Indian seminar slams attacks on minority rights

(February 14, 2011) A seminar last week in the Indian capital, New Delhi, heard Church leaders expressing serious concern over increasing attempts to erode minority rights in the country. The Commission for Education and Culture of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) organized the seminar on Saturday on the theme, “Minority Right: The Recent Judicial and Legislative Trends.” On the occasion, Supreme Court Judge Cyriac Joseph released a book ‘Minority Rights: under Scrutiny again” written by Sister Mary Scaria, who heads the CBCI legal cell. “Minority Right is not a charity or intended as a privilege of the community but only a protection to guard the vitality or plurality of Indian culture,” Justice Joseph said. He said that the level of protection of the minority community and their right is the criterion to test a democratic country such as India. Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi expressed concern that minority rights were shrinking, saying there are a number of cases in the country where people belonging to a minority community are discriminated against. “Their privileges or rights are not being practiced in a proper way,” the prelate lamented. Father Kuriala Chittattukulam, secretary of CBCI Commission for Education said, “At present the head of the institutions have become mere convener of the managing committee where the ruling or the administration is done by the government or by their hidden agenda which is against the right of the minority.”