Last summer I traveled to southern India as part of a trip sponsored by Eden Theological Seminary. Since then I have been trying to keep track of some of the religious and political developments in the region. This week elections swept the fundamentalist Hindu government from power and restored a secular left-of-center government that features the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty at the helm. Christians and Muslims have been persecuted by the incumbent government and I’ve been curious to see reaction to the election results.
This afternoon my curiosity was satisfied when an e-mail arrived from the National Council of Churches in India regarding the election:
Dear Ecumenical colleagues,Greetings from New Delhi.
The 14th Lok Sabha election results have encouraged us to restore our hope in the democratic system of our country and the secular fabric of our nation. The people have given a new mandate to the secular forces to form a government which would safeguard the constitutional rights of the
citizens, protect the rights of the minorities, and to build a society where communal harmony will prevail.The NCCI is fully satisfied at the reward of its humble attempts to propagate the idea of Voting Conscientiously. We take this opportunity to thank all church leaders who published the Vote conscientiously document in their magazines and encouraged their people to vote without fail.
The National United Christian Forum which is a joint organization of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India(CBCI), National Council of Churches in India(NCCI) and the Evangelical Fellowship of India(EFI) met on 11th of May in CNI Bhavan, New Delhi. The president of NCCI Rt.Rev.Dr.S. Jeyapaul David, Vice Presidents H.G. Thomas Mar Timotheos and Mr. Anderson Tokbi, Rev. Enos Das Pradhan, Rev.Dr. Y. Moses, Mrs. Jyotsna Patro and Rev.Dr. Ipe Joseph represented NCCI in the Forum.
The Forum reviewed the post-election national scenario. It expressed satisfaction about the role of the Election Commission in making free and fare elections possible, respecting the democratic principles which are foundational in good governance. It also called upon the political parties to have responsible alliance in forming the new government.
Representatives of the Forum met again on 14th May 2004 and made a statement congratulating the secular forces who came out victorious in the elections. It reminded the leaders of the secular parties not to forget their promises to the people lest they also end up in the same fate of the NDA government. The statement has been mailed to you separately.
Mean while we request you to remember our country and the new government in prayer.
With warm regards
Sincerely
Ipe Joseph (Rev.Dr)
General Secretary