By Team Mangalorean, Mangalore

MANGALORE, September 19, 2008: "This time around when the city of Mangalore known as the Rome of the East felt the real heat of growing communal unrest," said general secretary of Congress party and one of the last fire brand leaders of the party Margaret Alva who was here to warn the community. Quoting the 19th century priest  Paster Martin Niemoller Mrs Alva said "When the Nazis came for the communists I remained silent…when they came for the Jews I remained silent…when they came for me there was no one left to speak out," She said this with an emotional note and should the history repeat itself no one will have anybody to blame for except themselves in India she said.

In a meeting with the Christian leaders in Mangalore at the Fr. Mullers Charitable Institutions in Kankanady Mrs. Alva told a gathering that Christians were nothing but a speck in the mass of humanity in Indian population. “We must not strike our differences this point of time but to put them aside and work in united combination to defeat the communal forces” She indicated to the leaders in the Christian community that there should be no barrage between the various sects of Christianity but all the sects of Christianity should come together to put down the communal forces. This was the second time in the history of the world we have seen fascist forces come to the fore she said. She said she had failed to understand why the Catholics allowed the Vishwa Hindu Parishat to set guidelines for a peace process.

She said we are not bound to negotiate with a fundamentalist group which was fit for being banned. She took serious exception to the committee that has been formed between the VHP and the Catholic Diocese without the protestant Church and the members of the other sects. She told the Bishop of Mangalore Catholic diocese Dr. Aloysius Paul D'Souza that the truce was not acceptable to her.

Earlier addressing a press conference Mrs. Alva sasid accused the state government of trying to shield the Bajrang Dal which has claimed responsibility for attacking Christian prayer halls in the State.

Addressing the media while on a visit to the desecrated Adoration Monastery in Milagres Ms. Alva said, despite the Bajrang Dal claiming the responsibility of attacks on the Churches the home ministry of Karnataka had not done anything to arrest the leaders of Bajrang Dal which clearly indicated that the government was working hand in glove with the fundamentalist forces. “We have a fundamentalist government in the state” she added.

 She said she had no hesitation to state that the attacks on Churches were a part of a part of the larger design to implant fundamentalist hindutva agenda in the state. She demanded that the Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa show enough courage and commitment to ban the Bajrang Dal and arrest its leaders.

Later speaking to the Mangalorean.com Mrs. Alva said I firmly believe that this was not the right occasion for politicizing the issue but to peep into ourselves as to see what kind of political culture or social order we are trying to bring in this society.  Mrs. Alva as immaculate and articulate in her thought and speech did not agree with the Catholic Church for leaving out the Protestant church.

Mrs. Alva also stated that like in Gujarat the police have been roped in to the organizational cadres of Bajrang Dal and VHP and their political mentor BJP.  "When the police become partisan the hope for civil society is lost," she added.

Taking objections to the lathi charge and tear gas lobbing at the peaceful protestors Mrs. Alva said she did not agree that the district administration should have resorted to the coercive methods.

Complete coverage:

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Kuwait: Prayer Meeting for Peace held

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Doha: MCA condemns attack on Churches

Mangalorean Catholics in Muscat condemn violence in Mangalore

Violence in M'lore: Indian Christian community in Canada calls for protest

Indian Catholics in Kuwait condemn violence against Christians in Mangalore

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