12 March 2015

2 2 March 20152 2 March 2015

Creations 2015 - The annual exhibition of NirmalaNiketan Polytechnic will be held on 20-22ndFebruary, 2015.This is a much awaited annual event on the College Calen-dar that gives a platform to the students of Fashion Design-ing, Interior Designing and Commercial Art to showcasetheir creativity.

Style is a state of mind, a way of being! CREATIONSis a perfect stage to bring alive the philosophy and dreamsof the budding designers at Nirmala Niketan Polytechnic.Thedesigns are based on the theme revolving around carnivalsand fun fairs, aptly called “A-Fashion-A-Fair”. Dazzling se-quins, ethnic and tribal details, dramatic textures, peek-a-boo sheers, fantastical fabrics and lots of embellishmentadd a surreal edge. Nothing’s simple! Constant innovationand new variations form an effort to bring out the creativebest in every student.

On display are the beautiful Barbies adorned andembellishedto the theme ‘Silver Symphony’. The studentshave crafted a collection with the creative use of Mashrufabric sourced from Ahmedabad alongwith exquisite tradi-tionally designed articles. Also on display are the DrapedGowns incorporating garments constructed using origamifolds, metallic flounces, different ruching techniques withoverlapping cowls and smocked trails.Don’t miss this enchanting display. Be there!!!

The Navjeet Community Health Centre of the Holy FamilyHospital which is a strong supporter of raising the standardof children, and empowering the younger generation, spe-cially the tribal children in Shahapur taluka in Thane district,has been from time-to-time organizing various programmesfor them. On 5th February 2015 Navjeet organized an Inter-School Drama and Dance Competition at Chandroti villagein Shahapur Taluka,Sponsored by the Earnest John Group Of Companies,talented children from 20 government schools (90% ofthem belonging to tribal community) came together on acommon platform to participate and exhibit their talentsand creativity, and vie for the winning trophy. Children from18 schools registered for the dance competition, 10 schoolsregistered for the drama competition.

The ceremonial lighting of the lamp was done at 10.30am by the Sarpanch, Mr Jagdish Jagale, along with otherdistinguished guests and Sr Bindhu, Director of NavjeetCommunity Health Centre.

The programme began with the drama competition,some of which brought out powerful messages on religionand environment. This competition lasted till the lunchbreak, after which a sumptuous lunch lovingly prepared bythe villagers was served to all. After the lunch break theprogramme continued with the dance competition wherechildren danced to popular Bollywood numbers and folksongs. Mr Tejas, a mimicry artist for entertainment also putup a short standup act and a student of Std IX from Z.P.School, Ms Mukhawane spoke on the importance ofwomen’s education. Her speech was very motivating, in-spiring and par excellence.

The tough fight put up by each group made the taskof decision making difficult for the judges. Mr Sripad in hisspeech commended the village children on their perfor-mance and was in awe and admiration of the hidden talentwhich they possessed. He thanked Navjeet for giving thesechildren the much needed platform to perform.

Feedback forms were distributed to teachers of par-ticipating schools and their replies were positive and en-couraging.

Prizes were distributed to the winners.

Due to steep rise in cost of various inputs likepaper, printing, transport, etc. for publishingthis periodical we had to revise the subscrip-tion and per copy cost of The Secular Citizen,from 2nd April 2015 :Price for single copy will be Rs. 10

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CREATIONS 2015 Navjeet Rural Inter-schoolDrama And Dance Competition

32 March 2015

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‘Thought for the week’

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Cover : Let Hearts or Parents Choose(Article on pg.9)

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Reading between the lines ofModi's religious tolerance speech

Members of the Syro-Malabar rite in the IndianCatholic Church last week invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak at an event to

commemorate the canonization of two Catholic saintsborn in Kerala.

We would be ingrates if we did not thank him forspeaking up at last on hate crimes, as we have urged himto do for the past six months, and as we requested himto do when a delegation met him at his residence on Christmas Eve last year.

Modi was not exactly warm at that meeting, blaming the Christian commu-nity of exaggerating minor incidents in the international media, even insinuatingtheir “compulsions” prevented them from standing with him on his develop-ment agenda.

The prime minister has made his statement against religious violence, ata time of his choosing, and in many ways at an audience of his choosing. Therewas no occasion for questions, no opportunities to seek clarification aboutambiguities in his address — deliberate, it would seem — and a few omissions.

One such omission was the lack of any reference to the 60-year-old issueof Dalit Christians and their demands for parity in Scheduled Caste rights withSikhs and Buddhists, and of course Hindus, of Dalit origin.

But Modi’s recent statement is a change from what he had said then, after firstordering the cameras to be switched off.

I would like to hope that he wants his comments to address the trust deficitamong religious minorities — not just Christians — in his Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and the Sangh Parivar, now certainly quite the mainstream of politicaldiscourse with its religious nationalism, which it credits for bringing the party topower.

In many ways, however, Modi was speaking to an international audience,and particularly the investment bankers and corporate giants, whose concernover human rights and freedom of religion issues in India — which ranks as acountry of concern in many international indexes — was articulated by UnitedStates President Barack Obama as much as by the editorial board of the NewYork Times.

Modi’s development agenda depends on massive infusions of Western

BY JOHN DAYAL

Contentspg. 3 - Reading between the

lines...pg. 5 - The Delhi Election - ...pg. 6 - 'Freedom of Faith' Prom-

ises ...pg. 7 - Reader's Viewspg 8 - Be Proud, You Are A

Christian In Indiapg 9 - Let Hearts or Parents

Choose.pg 12 - 'Sabha Day 2015' Cel-

ebratedpg 13 - Views on Newspg 15 - Natural Remedies For

Urinary Tract Infectionspg 16 - 40 Days Period Of Lentpg 17 - Book Reviewpg 18 - Prevent Swine Flupg 19 - Inspiration!pg 20 - Matrimonials

4 2 March 2015

capital.It will be of abiding intellectual interest why Modi did

not chose to make his statement at a public meeting of theMuslim Ulema. Muslims outnumber Christians in India by afactor of five. So, a public address at a gathering of Muslimsmay have been more effective in repairing the damage doneto his image by the 2002 Gujarat riots and the recent abuseof Muslims by popular BJP leaders in the party’s electoralcampaigns and public programs.

But it might not have helped him in the context of thecurrent wave of Islamaphobia in parts of the Western worldand its media.

Freedom of faith is a part of India’s civilization — of thatthere can be no doubt. Buddha and Mahavira’s rejection ofVedic hegemony is a part of that intellectual and practicalfreedom, and of the birth much later of the Sikh faith.

The incorporation of freedom of faith and expression inthe national charter was also a consequence of the freedomstruggle that saw the participation of all ethnic, linguistic andreligious communities in the cause of independence, equal-ity and justice.

India is also a signatory to the United Nations Charterand its declarations on freedom of faith and civil liberties,stressed once again in the documents of the Hague Con-vention.

As prime minister, Modi and his government havetaken an oath to protect the constitution, and all that itguarantees to the citizens of India, and in fact, even to otherswho may be resident in this land.

There has been much tragedy and human sufferingbecause the constitutional guarantees have not been fullypracticed, and because some political groups with anideology of religious nationalism and a peculiar definition ofpatriotism have enjoyed political patronage and govern-ment protection.

We are happy that Modi did not call for a "10-yearmoratorium", as he did in his speech on Independence Daylast year. He said, rather, "We cannot accept violenceagainst any religion on any pretext and I strongly condemnsuch violence. My government will act strongly in thisregard."

The talk of a moratorium had not gone down well withcivil society and had seemed very cynical.

The minorities have not been attacking anyone. Nei-ther have they exceeded, or violated, the limits set by law ofthe land in the exercise of their rights to profess, practice andpropagate their faith.

Modi nonetheless brushed over this, warning againstboth minority and majority intolerance.

This attempt at parity has its own meaning and impli-cations in small towns and villages where police seem tobelieve it is the Muslim or the Christian who causes all theproblems.

Despite the existence of laws against religious conver-sions, called Freedom of Religion acts, in six states — andwith his government ministers demanding such a law for theentire country — even politically hostile governments have

not been able to bring indictments for inducing anyone tobecome a Christian through force or through fraudulentmeans.

Modi yet chose to allude to “fraud”. It is clear what wasin his mind. He did not refer to the issue of Dalit Christians,raised by bishops who spoke before him at the function. Hisparty and his government are opposed to restoring DalitChristian rights given to others of these castes, arguing thatthis would open the floodgates of conversion out of Hindu-ism.

One cannot but welcome any direction from govern-ment that anticipates and prevents targeted religious vio-lence and hate. This actually needs a comprehensive law.

The BJP has consistently opposed such a law, whichCongress governments half-heartedly tried to pass in thelast two parliaments. But even in the absence of such a law,there are provisions that can be effectively used by stategovernments to control hate campaigns, coercion andviolence.

It remains to be seen if state governments and theirpolice forces will act against hate crimes and hate mongers.Indeed, the future will tell if groups professing religiousnationalism have heard Modi as the Christian leaders haveheard him.

Televised debates suggest the Sangh Parivar has notheard him. Or perhaps they think the prime minister doesnot mean what he says.

John Dayal is the general secretary of the All IndiaChristian Council and a member of the Indian government'sNational Integration Council. Source: ucanews

(Contd.. from p. 3)

52 March 2015

A “Wake Up Call” is not apretty experience. I know itbecause I experience it every

morning just as I am dropping off intoa sound sleep after a disturbed night.The results of the Delhi Electionscome after the ‘GharWapsi’ pro-grams of reconversion of Muslimsand Christians to Hinduism, theattacks on Catholic churches andinstitutions, the statements againstminorities.

The first message is to use the Powerof Youth. I expected that the Year ofYouth which has recently concluded,would be an awakening to get theyouth to swing into action and bringabout the changes we want to see.Unfortunately, nothing happened.When minority issues are beingdiscussed on TV the spokespersonshould be from the youth as the AAPdoes instead of from the clergy. Thiswould get the youth involved, provideopportunities for leadership and havegreater impact.

We have to revitalize our educationalinstitutions so that they again regainthe prime positions they once held.They should be models of learning,education, innovation, creativity andservice. While education is acknowl-edged as the foundation for develop-ment and employment, it has beencommercialized making it affordableonly for the affluent. Our Christianinstitutions must bring back educa-tion as the engine which drivessociety. We shoulduse the newtechnologies for making qualityeducation affordable and easily

available for building employableskills, imparting knowledge andinformation right from the primary tothe research level.

Our seminaries should be theknowledge power-houses withanswers to the problems and issuesfacing the world through theological,philosophicaland historical research.How do we stop the downwardspiral? The prayers for Peace mustbe backed by word and action. Thethreats of Islamic fundamentalists arereal.The Small Christian Communi-ties should be used to discussissues, upgrade knowledge andskills and be better informed to haveanswers to the pressing questions ofthe day.We can learn from the DelhiDialogues of AAP where issues werediscussed at the gras-root level tounderstand how to solve the people’sproblems.Members even lived in theslums to experience the real pain.Christians should work in non-Christian and secular groups to bringabout change — stop corruptionand exploitation, eradicate povertyand disease, provide the basicnecessities of life like water and

electricity.

There are a number of MotherTheresas living among us whom wedon’t recognize or know about. Itrequired the Nobel Peace PrizeCommittee for us to learn aboutKailashSatyarthi. There are manymore who have given up lucrativeprofessions to cook meals and feedthe hungry, to look after the agedand terminally ill, to house thehomeless. We should shun theCelebrity Culture which pays croresto a celebrity for an appearancebecause they draw the crowds andbring a good return and hefty profits.There is a lot of talent which is notrecognized which should be tappedto create entertaining and educativeprograms at lowor no costs to a moreresponsive audience

Elections are won on two counts.People are disgusted with thepresent ones in authority who havefailed to deliver on their promisesand rather used their positions fortheir own self-interests — the anti-incumbency factor The second is thePromise of a Better Life which thenew candidate offers. Christians tobe accepted as change agents mustcorrect any characteristics that makethem unacceptable to the people likearrogance, poor performance,inability to integrate. On the questionof Promise of a BetterLife they havethe offer of the Good News of thebible, the promise of the Kingdom ofGod on earth where there is Peace,based on the foundations of Truth,Justice and Love.

The Delhi Elections — Lessons ForThe Christian Community

by Francis Lobo

6 2 March 2015

“My government will ensure thatthere is complete freedom of faithand that everyone has the unde-niable right to retain or adopt thereligion of his or her choice with-out coercion or undue influence.”– Narendra Modi.

I’m not particularly sure whether tosnigger at the seemingly hypocritical untruths that this ‘great man‘

speaks or turn away and pretend thatBJP is the epitome of all that is goodand secular. The RSS and its SanghParivar allies have been out on a mis-sion to turn India into Hindu-stan, offer-ing lakhs to poor, tribal Muslims andChristians for a joyous welcome intothe Hindu parivaar. The BJP had until aday ago, quite diplomatically and un-expectedly, largely distanced itself fromthe entire issue altogether, save for theoccasional “I condemn” lines thrown insomewhere in between.

Let me begin with bringing in someclarity to a rather controversial subject– the BJP-RSS nexus. I have met far toomany individuals who seem to sharethe same convoluted belief that theBJP is an independent party makingindependent, uninfluenced policies;and I really think it’s high time someoneset the facts straight. For the uniniti-ated, a number of top BJP leaders,Modi included, are revered membersof the RSS. The BJP quite appropri-ately accommodated a number of RSSimports into its party – Haryana CMManohar Lal Kattar, three of the party’sGeneral Secretaries (Ram Madhav,Ram Lal and P. Murlidhar Rao), and allfour of the party’s Joint General Secre-taries (V. Satish, Saudan Singh, ShivPrakash and B.L. Santosh) areswayamsevaks.

The Rakshasutra programmeorganised by the RSS at BJP leaderVenkatesh Naidu’s residence amplyreflects how the Sangh Parivar is nomore hesitant of displaying its mergingidentity with the BJP – this fact is further

emphasized by the trade-mark black RSS cap donnedby most BJP members, andthe RSS General Secretary’sopening statements, wherehe takes pride in the factthat “for the first time, thecountry is being led bysomebody who has beentrained by the RSS and willcontinue to do so for manymore years to come”.

The whole Sangh sponsored andinitiated charade began last Decem-ber when about 300 miserably poorMuslims in Agra were the first targets ofthe Sangh’s beloved ‘reconversion’mission, allegedly lured into convert-ing by promises of ration cards andplots of land. The Shiv Sena UP secre-tary Anil Singh strongly opposed it, butcaught us off-guard with his reasons –“Hindus have always had a calm na-ture and have always respected otherreligions but Muslims are fanatics andrevolting in nature. If Muslims convertor reconvert to Hinduism and then marryHindus, it will lead to genetic abnor-malities in the Hindu community”. PrimeMinister Modi was, however, silent. TheRSS publicly sought out donations fortheir conversion event in Aligarh, butour beloved PM remained silent.Churches were vandalized, mysteri-ous fires destroyed the altars, and Chris-tians in Kerala and West Bengal wereconverted. Senior BJP leaders appre-ciated the ghar wapsi programme, butPrime Minister Modi was silent. ThenObama came to India, emphasized onConstitution’s Article 25, and reiteratedthe Government’s responsibility to up-hold freedom of religion and con-science in India – and two weeks later,Modi finally makes his opening state-ment condemning the conversions at aChristian function in Delhi.

Two and a half months is what ittook for the country’s leader to awakenfrom a self induced slumber to takeaction and make a statement, but allthe while being careful to avoid hurting

the sentiments of brother,sister and parent right wingorganizations. The BJP hasnever hesitated to publiclypoint fingers at the Congressfor its misdeeds, both whennecessary and unneces-sary, and yet when the timecomes to publicly bring tobook the Hindu-extremist or-ganizations for their abso-lutely intolerable actions in

a democratic, secular country, thePrime Minister has only mild words ofreproach to offer.

While the BJP’s top brass makerather interesting statements about gharwapsi not being a governmentprogramme, what makes their wordslaughable is the back door-entry policythat the party seems to live by. Quitesimply put, the BJP plays appeaser tothe Togadias and Bhagwats of theSangh Parivaar, taking fancy in puttingup a moderate facade, thereby provid-ing some sort of cover for their rightwing comrades to carry on theirHindutva antics. Certainly a well thoughtout strategy, but how much longer doesthe party think we’re going to be fooledinto believing their very disputably secu-lar beliefs?

It has been eight months since PrimeMinister Modi assumed power, andsabka saath, sabka vikas remains acruel joke.

‘Freedom Of Faith’ Promises The PM, But HisParty’s Actions Make It Sound Like A Joke

by Kiran George:

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72 March 2015

Let us be part ofthe revolution

A political revolution is takingplace in the country and its beginningis made in Delhi by the Aap AadmiParty of Mr. Kejarival. We Christiansshould become active agents of thismuch desired change in Indian poli-tics. So far do we Christians seem to bemere spectators of the Jhadu action inDelhi? How can the disciples of theactivist Jesus lose this historic oppor-tunity to bring value-based politics inIndia? We Christians. We strive to es-tablish the kingdom of Christ based onhis values of truth, justice and love. Atpresent AAP is the party that shows usthe way to it. Let us not be pessimistic;in my view atleast at present, evenpriests and religious should becomeactive members of the party without ofcourse contesting elections.

—Fr. Michael G., Vasai.

Activate Civic &Political Cells

(CPCs)

The Archdiocese of Bombay comprisesof 11 deaneries with 122 parishes. TheCatholic population is about five hun-dred and twenty five thousand andseventeen (525,017) persons

Each Parish has a Parish Pastoral Coun-cil (PPC), which includes Small Chris-tian Communities (SCCs), Parish Fi-nance Committees (PFCs), and Civic &Political Cells (CPCs).

At present, PPCs rely on church cen-tered religiosity, with Liturgy /Bible/Cells and ‘Dress Code’ cells for moralpolicing the ladies’ wear.

Aristotle talked about a Delphian knife;a shoddy article designed for both cut-ting and hammering and no good ateither.

Pope Francis sanctioned the canoni-zation of martyred Archbishop Oscar

Romero. Archbishop Oscar Romerourged his flock to listen to his ‘Libera-tion Theology’ sermons over the radio.

There are many Catholic groups whozealously strive to protect the interestsof the Community through theirrevanchist activities.

Recently, their vigilance commendablytriggered a fitting response by the Arch-diocese of Bombay to the AIB insults.*

The Parishes should revive the CPC tointeract with all citizens, and also tokeep the hierarchy in the Civic & Politi-cal loop.

The Archdiocesan hierarchy shouldrestrict their interaction, based on hier-archical protocol, with the top echelon.This will prevent repeat instances ofvictim persecution’.** / ***

—Denis Khan

Ten Tips forHappiness And

Longevity!Media czar, philanthropist, environmen-talist and three-time mayor of New York,Michael Bloomberg, gave an interviewto Times Of India, (Feb 18, 2005) –‘Govts must help people live longerand happier lives’, with focus on qualityenvironment and economic develop-ment; and also means to reduce thenumber of road fatalities in Mumbaifrom 700 to 70 a year.

Now in the same issue of TOI, pg.12 isan ominous report: ‘Govt has clearedthe construction of 7 stealth frigatesand 6 nuclear submarines at a cost ofover Rs.1 lakh crores’. I ask, are wethreatened in the Indian Ocean? Won’tthese monies be better utilized for feed-ing the poor, to create jobs and inbuilding schools, hospitals and infra-structure?

A Mayo Clinic research reveals that fiveparameters cut the risk of diabetes by70%, heart attacks, strokes and de-mentia by 60%, and cancer by 50%:

1) Regular exercise: brisk walk of 30mins five times a week.

2) Healthy diet: cut off red meats,and increase fibre.

3) Ideal weight: Body Mass Index(BMI) of 21 – 23.

4) Minimal alcohol: 60-90 ml of redwine.

5) No smoking or chewing tobacco.

Here are my further five suggestionsfor a healthy and wholesome life:

1) Maintain Blood Pressure (BP)below 120/80.

2) Control fasting blood sugarand bad (LDL) cholesterolbelow 110mg.

3) Reduce stress through yogaand Bible meditation.

4) Love and service to family,Church and society.

5) Pray the Eucharist – Partici-pate in Holy Mass.

“I AM the living bread … Whoever eatsof this bread will live forever; and thebread that I will give for the life of theworld is My flesh” (John, 6:51).

—Dr Trevor Colaso,

Contact:

Mr. Freddy Mendonca:Tel.: 9320152052

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8 2 March 2015

(Contd.. on p. 22)

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Be Proud, You Are A Christian

gress session were R. S. N. Subramania from Madras, Kali Charan Banerjifrom Bengal, G. G. Nath from Lahore,Peter Paul Pillai from Madras andMadhusudan Das from Orissa.

(C) Brahmabandhab Upadhya (1861- 1907), a Christian, enunciated thephilosophy of non-cooperation andplayed a leading role in the swadeshimovement. He was the first man inIndian political history to demand com-plete freedom for India.

(D) Narayan Varma Tilak (1861-1919),a Christian from Maharashtra, throughpassionate poems inspired the peopleto the path of self government andurged the Christian community to be-come a force on the side of Indiannationalism.

There were many other such greatChristians who participated in the na-tionalist movement - J. C. Kumarappa,George Joseph, S. K. George,Rajkumari Amrita Kaur, etc. ... HinduIndians know very little of its greatestmen and women who belong to theChristian community.

III. FIELD of EDUCATION .The contribution of Christian churchshows the importance it has given toeducation in the Indian context. WhenIndia gained independence in 1947,only about 14 per cent of its populationwas literate. This literacy figure hasgone up to 55 per cent and Christianitycan be proud in playing a role.

(A) Christian Churches run over 19,000educational institutions; 13,000 arenursery, primary and higher second-ary schools. There are over 1,500 pro-fessional and technical schools. Sev-enty per cent of these schools are in therural areas, serving the poor, espe-cially the Dalits, Adivasis and otherdisadvantage groups.

(B) At the time of independence in

1947, the number of Christian collegeswas 62 out of a total of 450. In 2010,Christian colleges numbered 250 outof 11,089 colleges. They cater to over150,000 students of whom 28 per centare Catholics. Nearly 50 per cent of theChristian colleges are for women only;17 per cent are for men only and 33 percent are mixed for women and men.

(C)The historical and significant contri-bution of the Christian Church in thefield of education is it broke the mo-nopoly of the privileged castes anddecentralised education. This made itpossible for the education of themasses. The Sangh Parivarorganisations allege that the ChristianChurches and that Christian educationinstitutions are used to convert peopleto christianity. They have now started acampaign to vandalise the Christianchurches and Christian institutions oflearning.

(D)Many Hindus and Muslims in Indiaare confident that their child's Hindu/Muslim identity will not suffer in theenvironment of a Christian Churchschool. In fact, the majority of thosewho manage to get admission in aChristian school consider it a greatachievement for the family. Many lead-ers of the Bharatiya Janata Party havebeen educated in Christian schoolsand colleges. Foremost among themany are Shri L. K. Advani who was astudent of St. Patrick High School,Karachi; Shri Arun Shourie and hisbrother studied in St. Stephen College,Delhi; Arun Shourie's wife studied inLoreto Convent, Lucknow; ArunShourie's mother and sister studied atthe Convent of Jesus and Mary, Delhi;Smrita Irani, HRD minister in theNarendra Modi Government studied atthe Auxilium Convent. SwamiVivekananda studied at the ScottishChurch College and the list goes onand on.

The main reason for targeting Christianinstitutions by the Sangh ParivarOrganisations is " if the oppressed and

Chagas Fernandes( This is in response to the anti Chris-tian demonstrations and vandalisingof Churches and institutions by hardcore Hindu fanatics. The calumnyheaped on Christianity by the SangParivar organisations has to be ex-posed and the contribution of Chris-tianity to the development of Indiahighlighted.)

I. INTRODUCTION.1. India has given birth to four majorreligions. Hinduism forms the majoritywith 82 per cent adherents, followed byMuslims (12 per cent), Christians (3 percent), Buddhists (0.5 per cent) andother denominations (2.5 per cent).

2.. In spite of being an insignificant tinyminority, the Christian community hasmade praiseworthy contribution to thelife and development of India.

II FREEDOM MOVEMENT. (A) In 1885, Allan Octavian Hume, aChristian, initiated and founded the In-dian National Congress.

(B) At the Madurai session of Con-gress in 1885, out of the 607 delegates,35 were Christians. Some of the Chris-tian leaders who attended the Con-

92 March 2015

In our community today one seesmany young men and women whohave unshackled themselves of so-

cietal conformities and are willing toeke out a future that they believe givesthem joy and freedom. For years we inour community were trapped in cagesof our own making. Conformity wasseen to be sane and the norm. If youdid what your parents told you, youwere well brought up. But then foryears generations of our communitygrew up to be what their parents wantedthem to be and what gave them un-bridled happiness.

Classified advertisements for mar-riages were a testimony to those socialmores. If the young men were an engi-neer or a doctor or even from the civilservices he was more worthy than therest. It didn’t matter if he loved thewoman he married. There were choicesbut stifled by their own limitation. Allthat is changing now, many youngpeople want to cook up a storm aschefs or have chosen photography astheir defining life frame or whateverand who have decided that they didn’twant a nine to five job and instead wantto explore their lives on their own termsby taking to adventure, to hospitalitybut of a kind that is very untypical ofwhat we see.

This goes mostly for the youngmen and a few young women in ourcommunity while the majorities of theyoung women and a few young menare studious and continue their studieswhich results in an increase percent-age of young woman being more

educated than the young men.This imbalance in being educated

and career prospects between theyoung men and women comes to thefore when they are looking at marriage.When it comes to marriage many in thecommunity are particular about theeducation qualification and career pros-

pects of the young man to be eitherbeing higher or matching that of theirdaughter rather than the understand-ing, commitment, fidelity, behavior andbackground of the young men or evenif he has the educational qualificationand career prospects at a decent level.

Many young highly qualified andcareer oriented women who are un-able to find a partner in our communitylook at other communities and are suc-cessful in finding a partner in theseother communities where they thinkthey find themselves comfortable but

Let Hearts or Parents Chooseby Don Aguiar

(Contd.. on p. 10)

JACK OF ALL STALLReliable House forReligious Goods

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

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Estd: 1951 Prop. B. D'Souza

New Delhi: Delhi Police chief B S Bassihas directed officers of all his policestations and sub-divisions to visitchurches, and Christian-run schoolsin their area every day and submit adaily report to him, reported the IndianExpress daily.

Police are also preparing to launch ahelpline, a Facebook page and a Twit-ter handle as a measure of security forthe Christian community in the capital,the newspaper said.

“Police officers at the senior level aremonitoring the social media pages forthe Christian community to interactwith police and send their complaintsand concerns with regard to theirsafety. The pages will be launched ina day or two,” a senior police officersaid.

The move comes immediately afterBassi was summoned by the UnionHome Ministry on Friday after a theftwas reported at a Christian school inSouth Delhi.

Bassi was summoned by the PM andmet Home Minister Rajnath Singh af-ter Rs 12,000 was allegedly stolen bya group of unidentified men from the

Holy Child Auxilium School in VasantVihar on Friday. Delhi police werepulled up and asked to increase se-curity measures in the city.

More than seven incidents, includingthose of a fire, theft and alleged arson,have been reported in churches andother Christian institutions over thelast three months.

Police sources said the ACPs havealso been directed to initiate dialogueon a daily basis with the administra-tive staff of these schools andchurches.

“We are taking extra steps to ensurethat the community feels safe in Delhi.In case they face any trouble, theyhave been asked to immediately re-port it to the area SHO or the sub-divisional ACP,” an officer said.

Police said they had also applied fora helpline and are waiting for the four-digit number from the telecom ser-vices. The helpline will be active 24?7.A group of PCR personnel will takecalls from members of the Christiancommunity in cases of emergency.

Source: Indian Express

Delhi Police to daily monitorchurches, Christian schools

Many young highly qualifiedand career oriented womenwho are unable to find a part-ner in our community

10 2 March 2015

(Contd.. on p. 11)

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with time the union takes its toll mainlydue to belief, customs, traditions, so-cial and cultural differences betweenthe young women and the other com-munity partner and his family.

When highly qualified and careeroriented young men & women areunited the union normally fizzles outdue to lack of quality time being spenttogether by both as they spend morequality time with their colleagues’ wherethe colleague graduates to becominga friend. The closeness sets in after awhile resulting in multiple affairs andneglecting the spouse ending in di-vorce.

My guess is basically that careeroriented men & women lead such aone-dimensional life, always focusedon work that they have very few hob-bies they can pause. Equally our soci-ety is so strange that they worshipthose who are “important” and “re-sourceful” which means that the re-spective spouse will never want to in-habit a corner of this earth where noone wants anything from them or spendquality time with them and that perhapsis the rub of the issue. We can’t behappily married when our ideas aresoaked in the misconception of qualifi-cation equals worthiness or that sillynotion that work is worship.

Almost every culture in every timeand place has had some institution thatresembles what we know as marriage.But imagine that human beings repro-duced asexually and that human off-spring were self sufficient. In that case,would any culture have developed aninstitution anything like what we knowas marriage? It seems clear that the

answer is no.As many people acknowledge,

marriage involves: first, a comprehen-sive union of spouses; second, a spe-cial link to children; and third, norms ofpermanence, monogamy, and exclu-sivity. All three elements point to theconjugal understanding of marriage.

Conjugal View marriage as theunion of a man and a woman whomakes a permanent and exclusive com-mitment to each other of the type that isnaturally (inherently) fulfilled by bear-ing and rearing children together. Thespouses seal (consummate) and re-new their union by conjugal acts thatconstitute the behavioural part of theprocess of reproduction, thus unitingthem as a reproductive unit. Marriageis valuable in itself, but its inherentorientation to the bearing and rearingof children contributes to its distinctivestructure, including norms of mo-nogamy and fidelity. This link to thewelfare of children also helps explainwhy marriage is important to the com-mon good.

It is also clear that having childrenis not necessary to being married; new-lyweds do not become spouses onlywhen their first child comes along. AngloAmerican legal tradition has for centu-ries regarded coitus, and not the con-

ception or birth of a child, as the eventthat consummates a marriage. Fur-thermore, this tradition has never de-nied that childless marriages were truemarriages.

Just so, marriage has its charac-teristic structure largely because of itsorientation to procreation; it involvesdeveloping and sharing one's bodyand whole self in the way best suited forhonourable parenthood among otherthings, permanently and exclusively.But such development and sharing,including the bodily union of the gen-erative act, are possible and inherentlyvaluable for spouses even when theydo not conceive children.

Since our Church views marriageas above then why does the commu-nity make higher educational qualifica-tion and career prospects an essentialfeature for the young man to be eligiblefor the young woman. This brings inuncertainty and fear because – TheChurch teaches that fear prevents loveand that, above all, we should trust inGod’s providential care and not beafraid. Studies show that anxiety is thenumber one psychological complaintin youth and adults. At unhealthy lev-els, anxiety is associated with a myriadof negative health outcomes. To keepstress and anxiety out of marriage thefirst option chosen by couples nowa-days is to simply walk out of the rela-tionship. No wonder with the levels ofmutual intolerance growing the youngmen & women go out with quite a fewpartners to find their level of comfortwith one another. Many in our commu-nity speak about our community match-makers and say that there is a lot ofsizzle but where is the steak? If thesizzle is followed by a drizzle, it endswith a fizzle.

The reluctance of the young men& women to talk openly about theirrequirements and sources of strengthand wisdom is a hurdle that needs tobe crossed. In the west people aremore willing to talk about this. Someyoung men & women are resilient andare able to overcome this and some fallapart. The difference is whether theyoung men & women are able to tapinto their own strength and wisdom,

(Contd.. from p. 9)

Why are our young menin our community lag-ging behind our youngwomen in educationalqualifications?

112 March 2015 112 March 2015

and that requires knowing - What IsMarriage? There is the question – Mar-riage is the kind of union that is shapedby its comprehensiveness and fulfilledby procreation and child rearing. Onlythis can account for its essential fea-tures, which make less sense in otherrelationships. Because marriageuniquely meets essential needs in sucha structured way, it should be regu-lated for the common good, which canbe understood apart from specificallyreligious arguments.

As the saying goes “Where there’sa will there’s a way” The way lies withthe following tips below –

Communication which is impera-tive - Lack of communication acts asa slow poison in your relationship. Themoment you quit talking to each other,your relationship starts to wear out.So, even if your schedule does notpermit you to spend time with yourpartner, make sure you dedicate atleast 15 minutes of your day to somequality conversation with each other.

Respect is vital - Just becauseyou are married to someone does notmean you can demean them when-ever it pleases you. In fact, marriage isa bond which can stay strong only tillrespect exists between couples. Don’ttry to dominate or boss around yourpartner. Understand that their deci-sions also matter.

Compromise which is necessary- It is human nature to feel weakenedwhen it comes to compromising. But,marriage demands a different place inyour life as well as a different behavior.A married couple has to take severaldecisions in the course of life and thus,it becomes important to find a point ofconsent with your partner when youdon’t feel it right to agree with eachother.

Clear about Finances - You mayhave lived a completely independentlife during your bachelor days whenno one interfered in your financialmatters. But you must know that thingschange after marriage. Your partnerhas the right to know about your in-come and your expenditures.

Respect and love your relatives -This may not sound too easy, espe-

cially when you do not share a cordialrelation with each other’s family mem-bers. However, you will lose nothingand gain a lot if you can make anattempt to have peaceful relationshipswith your spouse’s family.

They Keep the Romance alive -Romance plays an important part in amarriage. So, look forward to see yourspouse’s face at the end of a day, tospend time with them, pay attention totheir desires, and make them feel spe-cial whenever possible.

Young men/women must be al-lowed to take risk and instead of mock-ing them, we need to laud them. It isonly the brave who venture beyond thedomains of comfort. We must strivetowards creating a community which isless judgmental and more passionateabout helping people succeed.

Much has been said and writtenabout how the community associationsare keen to help the youth. But thenhelp apart, there needs to be an envi-ronment which encourages people tocome forward and do what they wish.More than organizing match makingsessions, what is required is socialchange that will both respect and en-courage alternative thought andthrough that alternate passions in mar-riage terms. This is what we need tofoster. This needs societal encourage-ment and we need to transition frombeing a community of pairing educa-tional qualified and career qualifiedyoung men/women together to beingthe community of pairing young men/women in the actual sense of marriage

It is only then that we can look

forward to our community progress-ing, growing and cooperating amongourselves and producing outstandingpeople.

1) Does marriage require the youngmen to be more educationallyqualified or have better careerprospects than the young womanin our community?

2) Or does marriage require thematching of the educational quali-fication and career prospects ofboth the young man & woman inour community?

3) Why is it required that youngwoman who are highly qualifiedeither remain single or marry intoanother community with a per-son who is either more or arematching their educational quali-fication and career prospects?

4) Why are our young men in ourcommunity lagging behind ouryoung women in educationalqualifications?

5) Do our present young men /women in our community seemarriage as important or preferto live a live in partners?

6) Are our community matchmakingcenters/associations of any helpto our community? If not, yoursuggestions for making themhelpful?

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 is yourconcern, we welcome your views onthis 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,

(Contd.. from p. 10)

12 2 March 201512 2 March 2015

‘SABHA DAY 2015’ Celebrated

The Bombay Catholic Sabhaproudly celebrated the grandoccasion of the closing of its

Silver Jubilee year on Jan. 26, 2015with its annual event Sabha Day at St.Xavier’s School Quadrangle, Vile Parle.The organization was founded on Janu-ary 20, 1989, a few days before thefeast of the conversion of St. Paul thepatron saint of the BCS. The functionbegan with the solemn Eucharistconcelebrated by Bishop DominicSavio Fernandes and seven otherpriests. In his homily Bishop Savio ap-preciated the growth and involvementof the Sabha during the past 25 years inthe Archdiocese and urged the mem-

bers to continue to be the face of theChurch in the social, civic and politicalspheres.

Over Six hundred members andwell wishers took part in the gala eventwhere His Eminence Oswald CardinalGracias was the Chief Guest and BishopDominic Savio Fernandes the Guest ofHonour. The program began with theunfurling of the new BCS flag by HisEminence and the tone of the eventwas set with the rendition of the SabhaAnthem.

This year the Sabha Day was veryspecial as it marks the end of the SilverJubilee celebrations of the organiza-tion. The Sabha Day Committee headedby the Conveners Ms. Rita D’Sa, Mr.Raphael D’Souza and Mr. JamesPereira put in special efforts to makethe event a success. The SecretaryGeneral Mr. Anand Castelino workedto bring out the Souvenir and Jt. Trea-

surer Captain Francis Mascarenhas me-ticulously maintained the register foradvertisements brought by the Units.

H.E. Oswald Cardinal Graciascomplimented the Sabha on crossingthe Silver Jubilee milestone while un-derstanding and fulfilling the specificrole the Church has laid out for the laityand promoted values of truth, justiceand honesty in society. He said thatsome years ago he had wished that theSabha should cross the membershiptarget of 50,000 and now that theorganisation has done it the Sabhashould look towards achieving the75,000 membership target. The pro-gram concluded with fellowship anddinner.

Award were presented to various groupsand individuals on the occasion.

132 March 2015 132 March 2015

AAP NE BJP KO ‘TOPI’LAGAYA?

The results of Delhi elections, onwhich the BJP had bet its last buck,have shown that within a span of eightmonths the party, which won all theseven Lok Sabha seats, can be shownthe door by a small party like the AAP.This is not just a defeat for the BJP butit is a clean sweep. With 67 / 70 seats,could the AAP have asked for anythingbetter?

One thing was clear from the be-ginning. Arvind Kejrival looked andsounded confident from the word go.He always appeared to be relaxed whichonly a confident man can do. On theother hand, the moment the apex courtshowed its displeasure for the delayingtactics, the BJP had no option but to saythat they could not form a government.The ‘all powerful’ duo of Modi and Shahtook upon themselves to steer the partyto victory to teach Kejarival a lesson ofhis life – somewhat on the lines ofVaranasi victory. Hence the slogan ofModi v/s Kejrival! The first Modi rally inthe capital jolted them forcing them torealize that ‘all-is-not-well’. The warbugle was sounded with personal at-tacks on Kejrival calling him a deserter,naxalite etc which proved to be counter-productive.

With panic running down the spineof every BJP leader, no one could pos-sibly think logically. Harshvardhan couldhave been projected as a CM candi-date having secured 31 seats earlierbut when the duo decides somethingnobody can question them. They keptit as a closely guarded secret aboutparachuting Kiran Bedi into the CMposition should the party win. Possiblyshe held on for a long time bargaininghard for it. Not surprisingly, the localleaders having Nagpur connectionswere shattered but were forced to smile.The dejected leaders did not go thewhole hog in these elections. The dis-pleasure of the RSS was shown when itsaid that the AAP has an upper hand –something that BJP could not digest.Now Bedi says she did not lose but BJPlost. Is she still in the BJP?

The aam admi in Kejrival did notchange and stuck to his middle classattire including the famous muffler. Whatis surprising is how an ordinary tea boycould switch over to a Rs 10 lakh suit

complete with his name all over. Per-haps he conveyed the wrong messageto his electorate that he has graduatedfrom a tea boy to a celebrity. Once upona time when Dhirubhai Ambani used towear expensive suits he was looked uponwith awe. Today the ordinary man looksat Modi as someone who has alienatedhimself from the ordinary man. He nowbelongs to a class of his own with otherBJP leaders copying his signature jack-ets with pride – one flashier than theother.

Like the Congressmen whorefuse to blame the mother-son lead-ership for the mess that they are in,leader after leader of the BJP, sensingdefeat, had parroted the same line – itis not a referendum against Modi orthe central government. Today, morethan before, the same line is repeatedvociferously. They must have receivedstrict instructions to do just that. Morethan anybody else, if anybody has totake a leaf out of this debacle, it isnone other than Narendra Modi – hisgraph is showing signs of declinehaving steadfastly chosen not to com-ment on ghar wapsi, Church vandal-ism, love-jehad etc. This defeat couldhave cascading effect nationally.

*****

Advertising Self SacrificeIt was a novel idea of showcasing

one’s sense of sacrifice. First the UnionFinance Minister Arun Jaitley decidedthat he must give up his subsidized LPGgas cylinder and thereby save the nationof a few hundred Rupees. Our own be-loved and a very powerful [by his ownadmission] Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis [sounds more like Fernandes]decides to make a public statement giv-ing up his gas cylinder. A Minister MOSDharmesh Pradhan also decided to fol-low suit. The media was quick to high-light the great sacrifice of these indi-vidual Ministers who showed how sensi-tive they are.

This is a gimmick for public con-sumption. How many cylinders do theseworthies use in a month? An averagefamily would use one cylinder for a monthand if the subsidy, at say Rs 450, wouldsave around an astronomical sum of Rs5000 per year. By the way, when minis-ters stay in government provided bun-galows do they pay for the gas? Apart

from a gas cylinder, there are multipleperks that these Ministers enjoy at thecost of the exchequer. Why not pay therent for those huge bungalows andsave lakhs of Rupees per year? If youthought you should surrender only acylinder, why involve the media? ThankGod, a press conference was not calledfor this. Also, half a dozen swanky cars,a battery of security men on all sides forthemselves and their families form partof their entitlement. Huge expenditureon fuel for those cars is spent though aMinister can use only one car at a time.Others are being used for misused bytheir family members and cronies maybe. The CM should keep just one carand one security van to follow him wher-ever he goes. The rest of the cars shouldbe surrendered to government pool.

Ministers also enjoy free travel byair, rail for themselves and their fami-lies. How many of them would be willingto give up those freebies? Do they re-ally require huge bungalows, tastefullydecorated at huge expense? Shouldnot a two or three bedroom flat sufficefor a Minister? The Chief Minister mayhave a bungalow but that too withoutany ostentation. It has become a fash-ion to try to get best bungalows in theposh areas of Delhi and closer home inthe Malabar Hill area. Actually, Minis-ters try and get the best ones by pullingstrings here and there. All this to ‘servethe public’! One would fancy the publicis being entertained there. How manyorderlies are there for the Ministers? Dothey really need all those? Who paystheir salaries? The public must know.

The lead should come from thePrime Minister. If he shows the way,others will follow. In his case, thesecurity is paramount and there canbe no compromise whatsoever. Evenif it has to be further strengthened, sobe it. Surely there are so many otherareas in which the PM can show thepublic that a PM too can lead a simplelife just like Lal Bahadur Shastrishowed but that breed is now extinct.Nobody can match his simplicity. Butone can surely try.

VIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWS

by Marshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall Sequeira

14 2 March 201514 2 March 2015

Paris – The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Cologne inGermany has disclosed it is worth 3.35 billion euros ($3.82billion), making it richer than the Vatican.

Publication of the first full report of its wealth reflectsgreater financial transparency within the German Churchsince Pope Francis removed a bishop in Limburg, nearFrankfurt, last year for spending 31 million euros fromsecret funds on a new luxury residence.

Also pressed by the pope to reform its finances, theVatican has consolidated the various – and sometimeshidden – accounts of its many departments and found ithas assets of about $3 billion (2.64 billion euros), CardinalGeorge Pell, the Holy See’s secretary for the economy,said last week.

Announcing their report on Ash Wednesday, the startof the Lenten period of self-denial and reflection, Colognechurch officials stressed the extensive holdings helpedcare for 2 million Catholics, 60,000 staff and 1,200 churchesand chapels, reported reuters.

“The archdiocese doesn’t sell products or earn prof-its from its services, so it has to finance itself mostly fromits assets,” said financial director Hermann Schon.

Germany’s Catholic and Protestant churches benefitfrom a church tax imposed on all their members. Thereport said Cologne reaped 573 million euros from the taxin 2013 and spent over half of that on pastoral and charitywork.

German dioceses had traditionally published theirannual operating budgets, but not a full balance sheet.

Cologne, the country’s largest diocese, had a 2012operating budget of 939 million euros. Its 2013 balancesheet, drawn up under guidelines for large German com-panies and approved by an independent auditor, showedits assets at 3.35 billion.

Its landmark Gothic cathedral along the Rhine islisted as being worth only 27 euros – one euro for each ofthe 26 land parcels beneath it and one euro for thepriceless building.

German Catholic archdiocesereveals it’s richer than Vatican

Prayer, fasting and almsgiving

The three traditional pillars of Lenten observance areprayer, fasting and almsgiving. The key to renewed ap-propriation of these practices is to see their link to baptis-mal renewal.

Prayer: More time given to prayer during Lent shoulddraw us closer to the Lord. We might pray especially forthe grace to live out our baptismal promises more fully. Wemight pray for the elect who will be baptized at Easter andsupport their conversion journey by our prayer. We mightpray for all those who will celebrate the sacrament ofreconciliation with us during Lent that they will be trulyrenewed in their baptismal commitment.

Fasting: Fasting is one of the most ancient practiceslinked to Lent. In fact, the paschal fast predates Lent as weknow it. The early Church fasted intensely for two daysbefore the celebration of the Easter Vigil. This fast was laterextended and became a 40-day period of fasting leadingup to Easter. Vatican II called us to renew the observanceof the ancient paschal fast: "...let the paschal fast be keptsacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Fridayand, where possible, prolonged throughout Holy Satur-day, so that the joys of the Sunday of the Resurrection maybe attained with uplifted and clear mind" (Liturgy, # 110).

Fasting is more than a means of developing self-control. Itis often an aid to prayer, as the pangs of hunger remind usof our hunger for God.

Fasting should be linked to our concern for those who areforced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from theinjustices of our economic and political structures, those

(Contd.. on p. 15)

152 March 2015

Wedding Invitation, Christening,First Holy Communion, Mortuary

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Emails:davidprinters@gmail.com /bryan@vsnl.com

Living with a painful UTI (Urinary tract infections)? Fromdrinking lots of water to re-

plenishing good bacteria withproblotics, these home remediesmay help ease your pain.

Urinary tract infections are infec-tions that accumulate anywherealong the urinary tract including

the bladder and kidneys. Theseinfections can be caused by poorhygiene, impaired immune func-tion, antibiotics, use of spermi-cide, and sexual intercourse.

SymptomsThe first thing you should do if you thinkyou might be affected by this commonailment is check for symptoms, whichinclude:

Pain or burning sensation while uri-nating.

High Temperature or FeverFoggy or Cloudy UrineUrge to go to the restroom more often

than usualOdd smelling urinePain or Tenderness in the abs or pel-

vic areaDarker or dehydrated looking Urine

It is important to try and treat your UTIat the onset of problems, a UTI thatlasts longer than two days may requiremedical intervention. The UTI can be-gin to affect your kidneys and turn theinfection into a much more seriousissue.

Natural Healing Methods:Most of the time people have a Ten-dency to jump straight to over thecounter medications and antibioticswhich can lead to much more seriousproblems. There are many naturalmethods that are effective!

Cranberries and BlueberriesThis is one method that is not so sur-prising, cranberries have long been

known for their UTI fighting abilities.Cranberries and blueberries are loadeddown with bacteria fighting ingredientsand antibiotics that contribute to healthybladder function. It is important to notethat if you are consuming in juice formget 100% Organic Juice with Little orNO added sugars.

PineapplesBromelain an enzyme located in Pine-apples has been tested and proven toyield significant results in treating uri-nary tract infections. Pineapple yieldsmany anti-inflammatory benefits whichhelp to treat symptoms much quickerwhen combined with other methods.

YogurtNot many people have caught on to theeffective infection-fighting powers ofyogurt. The healthy bacteria located inthe yogurt play a huge role in treatingUrinary tract infections. Use Plain un-sweetened Yogurt and avoid the fla-vored, sweetened one.

Vitamin CVitamin C is an important part of anydiet; it helps with so many differentailments UTIs are no exception. ManyDoctors have noticed that the power-house vitamin is especially good atacidifying your Urine and preventingbacteria from developing it.

Apple Cider VinegarApple cider vinegar is the mother of allUrinary tract cures; it helps flush outbacteria by dislodging clingy bacteriafrom the urinary tract.

WaterOne of the best treatment is simply todrink water, drinking lots of water helpsto flush the bacteria out of your system.Around 80 ounces, a day is best.

To Prevent Future issues once youhave ridden yourself of infections it isimportant to stay hydrated, eat a bal-anced diet, urinate immediately afterintercourse, wipe front to back, andtake showers instead of baths.

Natural Remedies For Urinary Tract Infections

who are in need for any reason. Thusfasting, too, is linked to living out ourbaptismal promises. By our Baptism,we are charged with the responsibilityof showing Christ's love to the world,especially to those in need. Fastingcan help us realize the suffering that somany people in our world experienceevery day, and it should lead us togreater efforts to alleviate that suffer-ing.

Abstaining from meat tradition-ally also linked us to the poor, whocould seldom afford meat for theirmeals. It can do the same today if weremember the purpose of abstinenceand embrace it as a spiritual link tothose whose diets are sparse andsimple. That should be the goal we setfor ourselves—a sparse and simplemeal. Avoiding meat while eating lob-ster misses the whole point!

Almsgiving: It should be obvious atthis point that almsgiving, the third tra-ditional pillar, is linked to our baptismalcommitment in the same way. It is asign of our care for those in need andan expression of our gratitude for allthat God has given to us. Works ofcharity and the promotion of justice areintegral elements of the Christian wayof life we began when we were bap-tized.

When does Lent end?Lent officially ends on Holy Thursday.That is when the "Triduum", great threeDays of holy Thursday, Good Fridayand Holy Saturday occur leading toEaster. Easter is not only a day but anOctave (eight day) celebration leadingto a Season of the Church, Easter Sea-son, which ends on Pentecost.

(Contd.. from p. 14)

16 2 March 2015

The season of Lent is thetime of preparation forthe Holy Week, leading

up to Easter. It is also consid-ered a time for sacrifice, prayerand almsgiving. For many ofus Christians, it is also a timeto give up something we lovethe most, like eating non-veg-etarian foods, chocolates, ice-cream, smoking cigarettes and con-suming alcohol.

Lent, the period of prayer andfasting in preparation for Easter is 40days long. But there are 46 daysbetween Ash Wednesday, the firstday of Lent in the Roman Catholicliturgical calendar and Easter. Howcan that be?

The answer takes us back to theearliest days of the Church. Jesus’original disciples, who were Jewish,grew up with the idea that the Sab-bath – the day of worship and rest –was Saturday, the seventh day of theweek, since the account of creation inthe book of Genesis says that Godrested on the seventh day.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead,however on Sunday, the first day ofthe week, and the early Christiansstarting with the apostles (those origi-nal disciples) saw Jesus’ resurrectionas a new creation and so they trans-ferred the Sabbath from Saturday toSunday.

Since all Sundays – and not sim-ply Easter Sunday – were days tocelebrate Jesus’ resurrection, Chris-tians were forbidden to fast and doother forms of penance on those days.Therefore, when the Church expandedthe period of fasting and prayer inpreparation for Easter from a few daysto 40 days (to mirror Jesus’ fasting inthe desert before He began His publicministry), Sundays could not be in-cluded in the count.

Thus in order for Lent to include40 days on which fasting could occur,it had to be expanded to six full weeks(with 6 days of fasting in each week),plus 4 extra days --- Ash Wednesday

and the Thursday, Friday andSaturday that follow it. Sixtimes six is thirty-six, plusfour equals forty. And that’show we arrive at the 40 daysof Lent.

While many of us lookforward to the long Easterweekend, ‘Good Friday’, aswe all know of, was previ-ously called ‘Black Friday’.

The original title to the day also wentby other names such as ‘Holy Friday’,‘Silent Friday’ and ‘Great Friday’, be-fore it was changed to ‘Good Friday’.

But why is ‘Good Friday’ namedso? The Catholic Encyclopedia notesthat the origin of the term ‘Good’ is notvery clear. Some say that it is from‘God's Friday’ (Gottes Freitag); oth-ers maintain that it is from the German‘Gute Freitag’, and not specially En-glish.

However, the explanation still re-mains unclear. But according to Bal-timore Catechism, Good Friday isgood because the death of JesusChrist, as terrible as it was, led to theResurrection on Easter Sunday, whichbrought new life to those who believe.

To those who believe in Chris-tianity, ‘Good Friday’ is the day thatcommemorates the death of JesusChrist who was crucified. It is an im-portant day for Christians all over theworld, as it represents the sacrificesand suffering in Jesus’ life. While onemay wonder why it is called ‘GoodFriday’ and not ‘Bad Friday’ or ‘SadFriday’, the belief is that since the dayJesus Christ died is observed as aholy day. Hence, it is called ‘GoodFriday’.

Good Friday is followed by HolySaturday, which marks the Easter vigil.Easter Sunday is a day of celebrationof the resurrection of Jesus Christ, theSaviour of the world.

"For God so loved the world, thatHe gave us His one and only begottenSon, that whosoever believeth in Him,shall not perish, but have everlastinglife.” (John 3:16).

40 Days Period Of Lent

PRACTICAL FASTING

1. Fast from fear; Feast on Faith

2. Fast from despair; Feast on hope.

3. Fast from depressing news; Feaston prayer..

4. Fast from anger and worry; Feaston patience.

5. Fast from negative thinking; Feaston positive thinking.

6. Fast from bitterness; Feast onlove and forgiveness.

7. Fast from words that wound; Feaston words that heal.

8. Fast from gravity; Feast on joyand humour.

9. Fast from Pride and PrejudiceFeast on humility

10. Fast on Hypocrisy Feast on Sin-cerity.

Wish you a prayerful Lent—Fr Anthony J Fernandes

BY JUBEL D'CRUZ

HumourWhen the restaurant next to anotherChurch put out a big sign with redletters that said, "Open Sundays,"the church reciprocated with its ownmessage: "We are open on Sun-days, too."

172 March 2015

by Sajith CyriacBETTER YOURSELF BOOKS,

58/23rd Road, TPS III, Bandra West, Mumbai400 050 - Tel: 2640 0126 - Fax: 2645 4429 -

Web: www.stpaulsbyb.com - Yr 2015 / Pp 134/ INR 160 / ISBN 978-81-7108-855-3

In a world of quick-fixes and speedyachievements failure per se isconsidered so dreadful that the veryidea of celebrating one’s failures mightappear anachronistic, even soundingodd or insane to many. Celebratingfailure does not necessarily meantrumpeting it as a trophy but learning tokeep it in proper perspective so that ithelps build rather than break theindividual. By celebrating andbefriending every failure we encounter,be it personal or professional, one cancounter all negative forces effectively.

Many of the greatest lessons learnt inlife come our way uninvited, often at theworst of times! Emanating from dismalmistakes, they turn out to be pricelessassets that fate offers us for making lifeitself a celebration of sorts. Indeed,seen in that light what one encountersare not failures or mistakes as such inlife – only varied means to focusingbetter on our goals and checking ourefforts towards achieving them.

The truth is, whenever somethinghappens in our life there is wisdom in itfor us to imbibe. The experience offailure can be poignant and painful,though not if we try to salvage from theapparent mess we find ourselves in,gems of wisdom that serve as potentialaids to helping us move forward. Thusthe reader can always make up forone’s yesterday, live more wisely todayand prepare prudently for tomorrow.Indeed, the experience of learning fromyour failures will itself be rewardingand fun-filled. That is where therelevance of CELEBRATE YOURFAILURES comes into focus – a bookthat can help readers refrain from lettingeven a single failure go to waste!

The up and coming author, SajithCyriac, with already a dozen titles to hiscredit (including 3 in Malayalam),

opines that “everysuccess story is also astory of great failures andlittle flaws. History isreplete with examples ofpeople who ‘successfullyfailed’ despite what theyactually encountered:people who provedthemselves beyond theirage and resources,people who becameunstoppable and rose toexcellence before theeyes of the very same folk who hadbranded them as failures” (p 14).

himself a renowned author, points outin his ‘Foreword’ to CELEBRATE YOURFAILURES, the titles of the lessons in

this volume could enablethe reader to see that failureis natural, that it helps buildcharacter and, despitebeing temporary, spurscreativity, makes us wiserwith experience, apart fromunderscoring the power ofbeing decisive; failure alsotests maturity, keeps usmotivated, builds courage,acts as a stimulus, increasesour chances of success,identifies complacency, andkeeps one awake, alert and

active, affording one an opportunity toprove one’s worthiness (p 11).

From the foregoing it can be safelydeduced that the key to reaching fromwhere you are to where you want to beis literally threefold, viz., allowing forfailure, viewing failure in the correctperspective, and celebrating everyfailure you encounter, which can onlycome about by absorbing the nuancesof the lessons and implementing them.

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Appropriately backing this assertion,the text, “simple and down-to-earth......,gives practical tips for keeping thingsin proper perspective, so as to learnlessons from each failure and to marchon through life with success and failurealike with alacrity” (p 11).

Failure is often touted as a steppingstone to success. In fact, Sajith Cyriacfirmly believes that there are no failuresin life as such – only lessons. To provethe point he backs each of his 101‘lessons’ with relevant morale boostinganecdotes. Take the case of the nowfamed American cartoonist, CharlesMonroe Schulz (p 66). Written off as afailure on every count in school, Charles,fondly nicknamed ‘Sparky’ by an uncleof his, created the cartoon charactersCharlie Brown and Snoopy, both ofwhom captured the imagination of thecartoon entertainment world. The restis history, with the cartoonist achievingfame unlimited, proving unequivocallythat you can indeed learn from yourfailures.

Significantly, the writer of thismotivational volume who is a graduatein Journalism and a postgraduate inEnglish Literature, edits InspirationalQuote, a 40 year-old monthly forinspired living, apart from being Directorof St Pauls Media Education, Mumbai.Significantly, too, as Dr S. Ignacimuthu,

18 2 March 2015

D r. Vinay Goyal is anMBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensi invistand Thyroid specialist) having

clinical experience of over 20 years. Hehas worked in institutions like HindujaHospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hos-pital, Tata Memorial etc. Presently, heis heading our Nuclear Medicine De-partment and Thyroid clinic atRiddhivinayak Cardiac and CriticalCentre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, Ifeel makes a lot of sense and is impor-tant for all to know

The only portals of entry are the nostrilsand mouth/throat. In a global epidemicof this nature, it's almost impossible toavoid coming into contact with H1N1 inspite of all precautions. Contact withH1N1 is not so much of a problem asproliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not show-ing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, inorder to prevent proliferation, aggrava-tion of symptoms and development ofsecondary infections, some very simplesteps, not fully highlighted in most offi-cial communications, can be practiced(instead of focusing on how to stockN95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well high-lighted in all official communica-tions).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Re-sist all temptations to touch any partof face (unless you want to eat,bathe or slap).

3. * Gargle twice a day with warm saltwater (use Listerine if you don't trustsalt)... * H1N1 takes 2-3 days afterinitial infection in the throat/ nasalcavity to proliferate and show char-acteristic symptoms. Simple gar-gling prevents proliferation. In a way,gargling with salt water has the sameeffect on a healthy individual thatTamiflu has on an infected one.Don't underestimate this simple,

inexpensive and powerful preven-tative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, * clean yournostrils at least once every day withwarm salt water. * Not everybodymay be good at Jala Neti or SutraNeti (very good Yoga asanas toclean nasal cavities), but * blowingthe nose hard once a day and swab-bing both nostrils with cotton budsdipped in warm salt water is veryeffective in bringing down viral popu-lation. *

5. * Boost your natural immunity withfoods that are rich in Vitamin C

Prevent Swine Flu

(Amla and other citrus fruits). * Ifyou have to supplement with Vita-min C tablets, make sure that it alsohas Zinc to boost absorption.

6. * Drink as much of warm liquids (tea,coffee, etc) as you can. * Drinkingwarm liquids has the same effect asgargling, but in the reverse direc-tion. They wash off proliferating vi-ruses from the throat into the stom-ach where they cannot survive, pro-liferate or do any harm.

I suggest you pass this on to your entiree-list. You never know 20 who mightpay attention to it - and STAY ALIVEbecause of it...

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192 March 2015

InspirInspirInspirInspirInspiration!ation!ation!ation!ation!Not feeling thatgood? No worries.Here’s how to getout of a bad moodand turn your dayaround in a flash!

Okay, we all getout of bed on thewrong side from

time to time right? Butlet’s face it: Life is tooshort to ruin a perfectlygood day just becauseof a ‘silly’ bad mood.

To help you put thingsright when this happens,here are 7 creative (andsimple) ways to put your-self in a better mood and reclaim yourright to a wonderful day.

1. Call Up an Old FriendWhen we are a bit down in the dumpsand need cheering up, what can bebetter than hearing from an old friend –especially one who always makes youlaugh no matter what?

You know the sort: The kind of personwhose humor perfectly clicks with yoursand with whom you spent half the timetogether laughing and joking and hav-ing great fun. Sure they are a rare andspecial thing, but if you have one, grabyour cell phone and get dialing.

2. Listen to A Happy TuneMusic is one of those strange almostmagical things that has the ability totransport you back in time. It can alsoimmediately change your mood. Sothe next time you find yourself in a badmood, why not grab your mp3 playerand play that tune you really love andalways makes you feel happy to bealive.

3. Reclaim Your Inner ChildHave you noticed that whenever chil-dren are playing and having fun, theyare completely absorbed and trans-fixed in the moment. Nothing elseseems to exist but the ‘now.’ Sadly, aswe get older we seem to lose thismagical gift.

If you are having a bit of a ‘downer,’ whynot have a bit of fun, act a little goofy,tell a joke, do something silly that youused to like before you became toomature.

4. Control Your EmotionsDon’t let yourself be conned into think-ing that you are in a bad mood andthat’s just the way it has to be. Oh no.The truth is that if you change the wayyou think you can change the way youfeel.

The key is to re-frame your negativethoughts into positive ones. Just takesome time out, find a peaceful spotsomewhere, sit down, make yourself

comfortable, close your eyes, and thinkof a word that makes you feel happyand at peace such as love, harmony ortranquility.

5. Work Out or Go for a RunThere’s a reason people get addictedto exercise; it’s because it releases a

feel good chemical called‘dopamine’ into the brain.Basically, it’s a neurotrans-mitter connected to feel-ings of pleasure, happi-ness, and feeling good.

The best way to produce itis to exercise.

6. Eat ChocolateLuckily, it’s now a scien-tific fact that eating choco-late – in reasonableamounts – is actually goodfor your mood. It improvesyour emotional state andhelps level out your en-dorphins.

Besides, it contains valericacid, which helps to de-

stress the body and contains elementsthat are calming, relaxing and help ouroverall well-being.

7. Watch Something FunnyThey say that life is too important totake seriously, and I find most of thetime when I’m in a bad mood it’s be-cause I am taking life far too seriously.Do yourself a favor: The next time youare in a bad mood, go and watch somehysterical (but profound) stand-up com-edy

Get Out of a Bad Mood

20 2 March 2015

MATRIMONIALS

Address your replies to :

Regd. No.ROYAL CHRISTIAN FAMILY,99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st

Floor, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001.

To Place Your MatrimonialAdvertisement Call:

2269 3578 OR 2265 4924

Members are requested toinform us when they are settled,so that publication of theirdetails can be discontinued.

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Wt. 70 kgs, Tan Complexion, Edn.B.Com., working as an Executive inAbroad. Currently in Mumbai contactimmediately. Contact email :margaretdass26@yahoo.com OR9167001399 (Regd. No. 6254)MUMBAI : Protestant Christian Bach-elor, aged 49 years, looks muchyounger to his age, Ht. 5’ 4”, Wt. 60kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.DMLT., working as a Section Techni-cal Coordinater. Contact email :shashibsd_d@yahoo.co.in OR9869117823 (Regd. No. 6253)MUMBAI : Mangalorean Romancatholic Widower, aged 53 years, Ht.5’ 7”, Wt. 65 kgs, Wheatish Complex-ion, Edn. HSC, having business andaccommodation. Contact email :albertlobo19@gmail.com OR9820695110 (Regd. No. 6251)MUMBAI : East Indian Roman Catho-lic Bachelor, aged 40 years, Ht.5’ 8”,Wt. 76 kgs, Wheatish Complexion,Edn. B.A., working as a Manager.Contact email :cardoz.clint@gmail.com OR9833563182 (Regd. No. 6250)MUMBAI : Goan Roman CatholicBachelor, aged 31 years, Only Child,Ht. 5’ 8”, Wt. 75 kgs, Wheatish Com-plexion, Edn. SSC., 2 yrs. Dip. inTrade of Fitter + MEC-3 Marine Engi-neering Course from New Zeland,working for Merchant Navy. Currentlyin Mumbai contact email :allwynb2011@gmail.com OR9930225262 / 9930611534 (Regd.No. 6248)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Bachelor, aged 31 years, Ht.6' 2", Wt. 95 kgs, Wheatish Complex-ion, Edn. 12th English Medium, work-ing as a Foreman in Qatar. Contactemail : fmalcolm15@gmail.com ORhenryfernandes@mannai.com.qa OR

9820743446 (Regd. No. 6237)MUMBAI : Goan RC Bachelor, aged60 years, looks much younger to hisage, Ht. 5’ 10”, Fair Complexion,M.Sc., IT, worked in Australia as aProgrammer. (Regd. No. 6236)MUMBAI : Goan RC Bachelor, aged34 years, Ht. 5’ 4”, Wheatish Com-plexion, Edn. B.Com., working as aBank Officer. Contact email :savioanthony.dias@sc.com OR9820379835 (Regd. No. 6231)MUMBAI : Goan RC Bachelor, aged35 years, Ht. 5’ 5”, Wt. 60 kgs,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. HSC.,employed as an Auto Mobile in AbuDhabi. Contact 9619617174 (Regd.No. 6230)MUMBAI : Goan RC Bachelor aged32 years. Ht. 5’ 7”, Wt. 57 kgs.,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. HSC,working as Food Production. Contactemail : vaz.dominic@yahoo.com(Regd. No. 6229)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Bachelor aged 41 years. Ht.5’ 8”, Wt. 69 kgs., Wheatish Com-plexion, Edn. S.S.C. A/C Tech.Course, working as a AC. Technicianin U.A.E. Contact Email :lawrencedias321@gmail.comOR 9594678829 / 7208825574(Regd. No. 6228)MUMBAI : Tamilian RC bachelor,aged 32 years, Ht. 165 cms, Wt. 67kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.B.E.(Civil), working as a Structural En-gineer (Associate). Contact email :winall2891@gmail.com OR9920045798 / 9167710057 (Regd.No. 6222)

212 March 2015

MATRIMONIALS

Address your replies to :

Regd. No.ROYAL CHRISTIAN FAMILY,99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st

Floor, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001.Royal Christian Family

Helps In ChoosingThe Right Life-Partner

Serving Since 33 Years

Please renew your membershipat lease a month in advancebefore its expiration date.

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22 2 March 2015

marginalised people are educated andhelped to develop themselves, theywill demand their rights to the disad-vantage of the developed and the up-per class.

IV. HEALTH CARE.(A) Christianity has made significantcontribution in the development ofHealth Care system in India. HealthCare institutions run by the Christianrun by the Christian churches andorganisations are;Hospitals - 800;Dispensaries -2800;Rehabilitation Centres -70;Care for Mental Health -110;Medical facilities for the disabled -190;Leprosy Homes -170;Homes and Health Care for the Aged -425;Terminally Ill Centres -60.

V. RELIGIOUS PERSONNEL((B) Christian Religious personnel work-ing in different fields of socio-pastoralinvolvement and contributing to the

total services offered to build up India,are:i) Diocesan and Religious Priests -25,000.ii) Religious Brothers and Sisters. -90,000The majority of Religious Brothers andSisters serve in educational andhealthcare institutions. A good numberof priests also serve in institutions andsocial service societies.

The dominant majority of beneficiariesof the Christian educational institutions,health care centres, developmentschemes, providing food, clothing andshelter to the needy and also helpingthem to achieve self reliance and dig-nity are those who are oppressed andmarginalised.

If Christian organisations close all theeducation institutions and Health CareCentres, Government of India will haveto make a provision of Rs.8000/10000crorers in the budget - the money thatis spent by Christian organisations oneducation, health care, etc.

VI CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUB-LIC Of INDIA.Fr. Jerome D'Souza who was repre-senting the Christian Community in theConstituent Assembly was askedwhether he wants any reservations forthe Christian community. He renouncedreservations and separate electoratesand expressed trust in the majoritycommunity to respect and treat theminority community on par with all citi-zens of the country.This was an important contribution ofthe Christian community to the secularnature of the Constitution of the Repub-lic of India.

VII. CONCLUSION.

Indian Hindu organisations -Ramakrishna Mission, ISKON, Centrefor Aurobrndo, Ananda Margis, Inte-gral Youth Movement of Satya Sai Baba,etc., are allowed unhindered to propa-gate Hinduism, build temples, yogacentres in Christian countries of Eu-rope and America. We want India toreciprocate and give the same facilityto Christianity and treat Christians onpar with all citizens of India.

(Contd.. from p. 8)

232 March 2015 232 March 2015

For one thing, there’s the fact that St. Joseph is one of the most venerated amongthe saints and whose name is mentioned

at Holy Mass together with that of the VirginMary. Saint Joseph takes a special place beingpresent at Jesus’ birth in the Gospels of Matthewand Luke.

From the very beginning, Joseph, son of David hadbeen chosen by the Lord to be the foster father of theMessiah. In the Gospel of Matthew we are told that Josephwas a carpenter and a “righteous” man (Mat.1:19).

Mary, the Mother of Jesus had been pledged to marryJoseph and so they were engaged. Before they lived to-gether it was discovered that Mary was pregnant by thepower of the Holy Spirit.

An angel of God spoke to Joseph in his dream. “Jo-seph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife,for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She willbear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will savehis people from their sins.” (Mat. 1:20-21).

Joseph did not want the people to know of Mary’scondition. He was afraid she would be disgraced. After muchthought he decided to take Mary into hiding. The situationhad a significant fear factor. Both husband and wife wereputting their lives on the line. However, this was not to be.

On the advice of the angel, Joseph the carpenter tookMary to his home. That was an order from the Lord, “ but hadno marital relations with her until she had borne a son: andhe named him Jesus.”(Mat.1:25).

St. Joseph is the ideal model for Christian men. He waskind, understanding and a good person. He contributes tothe reality of being completely obedient to the Will of God. Hewas responsible and despite the odds performed his dutiesas husband and father. Joseph was always close to Jesus inthe growing years. To this day St. Joseph inspires everygeneration to value the virtues of humility, justice, love andobedience.

Joseph epitomizes the Christian man dedicated to hisfamily and their needs. He was the sole breadwinner andJesus grew up under his guidance and protection.

It was the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus andunder the order of the emperor’s governor, Joseph tookMary to the town of Bethlehem for the census. On their arrivalin Bethlehem it was announced that the new emperor Herodhad passed a decree to kill every new born male child. Theemperor had been told that the king of the Jews had beenborn, and Herod felt it was a threat to his authority and power

At this moment of crisis Joseph hurridly took Mary andthe new born Jesus to Egypt. After Herod died, Joseph feltit was safe to go and live in Nazareth.

The prophets had said, “He will be called a Nazarean.”(Mat. 2:23).

There is a beautiful prayer to St. Joseph composed byPope Saint John XXIII. The pontiff refers to St. Joseph as“guardian of Jesus”. We are told that St. Joseph spent his life

in doing his duty “sustaining the Holy family ofNazareth”.

19th March in the Catholic calendar cel-ebrates the feast of “St. Joseph husband of Mary”.And on the 1st May, the feast of St. Joseph theworker”. In recent times the Catholic Church callsthe faithful to bring their working instruments to beblessed on that auspicious day.

Throughout the centuries Joseph has been vener-ated as a beloved saint and recognized foster father ofJesus. He is a great intercessor for all Christians who turnto him in prayer.

A Venerated Saint And Foster Father

Royal Christian Family

GET-TOGETHERof Brides and Grooms

Royal Christian Family99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st Floor, Near GPO.,

Fort, Mumbai 400001Tel.: 022 - 22693578, 22654924

Email: royalchristianfamily@gmail.com

Get-togethers are held from time-to-time betweenboys and girls of matching age group maintainedin our Get-together Data-bank

If you wish to participate in these get-togethers,you need to give your entry in advance which willbe recorded in our Get-together Data-bank. (youneed not do any payment while giving the entry)

From the Get-together Data-bank, we select thematching boys and girls from time-to-time andinvite them for the Get-together. The dates are notannounced but communicated individually.

Once your entry is included in our Data-bank, Youwill be contacted when there are sufficient choicesto include you in a particular Get-together.

Mail your profile entry with photograph to :royalchristianfamily@gmail.com or if you haveregistred with us, simply give your registration no.

BY MELVYN BROWN

24 2 March 2015

24 12 January 2015

Printed and Published by Lawrence Coelho at The Secular Citizen, 99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st Floor, Harihar Nivas, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. Tel.: 2269 3578, 2265 4924Printers: The Secular Citizen, Fort, Mumbai 400001. Editor : Philip Myaboo

Published on every Monday & Posted on Monday & Tuesday of every weekPosted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai - 400001.

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