wfn.org | Catholic Bishops of India CBCI expresses serious concern on RSS

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Resolution

New Delhi 19 March 2001
The Catholic Bishops' Conference India (CBCI) has strongly condemned the
RSS resolution from Bangalore on Sunday which said that the safety of
Muslims lies in the goodwill from the Hindu majority community.

The newly elected Secretary General of the CBCI, Bishop Percival
Fernandez of Bombay said, "In an already charged atmosphere of recent
communal violence in the country, particularly in Gujarat, the RSS call
to the Muslim minority community to realize that their safety lay in
earning the goodwill of the majority, goes against the pluralistic
traditions of India and must be condemned by all".

"Even in normal times such a statement would be diametrically opposed to
the secular ethos enshrined in the Constitution of India and it is
certainly a matter of grave concern for all the citizens of India.
Goodwill must be cultivated by all towards one another regardless of
which community one belongs to. Being born in this country, I can claim
with conviction that majority of the Hindus do not subscribe to this
stand of the RSS", said the First Vice-President of the CBCI Archbishop
Vincent M. Concessao, who is also the Archbishop of Delhi.

The CBCI has also demanded from the Prime Minister and the NDA allies
that they unequivocally condemn these statements and rein in the RSS
leadership. The Church leadership raised its concern not only for the
Muslim minority community but also for others such as the Sikhs,
Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Bahais, Christians and others who together
form more than 20% of the population.

Issued by
Rev. Dominic Emmanuel svd
Spokesman + Public Affairs