengthen the bilateral relationsamong the member countries for thepromotion of peace, he said.

Shri Chinmay Mishra, social ac-tivist and writer, discussed the causes

Church Joins National Peace Movementby Dr. Jacob Kani OFM Cap.

(Contd.. on p. 9)

916 February 2015

and solutions of militancy. Wherepeople’s rights are not taken care of,there militancy comes up. We need toidentify the contributory factors of therise of militancy, and involve the people,NGOs and public opinion to addressthe ‘structural violence’ and lead apeople’s movement as Gandhiji did tosolve it, he said.

Mrs. Anuradha Shankar, IPS, (IG,CID, Bhopal), spoke ‘Preserving theNational Heritage of Pluralism for last-ing Peace and Integral Development ofIndia’. “Gandhiji’s values are the soul ofIndia” which needs to be preserved,she said.

Dr. Jill Carr-Harris, Social activistin Asia and Africa, spoke on HumanDevelopment and Promotion of Peace.The goal of development must bepeace, she said. “Taking away the re-sources of people for development istaking away their peace”, she said.Citing the examples of some commu-nities in Latin America she said thatthey have achieved peace throughGandhiji’s method of non-violence. Weneed to give the space for themarginalized people to live in peaceand offering the community’s solidaritywill go a long way for its realization, sheadded.

Ms. Medha Patkar, social activist,spoke about the economic empower-ment of the poor, which is a prerequi-site for the promotion of peace andconflict resolution. She pointed out thatit is the displaced people, farmers etc.who raise the conflicts, and there areno real channels of conflict resolution,she said. She deplored the ‘povertyline’ approach to measure the welfareof the people and instead suggestedthe ‘wealth line’ approach. Based onthe Directive Principles of the Constitu-tion, there must be social and eco-nomic empowerment to ensure peaceand conflict resolution, asserted.

Fr. Jacob Peenikaparambil, CMIspoke about the urgency of peace edu-cation in schools and colleges to ad-dress the issue of violence.

On the third day of the conven-tion, a panel session of spiritual leadersof major religions emphasized the roleof spirituality as the source of peace.

Spiritual leaders representing Hindu-ism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Bahaiand Zoroastrianism presented eachreligion’s teachings and practices thatadvocate peace and conflict resolu-tion.

National Peace MovementThe first three-day National Peace

Indore diocese, many priests, nunsand students from different states along-side the Rotarians, social activists, busi-nessmen and professionals in thisPeace Convention organized by a Ro-tary International District makes thisconvention a trend setter and bench-mark event in the pursuit of peace andconflict resolution in the country. Thecoming together of civil society organi-zations and church organizations on asingle platform for strategic planningand joint actions for peace buildingand conflict resolution has opened anew chapter in the process of nationbuilding and national integration. Morefocused plans and determined actionsin this regard involving the Church inIndia and the country’s civil societyorganisations will go a long way indetermining the course and path thecountry will take in the years ahead.

This is a chance and opportunityfor the Church to be visible and pro-

Convention ended on Sunday, Febru-ary 1 with the adoption of a PeaceDeclaration.

The delegates volunteered tolaunch a National Peace Movement inthe country based on Gandhian valuesand methods in an attempt to counterthe growing culture of violence anddivisive tactics of vested interests inboth political and religious fields. TheConvention also decided to hold theNational Peace Convention every yearfrom now on January 30, the day ofMahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom.

The presence and participation ofBishop Chacko Thottumarikal SVD of

active in the mainstream society; it is areminder for the Church and her per-sonnel to come out of the slumber andself-complacency and act as the leavenand salt in the society so that its lightwill be visible to one and all, leading todue acceptance, appreciation andacknowledgement of the existence andservices of the Church in the Indiansoil. Such a meaningful and fruitfulcollaboration of Church and civil soci-ety will herald a new era, which will bemarked in glittering letters in the mod-ern history of India.

(Contd.. from p. 8)

Tushar Gandhi

10 16 February 2015

Attack onChristianchurches

Democracy has been murderedin the National capital city ofDelhi after the brutal crack-

down on a group of peaceful protest-ors of Christians , which includedpriests and nuns protesting outsidetheir church in Delhi against the seriesof attacks and arson on their churchesin the past 2 months. It is a blot on thegovt at the centre that such incidentsshould take place with increasing fre-quency ever since the BJP was votedto power at the centre and the HomeMinistry choosing to remain silent oversuch acts of vandalism on places ofworship. It is also a blatant violation ofthe fundamental rights of citizens en-shrined in the Constitution to expressdissent through peaceful demonstra-tions. Although the Home minister haspromised to conduct an impartial in-quiry into the matter, of what good is itwhen the Delhi police have stated thatsuch incidents were merely acts ofsimple theft, burglary and trespassing.We as a secular and democratic nationshould feel ashamed that such thingsshould be happening in our country.Where is the unity in diversity andnational integration that we take pridein and never fail to proclaim to theoutside world?

—A. F. Nazareth, Alto Porvorim.

Ahmedabad witnessed a uniqueevent on February 7th and 8th2015 as a two-day State Level

Convention brought together morethan 500 women and men from all overGujarat. They were local leaders;mainly adivasis, dalits and other back-ward communities (OBCs). They hadcome together to highlight their manygrievances, to increase their bondingand in solidarity to say to those whoattempt to control their lives and des-tinies, that they can no longer be takenfor granted.

The theme of the Convention was"Chaalo Lokshahi melaviye" (Come letus ensure People's Rule: Democracy)

In his inaugural address to theConvention, Fr. Francis Parmar, theProvincial of the Gujarat Jesuitsemphasised that the four pillars of jus-tice, liberty, fraternity and equalityshould never be compromised. Hecalled upon the people to be united sothat they can achieve their goals; to betruly effective, he asserted, one needsto have the commitment to struggle tothe very end.

The highlight of the programmewas a Public Hearing presided over byMr. Girish Patel, Senior Counsel of theGujarat High Court and the doyen ofthe human rights movement of Gujarat.The other jury members were Dr.Sudarshan Iyengar, former Vice-Chan-cellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith and Mr.Rohit Prajapati, environmental activ-ist. Several local leaders representingvarious communities from acrossGujarat made submissions about theirpathetic conditions; these includedissues related to ‘jal-jungle-jameen’(water, forest and land), their right toshelter, their right to livelihood andwork, atrocities on dalits and onwomen; the way their land acquired bythe big corporations and mega-projects like that of Ukai and issuesrelated to PESA and Panchayati Raj.

Mr. Girish Patel exhorted the hugegathering to come out in the open and

together to demand their legitimaterights. “The rights belong to the peopleand the Government must realise this”,he said. “The judiciary has consis-tently failed the poor, the marginalisedand the other sub-altern groups of thecountry.”

Several other eminent personali-ties and activists addressed the Con-vention; these included Mr. HemantShah, Mr. Anand Mazgaonkar, Mr.Mahesh Pandya and Ms. Trupti Shah.Added to the bonding of a memorableconvention was a delightfulprogramme consisting of adivasidances and various plays which fo-cussed on different social themes.

The Convention concluded withan resolution which unanimously says,“We, leaders and other concerned citi-zens of Gujarat (representing 750 vil-lages of 34 talukas and urban slums ofSurat and Ahmedabad) at the conclu-sion of a State Level Peoples’ Conven-tion held in Ahmedabad on February7th & 8th 2015 on the theme "ChaaloLokshahi melaviye" (Come let us en-sure People's Rule: Democracy) re-solve that: there are several issueswhich afflict us greatly; these includeour forests’ lands, displacement, thenorth bank of the Ukai, non-implemen-tation of the PESA law, the tardy deliv-ery of justice on atrocities to the dalits;the deliberate injustice by severalPanchayats; the unresolved questionsregarding housing for the poor in thecities – are just some of them. We,therefore strongly condemn the totalinaction on the part of the Govern-ment. We call upon the Governmentand their relevant institutions to actpromptly and to ensure that we get ourlegitimate rights and the justice due tous.”

This Peoples’ Convention washeld under the aegis of PEOPLESJ(Promoting Effective Organisations,People’s Leadership for Equity, Soli-darity & Justice) which is an initiative ofJESA-Gujarat.

—Fr. Cedric Prakash

State Level People’s Convention held inAhmedabad on February 7th & 8th 2015

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1116 February 2015 1116 February 2015

Obama’s “ConditionsApply” Message?

The Americans, come what may,will not compromise on their core ownnational interests, even if they have totell a thing or two to their hosts eithercovertly or overtly or even saying AfTaliban are not terrorists. Bonhomienotwithstanding, the underlying mes-sage of the visiting Barack Obama’sspeech was as loud as it could possiblybe. The Nuclear deal which was stuckdue to certain sticky issues was re-ported to have been cleared only to bequestioned by American officials. Eventhe insurance liability clause is ambigu-ous. The defense agreements will un-doubtedly help the American industriesas well. The war on terror with a mes-sage to Pakistan [though not named]was more in the nature of an advisory toproscribe certain elements / organiza-tions and to bring the 26/11 perpetuatorsto book. Could he have said that Americawill block all aid or impose sanctions?No! America still needs Pakistan. If hewas serious he should have been moreforthright. During his last visit he alsomade similar noises but did nothing.

The American President devotedhalf of his 40 minute speech to lecturethe Modi government on the need toensure that there is complete freedomof religion to choose, practice, propa-gate etc without any hindrance. He in-voked Mahatma Gandhi and went on to‘remind’ his host that these values havebeen enshrined in Indian constitutionwhich every government has to uphold.To dilute its impact he gave example ofhis own country where some disgruntledpeople question his own religion sincehis name has Islamic connection. It isreported that certain elements backhome in America, which have stronganti-Modi views on 2002 riots, had to beappeased. In doing so, he over-steppedperhaps not realizing that it could beperceived as interference in India’s in-ternal affairs. The Indian governmentand the BJP party were literally flooredwith such public statement which couldhave been conveyed to the PM duringtheir one-to-one meeting. The partyspokespersons who normally dominateTV debates, refused to participate.

One thing is clear - the wholeworld viewed the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ epi-sode engineered by some of the affili-ates of the Sangh Parivar and HinduMahasabha with concern. It has to be

remembered that over 40% of the worldpopulation is Christian and any attackon them, in any part of the world, willhave repercussions. Narendra Modifor his stoic silence on the issue istaken note of by the world – Even NYTeditorial has questioned this. Obama’smessage is clear that all the bonhomiehas this ‘conditions apply’ tag, howso-ever small the print may be! He madea pointed remark in Washington on hisreturn when he said “The acts of intol-erance experienced by various reli-gious faiths in India would haveshocked Mahatma Gandhi”. Did theselatest remarks have anything to dowith attacks on Churches in Delhi andTogadia’s latest defiant exercise inWest Bengal? Obama is being termeda Church stooge by the VHP. By theway, if there is religious intolerancehere there is racial intolerance therewhich could have upset Martin LutherKing. Isn’t It?

*****

Mourning The DeadIn recent years, unlike in the past,

mourning for the dead has been dilutedto a great extent. It does not mean thatthose who lose their beloved do not care.On the contrary, people have learnt totake control of their emotions which foundmanifestation in public in the past. Eventhe attire the Christians mourning familywore had to meet societal approval. Thewidows donned black sarees / dresseswith no jewelry etc. Other family mem-bers were more measured in their out-ward mourning. Of course this also pre-vailed in Hindu Society with widows inthe olden days shaving their heads etc.All this was for society to see rather thanself depravation or sacrifice. Now themourners are more composed and obvi-ously mourn within. No show. There wasa time when it was more pronouncedwhich to some extent was a result ofsocial concern. People were afraid thatsociety will think otherwise if there wasno sign of public mourning. People in theprocess shed tears forced tears. Nownobody really bothers about what othersmay think.

While the people in general havecome to terms with themselves in timesof personal tragedies, our politiciansappear to be ‘shattered’ with the loss oftheir colleagues in Parliament, Assembly

and even Municipal Corporations. Ev-ery time some Parliamentarian, past orpresent, breathes his or her last, theParliament or Assembly as the casemay be is immediately adjourned afterpaying homage to the deceased withprepared speeches, one after the order,even if they do not mean what they say.

What needs to be considered iswhether it is necessary to adjourn theHouse in the first place? Surely, theremust be eulogies for the deceased poli-tician who may have been a leader in hisown right. But once this formality is over,the House must stick to its set agendawhich is to govern the country. Actually,the members must sit longer and workharder to complete as much businessas possible as a mark of respect for thedeceased – not to enjoy a holiday. Ofcourse, exceptions must be made forunfortunate death of say the President,VP, PM, Speaker and may be even asitting cabinet minister. It costs a lot ofmoney for a day’s functioning of theParliament. When the House is ad-journed it is a huge loss to the exche-quer. This is something that the poorcountry like ours can ill afford especiallywhen the nation is on a threshold oftaking a centre stage in world politics.

Narendra Modi is undoubtedly ahard working leader. He has galva-nized the bureaucracy to work hardfor long hours and has even prom-ised to work an hour longer than them.He is sincere in his approach. Withthe attendance of government ser-vants being monitored for maximumproductivity, he has made a state-ment for the nation to follow. If onlyPSUs had to follow suit as there iscommitment deficit in most of theiremployees. Work hard the PM saysall the time to the new generation.There is no alternative he empha-sizes. Should he then not stop thisarchaic practice of adjourning theHouse for the day every time somepast or present leader dies. By work-ing on that day, you can pay betterhomage.

VIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWS

by Marshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall Sequeira

12 16 February 201512 16 February 2015

Our community thrive on oursuccess when we give back aportion of what we have. Giv-

ing back does not always mean throw-ing money at a situation. I believe thattime and effort are the most importantgifts that we can give anyone. Usesome of these tips to help better yourcommunity.

Mentor SomeoneMentor a child at your local elemen-tary, middle or high school. You caneven mentor someone who is inter-ested in your career field. Sharing yourjourney with another can really helpthem in this journey we call life.

Sponsor a ClassContact your local school and seewhere you can help. Sponsor a classby providing books, electronics, orwhatever they need that you can pro-vide. If you do not have the funds tobuy items, you can put together acollection drive to get more of thecommunity involved with helping eachother.

Teach a Free ClassDo you have a talent such as dance orwriting? The neighborhood needs yourtalent and expertise. Give back byoffering a free or extremely cheap classat your local church or Recreation Cen-ter.

Start a Recycling InitiativeHow many times have your drivenaround your neighborhood and seenplastic bottles and papers on theground? Too many times right? It istime to change that. Contact your localrecycling company. Many will give outfree collection bins. Ask your neigh-borhood where the will allow you to setup neighborhood collection spots.Once these are set up, let your neigh-bors and greater community know thatthis option is available.

Plant a Community GardenWe are living in a world where it hasbecome easier to access fast food thanit is to get fresh fruit and vegetables.Let’s change that. Start a communitygarden on your property or ask neigh-bors and community leaders for spaceswhere gardening would be possible.Ask for help from local schools andbusinesses. You can even get a sched-ule going for different tasks so that noone has to do all of the work.

Organize a Bill Pay FundIt is no secret that many people arebehind on bills. Lots of the people dotheir best by working extra jobs, but it isstill not enough. I heard of neighbors inDetroit who came together to help outstruggling families by paying their lightbills. It started a chain reaction, andnow, many families are able to keeptheir lights on. Take this initiative andrun with it. Do good for those aroundyou.

Change a youngperson’s life todayand transform their

potential for tomorrow

Give Back to Your Community ...We all have the power to do something to make life better for others. No favor is too small.No dream is too big. What will you do to help your community become better for everyone?

Each community is different. There-fore, they all need different thingsand services. Ask local schools, as-sociations and leaders what they re-ally need. Then ask neighbors andbusiness owners what they wouldlike to see change for the better. Ifyour community is affluent, see aboutneighboring communities.

Give What YourCommunity Needs

Be a Mentor to a school student whois poor in his/her studies in aMentorship program

Be a Mentor to a mentally retardedperson and encourage his/her spiritin brining happiness in their life.

Mentor a youth who is entering or re-entering a skilled or professionalcareer.

Mentor deserving professional menand women in achieving their goalssuccessfully.

If some one in a business rutor having trouble taking hisbusiness to the next level, oneneed to reach out and con-nect with someone who canhelp. Chances are, it’ll not onlyimpact your business in waysyou never thought possible,but it will also make you abetter person.

Mentoring doesn’t just ben-efit entrepreneurs and busi-ness owners though. It’s alsobeneficial for business pro-fessionals looking to advancetheir careers.

1316 February 2015 1316 February 2015

What is a Mentor?

A mentor is defined as a “wiseand trusted confidant” or an“influential supporter.”

Mentoring is a one-to-one or grouprelationship that helps a child reachtheir full potential. Most people canrecall a person, in addition to theirparents, who had a meaningful andpositive impact on them – someonewho was their mentor. Mentoring is apowerful way for young people todevelop competence and characterand plays an important role in a child’slife.

If you are still trying to figure out whatnew goal you want to accomplish,here is a wonderful suggestion foryou: Become a Mentor for a deserv-ing person in your community.

Why a mentor? Because this wayyou will be contributing to your com-munity, you will be helping those whoone day will be the future: our kids.

As a mentor you can give someonethe opportunity to learn, grow anddream big. Mentoring is a great wayto give back to your community andhelp build brighter futures for chil-dren, youth and women across thenation

As a mentor you’ll share your wisdomand life-experience to help boost con-fidence among your mentees, equip-ping them with essential life- and ca-reer-skills and the tools to realize theirdreams..

Be A Mentor In Your Community

A good mentoring relationship allows both mentorand mentee to develop

new talents and build self-aware-ness. In business settings, thementee can become more in-tune with a corporate culture,and the mentor can hone lead-ership skills.

You have a big opportunity infront of you—to not only impactlife of our youth, but to trans-form their potential for tomor-row.

Mentoring someone outside yourwork place can introduce you tonew tools, techniques, ideas, andways of working. While you'rementoring and accelerating theirlearning, you can simultaneouslybe doing that for yourself and learnfrom them. If you're in business, youcould learn about social enterprise.If you're in government, you couldlearn about cross-sector collabora-tions.

Sharing your expertise throughmentoring helps develop your lead-ership, collaborative, and problem-solving skills.

If you're retired, help someone thrive.Give them the benefit of the insightand perspective you've gained fromyour years of coping with change,challenges, and people. Have youhad an extraordinary experience?Share your unique knowledge.Maybe you've worked for an e-com-merce launch, a retail business or across-sector initiative but it neverreally got off the ground — some-one could benefit from hearing fromyou about why.

Mentoring isn’t a new concept andit’s not reserved only for startupentrepreneurs or the average white-collar business professional—mentoring relationships have ex-isted all throughout history and con-tinue to be established by many ofthe today’s most successful busi-ness people. Here are some ex-amples:

Alexander The Great was mentoredby AristotlePlato was mentored by SocratesThomas Jefferson was mentoredby George WytheWarren Buffet was mentored byBenjamin GrahamMarc Benioff was mentored bySteve JobsMarissa Myers is mentored byLarry Page and others

Famous MentorRelationships

Like most other things in life, it“takes a village” to succeed as astartup. Entrepreneurs are con-stantly breaking rules and makingmistakes in an effort to drive theirbusinesses forward. For this rea-son, having a mentor is invalu-able.

you always find yourself in situa-tions where you “don’t know whatyou don’t know” but you have tostay in motion and make deci-sions regardless. Without a savvyguide, in the form of a mentor, youmay wind up making crucial earlymistakes that would have other-wise been avoidable. The smalleryour company, the faster you needto move, often without enough in-formation to make perfect choices.

The need for mentoring and busi-ness development support is criti-cal in a country like India, wherewomen make up only 3% of seniormanagement positions and only8% of all small and medium-sizedenterprises are run or owned bywomen. Mentoring can increasethe number of successful womenentrepreneurs in India, who aregrowing businesses that createwealth and much-needed jobs.

14 16 February 201514 16 February 2015

Smaat India is enablingrural India to have access to clean drink-

ing water in just INR 0.20through innovative waterATMs. The technology takesonly a few minutes to con-vert contaminated water intopure water.

Karunakara M Reddy hadseen water scarcity since child-hood. Coming from a small village inAndhra Pradesh, struggling for cleandrinking water was a common thing.He had seen other children skippingschool to get water from far awayplaces. He himself would come backfrom school and fill up water for thecattle and other household chores.

Not wanting others to face similarchallenges, he started a social enter-prise, Smaat India Pvt Ltd., which isproviding access to clean drinkingwater in rural areas at affordable rates.

The affordable technology calledthe Water ATM takes only a few min-

Providing Clean DrinkingWater for 20 Paise

utes to convert unclean water into safedrinking water. It can produce 3,000litres of clean drinking water in just oneday and has a life span of around 10years. The villagers can avail the purewater at just 20 paise per litre from theclosest water ATM.

The construction of the entire setup takes around 90 days and costsRs.7,50,000 to Rs.25,00,000 depend-ing upon the size of the plant andquality of the raw water. The cost of theconstruction and set up is borne bypublic representatives like MLAs andother government bodies.

Smaat has constructed over 2,800 water ATMs so far in 11 states ofIndia benefitting over 75,00,000 people.

By 2015, they want to cover the entire country with their technology andby 2020 they want to make sure that no one in India dies due to a water-borne disease.

Thiruvananthapuram – A month afterasking the Catholic laity to stand againstinter-caste marriages, Kerala CatholicBishops Council (KCBC) has now is-sued another warning. The Church wantparents to guard the children againstnew danger zones, which include, “ex-hibiting oneself through selfi and forcedconversions of youth through love af-fair for the purpose of re-launchingthem as terrorists.”

In a circular to be read out inChurches in Kerala on February 8, theKCBC, a platform of Catholic Bishops,said “we should realize the growth ofdanger zones, both physical and spiri-tual.’’

It said parents should take carethat their children do not fall into unholyrelations. “the trend of children exhibit-ing themselves through whatsapp andselfies is on the rise. By showing them-selves to everyone, these children be-come prey for the voraciously eagle-eyed persons. Parents should takespecial care in this regard. It should beensured that children should not devi-ate from the righteous path.’’

“Extremism and religious funda-mentalism are growing in our state.There is an increase in the trend ofyouths and children being trapped inlove affairs and taking them into terror-ism and other danger zones. Hence,children should be taught to grow inCatholic faith.’’

The circular issued by the KCBCCommission for Vocation has urgedthe laity not to discourage childrenfrom dreaming about priesthood ornunhood. Those who try to belittle suchdreams of children are waging a waragainst the interest of the CatholicChurch, said the circular.

Church warns parentsto guard childrenagainst ‘selfie’

1516 February 2015

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Catholic Trust Calls For Protest Against Attacks On Delhi Churches

The Bombay Catholic Sabha, anon-political organisation registered as a public trust, has called

Mumbaikars to gather at Azad Maidanon Monday at 3 pm. There is set to bea peaceful protest against the repeatedattempts of church vandalism and des-ecration of religious places in Delhi.

Dolphy D’Souza, spokesperson,Save Our Land and former president,Bombay Catholic Sabha, said that it isa call to all communities to close theranks and prevent something like thishappening in the city of Mumbai andthe state of Maharashtra, reported DNA.

D’Souza said that whether it is inthe form of ‘Love Jihad’ or ‘GharWapasi’, the ‘divisive approach’ ofSangh Parivar’s fringe elements painsthe community. He added: “Ever sincethe new dispensation has taken chargeat the Centre, attacks on minoritieshave increased in all forms of harass-ment and intimidation by fringe ele-ments of the Sangh Parivar.”

Since the season of Advent lastyear, there have been 5 attacks onchurches in various parts of the city.“Over the last two months there havebeen systematic attacks on churcheswhere our sacred objects have been

desecrated. No culprit has been iden-tified. It is a methodology to provokedisruption and even in the mass pro-test held at Delhi, the peaceful protest-ors were assaulted. Why is the PMsilent on this?” asked D’souza, whohas urged various religious communi-ties and citizens to gather and protestat the maidan.

He added that the protest will havespeeches by community members andthe idea is to have a peaceful solidarityprotest so that attacks like these don’thappen again.

16 16 February 2015

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If Morarji Desai, a Gandhian, honestand strong Administrator, much com-petent than Modi, could fall in 2.5 years,I submit that Modi is not expected tolast more than 2 years. You may repeatthat. From Delhi results we will knowsoon.

The reasons why I am not his fan orfollower are as under:

1.. He is not Secular or Sanatani. He isHindutva-wadi and supports 'GharWapsi', which will divide and weakenthe country rather than uniting it ormaking it strong.

2.. He does not believe in Socialism,but Capitalism, which is the bane ofHolistic Development of India and theWorld.

3.. He talks of Ram Rajya. But his myo-pic vision stops only at building an-other Ram Mandir in Ayodhya whenseveral Ram Mandirs already existthere.

4.. He said that he will bring back all theBlack Money stashed in the foreignbanks in 100 days. Now 7 monthshave passed and the way things aregoing, it looks like that BJP too will notbring back black money, becausethe Will is missing. Some of the BJPbigwigs too have accounts in the for-eign banks?.

5.. Is American CIA and Mosad of Israelhave taken over India’s surveillance?which does not portend well for ourfreedom.

6..Modi was considered as personanon grata in USA till the last minute. Itis ONLY after he became the PM thatUSA started wooing him and he hasfallen prostrate before Barack Obama.

7.. Development does not mean onlyindustrialisation. Free enterprise isnot Freedom to loot the nation bychosen unscrupulous industrialists.

8.. When 66 years later basic amenitieslike Roti, Kapda, Makan, Toilets andClean Drinking Water have notreached every village. When illiteracyis high, and our children are dying ofhunger, I cannot be his fan.

9. When our Airports, Railways, Roads,Communication Networks are beingprivatised and we are being brainwashed through the Idiot box withpaid news, sorry I will not be his fan.

10. When our rich seed bank is beingdestroyed with monster seed ofMonsanto, which Europe and othercountries have banned, no I am nothis fan.

11. When our forests and Adivasis arebeing ousted from their land and it isgiven to Vedanta and such merce-nary companies, we are not emerg-ing as a Great, Rich Nation, butSlaves of the decadent West.

12. When we have seven recognisedsystems of medicine and now theGovt. has started a separate AYUSHministry (which was my suggestion),and he does not recognise my worth,how can I be his fan?

13. Modi also has a Dictatorial ten-dency.

14. When People of Bhopal Gas Trag-edy are still suffering, why is he deal-ing with Nuclear Reactors when worldis changing to safer energy genera-tion?

15. When BRICS has been formed andwhen we should make success of it,Modi prostrating before USA is notacceptable. Modi must know the USpolicy, that whichever country it alignswith, after squeezing it dry, it destroysthat country.

16. India must implement my idea ofSAARC Union on the lines of Euro-

pean Union, to emerge as Asian Gi-ant along with China and Russia, fortaming the World’s two worst Terror-ists – namely, USA and Israel. But heis following them.

17. Modi should also remember thatearlier one East India Company lootedus for over 200 years. But atleast theygave us infrastructure like Railway,Roads, Radio and English to com-pete with the world.But they destroyed our education,our Agriculture base, our superiorAYUSH — cheaper, safer and veryeffective. And when they left this coun-try they divided us into Hindustan andPakistan and into over 5000 castesand subcastes, on which Modi has nosolution to offer.

18. Modi should also remember thatpoliticians can be defeated duringelections, but corrupt Bureau(c)rats,corrupt judges ruin the country andyou cannot hire and fire them like inUSA.

19. If his Govt too sells Padma Award ormakes nominations to Rajya Sabhaunder eminent persons category byaccepting crores, how is it differentthan the Congress?

20. I, however, feel that Modi if profiledand trained properly can grow from apuppet leader to a very good leader.For that he will have to follow myManifesto which was sent to him.

21. If he does not do that, I give him maxtwo years as PM. If Morarji Desai, aGandhian, honest and strong Admin-istrator, much competent than Modi,could fall in 2.5 years, I submit thatModi is not expected to last morethan 2 years. You may repeat that.From Delhi results we will know soon.

I Am No Namo FanBut as elder brother i can guide him and train him - Dr. Leo Rebello.

1716 February 2015

NYT editorial slams Modi

New York Times editorial:

‘Modi’s Dangerous Silence’Full text of the Editorial published in the New York Timeson February 6, 2015:

What will it take for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speakout about the mounting violence against India’s religiousminorities? Attacks at Christian places of worship haveprompted no response from the man elected to representand to protect all of India’s citizens. Nor has he addressedthe mass conversion to Hinduism of Christians and Muslimswho have been coerced or promised money. Mr. Modi’scontinued silence before such troubling intolerance in-creasingly gives the impression that he either cannot ordoes not wish to control the fringe elements of the Hindunationalist right.

Recently, a number of Christian churches in India have beenburned and ransacked. Last December, St. Sebastian’sChurch in East Delhi was engulfed in fire. Its pastor reporteda strong smell of kerosene after the blaze was put out. OnMonday, St. Alphonsa’s Church in New Delhi was vandalised.Ceremonial vessels were taken, yet collection boxes full ofcash were untouched. Alarmed by the attacks, the CatholicBishops’ Conference of India has urged the government touphold the secular nature of India and to assure its Chris-tians they are “protected and secure” in their own country.

There is also concern about the mass conversions. LastDecember, about 200 Muslims were converted to Hinduismin Agra. In January, up to 100 Christians in West Bengal“reconverted” to Hinduism. Hard-line Hindu nationalistgroups, like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), make no secret oftheir support for a “homecoming” campaign designed to“return” non-Hindus to the fold. More than 80 per cent ofIndians are Hindu, but Pravin Togadia of the VHP says hisorganisation’s goal is a country that is 100 per cent Hindu.The only way to achieve that is to deny religious minoritiestheir faith.

The VHP is reportedly planning a mass conversion of 3,000Muslims in Ayodhya this month. The destruction of the BabriMosque there in 1992 by Hindu militants touched off riotsbetween Hindus and Muslims across India that left morethan 2,000 people dead. The VHP knows it is playing withfire.

Mr. Modi has promised an ambitious agenda for India’sdevelopment. But, as President Obama observed in aspeech in New Delhi last month: “India will succeed so longas it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.” Mr.Modi needs to break his deafening silence on religiousintolerance.

The Caregivers Burden

The ‘23rd World Day of the Sick 2015’ quoting fromSapientia Cordis (Wisdom of the heart)– theme of thePope’s message: “I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the

lame” (Job, 29:15), portrays the unique role of the ‘Caregiver’!This service, when it is protracted, Pope Francis cau-

tions, can become tiring and burdensome. So, besides thesick, we must not forget the actual caregivers –family mem-bers, aayahs, wardboys, nurses, general physicians andconsultants.

Caregivers have been described as “hidden patients!”This ‘Caregiver Burden’ is used to depict the physical, emo-tional and financial toll of furnishing quality care. This is oftenstressful and challenging, because caregivers are at an in-creased risk of depression and anxiety. Counselling andstrategies to combat these strains and pressures should beprovided to caregivers.

Studies indicate that Dementia including Alzheimers ispresent in 10% of individuals above 65 years and in 47% over85 years. About 80% of these cases are treated at homes at anaverage of 70 hours of care per week. The financial cost is alsoirksome; for by the 1990 dollar amounted to $34,517 annuallyfor a caregiver.

Just as there is a ministry for Prisons, the Archdioceseshould mobilize a ministry for Caregivers! “What are humanbeings that You are mindful of them, mortals that You ‘care’ forthem? Yet, You have made them a little lower than God, andcrowned them with glory and honor” (Psalm, 8:4-5).

—Dr Trevor Colaso

18 16 February 2015

Aesop’s Fables

We have all read Aesop’s fablesat one time or the other. If youhave not, read them. Some

of the fables worth mentioning are ‘TheAnt and the Grasshopper’ and ‘The Foxand the Grapes’.

Now who is this Aesop that wroteso many fables? According to WillisParker, he was a strong personality.His contemporaries credited him withevery fable ever heard, and his succes-sors with every fable ever told.

Not every fable, however, that hasbeen linked to Aesop is his own cre-ation. In fact, there are many fablesattributed to him that for a variety ofreasons couldn’t possibly be his own.

Aesop lived during the fourth cen-tury B.C. He was born a slave, and inhis lifetime two different masters ownedhim before granting him freedom. As afreed man, he became involved in pub-lic affairs and travelled a lot, telling hisfables along the way. The popularity ofAesop is also shown by the fact thatPlato records that Socrates decided toversify some of his fables while he wasin jail awaiting execution.

—Jubel D’Cruz, Dombivili

boosting LDL (“bad”) cholesterol lev-els. Unless your doctor advises other-wise, go ahead and enjoy eggs regu-larly.

Help Yourself To More "See"Food

A recent analysis suggested thatpeople who ate at least two servings offatty fish (such as salmon, sardines,mackerel, herring or trout) per weekwere about one-third less likely to de-velop advanced AMD than those whodidn’t. So commit to eating more fattyfish, and don’t stop there: shellfish,such as oysters and crab, provide goodamounts of zinc, another nutrient that’sfound in the retina and may also helpprotect against AMD.

Consider A SupplementAlthough it’s always best to get

nutrients from food first, supplementsare showing a lot of promise in combat-ing AMD. Reports from large-scale clini-cal trials suggest that, in high-dosesupplement form, several nutrients mayhelp to reduce the risk of AMD signifi-cantly. If you have any AMD risk fac-tors, talk with your eye-care profes-sional about taking an “eye health for-mula” supplement.

What is macular degenera-tion?Age-related macular degeneration(AMD) is a deterioration or break-down of the eye's macula. The maculais the part of the retina that is respon-sible for your central vision, allow-ing you to see fine details clearly.

rected so easily: age-related maculardegeneration (AMD). AMD is a leadingcause of blindness in people over age60 and while the signs of AMD may notshow up until late in life, much of thedamage occurs decades earlier. Whilesome people seem to develop the con-dition no matter what they do, there area few lifestyle choices—such as quit-ting smoking and wearing sun-glasses—that may help to protectagainst the disease. But research alsosuggests eating a nutrient-rich diet mayhelp to prevent the development, ordelay the progression, of AMD. Whatcan you eat today to protect your eyes?Find out here.

Up Your Antioxidant IntakeStudies show that people with low

levels of antioxidants are more likely todevelop age-related macular degen-eration (AMD) than those with higherlevels. Antioxidants that seem to beespecially protective against the dis-ease include vitamin C (in citrus fruits,kiwi and broccoli), vitamin E (in veg-etable oils, nuts and avocados) andlutein and zeaxanthin—nutrients thatabound in dark leafy greens, such asspinach, kale and collards.

Eat (Whole) EggsEgg yolks are also rich in lutein

and zeaxanthin, but many of us avoideggs because we’re worried about theircholesterol content. Research led byThomas Wilson, found that whenpeople ate eggs regularly—as manyas two daily—they significantly in-creased the levels of lutein and zeaxan-thin circulating in their bodies without

Food For Healthy VisionAntioxidants have beenfound to help present eyeconditions like maculardegeneration. But youdon't need to takevictamins or supplementsto get them: Just load upon fruits and veggies!

Many people are facing a vision problemthat can’t be cor-

Subscriptions forThe Secular Citizen

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1916 February 2015

InspirInspirInspirInspirInspiration!ation!ation!ation!ation!Not meeting deadlines can spiral intoproject or career failure. Yet deadlinesare one of the most vexing pieces of thetime-management puzzle. But there areways to manage your deadlines,

Care about deadlines. This is the firststep, as many people are very laxabout deadlines. You have to be veryserious about meeting them, andmake them a priority. And makebreaking a deadline a cardinal sin inyour freelance book. Once you'vedone this step, the rest is just logis-tics.

Keep a list of projects & deadlines. Ifyou care about deadlines, you'll writethem down, and have one place thatyou check often to make sure youknow what's due and when. I use asimple online list, but you could usepaper. Which tool you use doesn'tmatter, as long as you use it.

Communicate a clear deadline. Besure that you and the client are inagreement with a specific deadline,including time of day (and factor intime zone differences as well). If thedeadline is fuzzy, you will have troublemeeting it. If the client doesn't giveyou a deadline, you need to ask forone.

Work in a cushion. It's wise to build ina cushion for your deadline. To get aclear idea of how long a project willtake, break it down into smaller pieces(see below for more). If you aren'tsure exactly how long each of thosepieces takes, break them down intoeven smaller pieces. And for eachpiece, add a small cushion to yourtime estimate. Then add up the timeestimates of all the pieces, and you'llhave a cushion built in. This will allowfor delays, and if you finish early, theclient will be pleased.

Have a clear outcome. You and theclient should both agree on a clearlydefined outcome. Don't skip this step,or you could be sorry later. If you turnin a project that's not what the client

wanted, you'll have to do extra work,meaning that you'll miss the dead-line. If you're not absolutely clear whatthe outcome should look like, asksome questions of the client until youare clear.

Break down the project. This is stan-dard advice for any project, of course,but that's because it works. Don't tryto tackle an entire project. Tackle onestep at a time. Again, you'll want tobreak it down into smaller steps, givea time estimate for each step. Eachstep should be small enough that ittakes an hour or less, so it's not toointimidating.

Focus on the first step. Now that you'vebroken the project down into smallersteps, just focus on the first one.Don't worry about the rest for now.Give the first step your full attention,and get going. You'll feel satisfiedwhen you complete it, and can checkit off your list. Then focus on the nextstep.

Block off adequate time. When you'regoing to work on a step, be sure tohave it blocked off on your day'sschedule. If you're not blocking offtime for your most important tasks,you're probably not getting the im-portant stuff done. However else youwork during the rest of the day, foryour freelance projects, block off agood amount of time for each step,and treat it like a doctor's appoint-ment -- you can't miss it.

Have a start and complete date foreach step. When breaking down aproject, give a start and completedate for each step, so you can get agood feel for the timeline of theproject, and whether you're on sched-ule or behind. It also keeps you ontrack if you know when each stepshould be started and completed.

Communicate with each step. Onceyou've completed a step, send thecompleted step to your client if pos-sible. Sure, it won't look like a com-pleted project, but you can show that

you're making progress, you keepyourself on track, and you can getfeedback communicated from theclient. Better to know early on thatyou're headed in the wrong directionthan at the end of the project.

Don't overcommit. One of the biggestcauses of missed deadline is that afreelancer commits to more than hecan handle. Learn to say no if youcannot commit to finishing a projecton time.

Learn from mistakes. If you bust adeadline, take a few minutes to ana-lyze what went wrong and how youcan avoid that in the future.

Stay up late. If you planned badly, orjust procrastinated, and you're upagainst a tight deadline, do whateverit takes to meet it. That means stayingup late and working long hours ifpossible.

Negotiate and meet a second dead-line. If you absolutely cannot makedeadline (you probably overcommit-ted), you should contact your clientand negotiate a second deadline. It'smuch better to do this than to let thedeadline go by without any commu-nication. Whatever you do, be sure tomeet this second deadline. Twomissed deadlines in a row is badnews for a freelancer's reputation.

Meeting A Deadline

20 16 February 2015

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22 16 February 2015

Normally I enjoy tempting andteasing people into readingwhat I write. But this time I will

lift the veil of mystery in the very firstpara! SS stands for Socialism and Secu-larism. The Troopers, not unlike theNazi Secret Service (SS), are thosewho are advocating the removal of SSfrom the Preamble of the Indian Consti-tution.

“Oh it was actually a mistake. Thiswas an old version of the Constitution,and the words inadvertently got omit-ted from the Republic Day ad”. Thusspake the wise, but not so simple,mandarins of the Central Govt. So whymake such a shenanigan over a slipup? As the old saying goes, “A slip ofthe tongue is no fault of the mind, andhe who remarks is most unkind”. Themoot question though is – was this aminor slip up, or a deliberate act ofprovocation? Subsequent events pointto the latter.

Soon after the Opposition decriedthe “slip up”, NDA partners like the ShivSena stridently proclaimed that SS was

not required in the Constitution. Otherright wingers went so far as to say thatif these words were not in the originalConstitution adopted in 1949, then the42nd Amendment that incorporatedthem in 1976, was an afterthought; andtherefore not essential to the Constitu-tion. Hence SS could be dispensedwith. Now does not this seem like adeliberate act of provocation, to elicit asharp reaction, a debate, and then acourse correction?

This same pattern was earlier fol-lowed for “conversions”. First camethe “Ghar Vapsi”, followed by swiftdenials by the Govt. Even swifter camethe demand for a debate on conver-sions and the need for enacting a stronganti-conversion law! Are we seeing thelight?

Namo and his core strategists arenot easily prone to error, more so at theRepublic Day, where they were show-casing India before Buddy Barak. Oneis therefore constrained to concludethat there is a method in the madness.

Why had Indira Gandhi incorpo-

rated the SS in the Constitution? Thosewere the days of the Emergency. Shewanted to nationalize the banks, bringin the Urban Land Ceiling Act, andremove the right to property. Socialismtherefore, was the garb under whichshe undertook these reforms. Perhapsshe also perceived a threat from grow-ing religious fundamentalism. Hencethe countervailing force of Secularism.In hindsight one must admit that the SSplayed a critical role in transformingIndia from a feudalistic society to amodern one.

Back to basics now. The Preambleof the Constitution states that India is a“Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Demo-cratic Republic”. What follows is evenmore significant. It seeks to secure forall its citizens:“JUSTICE, social, economic and politi-cal;LIBERTY of thought, expression, be-lief, faith and worship;EQUALITY of status and opportunity;And to promote among them allFRATERNITY assuring the dignity ofthe individual and the unity and integ-rity of the nation”.

Hence, if we see the Preamble asa whole, we find that the SS is essentialand integral to the goals that the nationhas set itself. Of the four above, it isagain noteworthy that the last three –Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, areinfact the clarion call of the FrenchRevolution.

What is the origin and actual mean-ing of Secularism? I trace it to thePharisees who tried to entrap Jesus byasking him if it was proper to pay taxesto Caesar. Jesus’ response to this was,“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, andto God what is God’s” (Mat 22:21).During the French Revolution, wherethe monarchy and religious hierarchywere equally despised, secularism tookthe form of separation of Church andState; something that France and muchof Europe zealously guards to date.

The SS Troopers

(Contd.. on p. 23)

BY CHHOTEBHAI

Thanks to Holy Spirit, Sacred Heartof Jesus, Mother Mary and St. Jude

for favours granted. Praying formore favours

—Mrs. A. N. G. Menezes, Thane

Thanksgiving

2316 February 2015 2316 February 2015

This is different from our Indian brand of secularism. AsVice-President Hamid Ansari recently stated, it means theIndian State has no religion; hence it treats all religionsequally.

Is this true of our country? Are wereally secular? To a large extent, yes.But there are glaring aberrations. Whenthe State spends crores of rupees onKumbh Melas or Haj subsidies, it canhardly be termed “secular”. If Govtprogrammes begin with religious ritu-als like bhoomi pujans, if Hindu deitiesare found in every police station andGovt premises, and temples can springup at will on public land, then suchacts are a threat to Indian secularism.

Such seemingly innocuous actsof State sponsored religion send out asubtle message to religious minoritiesin India – that they are second-classcitizens in the land of their birth. Thissense of discrimination in turn nur-tures feelings of resentment, leadingto anger and violence. That then stimu-lates a vicious circle of violence. TheGovt, be it at the Centre, in the Statesor even Municipalities, needs to beattentive to these rumblings, and actively promote secular-ism in both letter and spirit.

Some recent events unfolding across the country arealso indicative of growing intolerance, something that evenBuddy Barak was constrained to comment upon. We haverationalists being killed, writers being threatened, deroga-

tory and abusive language being used, and Hindu womenbeing exhorted to have more kids. Right under the PM’snose we have had five churches in New Delhi beingvandalized. Yet Namo maintains a stoic (sorry, strategic)silence. BJP stalwarts like Arun Jaitley have dismissed

these developments as stray incidents in an otherwisetolerant India. My foot! As the old saying goes – one incidentcould be an accident, two incidents could be a co-inci-dence, but more than that is pre-planned.

What goes for Secularism is equally true for Socialism,if we really want our country to be founded on the principles

of Justice, Equality, Liberty and Fra-ternity.

Our Prime Minister needs to bereminded that economic develop-ment can never be at the price ofsocial discord. If we sow the wind wewill reap the whirlwind, as both Indiraand Rajive Gandhi’s gruesome as-sassinations remind us. Namo mayhave vikas (development) as hismantra, but it can never be achievedby the vinash (destruction) of India’sdelicately woven social and religiousfabric. The SS Troopers are not go-ing to let go so easily, so those whodo value SS need to dig in their heelsfor the long haul ahead.

* The writer is the Convenor of theKanpur Nagrik Manch. This piece is

based on his presidential address at aseminar on the subject held on 5th

February at Gandhiji’s statue,Phoolbagh, Kanpur.

(Contd.. from p. 22)

24 16 February 2015

24 16 February 2015

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