EMN
Dimapur, April 16
On the the eve of much-hyped arrival of the BJP President Amit Shah to Nagaland, Dimapur Christian Forum (DCF) today raised the accusations made against Christians by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an ideological parent group of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been resorting to vandalization of Churches and stoking hatred against Christians in the country. The Christian Forum put forth three concerns of Christians that the BJP would understand in correct perspective that the ancestors of present Christians were not Hindus nor Churches use funds for anti-national activities.
It also expressed concern that the BJP government had tampered ‘Christmas’ and ‘Good Friday’ - two important religious days of Christians.
In an open letter to National BJP President Amit Shah, Dimapur Christian Forum Secretary, Fr. Chacko Karinthayil said, though there has been no official accusations from the BJP on any aspects of Christian faith, accusations have been from RSS and VHP who influence the BJP leaders.
“The accusations have been from your constituents, viz. the RSS, VHP etc. who made you what you are. We are not listing the accusations here. But they boil down to one thing, that Christianity is a foreign thing, Christian faith is suspect, traitorous, anti national, and so to be destroyed.”
On the origin of religion in Nagaland, the Forum asserted, “Our ancestors were not Hindus, because they did not worship Lord Ram, Shri Krishna, Hanuman or any other deities of the Hindu pantheon. They accepted Christianity. There was no inducement, but only deprivation, because our forefathers who became Christians were expelled from their villages. One relevant question is, why no ‘Hindu missionary’ came to tell us about Lord Ram, although we were living as neighbours for three millennia or more? The Hindu missionaries went; only to the palaces of the kings of NE India, like those of the Ahoms and Meitheis. They did not come to us because we were considered as Mlekchas’ (barbarians). The Christian missionaries came because Jesus taught them to call all human beings brothers and sisters.”
On Christian missionaryworks, the Forum said,” Our Churches do not use funds for anti-national activities. Funds for legitimate religious activities, recognized as such by the law of the land, are received by the Churches both from India as well as from foreign countries. The constant clamour of the Hindu fundamental organizations is to stop the Christians receiving funds from foreign countries. As the ruling political party, we request you to study the foreign funding details of the Hindu and Christian religious organizations and publish the details for the good of the nation.”
On the tampering of Christians’ Holy days, the Forum said, “Two of the sacred days of the Christian community -Christmas and Good Friday -are being tampered with by the BJP Government. Lame excuses were made to justify the action, comparing the case of the US and India. As the law of the land stands, these are National Holidays and not religious holidays. Like the US, if we do not want to have religious festivals as national holidays, let us go ahead and do it. ‘Development of all with the good will of all..... ; ALL includes the Christians.”
The Dimapur Christian Forum, however, welcomed Amit Shah to Nagaland on behalf of the Christian Churches of Nagaland.”
