The Church in India calls for freedom of expression for all
April 26, 2014: The Church in India has come out in favour of the principal of a Catholic
school in Mumbai, saying that "everyone has the right to express their opinion." This
follows a controversy caused by Fr Frazer Mascarenhas SJ, principal at St Xavier's
College, who posted his reflections on India's current election on the school's website.
Reacting to the post, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked the
Election Commission to have the post deleted. In his article, the Jesuit clergyman
raises questions about "what constitutes human development and how it is to be achieved."
In so doing, he focused on the , a state ostensibly on a path of development free
from communal tensions. Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in
this election, has been Gujarat's chief minister for the past ten years, after winning
three consecutive elections. However, Fr Mascarenhas debunks the myth spread by Modi's
propaganda machine. For the priest, India has some questions to ask itself. "Is
the growth of big business, the making of huge profits the achievement of high production
- what we seek? Or is it the quality of life for the majority in terms of affordable
basic goods and services and the freedom to take forward the cultural aspirations
of our plural social groups that make up India? In , which corresponds to the Gujarat
model, "The prospect of an alliance of corporate capital and communal forces coming
to power constitutes a real threat to the future of our secular democracy," words
that elicited the BJP's reaction. For Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai,
"Fr Frazer gave an objective analysis. An educator educates his students to examine
situations in an objective manner. It is a shame that the issue has been politicised.
" "In a democracy everyone has a right to state his or her opinion," said Fr Errol
Fernandes SJ, principal of the Commerce Section at the same college. "This must always
be done with dignity and without any attempt to malign the name of another. Fr Frazer
has not imposed his view on anyone," Fr Fernandes explained. "Those who have read
him are welcome to have their own point of view and even to differ." (Source: AsiaNews)