Christians Hopeful as Voting
Begins...
At voting got underway all over the country, the Christian
community have expressed hope of an outcome that would
end sectarian violence and religious intolerance and
pave the way for peace and inter-religious harmony.
Though the Christians
comprise only a bit over 2% of India’s total population,
yet, they believe that as the children of the Lord
they have an important role to play in the social,
cultural and political progress of the nation. And
hence they are praying fervently so that voting gets
over peacefully even as throngs are crowding at the
voting booths to cast their all-important vote.
Take Mangalore, the sleepy
city on India's south-west coast, in the state of Karnataka,
sandwiched between Kerala and Goa, for instance. Christians,
though small in number, have a visible presence here
with numerous churches, schools and seminaries dotting
the lush green landscape.
Christianity arrived in
India from these shores, with the arrival of the first
missionaries some 400 years ago.
Nuns and priests are among
the first to line up outside polling stations in Mangalore.
Sister Matilda of Mangalore's Rosario church is getting
worried. In spite of waiting in line to vote since
early morning, she has still to cast her vote. The
reason? The electronic voting machine has broken down
and officials are making frantic calls to try and get
it started.
"At this rate
I'll miss my service," she bemoans, looking at her watch.
In this city, India's
ruling BJP is locked in a bitter fight with the opposition
Congress party. Though, generally, many support Prime
Minister Vajapyee’s liberal policies and leadership,
yet some here are nervous of some of his party's more
hardline members. Incidentally, Karnataka was among
the states where hardline Hindus smashed and desecrated
churches a few years ago.
The Christians here still
remember the murder of Australian missionary Graham
Staines and his two young sons by Hindu fanatics in
the late 1990s. "I am voting for the freedom of religion and for the
right of individuals to practice their faith," exhorts
Sister Magdalene.
Brother Austin Fernandes,
who is studying to become a priest at Mangalore's St
Joseph seminary, feels that the government has its
priorities wrong.
"
I am looking for a better government that can serve
the people - poverty should be abolished and there
should be no discrimination based on religion, caste
and creed. The government should treat everyone as
equals," he
says.
Not only the missionary
triple murder case, but also the Godhra carnage in
Gujarat and the forcible tonsure of the 7 women who
refused to be reconverted to Hinduism in Orissa are
still fresh in the minds of the Christians. And, as
the exit polls indicate a hung parliament, it appears
that the minority communities like these Christians
will finally have a word to say.
By our special correspondent
