So it’s Christmas, and what have you done? Decorated your home, did enough shopping for the family, invited friends for a fabulous meal, made plans for fun? Do you have time to think about those who can’t do it all? ‘It’s time for us all to be OK, but looking after the less fortunate will make your Christmas right.
The popular festival falls in the Northern Hemisphere winter, giving us the opportunity to reach out to people left out in the cold, literally as well as figuratively. It enhances the feeling of letting life touch and perhaps makes a big difference. Charity ranks top in terms of satisfaction. Nothing beats the joy of brightening someone’s mood and creating a smile. Small gestures of generosity go a long way in achieving a huge sense of satisfaction. It means you radiate brighter than that decorative star on your balcony, and are as angelic as the twinkling lights on your Christmas tree. Be someone’s Santa, especially this festive season.
As Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the ‘Prince of Peace’, the world needs peace now in this time of crisis – nations raging against each other – a ripple effect around the earth. Congregants in packed churches will pray for that today, even as they reflect on the reported outrage against followers of Christ in scattered pockets of our great nation. Against this backdrop, it is heartening to note the political equation that has changed with the Prime Minister pushing to reach out to Christians across the country.
At the time it came as a surprise that Mr. Modi’s outreach was seen by some as a way for influential clergy in the Catholic Church to engage in power and thereby legitimize the persecution of Christians that continues on an alarming scale in some parts of it. A country where the pulse of Hinduism is in conflict with the desire to live in peace and prosperity with the majority community.
Minorities should also be seen and heard. Mr. Modi has taken steps in this direction and has sent an uplifting message of inclusiveness on that front. There is still a long way to go, but a steady start has been made in earnest. It should end well. It should warm the hearts of many this Christmas and with the New Year around the corner, we can turn the page.
Indeed, the situation of the minorities of the two major religions should be turned over in a country that is not as ideal as it should be. Indeed, Christians may be facing similar persecution through targeted violence, harassment and arrests by large Muslim communities, and even ostracism wherever majoritarianism prevails, according to citizens who see them as dominated by some religious nationalist groups.
The RSS chief’s recent statement regarding the need to stop the search for temple ruins under every ancient mosque is significant. It is necessary to stop the division that is so steeped in history.
As Christians celebrate the birth anniversary of Christ and Muslims cry out for equal opportunity in the world’s most populous country, it is time to hear, understand and act on all voices if we are to be a balanced nation. Under the religious unity of India the division rent immediately developed!