The RSS, a Hindu paramilitary movement, calls for the removal of minority status for Christians and Muslims, urging a return to "Indianisation". The Bishops' Conference is quick to respond.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) "Christian and Muslim communities are religious minorities". Such was the response of Fr Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and director of communications, to comments made by the leader of a paramilitary movement of extremist Hindus.
K. S. Sudarshan, who heads the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had declared that Christians and Muslims cannot renounce their minority status.
In an interview with AsiaNews, Fr Joseph said "Sudarshan's comments on Indians who are Christians and Muslims, that they are not minorities because they were all once Hindus, are unwarranted and uncalled for. The Constitution of India has recognised these two communities as religious minorities, and as such has granted them constitutional guarantees which must be respected by all, including Sudarshan.
"Sudarshan may have his personal beliefs and perspectives, but they are no substitute for the collective will of a nation that wants to protect the vulnerable sections of society particularly religious and linguistic minorities. Besides, the United Nations has recognised the existence of religious and linguistic minorities universally, and has put in place guidelines and parameters to protect their interests and create space for their growth and development."
The RSS leader had said Catholics and Muslims could not aspire to minority status because they were of Indian origin. "You can't call yourself a minority merely by changing the way of worship," Sudershan said in comments to the Press in the city of Jalandhar, (Punjab, northern India); the majority of the city's population adheres to the Sikh religion. He added that only the Parsis (followers of Zoroaster) and Jews could lay claim to minority status, because their ancestors had come to India from foreign countries.
Asked if he thought Sikhs were a minority, Sudarshan merely said Christians and Muslims did not fall into the minority category and he invited the church in the country to "indianise". He also touched upon conversion activities carried out by missionaries, saying his organization was always opposed to the use of force or enticement. And he said he had raised this matter in a meeting with Catholic bishops in Kerala.