Recently, a friend of mine, a pious Catholic-turned-Hindutvavadi, sent me an article titled ‘233 reasons why you should join BJP.’ I did not read it, just because my mind could not absorb that amount of fake news.
Then came the news — 500 Christian candidates supporting BJP [the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party] are in the fray for the Panchayat elections in Kerala. To my mind, there are only two reasons why a Christian would become a BJP member/supporter: either she or he is politically naïve or she or he is following the Church in Nazi times. Both are bad news for the Church.
Political naivete
Remember, for a Christian his or her final judgment is based on how you treat the poor and homeless (Mt.25). If anybody thinks after the last five years of experience, especially so post COVID-19, that the BJP is for the poor and downtrodden it is absolute ignorance.
How were the migrant labor treated post lockdown of the country? With lathis and chemical sprays. How are the farmers being treated now on the streets of India? With tear gas and water cannons. If anyone thinks that the BJP is for the poor and marginalized, look at the data of economic performance. “Things have gone pretty badly wrong… It has taken a quantum jump in the wrong direction since 2014. We are getting backwards in the fastest-growing economy,” Amartya Sen said.
How are Christians, other minorities and social activists treated?
It is good for those Christian BJP candidates and their supporters to ask how the Christians are being treated in India. “Hate crimes against Christians in India, including instances of murder, rape, and arson, have risen by 40 percent in the first half of 2020, according to a new report. The report, by campaigning group, Persecution Relief, noted that the “disconcerting” rise has taken place in spite of a three-month national lockdown.”
The RSS, which is the ideological wing that rules the party has a clear agenda. To establish a Hindu Nation. “The ‘Hindu nation’ as the RSS sees it, has three specific ‘internal threats’ — Muslims, Christians and Communists.” Violence against Muslims has been far worse.
Look at the 16 human rights activists in jail now. They are there so that others learn a lesson. If you oppose the ruling regime, you will be put behind the bars. I know one of them personally, Father Stan Lourdusamy. He is not what the investigation authority is trying to make him out to be. He is man of and with the poor. But who cares?
To continued reading you can click here to go to the full article by Father M K George, a Jesuit social activist, on the Matters India website.
