India’s Minorities Commission Investigates Discrimination Dalit Christians

The Dalit Christians on Friday asked the Church leadership to stop fraudulent conversion in India among Dalits and Tribals. And it further demand that the foreign funds received by the church be used for the welfare and upliftment of the poor Christians who are suffering from the discrimination. The convention strongly urged the Govt of India not to appoint Bishops, priests and nuns in the government commissions and committed but instead it should appoint ordinary Christians. These and many other demands are raised in a resolution adopted at the national conventions organized by the Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) headed by R.L.Francis.

The convention urged the “Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the National Christian Council of India (NCCI) to set up a 1000 crore “Dalit Christian Development” fund to ensure integrated social and economic development.

Considering the confusion created by the propagation activities in the far flung areas the convention adopted a resolution urging the church authorities to defer the mass conversion programme. The resolution stated that, “This assembly unanimously believes that evangelism cannot be a measurement of a society’s socio-economic development. Therefore, evangelism programme should be suspended for long years and funds should be saved and utilized for the welfare of Dalits and Trible Christians and deprived sections of society for creating awareness among them.”

The resolution also demanded reservation of seats for Dalit and Trible Christians as well as other Dalits in Church-run schools, colleges, technical institutions and other vocational organizations.

Three hundred delegates from different parts of the country, who attended the convention, alleged that a handful of priests and bishops were monopolizing the Church funds and property in the country. This has led to the worsening conditions of neo converted Christians were living in a pitiable condition and deprived of the basic necessities.

In his address, the National President R.L. Francis said that the church leadership is interested only in increasing the numbers and is hardly bothering about their living conditions. The biggest proof of this was that a large chunk of foreign funds were being utilized either for purchasing land and for the luxurious lifestyles of few Christians leaders in India . Bishops are monopolizing the Church estates and treating it as their own property and are indulging in its sale-purchase without the consent of the community,” he alleged.

Mr. Jawahar Singh, President Gertor India Foundation said 90 per cent to the maids working in cantt and its surrounding areas are Dalit and Trible Christians. Their children do not even complete their primary education, he said. Mr. Singh said that when he went to the priest of the church in the area to discuss the issue of maids and their children; he refused to say anything.

Mr. P B Lomeo, Christian activist and editor of a church newspaper, alleged that not one of the 40,000 educational institutions run by the church give admission to the children of Dalit Christians. The PCLM, which was launched to help Dalit and Trible Christians and provide them with a platform to express their grief, is the most powerful for them, Mr.Lomeo said.

Fr. William Premdass Chaudhary a catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Delhi said that “ in last two decades many poor Christians have gone back to Hinduism due to maltreatment by the church. “Even myself was treated bad fly as I am local Christian and not given any assiyment by Bishop of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese because I am a Dalit and local Priest.” he further stated.

Mr. Balbir Punj, a senior BJP think tank and member of Rajya SAbha suggested that the Church in India should honestly make a model for the progress of Dalits Christians. He also called for moratorium on conversion for the next ten years.

Raising the question of future of Christian children in India , well known human rights activist Joseph Gathia urged the Govt of India and the Supreme Court to redefine minority educational institutions. He further demanded declassification of those Christian minority institutions who do not admit Christian’s children in their schools.
Mr. Joseph Gathia opposed the caste base reservation for Christian community in India as it would institutionalize the discrimination in Christianity which is against its very basic principle. Such a move would darken the future of poor Christina’s children in India .

At National Convention, Mr. Meharban James, Bishop R.B.Sandu, Mr. Ashok Bharti, P.N. Ambdker and others express their views reading Casteism in Church.. The copies of the resolution passed in the convention would be sending to the Pope, the World Council of Churches, and Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India and UPA chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi..

PCLM RESOLUTION FOR NATIONAL CONVENTION

Nearly 300 delegates from different parts of the country who gather at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, Lodhi Road ., New Delhi passed the following resolutions unanimously on Friday 6th June 2008.

I Resolution:
We demand that Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI), National Council for churches in India (NCCI) and other church organizations drop the demand for pushing back the poor Christians in to the category of Scheduled Caste status. The teaching of Jesus Christ does not permit to discriminate among his followers. All Christians are born in the image of God.

If the Church in India pursue the reservation for Christians on the basis of caste then it must pay compensation to the poor Christians who got converted to the Christianity long back.

II Resolution:

(a) We urge the Govt. of India to institute a law allowing the Christians minority institutions to admit 50 % student who are Christians. Any Christians educational institute claiming Minority Status be punished if they refuse admission to a Christian child. Currently there is no such provision therefore the Church educational institutions are fearless. Those not following the directive be declassified and put under the Income Tax Act as commercial venture.

(b) We further urged the Govt hat no clergy (Bishops, priests and nuns) be appointed in Government committee, commissions etc. Instead the Govt should appointed ordinary Christians as the members such committees and commissions.. It has been observed that due to such appointments the Bishops, priests, and nuns are deviating format their original work of the Church and misusing their positions and funds.

(C) that the Government of India to introduce special laws to protect Church property and land as currently it is being misused and Sold by few interested group of people. As the land was given by the Govt of India long back on perpetual lease it is very much within the right to introduce such laws in the interest of the Christian community in India and for the betterment of the Dalit and Trible Christians.

III Resolution:

(a) We earnestly urge the Vatican to follow protest pattern in appointing the bishops in India , appointment of bishop by concesious of the local people. The Poor Christian Liberation Movement is opposed to the current procedure of appointing the Bishop in the Diocese by the top from Vatican who is not aware of the local conditions. The Vatican must follow the same law which is being followed in China .

(b) Representatives at the National Convention demand to CBCI to appoint lay people (especially Dalit and Tribal Christians) at the important positions in the institutions of Catholic Church.

(c) The Church in India is the largest employments giver after the Govt of India. Hence we demand that to solve the unemployment problem among poor Christians 50 % job reservations in Christians educational and medical institutions for these category be reserved in the Church institutions.

IV Resolution:

(a) Churches are bringing fund from abroad and spending crores of rupees on evangelization which creates confusion among the religions and bring disunity in the country. Evangelization must be stopped. Let the population grow within the religions. Church should not criticize another religion. Let all the religions grow freely. Church leaders must spend crores of rupees for the upliftment of the Dalit and Trible Christians rather than on evangelization.

(b) The Poor Christian Liberation Movement feels that a time has come when pluralistic societies are to be accepted. It has already been done in the Western Christians countries. Therefore the focus on fraudulent conversion and only increasing number of “rice Christians” would not really serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church in India needs to promote multi culturalism and inter faith dialogues.
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(c) In order to facilitate resource for education and training for the children of the poor Christians particularly girls a 1000 crore rupee fund be created in India by the Church. Such fund would help the Christian community to become self sufficient in the long run.

We feel that the time has come for Christians in India to suggest their Christian brethren and sisters in the West that all afforts must be made to make the community self sufficient and not dependent. We the Christians in India wish that the foreign funds must be diverted to poor people of Africa .

(d) We strong feel that the Church leaders should prove themselves as good shepherds who can lead their sheep selflessly and serve OUR LORD Jesus Christ as per his teachings. Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor.

MAY THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE US IN OUR ENDEAVOUR.
email- francispclm@yahoo.com

An internal battle wages in the Church

By Priyanka P. Narain
Mumbai:
When Father William Premdas Chaudhary, the only Dalit priest in the Delhi archdiocese, began highlighting the plight of his community three years ago, his parish was taken away from him.
“I became a nuisance to the archbishop by raising issues faced by lower castes in churches. So they sidelined me,” he claims.
They converted to Christianity to escape the caste system of Hinduism, but even in the church, Dalits (or lower caste) remain at the bottom of the hierarchy, facing discrimination, unequal access to education, even the persistence of preface: “Dalit Christians”. But hope has stirred, ironically, out of attacks on their own. In an unprecedented move last week, the pope of the Roman Catholic Church issued a statement condemning the Orissa violence that killed dozens in the wake of the unsolved murder of a vocal anti-missionary Hindu leader. Since the Vatican has rarely addressed Indian Christians before, Dalit Christians hope the pope will now look deeper inside the practice of the religion in India—perhaps condemn caste, enforce equality, make conversions more honest and renew their flagging faith.
As churchgoers dwindle in Europe—according to pollster Gallup International, attendance declined from 60-65% in 1980 to 20% in 2000—countries such as India with its enormous potential for conversion have become more important for the Vatican. But an old hierarchical civilization such as India poses unique challenges, explains R.L. Francis, president of the Poor Christian Liberation Movement. Here, “the higher castes of Christianity, Syrians, Mangloreans and Goans from south India dominate churches in the country and treat Dalit converts like second-class citizens,” he says.
Some Dalit Christians also say that the violence in Orissa offers lessons for the church to proceed with caution in its approach to conversions—and first fix relations among existing followers. Pro-Hindu organizations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad say, for example, that conversion should not be linked to basic needs, such as access to health care or school.
The meek shall inherit
“We have known injustice for generations. It’s wonderful when someone tells you, ‘All human beings are the children of god,’” says Francis, whose grandfather had converted from Hinduism to Christianity.
In Orissa, new converts quickly realize that religious change does not mean equality. For instance, among the Panos, who were originally animists, those who converted came to dominate the social order of the state. They own businesses, hold positions of power and also dominate the clergy, while the condition of tribals remains unchanged.
The strange hierarchy enters economics and politics in other ways; tribal Christians can avail of Scheduled Tribe status, while Dalit Christians cannot of Scheduled Caste status, although certainly there have been efforts to expand quotas to them. In the district of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, P.B Lomiyo, editor of the magazine, Christian Restoration, says Dalits face similar challenges nationwide. Lomiyo says, “The clergy raise funds for schools for Dalits, but don’t give admission to them. When Dalits demand their rights, they react and encourage the parish to boycott the Dalits.”
One area of great contention has been schools. Father Benjamin Chinnappa, a priest who works in Chicago, runs a school for Dalit children near Puducherry with his US salary.
Even though Dalits need the education and upliftment most, he says, “the school administrators want to keep performance high. They want to compete with other schools and want people who can pay tuition.”
The issue is not entirely new, though. Father Anthony Kurusinkal, editor of The Examiner archdiocesean newspaper for Mumbai, says he had studied the issue of Dalit Christians in 1984 at the request of the Vatican and had made a presentation in the city-state, advocating greater representation from the Dalit community in church leadership. “They wanted to know what the situation is,” he said. “And they decided that no appointments to the post of bishop or archbishop will be made on the basis of caste in India.”
But that was 24 years ago.
Since then, inequality has deepened and become entrenched in the church, says Chinnappa. “The bishops and archbishops will not accept it. But this discrimination against the Dalits is the bitter reality of the Christian church in India.”
The silent church
So far, the Vatican has not addressed the divide, saying it must be resolved by Indian church officials. The pope’s representative in India, Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, declined to comment.
However, the website of Catholic Bishops Conference of India discusses how the government and the Constitution of India have failed Dalits. But it does not list any programmes or policies specifically for them run by the church.
And the Vatican’s directive that bishops should not be chosen on the basis of caste has made no impact on the ground, Kurusinkal says. “There is constant in-fighting going on when a leader is chosen. If it is an area with high caste majority, they will insist that one among them becomes the bishop or priest. If it is a lower caste majority, they want a leader from among them,” he said. Francis alleges that there is no interest in fixing the problem and insists that like all other Dalit Christians, “I am subtly reminded to remember who I am—an untouchable.”
He says letters sent to the Vatican demanding help have met silence. “But we will not be silent. The church leaders in India should stop asking the government to give us the status of the Scheduled Caste. When we embraced Christianity, we came to the Church for a better life,” he says. “Now they cannot go back on it.”
In some cases, the Church’s willingness to look the other way has been in some Indians’ favour, on issues such as birth control and abortion, for example.
Francis says that is because the Vatican has one lone interest in India: conversion. “They have only set up a business enterprise here,” he said, “… solely for promoting conversions, none for Dalit upliftment. We are asking the Vatican to stop all conversion in India for the next 100 years and spend the money on healing those who have already come to the faith.”
Rajdeep Datta Ray contributed to this story from Orissa.
Next: In Orissa, Hindus and Christians alike say some missionaries have used deceitful means to convert villagers.
Mint
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Wed. Septmber 3, 2008

Demand for Waqf like Board for Church properties

New Delhi: Monday, February 5, 2009:
Considering the large scale fraudulent deals and selling of mission properties in several places in India, the Madhya Pradesh Minority Commission has suggested to the State Government to set up a Waqf like Board to protect Church properties.

The Poor Christian Liberation Movement, President R.L. Francis, whole heartedly supports the proposal mooted by the Madhya Pradesh State Minority Commission and appeals the church hierarchy to examine the proposal with open mind and in sincerity.

The Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) has earlier on August 27, 2004 submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh demanding an agency for the protection of Christian properties on the pattern of Waqf Board. This demand was again repeated on June 6, 2008 in New Delhi.

Opposing the Waqf like board for the protection of Mission properties the Madhya Pradesh Catholic Bishops Conference (MPCBC) has termed the proposal as anti -constitutional and has opposed it on the technical ground. The MPCBC has also called for the excommunication of the lone Christian member of the Madhya Pradesh state Minority Commission Mr. Anand Bernard. This step by the local bishops is not only against Christian ethics but also anti constitutional too. The Poor Christian Liberation Movement demands withdrawal of excommunication proposal by the MP Bishops and seeks apology from them.

After closely examining the proposal the PCLM has come to conclusion that there is nothing objectionable in the proposal. If there was anything wrong in the Wafk Board then Muslim brethren would have opposed it. Therefore, it is not appropriate to oppose the proposal mooted by the M P state Minority Commission for setting up a Waqf like Board for the Christians.

President of the Movement Mr. R L Francis said that, The matter is very serious and affects Christian community at all India level hence the Poor Christian Liberation Movement -PCLM demands that the Christian leaders and intellectuals such as : Dr. John Deal, Fr. T. K. John s j, Mr.Wilson Thampu, Mr.Joseph Gathia, Mr.Sajan George, Dr. J D’souza, Mr. Michael Pinto, Mrs. Mary John, Ms.Ruth Manorama, Mr. J.Macwan ,Mr. P B Lomeo, Bishop R B Sandhu, Supreme Court Advocate Julian Francis, Rev. Richard Howell, and others convey a national level seminar for the community to discuss the proposal rather than outrightly rejecting it.

The Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) appeals the Bishops of Madhya Pradesh to withdraw the excommunication threat and tender unconditional apology to Anand Bernard. The Movement further urges the Vatican representative in India, the pro-nuncio, not to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. India is a sovereign country.

Several cases of selling church property illegally have come of light in Jabalpur, Damoh, Indore, Ratlam, Raipur, Bilaspur, Nagpur, Agra, Saharanpur, Lucknow,Ludhiana, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta, etc. therefore it is in the interest of the Christian community to have a Waqf Board like national agency for the proper upkeep and protection of the mission property.

R.L.Francis
National President, PCLM

Church Must Consider Waqf like Board

New Delhi, March 4, 2009 : Reacting to the Madhya Pradesh government’s proposal to set up a waqf like board to manage Mission properties the Catholic Church hierarchy in Bhopal are likely to move the High Court in the state. The Poor Christians Liberation Movement –PCLM – once again appeals the Church leaders to examine the proposal with positive angle and wants them that such a move would open Pandora s box.

The PCLM president R.L. Francis stated that the demand to set up a waqf like board for Church properties was first raised in Kerala about ten years ago when several cases of malpractice were deducted. Likewise the church properties and land were sold in Agra, Luck now, and Delhi etc. “The Christian community then felt that to save mission properties from encroachment & misuse a watchdog body appointed by the government would be helpful” said R.L. Francis.

Reacting to the proposal of Waqf like board for Mission properties in Madhya Pradesh an independent well known human rights campaigner Joseph Gathia stated that there is no doubt that church properties are in danger today from several quarters and some mechanism to protect it is required. Whether it is Waqf like board or some other agency must be decided by the Christian minority community in accordance with the constitutional provisions.

The Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh is misinterpreting the definition of the mission properties. The Poor Christians Liberation Movement – PCLM is of the opinion that at several places the Church was granted land on nominal lease fee by the then British Government. After the independence the Church added new properties by purchasing land and building institutions with the help of “donations” in the name of Christian community and under the legal protection of charitable minority institutions. So it is a community property and hence requires a watchdog body save it.

The argument by the Archbishop of Bhopal, Leo Cornelio, that they have purchased these properties. Then the question arises from where did they got the funds. Where does the surplus money earned by the high fee charging convent schools is invested? Are the poor Christian employees given bonus and other facilities?

Once again the PCLM urges the Church Bishops and priests to solve the problem through the dialogue rather then going to the court.

• Posted: Thu, Mar 12 2009. 10:14 PM IST
A high price for religious conversion?
Moving to Christianity, Dalits have missed out on, among other things, caste-based reservation benefiting only Hindus
Priyanka P. Narain
New Delhi: When Abhishek John’s father died last year and he couldn’t pay the Rs900 fee for his final school term, he was thrown out of St John’s Cathedral College in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, and barred by the principal from taking the class IX exam.
Nothing’s changed: R.L. Francis, founder of the Poor Christian Liberation Movement, an organization campaigning for Dalit rights, says the condition of Dalit Christians hasn’t changed since independence. Ramesh Pathania / Mint
“We told him (principal) we would pay as soon as we could arrange for the money, but he refused to listen,” Anthony Parminder, the student’s brother-in-law, said in a phone interview. John, 15, is appearing as a private candidate for his class X examination this year.
John’s scheduled caste (SC) Hindu family had converted to Christianity hoping to escape caste-based discrimination. But the so-called Dalit Christians, as such converts are known, are finding that a change of religious identity does not mean a change in their social situation. And converts who proclaim their change of faith openly lose out on benefits such as caste-based reservations offered for SC candidates.
Now, some Christian leaders are demanding reservations for Dalit Christians, who make up an estimated 70% of the 24-million-strong Christian community in India. A growing section of Dalit Christians, however, say they are being forced back to an abusive system they had sought to flee.
Vinod Peter, president of the Jhansi Catholic Association, says John’s case is just one instance of what has been happening to many other young boys and girls in the town.
Also Read When Samnan would rather be Somnath
“We went to plead with the principal, but to no avail. He simply asked us why don’t we find a way to help him pay his fees. Even we are poor people, where do we get money from?” asks Peter.
“Children from other communities become doctors and government officers,” he says. “Our children become high-school dropouts and waiters. We know there is a lot of donation coming into India to help poor Christians. What I want to know is where is it all going. What I see is that priests who used to travel on cycles now have cars and fancy homes to live. But they don’t have Rs900 to help for a boy’s education.”
The Indian system provides reservations under the SC category only for Dalit Hindus, meaning they renounce the benefits of affirmative action such as reservations in government jobs and education institutions when they convert. A presidential order issued in 1950 laid down that “no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu (the Sikh or the Buddhist) religion shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste.”
No one has a clear estimate of how many people have actually converted to Christianity because converts often choose to remain silent about the change in their faith. They fear that if they announce they have converted, they will lose the benefits of SC status.
Converts often remain silent about their change in faith to retain scheduled caste status, benefits
Both Christians and Muslims are demanding similar benefits. “In India, the caste system has spared no one,” says the Rev. George Gispert from the Vidya Jyoti College in the Capital.
For instance, even though 70% of Indian Christians are Dalits, there are just two or three Dalit bishops in a total of 160 bishops in India. “All over the country, there are different groups of Christians having problems with each other. Although Christianity itself has no caste system, the system is part of practised Christianity in India. So, whatever help (reservations) the Dalit Hindus are getting because they were discriminated against, should also be extended to Dalit Christians,” Father Gispert argues.
Many in the Christian clergy acknowledge that the problem needs to be fixed. But unlike the so-called Dalit Muslims, who are almost unanimously in favour of reservations under the SC category, the Dalit Christians are divided. They say the Christian clergy is shirking its responsibility.
“The condition of Dalit Christians is no better than it used to be before independence. We are unorganized, uneducated, leaderless and socially ostracized,” said R.L. Francis, founder of the Poor Christian Liberation Movement, an organization campaigning for Dalit rights within the Christian religion, and author of the book, Aastha se Vishwasghat (Betrayal of Faith).
Hindu Dalits have seen their social situation transform in the last 60 years, Francis says. The change started with the bhoodan andolan (land donation movement) of 1951 when, responding to a call by freedom fighter and social reformer Vinoba Bhave, upper caste landlords gave away 4 million acres to the poor, including Dalits.
“Meanwhile, we waited. When we converted, the Church had promised us equality and promised to protect our interests and undertake measures for us. But what we got is more discrimination,” said Kamal Joseph, founder of the Ideal Christian Association in Jhansi.
“For example, our children face educational discrimination because we are poor. In Jhansi, there are very good Christian schools. But while children from other castes are able to study there, poor Christian children are thrown out by sixth or seventh grade because we cannot afford the fees,” Joseph says.
Whatever the reality, the perception that the Christian clergy is not looking after its poor persists. Stories of disillusionment and re-conversion have begun to appear regularly in the media.
Last April, about 1,000 Dalit Christians reconverted to Hinduism in Chennai, saying they were disappointed by the discrimination within the Christian religion.
Similar unconfirmed reports of re-conversion ceremonies have emerged from various parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh.
“These problems are sharper in rural areas where people hold on to old practices,” says Anthony Charanghat, director of the Catholic Communication Centre and editor of Examiner magazine in Mumbai.
The conflict is evident in Jhansi. “These people (missionaries) come to rural villages, hold camps. They tell poor people to convert to Christianity and things like ‘we will educate your children’, ‘we will help you buy your home’ and all that. When the poor people do convert, the missionaries abandon them and go after other people,” says Joseph, 28, who converted to Christianity when he was in high school.
“That is when the new converts realize their mistake. Now they have lost their reservation rights and they realize they are getting nothing from the church,” Joseph says. “When entire villages began reconverting to Hinduism, the priests woke up to the plight of Dalit Christians. But even now, they will not resolve it. They want the government to give them reservation and want the government to do their work for them. Christianity is a good faith but the people who are supposed to do God’s work are not.”
Charanghat says there is a distinction between what the Church believes and what is practised because of “the human element. People change their faith, but they don’t change their prejudices.”
“A Dalit Hindu continues to remain backward after he becomes a Christian. The church always insists that all Dalits be given the same privileges. Socially they are still backward and need as much advantage as the Hindus Dalits,” he adds. “No law can be made on the basis of religion. Restricting this affirmative action to Hindus alone is not right. And the demand that Christians be treated equally within their own fold, is also fair. We have a lot of political distinctions between upper and lower castes in Christianity, and this is more overt in rural areas. We are doing everything we can to prevent such discrimination. But that does not change the fact that Dalit Christians should get reservations too.”
This is the second in a three-part series on the quest of non-Hindu communities for caste-based reserved quota.

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PRESS RELEASE
On the eve of Good Friday

Christian urges Church to propagate message of Love

New Delhi, April 9, 2009: All over the world Christians remember Jesus Christ for message of love and forgiveness on the Good Friday but the Church in India is using language of hate and division during the current Lok Sabha election time, acceding to a press release by the Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM).

The PCLM has noted that certain bishops are falsely propogating that Christians in Orissa are not safe therefore the elections there should be postponed. The PCLM differs from such assessment and feels that the Christian churches are creating ill feeling against one particular community and a political party. Such a move is dangerous as it divides the Indian community. Mr. R L Francis, the president of PCLM stressed that some people are falsely propogating such things for their own benefit.

The PCLM urges that the Election Commission should call for an explanation from the Archbishop of Cuttack- Bhubaneswar. Rt. Rev Raphael Cheenath as to why he is propagating in foreign countries that the elections in Kandhamal Orissa should be postponed. The PCLM will also be drawing the attention of Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, Shri Rajnath Singh, president BJP and other political parties to raise this issue before the Election Commisiosn.

R.L.Francis
President – PCLM

Although the Indian Constitution granted Fundamental right to equality (social, economic and political) and personal liberty to all its citizens without any discrimination of caste, creed, sex, religion, place of birth, etc. and although more than 60 years of independent India has been ruled by foreign mindset political parties, rural, tribal and dalit christians and hill tribes are not included in the uniform culture of Indian Society as others in cities. Adequate representation with weightage to minority and weaker communities such as dalit christians in the Legislatures and proper reservation iof dalit christians in the Administration have not been implemented. Time has come that a Dalit Sister like National President of BSP should become Prime Minister of India for proper implementation of the various provisions of the Indian Constitution and the laws for meeting out justice to the deprived communities and women who constitute about an one-half of the population and whose fundamental rights to equality and personal liberty have been held to be human rights.

Missionary schools are not teaching poor: dalit Christian body

New Delhi, Sep 8: Only 20 per cent of Christian students from the economically or socially deprived sections of the community constitute around 40 lakh students being taught in Christian schools across the country, a Christian body claimed here today.

Nearly 70 per cent of child labour in India belong to Dalit, tribal or converted Christian community as very few children from these communities get enrolled in missionary schools, Poor Christian Liberation Movement, a Dalit Christian body, said. It is, therefore, not surprising that school dropout rate among children from these communities is high as 40-45 per cent as compared to 25 per cent for students from other communities. ”Is it not an affront to our Christian consciousness,” Movement’s president R L Francis asked.

“The question that bothers us is whether Christians are really serving the poor or just running good schools for the rich and elite in the country,” he asked, adding Christian educational institutions have diverted from their objective of educating the poor and marginalized.

– UNI
2009 published with permission from United News of India

Christian organization against on Ranganath Misra Report

New Delhi, March 19, 2010: On Yesterday, Dalit Christians has asked the church leaderships to stop the further in increasing and strengthening casteism in the church in India. Hundred of delegates of Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) form different parts of the country, who attended the convention. They discussed the Report of Ranganath Misra and the delegates opposed unanimously the report which misleads the government of India.

The PCLM President R L Francis said that ‘National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) will bring great harm to the growth of Church in India in future. We opposed the implementation of this report .It is also contrary to the principles of Christianity and will “legalize” caste system in Christianity. Reservation is being given on the basis of “religion” which is unconstitutional as the caste is not recognized under the Canon laws.

Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) appealed to the ‘World Council of Churches’ and the ‘Vatican’ to appoint a religious commission to determine whether ‘caste’ system is applicable in the Christianity or not. We also appeal to the Islamic intellectuals around the world to examine the recommendations of the Ranganath Misra Report in the light of the teachings of the Holy Quran.

Indian Christian Righteous Action Forum (ICRA) President, Joseph G. Anthony opposed the caste base reservation for Christian community in India as it would institutionalize the discrimination in Christianity which is against its very basic principle. Such a move would darken the future of poor Christina’s children in India.

Christian leaders, P.B.Lomeo, Fr. William Premdass Chaudhary and Meharban James said that the church bodies are demanding reservation from the government of India whereas in their own institutions are neglecting and ill treating the Christian of Dalit background.

PCLM Resolution for National Convention

Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) resolution for National Consultation on “Ranganath Misra Commission Report’- Implication for Dalit & Christians in India” pclm delegates from different parts of the country who gather at the Constitution Club, V.P.House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi passed the following resolutions unanimously on Thursday 18 March, 2010.

Resolution:

1 We oppose ‘National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities’ (NCRLM) on the grounds that it is contrary to the principles of Christianity and will “legalize” caste system in Christianity. Reservation is being given on the basis of “religion” which is unconstitutional as the caste is not recognized under the Canon laws.
2 We appeal to the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican to appoint a religious commission to determine whether ‘caste’ system is applicable in the Christianity or not. All the important decisions to run the Church and the Christians around the world.

3. The Church of India runs large number of schools, hospitals, institutions ect. We urge the Church authorities to implement the main recommendations of the NCRLM (Ranganath Misra report) for reservation to Dalit Christians in their own structure instead of demanding reservation from government of India.

4. We appreciate Smt. Asha Das, member secretary of the ‘National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities’ (NCRLM) who wrote dissenting note opposing reservation for the Dalit Christians on the basis of caste.

5. All over the country the Christian public properties are being sold. We demand that the Government of India nationalize the public institutions like hospitals, colleges and church lands which are being sold to private parties due to various reasons. We oppose the sale of Christian hospitals, church land of Barely and other places in India without the knowledge of Christians.

Business of education in the name of minority rights
By RL Francis

Justice Ranganath Misra Commission report has caught the attention of the entire country. It has strengthened the demand of the Church and the Christian organizations to provide reservation for the Dalit Christians. They are holding rallies and meetings to pressurize the Union government to implement the Misra Commission report.

But, the question arises here whether the Church and these Christian organizations have ever thought of first giving admission to the students and recruiting teachers from their own community in the Christian missionary run schools. The fact of the matter is that the percentage of the Christian students and teachers in these schools is negligible. They run the schools and educational institutions just to do business and earn profit instead of doing service to their own community.

Interestingly, all the governments at the Centre, irrespective of the political party, have tried to appease the Church and Christian organizations. The policies of BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has not been very different when it comes to Church and Christian organizations.

It may be mentioned here that.“National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions” had proclaimed its verdict recently that the number of students from minority community does not hold a valid basis while granting or taking away recognition of minority institution. Their status of minority institute will remain intact whatever be the number of non-minority community students in the institution. This decision is contrary to an earlier verdict of the apex court in which minority institutions had been directed to fill certain limit of total admission quota by the minority community students.

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had constituted the ‘National Commission for Minorities Educational Institution’ (NCMEI) in 2004 for sake of convenience to the minority educational institutions under the stewardship of a former judge Justice M.S.A.Siddiqui. Minority communities have been given freedom, under the article 30 of the Indian Constitution, to establish and run their own educational institutions. Muslims, Sikhs and Christians are running a large number of minority educational institutions under the act.

The basic objective behind giving these special rights under article 30 of the Constitution was to promote the language, script, culture and religious education of the community. However, Indian Church and Christian Missionaries have misused this right to fulfill their own agenda after the independence. They have often used this right as a tool for expansion. Church has gained much in this bargain by granting admissions to the children of high profile politicians and bureaucrats sitting in the corridors of power in their 5-star convent schools.

Lots of cases against arbitrary decisions have even come in the Supreme Court. The Court had said that the minority educational institutions will have to take care of the students of minority communities to a certain level. These institutions will be free to admit the children of non-minority community but in any circumstances they cannot overlook the interests of the students of the minority community. If a minority educational institution is found violating this order, their minority status could be withdrawn. The Court had even said that if the State Governments want they can decide certain percentage of seats for the students of the minority communities for such institutions.

Complaints of Sikh and Muslim students not getting admission in their own institutions are rare. Actually, this problem persists with the institutions run by the Church. The Church has laid a web of educational institution across the country.The influence of Church can be ascertained from the fact that -Christian community which is merely 2.5 percent of the total population of the country- has monopoly over the 22 percent of the educational institutions and even then around 15 percent of the Christian children in the cities and 40 percent in the rural areas are illiterate. The convent schools administered and run by the Church do not give admission to the poor Christian children at all.

In a programme organised by Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) in the national capital Region of Delhi, a Dalit Christian leader said, “The Christian educational institutions are here to serve rich instead of the poor Christians. Even in metros like Delhi; the number of the Christian students in these institutions is negligible. The special rights entrusted by the Constitution are being used to churn money and for the expansion of the Churches.” Had church played its role honestly it would not have to demand to include its followers in the list of Scheduled Caste and notifying Ranganath Misra Commission report.

Several complaints of above mentioned nature were constantly coming to National Commission for Minority Educational Institution. Keeping this in mind The Telegraph- Calcutta on March 7, 2010 published an article and quoted the Chairman of the Commission, Justice M.S.A.Siddiqui saying, “The educational institutions run by the Indian Church should have at least 30 percent Christian students and if this is violated such institutions will loose their minority institution status.” Echoing the same view even Supreme Court had said in its 2005 verdict that the benefit of minority education institutions should necessarily percolate to those community students in the name of whose progress they have been established. The Chairman of the Commission, Justice Siddiqui had said, “Educational institutions of Sikh and Mislim community are giving maximum benefit to the students of their community. Here, the problem lies with the institutions run by Christians. So the National Commission for Minority Educational Institution has ratified this proposal that those Christian educational institutions that fails to maintain minimum 30 percent Christian students will loose their minority status.”

Entire Indian Church establishment openly stood against this order of the NCMEI. Catholic Bishops Confernce of India (CBCI), Commission for Education and Culture expressed their serious disagreement before the Prime Minister and the Education Minister against the verdict of the commission for fixing the minimum limit of minority students in church run institutes. The Bishop conference said to the Prime Minister that ‘Article 30 (1) of constitution gave them right to run their institutions and there has been no percentage fixed to get the minority status. Since our number is also less so we (Bishop Conference) condemn this decision. Since then
Commission was looking for a way out to change its decision which it soon got an opportunity after controversy between Church run school and Odisha government. Odisha government had alleged that percentage of the Christian students in the school is very less so the minority status of the school should be withdrawn. NCMEI smelt the opportunity to change its verdict and changed its earlier decision in a single stroke and stated that no minimum percentage is required to run a minority school.

Human Rights Activist Joseph Gathia believes that the right to run educational institution was imparted keeping certain responsibilities in mind. The aim was to promote the interests of backwards and poorer sections of the community by their own community so that they could stand with equal footing with relatively well-off communities. It will not be unconstitutional to impose some restriction in order to stop the mis-use . Taking legal recourse on denying admissions to minority students falls in the same domain. Joseph Gathis asks – If Indian Church does not want to run these institutions for their own community, then for whom they want to run these institutions?

Should the decision given by the NCMEI and the flimsy logic put forward by the Catholic Bishops Confernce of India (CBCI) and Commission for Education and Culture before Prime Minsiter- that no percentage has been fixed in the constitution- be construed as a guarantee to open education institution in every nook and corner of the country bluffing constitutional provisions just for the sake of churning money. There are hundreds of convent schools like Saint Columbus, Jesus and Mary, Mater Dei, Saint Thomas which are being run in and around Delhi under the minority status. Has the government ever bothered to find the percentage of the minority community in these educational institutions?

Here, one example will be sufficed. In Saint Thomas school run by the Catholic Church in the NCR has around 1500 students and among them number of Christian students is less than 50. Similarly, in Khatauli which is very close to Delhi, there is hardly any Catholic family but convent school is there. Now, the question arises that if students and teachers in these school are not Christian, then for the conservation of which religion, language and culture, the Church is using the minority rights?

Vested interest groups are exploiting the loopholes in the constitutional provisions for their expansion. The aim of the constitutional provision was to promote interests of the minority and not to give freedom to run commercial educational institutions in the name of minority educational institution.

The Church and Christian organizations should introspect and evolve a road map for the betterment of the poor Christians. Instead of asking the Centre to implement the Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) also known as Ranganath Misra Commission report, it should first ensure of giving adequate quota to the students and teachers of its own community in the missionary run schools. Otherwise, their credibility will be further eroded.

R L Francis
National President – Poor Christian Liberation Movement
IIIA/145, Rachna, Vaishali – 201010 (NCR) India
Ph. 9810108046

Special on Valentines Day: Draw a bigger line than Macauly

Media and market have become busy in marketing of Valentines Day. Economic experts believe that market has crossed Rs 1200 crore in India and the growth rate is 20 percent every year. It is to be noted that half of the population of the country is youth. The supporters of Valentines Day portray-the opponents of Valentines Day as a villain and media helps them in doing so.
In the last few years, some ‘so called protectors of Indian culture’ used to make hype against Valentines Day Celebrations on the street. These incidents resemble more as a stage managed event and nothing else. Such kind of distortions in culture cannot be stopped by cosmetic processes. No religion and reformist movement in the world supports such blatant display of uninhibited sexual desire. However, this has become a norm in the name of modern life. There is some kind of sanctity attached to male-female relationship. Families are breaking- and it is a cause for concern in the western society.
Recent surveys confirm our belief that number of such cases are constantly increasing. However, we can still take solace from the fact that it is very low in India as marriage is regarded as a relationship of several births. According to a survey 54.5 marriages per thousand breaks in Sweeden and USA. In Britain, France, Germany and Canada this ratio is 42.6, 39.4, 38.3, and 37.0 respectively. In India the ratio is just 1.1 per thousand. It seems that Indian media seems some kind of internal conflict. At one side it publishes news of repercussions of such illicit act and on the other hand it sells sex and fashion brazenly through so called Love Guru.
Those who care for Indian culture should understand that St Valentine did not come in India; it took more than 150 years in doing so. Now, attempts are being made to establish Lord Macaulay. We should not be surprised if he becomes hero of Indian youths in the next one hundred years. There is a deep relationship between St.Valentine and Macaulay. Present Indian education system has been given by Macaulay. In 1835 Macaulay had released a memo and it clearly depicts the intention. Macaulay wanted to create such Indians that looks like Indian but in liking, thinking and all other aspects it is more a British. In a letter written to his father he says, “I am trying to develop such a system that will produce ‘Black Englishmen’. These people will feel proud in deriding their own culture. This will destroy Indian culture. Even if we have leave India in certain circumstances these ‘Black Englishmen’ will continue serving our purpose.”
Macaulay’s relative Edward Trevelyan had urged western society to help Macaulay in this mission. He explained western society how Macaulay’s policy was bearing fruit. He even told that how elite Bengali society had adopted this system of education and without any further attempt of conversion they have been able to spread Christianity and work of church. Trevelyan gave an example of how a Hindu youth-who had got liberal education-went in a temple of Goddess Kali and in stead of bowing his head with respect he told that I hope Madam you will be alive and kicking. Explaining further he told education can remove obstacles. Missionaries can capture Hindu bastions through this process. Our success should not be measured in terms of how many people were converted rather it should be measured how fast majority Hindu community is imbibing Christian culture.
Macaulay finally won in his mission and our own people are engaged in destroying old values and traditions. Today India is completely divided in two parts. First part looks towards western heroes and other part gets inspiration from Vedic India and its values. However, those who follow the second path are regarded as narrow minded and communalists. Those who advocate for western tradition feel proud in forgetting contribution of Kabir, Tulsi, Gurunanak, Buddha, Meera and Vivekananda but they cannot afford to forget St. Valentine. We should take solace from the fact that still a large section of people believe in our traditions. National values should be protected at any cost and it cannot be done through violent means. Instead, in order to fight we will have to draw even bigger line than Macaulay.
R. L Francis
The author is president of the Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM)

Hon,bl Sir, i want to do something for the poor Christians who they are in need,i know some poor families who they are in poverty and unemployment,they cant bare school feeses of their children, i made an Ngo,in Lucknow. how can i get funds for start something for their help. so i request u to please help me to get some fund from the minorities commission of India,Thanking u so much..

Dear Mr. Ravindra Johnathan,

We do not have direct contacts with the Commission, but if you google search India Minorities Commission, I am sure you can find their contact details. Also we at BosNewsLife are very interested in your work so feel free to contact us directly via
http://bosnewslife.com/contact-us (the email address is there).

God bless you,

Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife

The book exposing the imperialism of the church:

“Unteshwari Mata Ka Mahant”

Inline image 1The controversy about Mother Teresa had not subsided, and there is yet another book by P B Lomeo “Unteshwari Mata ka Mahant” has raised a serious question on the functioning of the church within the Christian society.

The book titled ‘Unteshwari Mata ka Mahant’ is about Father Anthony Fernandes from the Society of Jesus, (SJ) who had spent 38 percent of his life to increase the number of sheep. The book exposes the layer by layer about the bad consequence meted out to priests and nuns who dare to disobey the dictates of the church.

The book makes some startling revelations about the Catholic Church system and tells the story about the modus operandi of conversion in the North Gujarat. One can really admire the sharp brain of the foreign missionaries who were quick to point out that the camels were the most important animal in the region. It is the lifeline of the desert area. Therefore, they created a new Goddess, Unteshwari Devi, who protects the camels in the region. She is ‘kuldevi’ of the camel protectors Jesus followers.

Camel has become an integral tool to meet their larger objectives. So, with the help of foreign funds, they purchased a 107 acre tract of land in the Budasan village in Mehsana region and constructed a Chaburara. They proclaimed that this is Unteshwari Matachabutara.

When Father Anthony Fernandes came to know that his main task was to convert people of Northern Gujarat into Christianity, he was devastated. He had never expected such a black face of truth.

He understood that all welfare related activities are its social service, health or education was mere ahogwash. They were instruments to lure poor people. Domestic missionaries were even two-step ahead of foreign missionaries. They wanted to have pie in the foreign funding. Father realized that all development activities run by the church were hogwash and they were directed towards converting more and more tribal people towards the Christianity.

Father Anthony Fernandez is not alive today. He died on May 11 2014 in Varanasi. He was a true priest, true Indian and a true patriot. He was born and brought in Mahatma Gandhi’s Gujarat. He grew up listening to religious songs of Narsingh Mehta- Vaishnav Jan te Tene kahiye ji Peed Paraye Jaane Re’. He became priest to serve the people. Northern Gujarat receives a lower amount of rainfall. The area is very poor. He wanted to help the people. However, when he knew the true motive of church, he started resisting. But, could he do anything? He was a lone fighter in the system.

Christianity has always been passionate to win the world. Anybody who has tried to oppose has been forced to succumb before these imperialistic forces. They are following the same policy in India. Any nun or priest who dares to oppose the church system met the fate of Father Anthony Fernandes. Church never accepts dissent. This is why many priests and nuns have set up an organization’ Catholic Church Reformation Movement’ to save from exploitation.

Father Anthony Fernandes was also a victim of the conspiracy to kill through crucifixion like Jesus. He was alone in the battle like Jesus. His disciples left them in the hands of enemies. And, the society for which he was working was in favour of crucifying him. The same happened with the Father Anthony Fernandes.

Famous Gandhi follower, Shree Kumarappa (a Catholic Christian) was of the view that western powers had four pillars: Army, Airforce, Navy and Missionary. They want to win the whole world. There is one more hidden pillar ‘Media’ that helps them when required. Currently, they have a deep knowledge of the resources of the developing and under-developed countries, and it is even more than their own countries.

The book exposes an innovative way to steal camel. And, it is not just about camel, but also about the culture, social unity and harmony which can be disturbed. These missionaries never oppose a converted Christian girl to marry in his original caste. They are of the view that she will ultimately convert the whole family.

You must have heard about the term ‘Parallel Government’, but do you know about the face of such a government. Once you read this book, you will start understanding the face of a parallel government. You will know how the Vatican is running its global empire from the 107 acre land. The story of the Father Anthony Fernandes is a great example of that empire.

The parallel empire of Vatican had started in 1945. A Vatican ambassador had been installed in the country. It has a great control over bureaucrats in the country, and it keeps them in its pocket. Even they have a great control over Indian media.

Everybody who understands the importance of nationalism and sovereignty must read this book. The book gives them a message to return to their own fold. The book also portrays the pathetic condition of converted Christians and the dangerous policies of the church system. The book also offers a solution to stop this trend. The book tells that every religion has been established to act as a safety valve. However, when it becomes a tool in the hands of the vested interests, it harms the humanity. Now, the time has come to understand and expose their real intentions so that the humanity can be saved.

RL Francis

Ph. 9810108046

President, Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM)

Unteshwari Mata ka Mahant
Author Name :P.B.Lomeo
Price : 300/-
ISBN No: 9789384380014
Edition (Year) : 2015/First
Publisher : Jay Kay Enterprises
Format : Paperback
Phone No. 011-23258802,43528469 ,65285328
E-mail: info@taxshilabooks.in
http://www.taxshilabooks.in