GAGGING A CALL TO PRAYER?
Aletter written by Anil Couto, the archbishop of Delhi, noting a “turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles... and the secular fabric of the nation”, has been interpreted by the BJP as criticism of the government. Home minister Rajnath Singh admitted he had not seen the letter but sought to reassure people anyway that “India is one of those countries where minorities are safe and no one is allowed to discriminate on the basis of caste and religion.”
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the minority affairs minister, argued that the archbishop saw events through a jaundiced eye. “The prime minister’s commitment to development without discrimination”, Naqvi said, “should be seen. As long as you have a prejudiced mind, you cannot look at this progress.” BJP president Amit Shah referred to the letter when he said in a press conference, with not a trace of irony, that “nobody should talk of polarising the people on the basis of religion.” KJ Alphons, minister of tourism, said, again without a trace of irony, that “godmen” should steer clear of politics.
And then Giriraj Singh, minister of state for micro, small, and medium enterprises, jumped into the fray. In full battle dress, yodelling war cries. “The church is trying to create a situation of civil war in the country,” thundered Singh. A slight overreaction, you might think. But he had more.
“Every action has a reaction”, he said, the threat implicit. “I won’t take a step that disrupts communal harmony. But if the church asks people to pray so that the Modi government is not formed... people from other religions will do ‘kirtan puja’ so that it is.”
Couto’s letter did not name any political parties. It is an appeal in despair and hope, the latter somewhat quixotically to be found in an exhortation to pray and fast every Friday in the run-up to the 2019 general election. Why is an archbishop calling for Catholics to pray for their nation taken so personally by the BJP? The letter was dated May 8 and could easily have been ignored. Couto has been forced by the manufactured furore to state the obvious—that his letter was not political but an attempt at religious instruction. Both Couto and his secretary, Father Robinson, have said the intention was not to criticise any one political party or government. Is the BJP so wrapped up in the rhetoric of the day that it cannot see that the “threat to the secular fabric of the nation”, as Couto wrote, could reasonably be interpreted as a dig at the Congress too, with its politically expedient dabblings in Hindutva-lite.
Not to be outdone in the overreaction stakes, an ex-Congress leader in Goa, Savio Rodrigues tweeted, to a chorus of online approval, that the media should cover “this absolutely communal statement of Archbishop of Delhi.” What, Rodrigues asked, “does he mean ‘defeat Hindu forces’? Does he imply that Hindus are bad for Hindustan?”
Nowhere in Couto’s letter does he mention Hindus or so-called Hindu forces. Indeed, his caveats, such as they are, and intended for circulation only among the priests and parishioners of his archdiocese, are rather mild. What does it say that the response has been so politically charged and out of proportion?
NOWHERE IN COUTO’S LETTER DOES HE MENTION HINDUS OR SO-CALLED HINDU FORCES