Minority body demands India uphold constitution guarantees
A national body of Indian minorities has demanded the federal government guarantee them the constitutionally protected right to practice and profess their religion and protect them from hate speech, intimidation, attacks and killings.
Some 100 members of the National Conference for Minority and invitees including politicians, activists, writers and students made the demands at a gathering on May 27 at the Constitution Club in the national capital New Delhi to discuss the situation of religious minorities across the country
The one-day convention also demanded the setting up of an equal opportunities commission to ensure a proportional share in the nation’s finances and resources, besides fair representation in electoral politics of the country.
P. Wilson, a Christian member of the Rajya Sabha, or Upper House of the Indian parliament, said Christians had contributed immensely to nation building, especially in the fields of education and health, but instead of acknowledging it they were being falsely blamed for religious conversions.
Wilson, who is a lawyer from the southern Tamil Nadu state, said: “Minorities are also citizens of this country and India belongs to them equally.”
Syed Imtiyaz Jaleel, a Muslim member of the Lok Sabha, or Lower House of parliament, recalled being educated in a Christian missionary school “but never seeing any priest or nun asking someone to follow Christianity or forcing to attend church or any prayer service.”
“Had the Christian missionaries been involved in religious conversions, half of the Indian population would have been following Christianity. Most of the so-called elite even today prefer to send their children to study in a missionary school,” he said.
Rahul Dambale, founder member and president of the National Minority Council, said seven resolutions to protect the interests of minority communities were adopted at the convention. They will be presented to the Indian president and federal authorities seeking concrete action from them.
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