Christmas like every other religious observance has over time tended to become a commercial affair with decorations galore and all kinds of LED lights lighting the paths that otherwise remain dark in ordinary times. There’s nothing wrong with lighting up dark spaces except that it should not be a temporary affair because pedestrians need to feel safe. And while most government employees are paid early this month there are many unfortunate souls that will go without their salaries and for whom Christmas is a depressing affair because they see celebrations all around but don’t have the wherewithal to even keep their kitchens warm.
Considering that a Bill to ban conversion to Christianity has just been passed in Karnataka a state otherwise known to be progressive and housing the IT hubs of the country with several back offices of international IT companies located there, such a regressive Bill does not bode well for that state and for the country. The anti-conversion Bill goes against the idea of freedom to choose one’s religion – a Constitutional right. Today the idea of a diverse India is slowly giving way to a nationalism project that is defined by the ruling BJP and its mentor the RSS. State Governments of the North East have remained silent under the onslaught of violence against Christians across the country in the last several months. The government and civil society groups from Christian-majority states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya ought to have passed resolutions that should go to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister. But there has been a stunning silence on the matter. Are the states waiting to be put through the wringer before they make their voices heard?
In fact, Christmas is the perfect occasion for introspecting on the state of affairs besetting the minorities in the India of today where a section of right wing activists blatantly speak of attacking Muslims and arming themselves with weapons for this war against Islam. This certainly is the clash of civilization that Samuel Huntington spoke about. While there is no need for grandstanding on the issue of religion, to be silent is to invite a penalty which might be too heavy to pay in the long run. Late TH Rangad of the BJP was one person who regularly took up the issue of freedom of religion as an important freedom for the tribes of the North East whenever he met the top leadership of the BJP. Now none of the BJP MLAs in Meghalaya or elsewhere are questioning the party leadership on the regular attacks on Christian churches. The question to these BJP MLAs/MPs across states is “If not now then when?”