Retired Police commissioner Julio Ribeiro has written an article titled, “A Hindu Rashtra would make my country nothing less than a saffron Pakistan.”
Ribeiro had earlier faced backlash by all communities for his column in Indian Express in 2015 where he tried to play the Christian victim card and malign Hindus. This time he stooped a little lower and tried to defend Delhi archbishop as well as opposing BJP and RSS with some laughable arguments:
KJ Alphons, the Christian face in the NDA cabinet, wants ‘godmen’ to keep away from making political statements. But when his own party appoints a ‘godman’ as chief minister, how can its adherent stop a religious leader of a minority community from voicing concerns that are vital to that community’s very existence?
Ribeiro counters the statement by Union minister KJ Alphons to keep godmen away from politics by giving example of Yogi Adityanath. He conveniently forgot that Yogi Adityanath openly and actively takes part in politics. Whereas on the other hand, Anil Couto cunningly tried to write between the lines that was later exposed by Vatican itself. Julio Ribeiro then went on to make a baseless allegation-
The truth is that the BJP government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as distinct from the previous BJP-led government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, doubts and questions the patriotism of the minorities! This is totally unacceptable.
Dear Ribeiro, could you tell us when exactly did the Prime Minister say that? Yes, some motormouths of BJP had said something like that but that was also limited to those who are not happy in India and wanted to leave. Do you think there is something wrong in bidding goodbye to those who want to leave?
I remember my own brief interaction with KS Sudershan, the predecessor of the present RSS chief. He talked incessantly of ‘80%’, by which he excluded Muslims and Christians from the mass that constitutes this country’s population!
I’m sure you Julio Ribeiro is lying again here. KS Sudarshan or any RSS Chief can’t possibly talk of ‘80%’. They always talk of 100% and for them anybody who lives in Hindustan is a Hindu. To understand the RSS’s version of Hindutva, you will need to have an open mind and an open heart. In short, your ancestors were Hindus and if you have any bit of respect for them, you won’t feel ashamed of your Hindu ancestry. Your practicing of Christianity with respect for your Hindu ancestry makes you a Hindu Christian. Does this harm your Christianity by any means, Julio Ribeiro ?
Ever since the Modi government was installed, Muslims have been subjected to a steady onslaught that has terrorised the entire community. It will not be long before ‘they’ come for the next target in true fascist tradition.
Again, a laughable argument by Ribeiro. It makes one wonder why, in a country where Muslims are terrorized, Hindus living in Muslim populated areas can’t celebrate Ramnavmi and Navratri. Instead, this picture should speak thousand words for you that shows Muslims are not only happy but also celebrate Modi Government, unlike Christians like Ribeiro. Julio Ribeiro then went on to say-
Christians have been routinely accused of converting poor Hindus through inducements. The Catholic church has given up force or inducements as vehicles of conversion, declaring these methods as immoral, ages ago. Charitable work for the poor continues and at times the recipients of such love and care may be tempted to convert.
The government has come down heavily on foreign donations to curb such activity dubbed as ‘missionary’. But care, love and attention continues to be showered on the poor and needy.
Typical missionary lies don’t work now days. In the age where social media and access to information is slowly reaching every hand, it’s difficult to hide solid facts. Christian missionaries may not be distributing rice bags now but are still inventing innovative ways every day to fool “non-believers”. Dear Ribeiro, here are some for you:
I, for one, am preparing for the Hindu Rashtra! I am trying to figure out, to start with, what Hindu Rashtra really means. I have lived and worked in what i always knew was a majority Hindu country. My circle of friends and persons i dealt with on a daily basis, at work or at play, was predominantly Hindu.
My bosses in the police were predominantly Hindu and with a couple of exceptions were extremely kind and good to me. Vasant Vinayak Nagarkar, who trained and mentored me in my initial years, made me stay with him and his family in his own home for four entire months at the very beginning of my service!
It’s shameful of you if after spending your whole life among “Good” Hindus, you could not understand what Hindu Rashtra really would mean and why Hindu Rashtra is a desperate need for Hindus.
To understand Hindu Rashtra, Julio Ribeiro should first understand Hinduism in itself. Unlike Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism does not believe in only one way of life or one prophet for salvation. Instead, any believer, non-believer, Idol worshiper, Atheist, etc can be Hindu in his own way. Likewise, every Muslim or Christian can be a Hindu.
We need a place of ours where we do not have to live in fear that minorities have first right on resources, we believe in equal distribution of whatever we have. We need a place of ours where we will not be treated as “low IQ Morons”for going to temple and not speaking English. We need Hindu Rashtra because we want to get rid of unofficial second-class citizenship.
My ancestors, as i have often said, were Hindus. Four hundred years ago they were converted, along with thousands of other Hindus cutting across the Brahminical order of castes, to Roman Catholicism, the religion of the Portuguese who came by sea and conquered our territory.
You can call it an accident of history. But i rather like the religion i was born into. It has taught me the values of truth and justice, so important in the profession of policing, and it taught me the concept of service which the Indian Police Service, to which i belonged, required of me.
I am a patriotic citizen like the vast majority of Christians in this land. I expect the rulers in Hindu Rashtra to allow me to worship in the way i want to.
That i am sure they will allow me. I will expect them to not falsely accuse me of converting poor Hindus to Christianity by humanitarian work that captures imaginations, because such work should be undertaken not only by Christians but by all who are better placed to help those in need.
Dear Julio Ribeiro, you are lucky to have Hindus as majority partner, that’s why you can worship the way you want to. Hindus have lived a life for 70 years where every tradition and every festival of theirs has been attacked by liberals, seculars and intellectuals. We have gone through and are still facing all the humiliation and pain of not being able to celebrate “Dahi-Handi” on Janmashtmi, or not being able to celebrate Ramnavmi if we are living near a Muslim dominated area. We have become accustomed to the pain of seeing an article by some liberal bigot on our very festival days against the celebration of that festival, be it Rakshabandhan, Karwa-Choth, Durga pooja, Dipawali, Ram-navmi or Holi. We pray to god and wish that our minority brothers do not have to go through all this in a Hindu Rashtra.
I should be prepared for second class citizenship that denies top jobs like that of a judge in the Supreme Court, a governor of a state, the chief of defence staff or the intelligence bureau. What i will not accept is being accused falsely of being anti-national and pilloried on that count.
If you think that Hindu Rashtra makes you a second-class citizen, then am afraid you are already one. When the Parsi community came to our shores, we were a 100% Hindu nation and accepted them with open arms. Today, Parsi are one of the most prosperous communities in the country. Jews, who have faced racism and been prosectued throughout the world, find India a friendly and safe home. Jains, Bouddhists, Athiests and every other school of thought lived respectful life in Hindu India until Abrahamic faiths knocked the door.
If that happens this land of mine will be nothing less than a saffron Pakistan! This is what Church leaders like the Archbishop of Delhi are apprehensive about. He should not be faulted for ringing the alarm bell.
A Hindu Rashtra will become Saffron Pakistan? Does this apply only to Hindu Rashtra or is the same rule applicable everywhere? This way, we have a lot of ‘Islamic Pakistans’ and ‘Christian Pakistans’ on this planet, if we are fine with that, why one should have a problem with Saffron Pakistan?
This shallow argument of “Saffron Pakistan”shows the ugly mindset of the anti-Hindu brigade in the Indian sub-continent, or those who do not understand the basic difference between non-inclusive Abrahamic faiths and Sanatan Faiths that flourishes on inclusiveness. Anything that is Hindu, Hindi, Hindustan is a punching bag for our Liberals, Seculars, Rationalists and law makers. India is going to become an Official Hindu Rashtra in the future, and people like Julio Ribeiro are invited to prevent it from becoming Saffron Pakistan if they wish so.