(November 23, 2009) A delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI)
met two ministers of the government of India last week to express the concerns of
the Christian community in the country. CBCI secretary-general Archbishop Stanislaus
Fernandes of Gandhinagar headed the delegation on Friday to meet Home Minister, P.
Chidambaram and Minister for Minority Affairs, Salman Khurshid in New Delhi. The
delegation included Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack- Bhubaneshwar, Bishop Charles
Soreng of Hazaribagh, Fr. Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the CBCI and Mr. P.I. Jose,
Supreme Court Advocate. Chidambaram was apprised of the latest development in Kandhamal
district, the epicentre of the anti-Christian violence in Orissa state last year.
The group urged Chidambaram to take appropriate measures to bring justice to the victims
of the violence. Among several grievances brought to the minister were the laxity
on the part of the district administration in providing adequate building materials
for those who lost homes, the malicious propaganda against Christians in Orissa, particularly
in the local media, the forceful conversion of Christians returning to their villages
and a vitiated atmosphere in the fast-track court premises due to the strong presence
of extremist Hindus threatening witnesses. The delegation also presented the draft
of Christian Community’s observations on The Communal Violence Bill 2005 on the prevention,
control and rehabilitation of victims and urged him to pass it without delay in the
Parliament. In an another meeting with the minister for Minority Affairs, the delegation
expressed its concern over a clause in the Right to Education Act which it said would
infringe upon the right of minorities to administer their educational institutions.