Witoubou Newmai
India’s campaign to project itself as a liberal country continues to take a battering but the Union Government remains unperturbed.
If we are to base on the popular concept of secularism, India has had a pretentious discourse for a long time. But it is still not clear why meaningful debates enough to impact in the mind of the Indian policy makers are absent.
One need not be a political scientist to note that more often than not, distorted secularism hurting the minorities has become a fundamental concern in India, despite ardent rhetoric.
Of the numerous cases, this column would focus on the recent developments pertaining to hurt Christian sentiment. The celebration of the Good Governance Day in India on Christmas Day has really undermined the feelings and sentiments of the Christians. In the Northeast, the Church and the civil society organisations in Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland have been strongly opposing the observation of the Good Governance Day on December 25 ever since the Union Government had declared the same in 2014. Let us recall the valid points raised by various organisations opposing the celebration of the Good Governance Day on December 25.
The most influential organisation of Mizoram, the Young Mizo Association (YMA) has expressed its ‘strong disappointment’ over the decision of the Union Government to celebrate the Good Governance Day on Christmas Day saying “it is an important festival of the Christians.” The YMA also stated that the development is a manifestation of “disrespecting the Christian” and asked the Union Government to “respect the religious sentiments of the Christians,” and that, no one should be forced to observe the Good Governance Day on December 25. Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) has also expressed its strong resentment on the issue and demanded from the State Government of Arunachal Pradesh to address the issue urgently.
According to the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), the decision of the Union Government to observe the Good Governance Day on Christmas Day is a ‘discriminatory’ move against the Christians in India. The NBCC also said that such decision attempts to dilute the importance of the day which will go down in history as a discriminatory move against the Christians. The Nagaland church body then urged the Union Government to ‘stay away’ from causing divisions, instigating communal feelings and insecurity. Church bodies in Manipur and Meghalaya also vehemently voiced against the observation of the Good Governance Day on Christmas Day.
It may also be recalled how two judges of the Supreme Court had strongly opposed the decision of the Chief Justice of India to hold a conference of judges on Good Friday and Easter Sunday last year. According to Justice Kurian Joseph, he was invited by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The conference began on Good Friday. Hurt Justice Kurian Joseph wrote to Narendra Modi saying, “Such events should be avoided on a day of religious observance as these events are of immense significance for people of the country in terms of belief, faith and propagation of religion which is recognised under the Constitution”. The other judge who opposed this judges’ conference was Justice Vikramjit Sen.
If such cases go unaddressed, it is definitely bound to bear adverse effects on the dynamics of social relations in India.
