As India’s parliament confirmed a rise in religious based violence, the country’s bishops have appealed for “true nationalism” in order to bring “genuine peace, harmony, progress and prosperity”.
A bishops’ statement released at the end of the 2-9 February assembly referred to “a climate of violence” and appealed to all people "to shun mob culture and vigilantism in favour of peace."
Militant Hindu groups have stepped up violence against minorities since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power four years ago, critics say.
Some hard-line Hindu groups portray Christians and Muslims as being loyal to foreign powers, UCAN news reports. Likewise, a number of Hindu leaders have publicly called for Muslims to leave India and settle in majority-Islamic nations and for Catholics to move to Rome.
"No one should doubt our loyalty or our commitment to the nation,” the bishops wrote. The Christian faith in India is as old as Christianity itself, they continued.
They urged all Indians, “to resolve to go beyond narrow domestic walls of every kind” in order to establish a truly secular, socialist and democratic nation.
“Dialogue with followers of other religions and with ecumenical groups is the need of the hour,” they added.
Data presented by the Indian government on 6 February showed that 111 people were killed in sectarian violence in 2017, compared to 86 in 2016, and that there were 822 recorded incidents of violence in 2017 compared to 703 in 2016.
Speaking on the final day of the conference, newly elected president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, admitted: “intolerance is causing a certain amount of anxiety to us."
"Diversity is one of the strengths of India. It is known world over for its diversity of culture, language and religion. Any attempt to divide people by certain sections will be harmful for the nation," he cautioned.
Auxiliary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Ranchi, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, said attacks on pluralism were "not only against Christians, but all Indians."
"You cannot allow a few rabid elements to spoil the harmony. It is a question of upholding constitutional values and rule of law," the bishop added.
PICTURE: Indian bishops meet for their assembly in Bangalore
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