O Little Town of Bethlehem

I thought young Joseph would be there welcoming

but it were young men with guns at checkpoints incoming

I thought young Mary would be there welcoming

But it were young women with guns at checkpoints incoming

I thought then it would be the manger that’s welcoming

but shockingly, it was the huge concrete wall of separation.

              a wall of division

              a wall of segregation

              a wall of occupation

              a wall of humiliation

              a wall of discrimination

Making the birth of Jesus’ place invisible.

O Jesus, come now to be born again here

              to break these walls of domination

              to tear down these walls of demonization

              to break open the cruel hearts of oppressions

              to restore liberation and peace on this earth

              and to bring glad tiding of joy to all these people

Come Jesus, and come now!

In hope I leave, only to return to see Joseph, Mary and 

baby Jesus - in all freedom - in this land.




(In response to the invitation of 'Come & See' given by Kairos Palestine, this prayer was penned as was exposed to the ground realities of walls at Bethlehem)

Hang not, Give life a chance!

 “Hang him, not leave him” this was how the jail superintendent received a message on wire from his authorities, regarding executing punishment to a person who was on a trial. The jail authorities executed the order and the person was hung to death. When the higher officials heard of this news, they rushed to the jail, for the judgment declared was, “Hang him not, leave him.”

This is an anecdote I remember my English teacher narrating in the school about the syntax of using a comma in the English grammar class. A misuse of a comma in a simple sentence costs the life of a person in that trial.  

After 20 years of the assassination of our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, three people who were convicted of the crime in a long trial will be hanged to death on the 9^th of September 2011, after the President of India recently rejected the mercy petitions of these three people raising a curtain to their 11 years of waiting for mercy on their ‘right to life’ from the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

When globally there has been an increase in the number of countries abolishing death penalty (about 94 ), India once again comes to the global map, this time for a wrong reason of ‘judicially sanctioned murder’ by hanging three convicts of which two of them are Sri Lankan Tamils. A blatant murder of ‘right to life’ recurs in India now in 2011, after the last legal execution in 2004. The present UPA government in the Center wants to score a point both from the nation and Gandhi family by giving an impression that justice is being executed by hanging these three friends to death. However, these things cannot be done at the expense of forcing some people to death, which in itself is denying life, for life is a gift of God and no person or state has the right to kill, legally or otherwise.

As a community of faith, we believe that God has given life to all human beings, creating in God’s own equal image without any hierarchies and limitations. Affirming life in all its fullness is the core principle in our Christian faith and therefore any forces of death, any kind of death or any means to death in itself is a contradiction to our belief, and we strongly oppose capital punishment. In line with this, we also believe that Jesus’ resurrection from death has made death a history, for no rule of death can overpower any form of life, and therefore as adherents of such a faith in Jesus, we are called to counter all forces of death right from its seeds till its totality. In view of this faith affirmation, we as committed disciples of Christian faith, need to oppose capital punishment, legal execution of life by hanging, to any one at any place. There are no two thoughts that execution of justice would been bringing the guilty to task, but there is no right for any one to stop the breath of life at any given situation or circumstance.

When many human rights agencies are fighting against death penalty, for they all affirm that such a punishment is against the very spirit of human rights and the cruelest denial of human rights, it is high time that we as Christians in India need to rise up to the occasion in advocating for promotion of life by calling the state in abolishing death penalty as means of exercising justice in this land of ours. May we therefore appeal to the President of India and the Central Government of India to abolish capital punishment and to revoke death sentence and grant life imprisonment to Murugan, Santhan, and Perarivalan, the three convicted for their involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, and thereby extend the same to all other death prisoners in the queue. Let this campaign to say ‘no to capital punishment’ be carried on in our localities to put on pressure on the government, for state cannot dictate terms to ‘right to life.’

I wish to hear that the government officials come rushing to say that there was an error, for the judgment is “hang them not!” instead of “hang them.”

27^th August 2011

10th August 1950 An Unjust Story…

Plight HistoryOn the 14th August 1947, India was declared independent free from the union jack, where celebrations waved across India for the freedom it has attained. The Constitution of India came into force on the 26th January 1950, and on the same day was also declared India as a Republic, with the total sovereignty given to its citizens. But freedom for Dalits to choose their own religion to preach and practice has been curtailed with a Presidential Order in 1950.

It was on10th August 1950, the then President of India brought out the list of Scheduled Castes through a Presidential Order, which has been known as Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order of 1950. Unfortunately the President then included the clause that the Scheduled Castes need to be affiliated with a particular religion to receive such status and provisions. This inclusion of religion clause deters the freedom of religion to its citizens, and after several people’s movements protested, it was in 1956 Sikhism was added and in 1990 Buddhism was added to that order.

Plight ContinuesBut the plight of the Christians of Scheduled Caste origin and Muslims of Scheduled Caste origins still continue for they have been denied equal status like the other Dalits. The fight has been on and even after 59 years, justice to these our brothers and sisters is unfulfilled and unreachable. The Central Government sponsored National Commission for Religious and Linguistics Minorities (NCRLM) headed by Justice Ranghanath Misra has already submitted its report to the PMO, studying the discrimination done to religious minorities of Dalit origin, and reports confirm that the Commission has recommended to ‘de-link religion in granting Scheduled Caste status’. The Supreme Court is also hearing Public Interest Litigation in this regard and the judgment has been delayed by the delay from the Central Government’s response in delivering its opinion on the issue. The recent dharna for justice in New Delhi has instilled rays of hope for the communities who have been awaiting justice, though we have heard several unfulfilled promises from the politicians and leaders in the ruling parties. For politicians, though they express that this is a genuine struggle for justice, lack of political will on their part, for fear of majority religious fundamentalist forces and for reasons best known for a voices of tiny minorities in India have been going unheard or either told to deaf ears.

Price PaidHowever, 61 years of waiting for justice to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims was not an easy wait. When most Christians of Scheduled Caste origin were attacked and humiliated in the name of caste they were not protected under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act for they are not Scheduled Castes according to the Government census. Most Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste have not been selected to most of the educational institutions and have been denied promotions in their jobs, because they are do not have a Scheduled Caste certificate like their other relatives, who still have either Hinduism or Buddhism as their religion on certificates.

Prosecuting JusticeAt this point it is interesting to note that some of the Christian leaders have told their congregations to openly write as Buddhists or Hindus on the Government issued caste certificates in order to avail the Scheduled Caste status, and are free to attend the Church and participate in its sacraments. On the other hand, there are few Christian Churches, who taught their congregations that to be Christian is to take up our Cross, and therefore not being granted Scheduled Caste status is the will of God on their part and is the Cross, which has to be bore in this world. So a tiny rich Christians are happy that they are not Scheduled Castes, like those others in the Church. These Christians discriminate the Scheduled Caste people within the Church, and proclaim the wrath of God by quoting Jesus’ words “ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angles.” (Luke 9: 26)

These quoting of Jesus’ words are from the people, who think their citizenship is only in heaven and not here and who are absolutely unaware of the Constitutional rights of citizens in India. This situation brings to the discussion the caste system prevailed within the Churches today. The upper caste rich Christians are self-content and do not have any discrimination or any facilities lacking for they are complacent and can achieve by paying money. Therefore they preach such things and force on the poor Dalit Christians. I really wonder, is fighting for Scheduled Caste status to Christians of Scheduled Caste origin is to be ashamed of Christ’s name? No not at all, on the other way those not fighting for the cause of Scheduled Caste Status for Christians are being ashamed of Christ’s name and the gospel of liberation preached by Jesus Christ.

Proceeding in Hope…Dharna after dharna, delegations after delegations, several ways of expressing our displeasure against the lethargy of the ruling governments continue and will continue, our peoples struggle for justice will thrive one day, for we are on the constant march towards justice and liberation. We dwell with a hope against hope, yet keeping our fingers crossed some times, holding our grips in tight, we are confident that justice will be triumphant   Wherever you are, kindly make sure you shall keep advocating and lobbying for this cause and personally I feel hope is not too far away. Let us take up advocacy for Dalit Christians as a faith issue and justice as a faith issue.

Let us not lose our hope,
Justice spiraled as a rope,
Building trust as we cope,
Victory will never grope.

Advocacy is a way of mission,
Conspiracy is nowhere in session,
Democracy within its vision,
Efficiency in all its commission.

Marching together side by side,
Searching inclusivity far and wide,
Torching rays of hope in stride,
Approaching justice in all its tide.
August 2011

Fasting Convinces …

Ash Wednesday Reflection on Jonah 3: 1-10

It was a day of fasting at the city of Nineveh. After the miraculous save of Jonah through the belly of a fish, Jonah finally arrived in the city of his destination, Nineveh to proclaim the prophecy of God. At prophet Jonah’s call, the entire city from the king to the citizens to the animals joined the fast and put on sackcloth seeking repentance from God for their wicked deeds. The cry of Jonah, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” put the city to test and gathered the political attention, for His Highness the King of Nineveh took the lead and made it a public policy in calling for a fast with his royal proclamation. The call for the fast included turning away from the evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands, besides putting on the sackcloth and ashes. The call for fast on that day put God in a fix to change God’s plan for the sake of the life for that city. From the clashes of conflicts, the city went into fasting and ashes, and out of ashes, the city came out into a splash of liberation and life. 

1. Fasting Challenged the Polis (5 V)

As Jonah proclaimed the prophecy of God, the people of Nineveh believed God, and sought God’s help through a very democratic, political and spiritual way of fasting. This idea of fasting emerged from among the people of the city. The fast they proclaimed was communitarian and for the need of their city. Their fast was not for a selfish need or for an individuals need or for an exhibition of their piety. Their fast was a political necessity, for it challenged the whole of the city. As the fast was proclaimed, everyone in the city without any objections or reservations or concessions observed their fast by putting on their sackcloth and ashes. Great and small in the city, man and women in the city, child and adult in the city, the sinning and the sinned-against in the city, powerful and powerless in the city, irrespective of their lines of divisions and identities, the city came out to the open for a fast in support of their city. When the whole city got together to fast, both the sinned and the sinned against joining the fast meant repentance with regard to the sinned and an indication from the sinned-against that time is ripe for reconciliation. This fasting, which included everyone and in which no one was excluded, displayed the true spirit of fasting. It was this fast that challenged the city.

2. Fasting Challenged the Polity (6-9 Vs)

With the impending peril at hand, when a fast was proclaimed by the city, the royal power at the city, who represents the polity, furthered the fast. The fast for the city was a mandate that emerged from the people and for the people, and therefore His Royal Highness was challenged to endorse it and made it a public policy for the good of the city. The king with all his power consciousness could have easily downplayed and rejected the idea of fasting, for as kings they only know to feast and they cared least if the city would go into a doom. The king was challenged by this fasting, and therefore at the peoples call for fast, he had to rise from his royal throne, had to remove his royal robes and had to cover him with sackcloth and had to sit in ashes. The spirituality of this fast was such, that it demanded the powerful to give up their power costumes, attires, attitudes and masks, and calls for a wholesome solidarity with the powerless and weak symbolized through ashes, the waste product that comes after the consumption of energy. The fast for the city challenged the king to issue a public decree calling everyone in the city to restrain from food and feed and be in solidarity for the cause by putting on the sackcloth and ashes. The royal public decree calls everyone in the city to turn their evil practices, practices of discrimination and oppression and to turn away from violence that was in their hands. The king also felt, such a fasting that comes from the community may also challenge God.

3. Fasting Challenged the Prophecy (10V)

The king, who was challenged by the communitarian fasting, felt that even the prophecy from God could be challenged of such fasting by people attempted for a change in the city, and may change God’s plans for the sake of promoting life. As was foreseen, the fasting challenged the polity and eventually challenged the prophecy of God according to the writer of this book. The prophecy from prophet Jonah that ‘forty days from now, Nineveh shall be overthrown’ was challenged because the fasting was for the sake of community and not for an individual need. The prophecy was challenged for the barriers of power, for the powerful gave up their power and joined the common, and the community encouraged each other along with the creation to save their city. The prophecy was challenged that the residue ashes became the common binding and bonding symbol in the city, which reveals their deepest concern for righteousness. The prophecy was challenged for both the oppressors in the city and the oppressed in the city joined together to fast, where the oppressor sought repentance from God and the oppressed and oppressed could see justice being enforced in the land. This fasting challenged the prophecy of God, for it was political in nature, for the fast focused on ‘save the city’. This fasting was for the common good of the people and the community in the city, and it has shown the city’s belief in God and in their spiritual quest for God’s intervention. On all these counts, this fasting by the city of Nineveh challenged the prophecy of God and challenged God, for according to the understanding of the writer of the book of Jonah, the city did not perish as was willed by God earlier.

Fasting in the book of Jonah is the recognition of the fact that 

• God is concerned about unrighteousness as disastrous for creation. 
• God’s concern of impending danger as proclaimed by the prophet can bring people and powers together for common good, which directs the mission as lobbying. 
• The righteous could feel excluded in this process of reconciliation like Jonah, and such people need to include themselves in God’s act of reconciling all.

As churches, we are called to prophecy, reconcile and heal our situations of wickedness and bring in transformation to our localities and societies. The polis, the polity and the prophecy were thoroughly challenged by the fasting of the people in Nineveh that brought in a change within and around them. Out of clashes they went into ashes, and out of ashes they came out splashing life and change.

Implications for Today 

• In the season of Lent, is our fasting political and for a communitarian purpose? 
• In the context of the Campaign for climate justice, should not our fasting in this season sensitize our congregations and communities to be akin with the flora and fauna, address indiscriminate mining and save our splendid earth?
• In the context of the growing violence, oppression and discrimination done in the name of caste, gender, religion and region, should not our fasting in this season conscientize our communities to become peacemakers and bring in justice and liberation?

The Injustice of the Justice: Is the Wages of Sin Death?

On the Verdict of Supreme Court on Dara Singh’s Life Imprisonment

 A Plea on the eve of India's Republic 2011

On the 21^st January 2011, exactly twelve years after the Graham Staines and his two young boys Philip (10yrs) and Timothy (6yrs) were burnt alive in their Jeep by the ilk of Dara Singh and the other fundamentalists, the Supreme Court of India upheld the verdict of the Orissa High Court and granted life sentence instead of the death sentence granted by the lower court of law to Dara Singh. As they declared the judgement, Justice P.Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan, the honourable bench of jurists further commented that

“In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity… It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone’s belief by way of use of force, provocation, conversion, and incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other. It strikes at the very root of the orderly society, which the founding fathers of our Constitution dreamt of”.[1]

Forgiveness to what extent? Church leaders across the denominations welcomed the judgement of life sentence to the cruel killer Dara Singh, for they have all said that their theological persuasions teach them to forgive and not to kill anyone, for they believe that in the course of time, the guilty can turn good as there is power in the ideal of forgiveness. All the more some Churches have even gone to the extent of relating this curtailing of death penalty to opposing abortion in their theology, for they all affirm life and not killing or death of life.

My initial impulses on hearing about the judgement of the Supreme Court, is what a grave injustice the highest courts of law in the country have done for they have pitied with the guilty killer and cut down the punishment from death to life imprisonment. How can the Supreme Court spare a fundamentalist who is bloodthirsty and is all out to kill anyone on false prejudices? Death penalty for such crimes should have been pronounced by the highest court of law in India.

• Moral Victory for Fundamentalist Forces: Burning alive three people, which includes two children deserves a death penalty. Although one cannot bring back the lives of the three that were burnt by penalizing the murderer with death penalty, penalizing with a death penalty would have been a learning lesson for others not to indulge in heinous activities such as this. Now the fundamentalist forces think this verdict as a moral victory to them, for they think can take law into their hands and execute it at their leisure, for they know that it is their own colour of people that are there in the judiciary and legislature and a mere penalty would be imposed for such crimes of hate. 
• The Wages of sin is Death: Pronouncing death penalty is not a ‘tooth for tooth’ theology, for the perspective of Christian theology is grounded on forgiveness virtues. However, God does not take sides with those that commit crimes of death and simply leave them scot-free. For I think God, in whom we affirm and believe is a God who exercises justice, which I mean is to take them into task those that involve in injustice. By Christ’s victory over death, Christ has chained all the forces of evil and injustice to death in his grave and proclaimed new-life over against it. So I believe, people who are involved in acts of injustice are prone to death, be it pronounced in the court of law or in any other form. Christian theology surrounds around life and life affirming channels, subsequently meaning to reject and crucify all the forces of death. God is going to pronounce the judgement, where righteous will be blessed and the unjust will be punished. The wages of sin is indeed death, and no better act can be called a sin than the killing of three innocent people on the pretext of forceful conversions.
• No one can take law into their own hands: Assuming that there were forceful conversions (the Wadhwa Commission has clearly indicated that no incidence of forceful conversion took place in this particular incidence), the honourable jurists callous comments that ‘to teach lesson to Graham Staines’ was something unwarranted of a learned jury. To teach a lesson, if every one starts killing the others I think Indian society will be left with none except the killers, on the contrary Indian ethos are built on the values of tolerance and non-violence. Hope the Jury would take back their comments on this judgement. 
• Are the Dalit & Tribal Communities in India prone to forceful conversions? This verdict is against the Dalit & Tribal sentiments in India. For the jury has assumed that these communities do not have any brains in choosing their spirituality, and therefore are taking on them these external religions forcefully and for want of meeting some temporary needs. For the jury has projected Dara Singh as the messiah of Tribal communities from preventing them from the religious conversions, which is very unfortunate.

In the light of this discussion, I think the court of law needs to make a review on their verdict of upholding life sentence to Dara Singh instead of death penalty, if at the fabric of secularism is to be upheld. Staines and his two sons are the martyrs of secularism in India, and it’s high time that the unjust forces of fundamentalism and communalism need to be buried. Let no other Dara Singh spiral and arise in this our country of ours.

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[1] http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/conversion-factor-022 as used by Fr. Dominic Emmanuel in his opinion piece.