There is a complete breakdown of law and order; a scarcity of essential commodities with the prices of the little available, sky-rocketing! Fear, despair and helplessness have gripped vast sections of Manipur, particularly the poor and vulnerable! The violence continues, unabated!

One does not need too much of intelligence, to know and to understand who is responsible for this current spate of unbridled violence: without doubt, the BJP and their henchmen, who today rule both the Manipur State and the Central Government, are behind what is happening in Manipur today.

Political analysts, social scientists, human rights defenders and all those concerned about what is happening in Manipur- are unanimous and unequivocal in their conclusion. How else can one explain that the Union Government has not deemed it appropriate to dismiss the State Government and impose President’s rule in the State?

How come that people in the valley have such easy access to loot Government armoury with sophisticated weapons, despite top security? How come the Prime Minister has not said a word in condemning the violence? Above all, why has the violence been allowed to escalate despite the might of the military being present?

These and many more obvious questions, which clearly point out to those culpable and complicit for what is happening there!

Voices of concern have been pouring in from all sections of society through public rallies, solidarity marches and protests; there have been incisive editorials, op-eds and public statements; social media is flooded with comments, pictures and videos of the ground reality (plenty of ‘fake’ news doing the rounds too!).

A former Indian Army Chief, General (retd) VP Malik has called for “urgent attention” to the situation in Manipur. He was referring referring to a tweet by Lieutenant General L Nishikanta Singh (retired), a resident of Imphal who tweeted, “I’m just an ordinary Indian from Manipur living a retired life. The state is now ‘stateless’. Life and property can be destroyed anytime by anyone just like in Libya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria, etc. It appears Manipur has been left to stew in its own juice. Is anyone listening?” His tweet came a day after the house of Union Minister RK Ranjan Singh was set on fire in Imphal by a rampaging mob.

When the violence began in Manipur both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister were busy campaigning for the Karnataka (State Assembly) Elections: they were then busy criss-crossing Karnataka State, holding road shows and ferrying people to their rallies at enormous costs to the tax-payers and putting the ordinary citizens to great inconvenience. They were determined to win power in that State by hook or by crook.

The violence which had erupted in Manipur was not their concern; besides, they were not interested in stopping the terrible violence, they knew that at the receiving end were the tribals, particularly the Christians.

Finally, Amit Shah did make a belated three-day visit to the place; a so-called ‘peace committee’ which he put together to apparently restore normalcy, was outrightly rejected both by the Meteis and Kukis. After his visit, violence has escalated in the State.

There is the blatant role being played by Meitei groups like Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol and their all-out efforts to annihilate the Kukis. Pramot Singh – the chief of the Meitei Leepun – has said in a widely publicized national interview that, “if the government, either in Delhi or in Manipur, does not intervene quickly, there will be civil war and the Kukis will not be able to defend themselves”.

On April 28 (almost a week before the violence) he tweeted “Let’s annihilate our traditional rival on the hills.” There is recorded evidence that Singh’s organisation and the Arambai Tenggol have both played critical roles in the present troubles in Manipur and there are several accusations on both, of violence, looting of armouries and burning of churches. It is so obvious that both these Meitei organisations are heavily protected by the state in Manipur by Biren Sigh and at the Centre with the obvious blessings of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister

The Union Government is of course is uncaring, turning a deaf year and blind eye to the people of Manipur!

Recently, the Chairman of a Kuki militant outfit alleged in a letter to the Home Minister, Amit Shah that his organisation and another Kuki group rendered help to BJP candidates in winning Assembly elections. He alleged that an agreement was made with Ram Madhav and Assam CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma. He also alleged that they rendered help to the BJP even in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Shocking allegations indeed!

Equally significantly in his much touted and widely publicised, ‘Mann-ki-Baat’ weekly radio programmes, the Prime Minister has not uttered a word on Manipur; interestingly, a video clipping has been going viral showing how Manipuris have been destroying their little transistor radios and shouting anti-Modi slogans, whilst the ‘mann-ki-baat’ programme was being radioed.

Politicians across the party divide have been doing their best to get the Government to stop the violence.

Senior Member of Parliament (MP), Derek O’Brien (who is also a leader of

The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), has written to the chairman of the Standing Committee for Home Affairs demanding a discussion urgently on the situation of violence in Manipur. O’Brien writes, “The recent incidents of violence in Manipur have raised concerns about the safety and wellbeing of the people residing in the region. Reportedly, many are dead and thousands have been displaced. Shoot-at-sight orders have further added to the atmosphere of fear in the State. It is imperative that we understand the ground reality, and assess the extent of the violence. In this regard, holding a standing committee meeting to discuss the ongoing violence in Manipur would provide first-hand insights into the situation;” adding, “I urge you to call for a meeting of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs to immediately address the issues that Manipur is facing. I remain hopeful that, together, we can work towards ensuring that normalcy is restored.”

Obviously, there has not been a positive response to this urgent call for discussion and action.

 Some days ago, more than 550 civil society groups and concerned individuals, in a powerful show of solidarity, from all corners of the nation joined forces to denounce the escalating violence in Manipur. In a joint statement, they called for an immediate end to the divisive politics perpetuated by the state and security forces while urging all parties involved to declare an immediate ceasefire. The statement, born out of deep concern for the ethnic violence that has plagued Manipur since early May 2023, emphasises the need for the Prime Minister to break his silence on the ongoing civil war in the hills and valley areas of the state.

The signatories demand an immediate halt to the violence, which has caused significant disruption, displacement, and loss of life. More than 50,000 people are in over 300 refugee camps, while countless others have been forced to flee their homes.

The statement unequivocally holds the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its governments, both at the central and state level, responsible for the prevailing situation. It accuses the BJP of playing divisive politics, deepening historical tensions between the Meitei community and the tribal Kuki and Zo communities without making meaningful efforts to facilitate dialogue and resolution.

Concerns are raised over the violence perpetrated by armed Meitei majoritarian groups like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun against the Kukis. Reports of genocidal hate speech, supremacist displays of impunity, and the urgent need to verify claims of mobs chanting violent slogans, including threats of rape and torture against women, have surfaced.

The statement demands several key actions from the government, including the Prime Minister’s accountability for the current situation in Manipur. It calls for a court-monitored tribunal to establish facts, promote justice, and foster healing between the communities. The signatories also insisted on the establishment of a fast-track court to address cases of sexual violence perpetrated by both state and non-state actors, as recommended by the Verma Commission.

The demands include:

• The Prime Minister must speak up and take accountability of the current situation in Manipur. 
• A court-monitored tribunal must be formed to establish facts, and prepare the ground for justice and healing of the gaping wound that separates communities of Manipur to mitigate the divisiveness and hatred being engineered.
• A fast-track court be set up for all cases of sexual violence by state and non-state actors, as recommended by the Verma commission that ‘personnel guilty of sexual offences in conflict areas should be tried under ordinary criminal law.
• Provision of relief by the government to those forced to flee and guarantee their safe return to their villages; rebuild their homes and lives. Provision of ex-gratia compensation to those who lost loved ones, suffered injuries and loss of home, grain, livestock and so on.  This process of return, rehabilitation and compensation should be overseen by a panel of retired judges who know the region closely, perhaps appointed by the High Court or Supreme Court.  

Since those mostly affected are the tribals and particularly the Christians, it is imperative that Christian Leadership (representing the three major Christian organisations of the country: the CBCI, the NCCI and the EFI and others too) should come together:

• to hold a joint Media Conference immediately: this has to be done in the National Capital Delhi and also simultaneously in every State Capital. The Media Conference in the Capital must be addressed by the main Office bearers of the CBCI, NCCI and EFI and demand:

– the restoration of law and order and peace in Manipur immediately;

– the safe return of all tribals/Christians ousted from their land and homes;

– an adequate and just monetary compensation for rebuilding homes, Churches, institutions destroyed;

– the booking and appropriate punishment for all responsible for the violence (even if they have powerful connections)

• to go to Manipur NOW (at least one hundred and more Christian Leaders); together, at the same time. Be in the midst of the affected people- hear their cries: take a visible and vocal stand on their behalf!
• to organize a National Protest Day in order to highlight what is happening to the minorities, the Adivasis, the Dalits and the other vulnerable groups of the country. Have a huge gathering in a public maidan in New Delhi – with as many Church Leaders (Bishops and others) as possible and people coming from all over the country.  Request other civil society groups. /Movements to join in; On this National Protest Day – let there also be public protests in all Dioceses/States of the country.

Peace must come back to Manipur immediately. Several civil society groups and individuals, human rights defenders, academics and writers and a whole range of concerned citizens, are doing their part, often at great risk! Much more needs to be done immediately!

Tokenism and cosmetic acts will only add fuel to the fire!

The Government has abdicated its responsibility and clearly does not have the political will to resolve the problem. In fact, both the Centre and the State is responsible for this violence.

The Prime Minister has already gone to the US; he will certainly not have a press conference there; besides he will not be able to answer any question on the Manipur violence or for that matter, the state of the minorities in India today!

What is happening in Manipur today is a foretaste of tomorrow: a sign of possible things to come! The citizens of India (particularly Christian leadership) must wake up now – before it is too late! Manipur is burning: the fires there must be extinguished immediately!

(Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/writer)

Related:

Bishops of India must protest & speak out for peace, against injustices in Manipur & India: Jesuit priest

Freedom of Expression: Driver for All other Human Rights

Political Opportunism and the Indian Church

The post Manipur is Burning but who cares? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The painstaking efforts to address questions and concerns, even those often guided by stereotypical notions and propaganda by the powerful is what makes this little effort an example of direct and effective communication.

—Edtors

Excerpts:

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”  -Elie Wiesel

What are some of the questions that the booklet raises and how does it answer them?

In the five year plus campaign launched within the Catholic community, comprising of women and men from the religious fraternity and laity, questions, often stereotypical were thrown at them. Seeking to draw in the wider Catholic community and conscientise it towards a sense of justice

1. The survivor claims to have been violated thirteen times…. why has there been a delay in filing the case? Why did the survivor nun keep quiet all this while?

As a nun, the survivor neither had the courage nor the knowledge about how to deal with the incident. Her formation had never prepared her to deal with a situation such as hers. The Bishop, who was the perpetrator, had full authority over her and the Congregation, and was capable of going to any extent to impose his will; all this paralyzed her emotionally. One of her siblings being a nun in the same Congregation made the survivor to think about her future as well. She didn’t know how to or whom to turn to for help.

Finally, after much personal struggle, she talked about it to Sr. Lissy FCC, her spiritual guide, and then to her confessors. At first, she was advised to pray for the Bishop, who they said is possessed. She earnestly did so. One of her confessors at a Retreat Centre advised her to resist the assault. This gave her the courage to approach some of the authorities in the Church, thinking that she will get justice within the system. Accordingly, she sent a letter dated 11 July 2017 to Cardinal Alencherry, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala. On 28 January 2018, she wrote to the Apostolic Nuncio to India. Having received no satisfactory answers, she wrote on 14 May 2018 directly to the Pope himself and to three Dicastries of the Vatican. The survivor nun thus made every effort to resolve the issue within the Church, but her complaints were ignored. Finally, when bishop Franco filed false cases against her and her family members, she approached the police.

It is important to mention here that the survivor has not received a reply to her letter from the Nuncio till date. But in the course of the trial when her Mother General visited the survivor’s Convent, she mentioned that the Nuncio had received her letter. Recently the survivor came to know that the Nuncio had sent a letter to the Mother General in response to the letter, but it was never shared with the survivor!

It is such circumstances that ultimately compelled the survivor to pursue the case with the civil authorities.

2.  Wasn’t it all consensual? If so, is not the survivor culpable?

It was never consensual. Under threat and coercion, the bishop sexually abused the survivor. The Missionaries of Jesus is a Diocesan Congregation and the Bishop is the supreme authority and patron of the Congregation. He has full control over the affairs of the Congregation including on its members, their transfers, finance and other aspects. The Superiors including the Superior General were powerless figure heads.

3. As a Mother General of a Congregation the survivor was powerful enough to say “No”. Why did she not resist?

The survivor was made Mother General at the age of 28 years, the very next month after she took her Final Vows in the Congregation. The Congregation was started as a Pious Association under the name ‘Missionaries of Jesus Society’. As part of the process of raising it to the status of a Diocesan Congregation, it was a requirement of the Vatican that there should be a Superior General and a Novice Mistress from among the sisters. There was also the requirement of a Constitution and the source of income. These requirements prompted Bishop Symphorian Keeprath, the founder of the MJ Congregation to appoint the Sister survivor as the first Mother General from the eleven finally professed members. She was neither prepared for the responsibility, nor did she have any power to act on her own accord like the Mothers General in other international congregations of religious sisters. She functioned solely according to the directions of the founder/patron Bishop who exercised their power through priests from the diocese appointed for the purpose.

4. The survivor travelled with the accused Bishop immediately after one of the alleged abuses for a family function. She was seen to be happily relating to the Bishop.

The occasion was the first Holy Communion of the survivor’s nephew, the son of her widowed sister. The presence of the survivor on the occasion meant a great deal to her sister. So, she could not absent herself after the incident. The survivor’s cousin Fr. Sebastian Pallassery of Jalandhar Diocese had helped to organize the program, including getting Bishop Franco as the main celebrant. Since the Bishop had stayed in

the survivor’s convent at Kuravilangad the previous night, she along with other sisters travelled with the Bishop for the function. Given the circumstances, the survivor had to pretend that nothing had happened to her to avoid embarrassing questions being asked. Besides, since the function was in her own family, the survivor was forced to relate to the Bishop in a normal way as he had come as a guest to her family.

5. A letter from the survivor’s cousin alleges that she had an illegal relationship with her husband. The Bishop’s initiative to investigate the matter has led to the accusations against him, What is the truth of the matter?

It is a false accusation. The revengeful Bishop Franco in collusion with the Superior General persuaded her cousin to write the letter. After understanding the intention of the Bishop, the cousin regretted her action. She has stated before the Court the circumstances that forced her to write the letter with the false allegations. She has also recorded the same as a witness in the case.

6. Prior to taking legal recourse, did the survivor approach authorities in the Church? Who are the ones she approached? What was their response?

The survivor approached different authorities in the Church, but did not receive a response from any of them. The Church leaders who were contacted in person or through letters are:

• Cardinal George Alencherry, Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese and Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church was informed about the incident on July 11, 2017.

• Bishop Sebastian Vadakkel of Ujjain was informed of the incident on July 11, 2017

• Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, Apostolic Nuncio to India was informed on  January 28, 2018 and again on June 24 and 25, 2018

• S. Em Za Reverndissima Cardinal Marc, PSS Prefetto Congregazione Per I Vescovi at 00120 Citta Del Vaticano was informed on May 14, 2018

• Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S. J., Perfetto Congregazione Dotterina Della Fede at 00120 Citta Del Vatican was informed on May 14, 2018

• Sua Santita Papa Francesco at Santa Maria, Citta del Vaticano was informed on May 14, 2018.

7.  What are the immediate circumstances that made the survivor to take to legal recourse?

When the Bishop came to know that the community members of the survivor are aware of the sexual abuse, he started filing false cases against the sisters and their relatives. In November 2017, a false case was filed with the Punjab Police alleging that the survivor and Sr. Anupama had threatened to commit suicide. In May 2018, a case was filed with the Punjab Police against Mr. Darwin, brother of the survivor, alleging that he had threatened to kill the Bishop. Mr. Darwin received summons from the Punjab Police regarding the case. Besides, on June 23, 2018, false cases were filed with the Superintendent of Police (SP), Kottayam, alleging that the relatives of the six sisters along with the driver had conspired to murder the Bishop. It is when the relatives and the driver were summoned by the Kuravilangad Police to investigate the above complaint that Mr. Darwin was forced to inform the police

about the abuse of the survivor by the Bishop and his revengeful actions. The police asked them to submit letters and documents submitted to authorities in the Church regarding the alleged abuse. The same were produced before the police. Thus, when the survivor and her companions realized that neither they nor their relatives will be allowed to live in peace (Even the paralyzed father of Sr. Neena Rose, one of the sisters in the community was not spared, making him Accused no. 5 in the case!), and that they had not got any reply from within the Church despite repeated representations, that the survivor was forced to take legal recourse.

8. By bringing the issue to the public, are the sisters not bringing the Church to disrepute?

The survivor had repeatedly approached Church authorities for remedy. It is when they found that no justice will come from the Church, and that the Bishop continually kept harassing them and their families that the sisters filed case in self-defense.

9.  Is there truth in the allegation that the survivor and her companions receive support from Islamic groups?

They categorically deny that they are in any type of association, contact or relationship with any Islamic organization. They have never sought any support from such groups and do not intend doing so!

10. The cases need a lot of financial resources. Where do the sisters get these from?

The State Government appointed the Special Public Prosecutor in the lower court. It is the State Government that meets his legal expenses. An organization called Save Our Sisters (SOS) engaged a personal lawyer for the survivor. Some sympathetic individuals and other concerned citizens also helped with small donations.

11. The present Superior General has claimed that the survivor and her companions have been financially supported by the Congregation. There are allegations that their expenditures are higher than that of other members of the Congregation. Haw far are these true?

The Congregation gives the survivor and each of her companions an allowance for normal food, medicine and a pocket money of Rs. 500 per month to meet other needs. Since the time the case was filed, they have not been provided with any money to meet their travel or holiday expenses. The usual Christmas gift, feast day gift and such other niceties have also been denied to them. The only extra ordinary expenses incurred were for two ENT surgeries, and when one or other were hospitalized. In 2011, some of the sisters had completed their graduation through correspondence course. They like many others in the Congregation had made repeated requests that they are allowed to complete their higher studies. But permission was not granted. Since 2019, thanks to some generous people, some of them are pursuing their studies.

12. How come the survivor did not surrender her mobile phone and the laptop to the police or the court? These probably had valuable evidence.

The survivor had a small old model Nokia mobile phone. In May 2017, after all the happenings with the Bishop, she had decided to leave the Congregation. Many of her companions and friends who came to know about her decision were calling

her constantly enquiring about the reason for the same. This became a serious cause of disturbance for her. Therefore, she abandoned the old sim cards well as the old mobile phone that had become practically dysfunctional. It had never occurred to her then that she would be asked to hand over the sim and the phone as evidence. The laptop was the common property of the convent. The survivor did not have a personal laptop. The police had examined the laptop and took the hard disk into their possession.

13. Did the family of the survivor threaten Bishop Franco?

Never did anyone from the family of the survivor or any family members of her companions ever threaten the Bishop Franco. These are all false and fabricated allegations.

Related:

Rape of a Nun: Bishop Franco Mulakkal Arrested
Kerala nun rape case: Court dismisses Bishop Mulakkal’s discharge plea
Key witness in Kerala nun rape case found dead in Punjab
Kerala Nun Rape Case: Vatican temporarily relieves accused Bishop of his duties
Rape of a Nun: Bishop Franco Mulakkal Arrested 
How the Church needs to change the way it addresses Sexual and Gender-based abuse

The post 13 Questions by Christian Laity answered: Bishop Franco Murakkal ‘Rape’ Case appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The institutional murder of 84-year-old Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy, who died on July 5, 2021, while still in judicial custody, has shaken the very foundations of democracy in India. The importance and the urgency to defend democracy and all that is precious in the Constitution of India against repressive and anti-people laws, is perhaps felt today, as never before.

Fr. Stan’s death has evoked a groundswell of protests all across India and abroad. Editorials and op-eds featuring his life and illegal incarceration; rallies and meetings, talks and webinars; prayer vigils and Masses and every form of social media has kept a truth alive that the memory and legacy of Fr Stan will live on forever. Fr. Stan, spent a lifetime working with Adivasis in Jharkhand in defence of their rights; for him, all that mattered was that the Adivasis are accorded the basic dignity which every human deserves and that their access to their resources of jal, jungle and jameen are not exploited by unscrupulous, corrupt vested interests. For this, he ultimately had to pay the price!

On October 8, 2020, he was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case even though he had absolutely no connection with it. He died waiting for a chance to clear his name. Whilst in prison, Fr. Stan, despite his age and other physical infirmities (like Parkinson’s), was for a long time not even given the straw sipper cup which he desperately needed. In denying bail to Fr Stan, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) judge, D. E. Kothalikar argued that “the collective interest of the community” outweighed Fr. Stan’s right to personal liberty. Fr. Stan’s death should hopefully now shake the collective conscience of the nation and the judiciary as it brings to an end a stark tale of injustice: one that has left the highest institutions of India’s justice system diminished.

After Fr. Stan’s death, the NIA court denied bail to Anand Teltumbde, another member of the BK-16 (as the advocates, artists, journalists and intellectuals who have been imprisoned under the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case are called). The latest move now is to shift some or all of the BK-16 out of the Taloja jail to an ‘unspecified prison’ in Maharashtra. According to reliable information, the prison authorities recently submitted an application, requesting to transfer the male accused in the case to other prisons. There was no hearing of the people who are being transferred. The decision was taken solely by the NIA court without any consultation with the political prisoners or their families. The family members of Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, and Anand Teltumbde have challenged this decision. They allege that the purpose behind the transfer is to divide the incarcerated by sending them to separate prisons and therefore a brazen attempt to prevent them from speaking the truth!

There has been drastic erosion in the democratic space for protest in the country; the ordinary citizen has experienced this in very brutal ways since 2019. The calculated destruction of democratic values and of the rights of the citizens, take place at a frightening regularity. The way some of the followers of the ruling regime (including a BJP member who is a Supreme Court lawyer) ranted and raved against the Muslims of the country at Jantar Mantar on August 9, in full media glare, is a case in point. They did so with impunity, and though after much pressure some are now arrested, they know very well that nothing will eventually happen to them! On the other hand, a strategy that has been central to the erosion of democratic space has been the weaponising of the criminal justice system by the State to harass and punish those who dare to protest against the anti-people and anti-Constitutional policies and actions of the Government.

In this situation, while one looks to the Courts to protect the fundamental rights of all, the entire judicial system has apparently failed the citizens. There have been 7,050 arrests in 5,128 UAPA cases between 2015-2019 but conviction rate was only 2.20% (according to data presented in the Lok Sabha in March 2021). While this experience has become visible because of a number of cases (eg.the Bhima Koregaon case, the Delhi riots cases), where intellectuals, students, trade unionists, lawyers, human rights defenders and activists have been incarcerated, the axe of State repression, consistently and dangerously, hangs over the heads of those who express their point of view or dissent from that of the State. The Adivasis, the Dalits, the ordinary labourers, the farmers, the migrant workers who raise their voices, know the State only as an entity that punishes those peaceful and democratic attempts to challenge the status quo. The Muslims and other minority groups are particularly vulnerable and have been systematically targeted to create a false narrative of anti-patriotism, internal terrorism and of being a threat to the nation.

The disheartening situation is that of the courts, who have mostly acted in a conservative manner and have been reluctant to speak truth to power and restore justice. Earlier, the mainstream media allowed for expression of protest and raised issues of such injustice, today it has become the voice of the State and an important medium to popularise the narrative of the State. The large numbers of human rights activists, friends and supporters of all the people in jail under these laws, have consistently and persistently built up a campaign for their release and against the use of draconian laws. Scores of people have been detained under various other repressive State laws. This includes journalists, human rights activists, trade union activists and workers, cultural activists, comedians, environmentalists, youth, students, farmers, electricity and industrial workers, and large numbers of minorities, to create a false narrative of internal terrorism and threat to the nation.

There are some rays of hope: recently some judgements and court orders have begun to question the issues of the sedition law, UAPA and the right to bail. The most recent orders from the NIA court in Guwahati and the Delhi High Court (in the cases of Akhil Gogoi; Asif Tanha, Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal) has offered a devastating critique of the UAPA and is also regarded as a turning point in judicial circles. The mainstream press (many who qualify as ‘godified’ media) has taken note of this turn, breaking with the narrative of the BJP government on these issues. These judgements have vindicated and even defended the right to dissent and opposition to government.

Beginning July 23, a series of actions have been launched all over the country as part of a National Campaign to Defend Democracy. The first was a call ‘Justice for Father Stan Swamy’ – which brought together hundreds of people from all walks of life in public protests demanding that the Courts clear the name of Fr Stan. On July 28, the Jesuit Conference of India (JCI) observed a ‘National Justice Day’. In a letter addressed to the Church in India, the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias endorsed this call!

The response to ‘National Justice Day’ was overwhelming: Parishes, schools and other institutions brought together their colleagues and collaborators, their staff and students, religious Sisters and other Priests, their parishioners and others from civil society for a public manifestation to pay homage to Fr Stan and to pledge that we all need to be and work together for justice, so that the legacy that he has left us will carry on In most places it was a silent assembly either at one place or in procession. The participants carried lit candles, banners, posters and placards which included pictures of and quotes from Fr Stan. Covid-19 SOPs meant that numbers were limited and all manifestations were held on the campuses or in halls. In some places, eminent persons spoke about Fr. Stan and his life, and the importance of working for justice particularly for the Adivasis, Dalits, minorities and other disadvantaged sections. There were prayer services with hymns and songs of unity. A statement was read out at the end which was covered by some of the local media the next day. On August 3, (the thirtieth day of Fr. Stan’s death) a Memorial Mass was held for Fr Stan in Jamshedpur and later his incisive memoir ‘I am not a Silent Spectator’ was released in Ranchi.

On August 9, the National Campaign to Defend Democracy gained added momentum when 165 movements, platforms and organisations, representing thousands of citizens, gave a call for a country wide action to save our democracy: marking the International Day for Indigenous people and Quit India Movement Day, as a day of Public Action. The action will continue till August 28. A high point will be on August 15, India’s Independence Day when thousands will pledge to campaign for the repeal of draconian laws and to protect our democracy. Several programmes: both physical and virtual are planned all over the country, over the next weeks.

The signatories to the National Campaign in a public statement, ‘Defend the Right to Dissent, Repeal the Sedition Law, UAPA and Repressive State Laws, Restore the Right to Bail, Justice for Stan Swamy’ said, “State repression and attacks on right to dissent and the Constitution are growing. UAPA, NIA and other draconian laws are being used as instruments of repression. More than 165 organisations and civil society networks are undertaking a country wide action campaign (August 15-28) to protest against the institutional murder of Stan Swamy and the repression.  As part of this campaign, programmes were organised across the country on July 23 to demand justice for Stan Swamy. The demands of this campaign are – 1) Justice for Stan Swamy, 2) Repeal of UAPA, sedition section and all other draconian laws, including state laws that allow preventive detention, 3) Restore Right to Bail, 4) Release all Political Prisoners, 5) Accountability for filing false cases and Compensation to victims, 6) Stop illegal detentions and weaponising the criminal justice system. Country-wide protests and various action programmes will be organised in this campaign on August 9 and during August 15-28. August 9 is International Day for the world’s Indigenous People. It is also the day on which the Quit India movement started in 1942. Stan Swamy dedicated his life for Adivasi rights and struggles for jal, jangal and zameen. Come, let us organise programmes on August 9 to protest against Stan Swamy’s murder, and for protection of Adivasi rights and the democracy. Also, on August 15, we will pledge to campaign for repeal of the draconian laws and to protect our democracy.”

The Pledge which thousands are expected to make on August 15, 2021 is:

On the occasion of the 75th Independence Day on August 15, we pledge to defend the legacy of our Freedom Movement, the spirit of the Preamble and the values of our Constitution.
We pledge to campaign for repealing all draconian laws and assert the right to bail of every citizen.
We believe that the right to question and the Right to Dissent are the foundation of our democratic, secular and socialist republic.
We commit to campaign against all ideologies, laws, and state actions that deprive us of the freedoms of speech and opinion, conscience, association, and to non-violent opposition.

Besides the physical programmes (where numbers will be limited because of the pandemic) across the country, there will also be several virtual (online) programmes in the coming weeks. All signatories (organisations and individuals) will also be active on social media on dedicated pages/handles and from their own pages/handles using the hashtags #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #JusticeForFatherStan #RepealUAPA #RestoreRightToBail #NoJailWithoutBail #DraconianLawsQuitIndia. There is also a dedicated email id ncddfor2021@gmail.com

In the meantime, the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has initiated a year-long nation-wide campaign ‘Jan Azaadi 75: On the path to Freedom’ which focuses on remembering the values of the freedom struggle; re-asserting the contributions of people’s movements over 75 years; and to resolutely strengthen our collective struggle for democracy, human rights, social and ecological justice. The campaign which began on August 9, will conclude on August 15, 2022.

At the start of the Quit India Movement, late evening of August 8, 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave a call to the nation to “Do or Die”; the next day his words translated into concrete action and India, after much struggle, finally gained her freedom on August 15, 1947. The current call to ‘Defend Democracy’ is in a similar vein: it is a do or die for we the people of India today. In 1908, when Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was being tried for sedition in the Bombay High Court, he courageously stated, “Swaraj is my birth right, and I shall have it.” Justice Davar, the presiding judge, then asked him if he had anything to say before the sentence was pronounced, he audaciously replied, “All I wish to say is that in spite of the verdict of the jury, I maintain my innocence. There are higher powers that rule the destiny of men and nations. It may be the will of Providence that the cause I represent may prosper by suffering than by remaining free.” These immortal and inspiring words of Tilak can be read even today; they are etched on a marble plaque outside Court Room 46 in the Bombay High Court. Tilak’s biographer N.G.Jog has described this historic moment profoundly,  “These words delivered on the spur of the moment have a spontaneous dignity and almost a Socratic sublimity. They breathe the spirit of dedication to freedom and of defiance against the might of the British Raj. And, they could have been uttered by only one man in India’s contemporary history – Bal Gangadhar Tilak.” In 2021, in a fairly similar way Fr Stan resonated the words of Tilak!

As we the people of India ‘celebrate’ yet another Independence Day, it is fitting to remind ourselves of that prophetic prayer of our Nobel laureate, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action –
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

We have to wake up now before it is too late! We need to internalise and act on Tagore’s call to “let my country awake”; together with Gandhi’s “do or die” and Tilak’s “Swaraj is my birth right.” Above all, like the freedom fighters who gave us our independence, that at whatever the price, we must ACT NOW to defend democracy!

*Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human right, reconciliation & peace activist/writer.

Other pieces by Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ:

Thank you, dear Fr. Stan, you will live forever! 

Stan takes a stand

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Dear Fr. Stan Swamy,
On July 5, you completed your pilgrimage here on earth! Thousands feel your loss everywhere; a light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere! There is spontaneous outrage because of what led to your death; most regard it as institutionalised murder! I am sure that you will not want us to mourn your death; as we look back, we also celebrate your life of commitment; the rich legacy you have left us all. We are overwhelmed with emotion; our hearts are full as we say “Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
We thank the Almighty for the Gift of You to so many people everywhere: particularly the excluded and the exploited, the Adivasis and Dalits, the poor and the marginalised, the voiceless and the unlettered; to all those who are denied their legitimate rights; and also, to the Country, the Church and the Society of Jesus.

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
We cannot help but think of your incredibly committed and simple life-style. Your frugality was known to all. You lived your vow of poverty to the fullest and in a most edifying manner; your material needs were few; your actual possessions were even less. The media had a field day, when some time ago, the ‘authorities’ came to seize your possessions- they got almost nothing!

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
You were an extraordinary person; in a selfless manner, you gave and did not count the cost! As a young priest, you lived in an interior Adivasi village sharing a small room with one of the local families. During that time, you mastered the Ho language, studied their culture and customs, ate their food and even sang and danced with them. Insertion into the tribal way of life was always paramount to you and also ‘your forte’! You believed in youth, gave them a sense of identity and helped them to critically analyse what was happening to their tribal society. With the generosity and help of the locals you also built your own residence which was an ‘open house’ to one and all! All through your life you mentored, trained and accompanied many women and men!

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
The world today celebrates your amazing work on this earth! You were an Adivasi rights activist, working on various issues: land, forest and labour rights; questioning the non-implementation of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which stipulates setting up of a Tribes Advisory Council with members solely of the Adivasi community, for their protection, well-being and development; your work also involved opposition to the setting up of  ‘land banks’, which  you believed would free up land belonging to the community in favour of the corporate sector Besides, you helped form a group called the ‘Persecuted Prisoners’ Solidarity Committee’ that sought  to do a study of the nature of undertrial prisoners (3,000 Adivasis illegally put in jail) and to have recourse to justice. Your work necessitated expressing dissent with several official policies and laws, which you were convinced were violative of the Constitution. The Adivasis and other excluded, who have been consistently denied their legitimate rights, saw in you a person who left no stone unturned, to champion their cause.

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
You have taught us all, the true meaning of ‘solidarity’ what it means to actually walk the talk; that to meaningfully empower the exploited and the excluded, one has to be in solidarity with them, in their struggles and to accompany them visibly and vocally, with prophetic courage for a more just and humane society. You did this unreservedly to the very end! You worked together with other women and men of goodwill who believed in the values enshrined in the Constitution of India and the Gospel of Jesus; these were your comrades, your companions, your collaborators!

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
We listen to those heartfelt words which you said shortly before your arrest on 8 October 2020 “What is happening to me is not something unique- happening to me alone. It is a broader process that is taking place all over the country. We are all aware how prominent intellectuals, lawyers’ writers, poets, activists, students, leaders, they are all put into jail because they have expressed their dissent or raised questions about the ruling powers of India. We are part of the process. In a way I am happy to be part of this process. I am not a silent spectator, but part of the game, and ready to pay the price whatever be it.”  Yes, you were never a silent spectator!

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
On May 21, you told the Bombay High Court the suffering you were going through in prison; you said, “I was brought here eight months ago. When I came to Taloja, my full system, my body was still very functional. But during these eight months, I have gone through a steady regression of all bodily functions. Eight months ago, I could have a bath by myself and also do some writing by myself. But these are disappearing one after another. Taloja jail brought me to a situation where I can neither write nor go for a walk by myself or even eat. I am not able to meet this demand. Eating has become a real difficulty; someone has to feed me with a spoon.”  You also highlighted the dire conditions in Taloja jail that prompted prisoners to help each other in the face of acute economic deprivation. You were profoundly touched by the help you received from your fellow prisoners. You seemed to have an intuition of your impending death: you wanted to be given regular bail and to go back to Ranchi to be in the midst of your people “I want to go to Ranchi to be with my friends…. Whatever happens to me I would like to be with my own”.; if not that, you were very clear about your option: to continue to be in Taloja jail “I would rather die here very shortly if things go on as it is”.

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
Your death seems to have united the major opposition political parties of the country. In a strongly worded letter to the President of India they write, “We are urging your immediate intervention as the President of India to direct ‘your government’ to act against those responsible for foisting false cases on him (Stan Swamy), his continued detention in jail and inhuman treatment. They must be held accountable. It is now incumbent that all those jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case and other detenues under politically motivated cases, misusing draconian laws like UAPA, sedition etc be released forthwith.” Ironically, these political parties could not come together on several key issues which plague the nation; some of them have been responsible for introducing draconian laws like the UAPA! But then your death has provided them at least a cosmetic unity to address a serious reality!!  

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
Tributes that have come in from the highest echelons of power globally. A statement from the United Nations said, “High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and the UN’s independent experts have repeatedly raised the cases of Father Stan and 15 other human rights defenders associated with the same events with the government of India over the past three years, and urged their release from pre-trial detention; The high commissioner has also raised concerns over the use of the UAPA in relation to human rights defenders – a law Father Stan was challenging before Indian courts days before he died.” The US State Department through its Office of International Religious Freedom tweeted, “We are saddened by the death of Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest & tribal rights activist, who died in Indian custody under charges of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. We call on all governments to respect the vital role of human rights activists in healthy democracies.” All this has obviously raised the hackles of those who illegally incarcerated you! They were afraid and insecure for what you stood for. They tried to do away with you, not realising that your spirit will never die!  

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
The powers that tried to put you away, to annihilate you, have failed miserably in their evil design. They did not realise that doing away with you would spawn hundreds and thousands of ‘Stan Swamys’ everywhere. Since your death, there have been numerous programmes all over the world: rallies and demonstrations; candle light vigils and processions; memorial prayer meetings and Masses; webinars and articles. Leading dailies and magazines have you on the cover with powerful editorials and op-eds; social media has not stopped talking about you. In several ways you have galvanised people across the board, to celebrate your life and mission; and to condemn the way you were made to die! The underlying refrain everywhere is “I am Stan”; no longer the hashtag #StandWithStan, it has gone way beyond.

“Thank you, dear Stan, you will live Forever!”
A new cohesive, vibrant national campaign is emerging and gaining momentum- ‘The Joint National Action to Defend Democracy; Defend Right to Dissent’. The campaign calls for a “repeal of Sedition Laws, UAPA and Repressive State Laws; and demands for the Restoration of the Citizens Right to Bail”. Already on Friday 23 July there is a ‘Day of Action’ planned called ‘Justice for Father Stan Swamy’ which will lead up to a fortnight’s National Action Programme from August 15- 28. Thousands from all over the country are expected to participate. We demand the immediate revocation of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA); the unconditional release of all the Bhima-Koregaon fifteen and all others illegally incarcerated under the draconian UAPA; we demand prison reforms and better conditions for prisoners. All that you relentlessly worked and died for! Strangely enough, in a lecture on 13 July, Supreme Court Justice D.Y. Chandrachud emphatically stated, “criminal law, including anti-terror legislation, should not be misused for quelling dissent or for harassment of citizens; the Supreme Court plays the role of a counter-majoritarian institution and has the duty to protect the rights of socio-economic minorities. Powerful words, a vindication of what you lived and died for; we need to see now what happens in practice!

Even in prison and from the moment you were hospitalised, you reached out to others -the less fortunate prisoners, your caregivers, in every possible way! You tell us with such conviction and positivity, that even a caged bird sings.  As a prophet of our times, you epitomised compassion, courage and commitment. You had the audacity to dare: to walk with the excluded and the exploited and to make their struggles your own. Today you are a martyr for justice and truth. The Adivasis and many others already regard you as a ‘Saint’ But you have not died; you will continue to live in each one of us. Many more ‘Stan Swamys’ will continue to rise until that day when your vision of a more humane, just, equitable, fraternal, free and dignified society becomes a reality for the poor and underprivileged, the excluded and the exploited of India!  Yes, you were murdered by the State – we are sorry and sad about that! We hang our heads down in shame but at the same time, pledge to live your legacy in our lives! You have gone to that eternal reward you so richly deserve and from the depths of our hearts we say “Thank you dear Stan: You will live Forever!”

Your brother,
Cedric

*Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/writer.

Related:

Citizens condemn Fr. Stan’s institutional murder under UAPA
Reflections on the demise of Fr. Stan Swamy
Jesuits of India, journalists and academics bid Fr Stan Swamy an emotional farewell
Fr Stan Swamy’s death highlights the need to repeal UAPA

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Christmas is a seven-point star. The seven-point star which guides, directs and protects! In Christianity, seven has from time immemorial been regarded as a perfect number. The seven-pointed star also represents the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord, and delight in the Lord.  Very significantly the seven points of the Christmas Star all begin with the letter ‘S’; they are:

Christmas is a song: the one of the angels! The words are unequivocal, “Glory to God in the highest and peace to all men and women of goodwill!” The song is inclusive. The lyrics, the melody can and needs to be sung by all and at all times. It transcends narrowness and pettiness; xenophobia and jingoism; divisiveness and discrimination! The song needs to be lived and communicated to others, if we are serious about Christmas. Peace is a vibrant, dynamic one which has to be lived in the small and simple realities of our daily lives.

Christmas is shepherds: simple, unlettered, marginalized folk; their expertise was in tending sheep. Their life was difficult: with long nights spent in the open, biting cold. Their sheep were precious: each one had a name and they knew them by name; they smelt of the sheep. When one was lost they went in search of that one, until found. When they were given the “good news” of the birth of the Saviour they leave their sheep behind (their attachments) and ran in haste to worship him, their priorities are very clear: they had to be the first witnesses to the herald of the angels! The shepherds are representatives of the poor and the marginalised, the exploited and the excluded of today.

Christmas is a search: the ‘Anawim’- a broken people, waiting in patience and hope, searching for the Messiah; someone who would liberate them from their suffering, from the shackles of bondage. The relentless search of a people for truth, light and a new tomorrow! The search by Mary and Joseph for a place to stay the night, knocking on doors, only to be told that “there is no place in the inn”. The search by the Shepherds and the Magi for the Saviour. The search by refugees Joseph and Mary, for safety and security as they flee into Egypt! 

Christmas is a stable: a powerful image and reminder of the meaning of the birth of the Saviour: total simplicity and abject poverty; the smell of the animals, the squalour of the stable is the warm, welcoming home for the king of kings. It is a place far out of the city, in the peripheries, away from the comfort zones, the materiality, the wealth, the pomp and the neon lights! The stable has no decorations, no tinsels or baubles; none of cosmetics or sham which we have made of Christmas today! Sadly the stable also reminds us of the ‘detention camps’ which have begun mushrooming in India today where those who are rendered stateless by draconian, discriminatory policies of today!

Christmas is silence: “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin, Mother, Mother and Child, Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace! Ever since it was first composed and sung in a small town of Austria on Christmas night 1818, it is the all- time favorite carol. It is reflective of the ‘profound silence’ that permeates the earth when Jesus is born! A silence pregnant with meaning: peace, joy and hope. Christmas today is relegated to ‘merriment’: from wishing others “merry” Christmas to noisy celebrations and crass commercialization! Rediscovering the silence of Christmas is essential today!

Christmas is sharing: God our loving Father sharing himself with us by giving us his only begotten son. The shepherds bring for the Child the best from the little they have. The little drummer boy plays his drum for the new-born king; the only thing he could bring as a gift. The magi brought gold, frankincense and myrrh; but, in order to save the Child from the wrath of Herod, they would have advised Joseph to flee, gifting him with some of their camels to do so! Christmas is sharing ourselves with the poor, the excluded, the victims of an unjust and inhuman society; those who are victims of the CAA, the NRC and the NPR; those who will not be able to pay us back or for that matter say “thank you” to us!

Christmas is the SAVIOUR: The long point of the seven-pointed star. The centripetal and centrifugal force of the festival. There is NO Christmas without the Saviour: we celebrate his birth on Christmas day; we celebrate the opportunity we have for eternal happiness. Sadly, the Christmas Season in some places is referred to as ‘Holiday Season’; what gains prominence is Santa Claus and the Christmas tree.  The world relegates the essence of the day to materialism. We are caught up in this web: we need to put Christ our Saviour- back into Christmas!

Yes, Christmas is a seven-point star: a song, the shepherds, the search, the stable, the silence, the sharing and the Saviour. A star which guides the magi, in their relentless pursuit of truth. These were men who studied the ancient manuscripts. They were no pushovers; they knew their stuff. But sometimes their arrogance and self- confidence did them in and they lose sight of the star. In their helplessness they even go to Herod, who recognizes their worth; in his own cunning way, he tries to convince them to return to give him the news. The seven –point star is actually a lodestar that guides them to take a different path; to stand against the Herods of today; against the power of all evil!

As we enter Christmas let us hitch ourselves to this seven-point star, so that we can truly celebrate the beauty and significance of the day and live the essence of Christmas every day of our lives!
 

(The author is a human rights and peace activist. He is also a prolific writer and poet Contact:cedricprakash@gmail.com )

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The numbers are horrific enough; a chill goes down one’s spine when one realizes the barbaric methods used to torture the prisoners who lived in these concentration camps. Another board in Auschwitz reads, “Prisoners held in the Concentration Camp died from being overworked, starvation, sadistic punishments,exhaustion from prolonged roll-calls, torture, appalling living conditions, being used for medical experiments or through arbitrary execution. Those too weak or sick to work were selected by the SS during roll-calls, or in the infirmary, and either sent to the gas chambers or murdered with an injection of phenol.”
 
In November2005, the United Nations General Assembly resolved that this day would be commemorated as the ‘International Holocaust Remembrance Day’ to remind the world of the millions of people who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War and to say ‘Never Again’ to genocide, every form of violence including racism. The theme this year of the Holocaust memorial ceremony is ‘Holocaust Remembrance and Education: Our Shared Responsibility’. The theme highlights the universal dimension of the Holocaust and encourages education on this tragedy so that future generations will firmly reject all forms of racism and violence. The Holocaust was a defining point in history and its lessons have much to teach about the danger of extremism and the prevention of genocide today.
 
Sadly, the world does not seem to have learnt from history and the holocaust.  It is unacceptable that the Palestinians are subjected to such an amount of suffering and ignominy at the hands of the Israelis today. The Rohingyas of Myanmar, the Yeminis, the people of South Sudan andSomalia andothers in several parts of the world continue to be persecuted; millions are displaced and are even forced to seek refuge in another country. Just a few days ago, the people of Afrin in Syria were subject to heavy bombardments. In India, with complete connivance of the ruling political dispensation, right-wing Hindu groups are oppressing minority communities. The recent violence unleashed by a fringe group called the ‘Karni Sena’ because of a film which was recently released, will certainly make anyone wonder as to where the country is heading. The deadly bombing in Afghanistan has today killed more than one hundred people.
 
The so-called ‘Big Powers’ with their divisiveness and selective policies continue to wreak havoc in several other parts of the world whilst greatly profiteering from the military-industrial complex which they own. That a school –kid can take a gun and kill fellow-students is symptomatic that violence is a matter-of-fact today in countries like the United States. These are no aberrations or isolated examples but a reality, which rips into, cherished ideals post-holocaust world. Those who manufacture and peddle arms and ammunition must remember that they cannot speak of the ‘shared responsibility’ until they stop production of their deadly weapons.The big nuclear powers must first denuclearize and thus set an example to the rest of the world.
 
Last month on the International Human Rights Day, I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camps. The visit for me was a deeply emotional experience. Anyone who visits the place is bound to have a transforming experience. One perhaps will never find the answer as to what led one part of humanity to hate and act so violentlyon other human beings.Several questions emerge, but hardly any answers. One will always have to grapple with the painful reality as to what makes some behave in such a dehumanized way. At the entrance of one of the buildings in Auschwitz are the prophetic words of the Philosopher George Santayana, “those who do notremember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
 
There was some light, a ray of hope however, as one stood outside the cell inwhich Saint Maximilian Kolbe (the Polish Conventual Franciscan Friar) was condemned to die in. Kolbe was sent to Auschwitz for hiding Jews during the Second World War. When the Nazi guards selected 10 people to be starved to death in punishment, Kolbe volunteered to die in place of a stranger who pleaded since he had a family. Kolbe was ultimately murdered with a lethal injection. Before his arrest in 1941 by the Nazis, he wrote, “What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it. The real conflict is an inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the hecatombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves?”

Insightful words !True, the only way we can truly honour the memory of those who suffered and died in the holocaust is to ensure that truth, goodness, non-violence and love triumph in every corner of our world today!
 
 
* (Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights activist. He is currently based in Lebanon, engaged with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in the Middle East on advocacy and communications. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com )             
 

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Come 2018 the world will continue to pursue peace. It will not be easy by any count. Despotic leaders, who seem to revel in war and violence, control a good part of the world today. They constantly search for the ‘enemy’ – very often far away from their own shores. The military-industrial complex has reaped rich profits (drenched in blood) in the recent past. Some economies thrive when wars continue elsewhere. Then there are those countries, which continuously display an arrogance doing what they want, aggravating violence and tension in other parts of the world, despite UN resolutions or the common understanding of most other countries.

It is therefore fitting that for the fifty-first time, the Catholic Church celebrates New Year Day as the ‘World Day of Peace’ with a universal call for substantial action in the pursuit of peace. This year the message of Pope Francis is based on the theme ‘Migrants and refugees: men and women in search of peace’. Given the challenges that most migrants and refugees face today the message is not merely relevant, it is an urgent call to action. The message begins with the words, “Peace to all people and to all nations on earth! Peace, which the angels proclaimed to the shepherds on Christmas night, is a profound aspiration for everyone, for each individual and all peoples, and especially for those who most keenly suffer its absence.”   Pope Francis making it very clear that his message is addressed to all, that peace is something we all long for and above all, there are people in this world like migrants and refugees who are deprived of it.

He goes on to say that migrants and refugees are also genuinely in search of peace. They flee “war and hunger, or forced by discrimination, persecution, poverty and environmental degradation to leave their homelands”- because they have no choice. They long for a more stable, safe and secure environment – in which they can live peacefully, with dignity, equity and liberty. These are, as Pope Francis says, “men and women, children, young and elderly people, who are searching for somewhere to live in peace. In order to find that peace, they are willing to risk their lives on a journey that is often long and perilous, to endure hardships and suffering, and to encounter fences and walls built to keep them far from their goal”.

His message of peace is a call to embrace them in a spirit of compassion. He goes on to add, “We know that it is not enough to open our hearts to the suffering of others. Much more remains to be done before our brothers and sisters can once again live peacefully in a safe home. Welcoming others requires concrete commitment, a network of assistance and goodwill, vigilant and sympathetic attention, the responsible management of new and complex situations that at times compound numerous existing problems, to say nothing of resources, which are always limited. By practising the virtue of prudence, government leaders should take practical measures to welcome, promote, protect, integrate and, “within the limits allowed by a correct understanding of the common good, to permit [them] to become part of a new society.”

In the face of growing xenophobia, racism, jingoism and exclusiveness, Pope Francis highlights the fact that migrants and refugees contribute significantly to the societies, which accept them; besides when host communities transcend bigotry, there is mutual enrichment. “When we turn that (contemplative) gaze to migrants and refugees, we discover that they do not arrive empty-handed. They bring their courage, skills, energy and aspirations, as well as the treasures of their own cultures; and in this way, they enrich the lives of the nations that receive them. We also come to see the creativity, tenacity and spirit of sacrifice of the countless individuals, families and communities around the world who open their doors and hearts to migrants and refugees, even where resources are scarce”.

 Pope Francis makes a fervent appeal to all to mainstream what he   refers to as the ‘Four mileposts for action’: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate migrants and refugees. “Offering asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and victims of human trafficking an opportunity to find the peace they seek requires a strategy combining four actions: welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating.” He goes on to provide explanations of how these mileposts for action can be realized practically.

Finally, in keeping with a commitment made by 193 nations in September 2016, he challenges world leaders to keep up to their promise. “It is my heartfelt hope this spirit will guide the process that in the course of 2018 will lead the United Nations to draft and approve two Global Compacts, one for safe, orderly and regular migration and the other for refugees. As shared agreements at a global level, these compacts will provide a framework for policy proposals and practical measures. For this reason, they need to be inspired by compassion, foresight and courage, to take advantage of every opportunity to advance the peace-building process. Only in this way can the realism required of international politics avoid surrendering to cynicism and to the globalization of indifference”.

 Our ‘common home’ has been very much in the vision of Pope Francis: the way we treat it, nurture it; the way we care for another very specially for the excluded like migrants and refugees. Every human years for peace and so do the migrants and refugees. As we enter a New Year, we all need to do our best to make peace more tangible. Welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating the excluded: migrants, refugees and others forcibly displaced will surely lead to that peace we all pursue!
 
1 January 2018
* (Fr Cedric Prakash sj is a human rights activist and is currently based in Lebanon and engaged with the Jesuit Refugee Service(JRS) in the Middle East on advocacy and   communications. He can be contacted on cedricprakash@gmail.com )             
 

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The focus this year is on ‘terrorism’ and whether the death penalty is actually a deterrent to an act of terrorism.

A handout by the Coalition states that: “Since the 1980’s, there has been a global trend towards abolition of the death penalty which continues to this day. Today two-thirds of countries (140) are now abolitionist in law or in practice. However, despite this global trend towards abolition, many governments have in recent years resorted to use of the death penalty following terrorist attacks on their countries, in the name of protecting their countries and peoples.”

India has the dubious distinction of being among those countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria that have adopted laws that expanded the scope of the death penalty, adding certain terrorist acts to the list of crimes punishable by death.

The Coalition says this of India: “The death penalty for terrorism can be imposed under authority of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act passed in 1987 (amended in 1993), and in the Prevention of Terrorism Act passed in 2002. India has executed people for crimes related to terrorism on several occasions: the only survivor among those responsible for the attacks in Mumbai in 2008 was executed in 2012 and the man sentenced for planning the attack in December 2001 against the Indian Parliament, causing nine deaths, was executed in 2013.

In July 2015, India carried out the execution of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, who was sentenced for participating in implementing several bomb attacks which caused 257 casualties in Mumbai in March 1993. This man had been sentenced to death in 2007 under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act which does not conform to the principles of international law relating to fair trials, particularly in terms of arbitrary detention, torture and obtaining evidence, and all legal avenues have been rejected since then. In August 2015, the Law Commission of India, the executive body charged with reforming the law, recommended abolition of the death penalty, except for offences related to terrorism and any offences which attack the State.”

The Coalition has been very vigorous in its campaign against the death penalty. It cites ten major reasons to end the use of the death penalty, the first one being that ‘No State should have the power to take a person’s life’.

The World Congress against the Death Penalty held at Oslo, Norway in June this year underlined the necessity to take further significant steps towards the complete and universal abolition of the death penalty.

In a message to the Congress Pope Francis also called for a world “free of the death penalty.” He said “the practice brings no justice to victims, but instead fosters vengeance. Indeed, nowadays the death penalty is unacceptable, however grave the crime of the convicted person. It is an offence to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person; it likewise contradicts God’s plan for individuals and society, and his merciful justice.”

When Yakub Memon was executed in July 2015, several Indians were very vocal in their protest, highlighting that the cause of justice was not served. Of course, the flag-bearers of the death penalty (and these are very selective on ‘who’ should be given capital punishment), were quick at branding those who felt that Memon’s execution was not justified, as “anti-national” and “anti-patriotic”.

The proponents of the death penalty seem oblivious of the fact that ‘execution is a terrorist’s tool’. One only legitimatises the heinous act of a terrorist with the death penalty. The cycle of violence has to stop! Capital punishment is a barbaric act. No civilised country should even think of having it!

On this day, we need to recommit ourselves to do all we can for the abolition of the death penalty!

(Fr Cedric Prakash sj is an Indian Jesuit priest and a human rights activist. He is currently based in Lebanon and engaged with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in the Middle East on advocacy and communications. He can be contacted on cedricprakash@gmail.com).
 

The post ‘Execution is a Terrorist’s Tool, Capital Punishment a Barbaric Act’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
April 7, 2016

Today Homs is a devastated city: bombed, battered and bruised by five years of a bloody civil war. Thousands have fled their homes to Damascus and even abroad. Many from here have died. For those who stay on in the midst of ruins, skeletal bombed-out buildings in a ghost-town, there is a feeling of hopelessness, of not knowing what to do and where to go. The children smile-but they seized with a fear which is palpable: those five years and below only know war. The youth talk aimlessly-searching for ways and means to escape from a world of hopelessness. The adults are still tongue-tied for any meaningful conversation. Many of them just want to wake up from what they hope –is just a bad dream. Sadly, enough, the tragedy which has gripped their lives is real!

However, there is a sudden   change in the moods of the adults and youth when they talk of one man: Fr. Frans van der Lugt. Their eyes light up, a sense of nostalgia envelops them, as they latch on to the person and message of this great human; because he still lives on in their hearts and minds, some of them do feel that there will be a new dawn!

Who was this ‘Abouna Frans’ as he was fondly referred to? Fr Frans van der Lugt, was a Dutch Jesuit priest who devoted his life to the people of Syria; when civil war erupted there in 2011 he chose to remain in the country, suffering the shortages and terrors of the conflict alongside both Muslims and Christians. He was born on April 10 1938 in The Hague, Netherlands- the son of a banker. He joined the Jesuits in 1959 and seven years later went to the Middle East. With the exception of a short break to complete his doctorate in Psychology, he spent the rest of his life from 1976 in Syria. In Homs he founded the Al-Ard institute, where handicapped children of all religions and ethnic groups found a home –of warmth and acceptance.

His twilight years however were shattered with the civil war. As the fighting intensified, Fr Frans moved to the Jesuit residence in Boustan –Diwan (the inner city). From there he shared the suffering of the inhabitants, refusing to leave, even as that part of the city continued to be bombed from all sides. His centre before long became a home for those who had nowhere to go: Muslims and Christians; women and men; old and young. It was a haven for them and Fr Frans was their refuge. His message to all was one of hope: of mercy and reconciliation, of justice and of peace! Listening to those who knew him, those who experienced his warmth, his love, his courage to give “all-of-himself” to those in need- would easily touch a heartless person.

Because there were several rebels in the old city- that part was under siege. There were no food supplies coming in nor were people being allowed in or out. Though a relatively ‘normal’ life continued just streets away, in the government-held zones, starvation was claiming lives in the rebel enclave. Fr Frans existed on olives and broth fortified with weeds picked off the streets. “The faces of people you see in the street are weak and yellow,” he told a journalist “Their bodies are weakened and have lost their strength.” With his training in psychology, he documented the spread of mental illness among those who found themselves besieged: “I try to help them not by analysing their problems, as the problems are obvious and there is no solution for them here. I listen to them and give as much food as I can.”

Frans was a healer – he touched the broken spirits of a battered people; he did not care for himself, if someone was physically sick, he did all he could (with the little he had) to make them well again. His forte   however, was to soothe the mental and the spiritual suffering they were going through. They sought his guidance and his direction- when they overwhelmed by the brutality around them.

Very ironically he was gunned down on World Health Day, April 7, 2014, by those who felt that this healer had no right to live to heal the brokenness of Homs and Syria. It was just three days before what would have been his 76^th birthday. On hearing about his tragic death Muslims and Christians came together despite the hostilities around them – to bury him in the compound of the Jesuit Centre.

Fr Frans is revered as a Saint today by both Muslims and Christians. His tomb is visited today by people from all walks of life. They pray to him: so that he intercedes with his creator that justice and truth triumphs in Syria and in other parts of the Middle-East; for lasting peace and security in the region. They will never forget his words “the Syrian people have given me so much, so much kindness, inspiration and everything they have. If the Syrian people are suffering now, I want to share their pain and their difficulties”. This he did in full measure: he lived with them, he died for them.

On April 9,  2014 Pope Francis at the General Audience in Rome said “last Monday in Homs, Syria, Rev Fr Frans van der Lugt one of my Dutch Jesuit confreres was assassinated at the age 75. He arrived in Syria some 5o years ago and always did good to everyone generously and with love. He was therefore loved and highly esteemed by Christians and Muslims.

His brutal murder has deeply distressed me and has made me think again of the many people who are suffering and dying in that tormented country, my beloved Syria, which for too long has been the prey of a bloody conflict that continues to reap death and destruction. I also think of the many people who have been kidnapped, Christians and Muslims, Syrians and those from other countries, including bishops and priests. Let us ask the Lord that they may soon return to their loved ones and to their families and communities.

From my heart I invite you all to join me in prayer for peace in Syria and the region, and I launch a heartfelt appeal to the Syrian leaders and to the international community: Please, silence the weapons, put an end to the violence! No more war! No more destruction! May humanitarian laws be respected, may the people who need humanitarian assistance be cared for and may the desired peace be attained through dialogue and reconciliation.”

On February 10^th 2014 The” Erasmus “blog in The Economist had a powerful article on Fr. Frans entitled ‘A Voice Crying in the Wilderness’- of the courage he demonstrated to tell the world of the pain, hunger and suffering of the people around him; a person who would never desert his people. Two months later the ‘Erasmus’ blog had these very moving words, “by staying in the heart of besieged Homs, during a takeover by rebels who included militant Islamists and then during a government siege, he was offering succour to all victims of the conflict—and a kind of reproach to all the belligerents.

He knowingly risked his life by remaining in a place where some Islamist rebels were active; but he also bore witness to the cruel consequences of the siege by refusing to leave when it would have been so easy to do so, and nobody would have blamed him. From the perspective he offered, all civilian victims were worthy of compassion, and fighters on both sides bore a share of blame. That sounds like a truth worth dying for—and it goes a bit further than religious dialogue.”

In a world torn asunder by violence and   hate; by discrimination and divisiveness; by powerful vested interests who do all they can to destroy the lives of ordinary mortals, Fr Frans is a beacon of hope; not only for the people of Syria-for whom he gave up his life- but for people everywhere –who yearn for a new dawn, a better tomorrow. He was relentless in his struggle to establish that better “tomorrow” for his people. He did NOT succeed in that endeavor. Despite the hopelessness and fear that have gripped their lives, many in Homs and in other parts of Syria are convinced that his martyrdom will not go in vain.

5^th April. 2016
(Fr Cedric Prakash works with the Jesuit Refugee Service(JRS) in the Middle East. He recently spent some time in Homs, Syria where Fr. Frans lived and died)

The post On the Second Death Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Fr Frans van der Lugt sj, Syria appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Fr Cedric Prakash, a senior human rights activist from Gujarat is now in Beirut, Lebanon, from where he will be contributing a regular column for SabrangIndia

On March 15, 2011 inspired by the Arab Spring unprecedented protests erupted in several parts of Syria, demanding immediate reform after forty years of iron-fisted rule by the family of President Bashar Assad’s family.

 Today, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the commencement of this civil war Syria lies in ruins. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “this war has left more than 270,000 people dead; of these 80,000 are civilians including 13,500 children.”
Unofficially however, the death toll is far more- with an unknown number killed in detention at the hands of the government, rebels or militants. An estimated one million people have also been wounded; an unbelievable number suffer from trauma and other mental –health illness which any conflict of such an intense nature can generate.

Above all, this civil war has spawned the greatest mass migration after World War II. A United Nations(UN) report in January this year said that out of a pre-conflict population of 23 million, 13.5 million Syrians have been forced out of their homes; and an additional 480,000 are still living under siege. Some 4.7 million Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan and significant numbers to Egypt, Iraq.

Though the vast majority have remained in the region, hundreds of thousands have tried to make the perilous journey to Europe, not all reach the European shores alive. Most of the refugees and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) face acute problems- which include, living in abominable conditions in make-shift housing, poverty, lack of employment and very little access to quality healthcare and education. Besides, several local communities show reluctance to easily accept the refugees/IDPs- and impose severe restrictions on their integration

 
So is there anything to “celebrate?” as the fifth anniversary approaches? It’s a question I have been asking several Syrians in Homs and earlier in Damascus. One does not even have to wait for answer- the pain in their eyes, the suffering hewn in their faces, tell it all.

‘Absolutely nothing’, is the common refrain. “No, there is nothing left for us- we are afraid to look into tomorrow;” “All we want is this war to end immediately;” “Syria will never be the same again”. One cannot   help but feel a palpable sense of grief, evident from the testimonies of a people who have lost everything.
 
Homs, for one, divided into several parts – is like a ghost city- bombed, battered and bruised. On May 9 2014, Syrian troops recaptured the Old City from the rebels after a two-year siege- but the consequences for those who remained have been just immense. I spoke to several of the youth here- they desperately yearn for peace; at the same time, they look for any possibility, or chance, to move out of the country – for better prospects, for future of hope, elsewhere.

Trust has been another casualty of this war. No one knows whom to trust and whom not to; there are the big players in opposite camps – supported by the military might of the Super-powers; at the same time many more groups and factions have emerged – each claiming a kind of a “divine right” to exercise their stranglehold on sections of the population.

There are also the extremists (like the ISIS and the Nusra Front- the Syrian affiliate of the Al-Qaeda) who would apparently do anything to ensure that this war continues endlessly. People tend to be cautious, very selective in their use of words. They speak under the veil of anonymity. They fear that they may be misquoted or reported to those who ‘currently’ control their lives.

On February 27, 2016 an unprecedented ‘cessation of hostilities’ came into force. It applied to combat zones between the Russian–backed regime forces and the non-militant rebels. Sadly, this ceasefire did not extend to the more than half of the country’s territory that is controlled by the extremist groups. In several parts of the country one can still hear and even witness heavy bombardment. Naturally, several Syrians are still very skeptical about this truce and continue to despair, “the truce has not changed anything in my life. The war-planes still hover above us”, lamented one of them.

There are several stake–holders in this war. Many of these are powerful and that includes the UN Security Council. What many feel, is that in the ultimate analysis the key players must demonstrate the political will to stop this war.

Fragile though this true currently is, after five years of devastating conflict, this phase has slowly begun to rekindle minimal aspirations. The simple hope that this war and senseless violence that has ripped apart Syrian society, may end. The light at the end of the dark tunnel? The average Syrian is desperate to clutch at any straw having lived through a conflict that has meant death, destruction and displacement.

On March 14, 2016, today, the UN- brokered talks will resume in Geneva.

Will these actually change the ground reality and ensure sustainable peace? Many doubt it; but several others have   expressed support for the recommencement of the negotiations between the warring parties with the demand that, at some crucial point within the negotiating process, the UN mediation team should and must grant space for genuine bipartisan civil society groups to share their vision for a new post-conflict Syria. This has not happened, so far.

Since the very beginning of this conflict, many community-based groups have been engaged in providing humanitarian assistance to people in need across the social, cultural, tribal, sectarian and religious divide; this help was given exclusively on the basis of vulnerability and where the need was greatest. Overtime, these groups have faced difficulties in continuing their mission but others still manage to do so, despite being faced with enormous difficulties and danger. Within such a polarised context, it is essential that members of these groups are given the opportunity to share their views about how to bring back together fractured communities and help prepare them for future cohabitation in the Syria of tomorrow.

Early February 2016, the Donors’ Conference hosted in London under the auspices of the governments of the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Germany and Norway showed some international involvement in sharing of responsibility for Syria’s re-construction and the rehabilitation of Syrian IDPs with host countries Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The unending war has dealt a blow to education for the refugee children. Therefore, the commitment by several countries to ensure that all Syrian refugee children are in regular schools by the end of the school year 2016-2017 is a widely welcomed step. The barriers in ensuring easy access and entry to schools for Syrian refugee children, however remain.

There are several stake–holders in this war. Many of these are powerful and that includes the UN Security Council. What many feel, is that in the ultimate analysis the key players must demonstrate the political will to stop this war. Until that time, millions of Syrians — today the ‘nowhere’ people of the world– will continue to despair and flee as fast as possible from a daily nightmare that there life has become.

The fifth anniversary yes – but there is nothing to celebrate; only painfully memories of five bloody years which have wrought untold misery on a sizeable section of the world’s population.

(The writer is a human rights activist. He is currently based in Beirut, Lebanon as the Advocacy and Communications Officer of the Jesuit Refugee Service(JRS) in the Middle East and North Africa Region)

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