Christians take out silent procession

AHMEDABAD, Nov 22: The message was polite but firm when Christians took out a silent rally on Sunday to let the State Government know that t...

AHMEDABAD, Nov 22: The message was polite but firm when Christians took out a silent rally on Sunday to let the State Government know that they were disturbed by the recent attacks on the community in the State.

Addressing an open meeting at the end of the rally at St Xavier8217;s High School, Mirzapur, Father Cedric Prakash, Bishop of Ahmedabad Diocese, asserted that no one could stop any one from professing, preaching and propagating one8217;s religion in the country. He said the right to profess and propagate one8217;s religion was enshrined in the International Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Constitution of India.

He said the society had benefitted from Christian educational and welfare institutions to a great extent. 8220;As Christians, we celebrate the fact the we are Indians and we belong to different cultures8221;, he said.

Arvind Macwan, professor at M S University, Vadodara, made a fervent plea to the community to join the national mainstream, and asked the members to be aware of their rights under the law and register protests by lawful means whenever they felt they were being persecuted or attacked.

Macwan alleged that the State Government did precious little in implementing the recommendations of the National Commission on Minorities, saying as many as 40 attacks on Christians were reported in past six months. He said Jesus Christ had taught to turn the other cheek if one received a slap on one, but 8220;that does stops one from asking why one was slapped. A true Christian is one who does not tolerate attack on any individual. Here the Christians themselves are attcked8221;. Lamenting that the community was slow in reacting to events and allegations, he said it was high time the Christians got a foothold in the media organisations to be heard where it mattered.