Karnataka Christian Council’s new Executive Committee formed. Commits to counter fundamentalism.

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Bangalore, March 26, 2015.

The General Body of the Karnataka Christian Council (KaCC) met on March 26, 2015 at the Unity Building, Bangalore. KaCC  has been significant for many important decisions including unanimously being committed to working  with all Churches against religious fundamentalism and fanaticism.  Rt. Rev. Ravikumar Niranjan, CSI Bishop for Karnataka Northern Diocese chaired the meeting. Rev. Dr. Hubert Watson, the Secretary of the Council presented the activity report. Members representing Churches and institutions from all over Karnataka participated in the meeting and elected new office bearers and Executive Committee Members.

This is the newly elected executive committee of KaCC for the next three years:
Rt. Rev. Mohan Manoraj (CSI Bishop of Karnataka Southern Diocese) unanimously elected as the President of the council; Rev. Dr. N. Jayawant(Methodist Church in India, Bangalore Regional Conference) as the Vice-President ; Rev. Dr. Hubert Watson (Karnataka Theological College) as Secretary; Mr. G D Pushparaj (the Executive Secretary of the CSITA – Karnataka Inter-Diocesan Administrative, Finance and Property Board) as Treasurer.
As part of the General Body Rev. R. Christopher Rajkumar, Executive Secretary, Commission of Justice, Peace and Creation and Commission on Unity, Mission and Evangelism, presented a paper on ‘The Challenges before the Karnataka Christians / Churches Today, and the need for Grassroots Ecumenism’. He said:…considering the political context and rise of fundamentalism, the Karnataka Christians and Churches are some of the most vulnerable communities in India that are encountering constant attacks on Churches, Christian Workers and Christian institutions. Therefore the Churches and Christians in Karnataka must be united for common witness and service. In keeping with the call of the NCCI Centenary findings, the Council should be involved in facilitating the grassroots ecumenical expressions to combat Hindutva strategies of ‘moral policing’, ‘ghar wapsi’ and ‘hate campaign’ based on caste and religions.
After a detailed discussion, the Council has called all the member Churches to get united and organized for a strong common witness. Considering the importance and urgent need of the hour, all the member churches of KaCC mandated the council to launch a campaign against religious fundamentalism.
NCCI Communications

MAKE IT HAPPEN NOW!!!

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COMMEMORATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

NEWS FROM ALL INDIA COUNCIL OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN

pic1As the world commemorated International Women’s Day All India Council of Christian Women the women’s wing of National Council of Churches in India launched the campaign 365 Days  Zero Tolerance To Gender Based Violence: Make it Happen Now!!! IWD was also commemorated in different churches all over India.

The Executive Committee members of AICCW along with women leaders from Diocese of Nagpur, Church of North India visited different police stations in the city of Nagpur to honor the women police for the contributions. “This is the first time in my life someone is honoring me on International Women’s Day. Such event has never happened in any Police station in Nagpur.” opined Shefali Police woman serving in Sadar Police station Nagpur. Certificates of appreciation, trophies were distributed to police women in different police stations in Nagpur. “In our country where women are regarded as a burden and suffer discrimination and violence from womb to death it is not easy for a woman in India to be a police woman. Yet there are women who dare to risk their lives and overcome all challenges to become police women. They deserved to be honored” states Moumita Biswas Executive Secretary of AICCW.

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Diaconal Church in a Radically Changing India.

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Chennai Affirmation

We, the participants of the National Consultation on ‘Diakonal Church in the Radically Changing India’, held at Chennai on the 23rd and 24th February 2015 jointly organized by the Church of South India Synod and Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society hereby declare that…

The ‘Diakonal Church’ is the one that is sensitive to the concerns of poor, oppressed and socially, traditionally and historically excluded communities.  It is to prepare a Table for ‘all’ to join the ‘koinonia‘ of the resurrected Christ’s community without any discrimination by affirming everyone’s dignity, respect, identities and  differences.

The motto of ‘Diaconal Church’ is to serve but not to be served (Mark 10: 45). It facilitates the Christian faith communities to embark on a journey to serve the earth communities leaving the comfort zone to take up a ‘kenotic’ and servant leadership. It is to bear a public witness politically in the presence of resurrected Christ and to re-embark on a journey of accompaniment with the struggling communities for fullness of life and livelihood.

This ‘diakonia‘ demands not only the ‘service’ but also preparation of the space to create communities of equals and dignity as described in Nazareth manifesto (Luke 4: 61-21). It is to explain the vision of God and symbolize the ‘reign of god’ with the values of Love, Justice and Peace by prophetically healing, restoring and reconciling the societies of conflicts and disparities towards fullness of all lives.

Context

We realize that, the ‘mantra’ of Economic Globalization and Developmental paradigm of the States change the whole world to be  ‘flat’ through communicating and consolidating the capital accumulations of wealth through trans-national corporatism, extractive industrialization and ecological exploitation and victimization of the earth communities by uprooting of habitats from their traditionally living and culturally rooted environments.

These ‘flattening’ policies and principals of the ‘Economic Globalization’ are creating the tailor-made ‘flat’ societies and communities by  inculcating the values such as ‘consumerism’, ‘privatization’ , ‘individualism’, ‘competition’ and ‘inequality’.

We observe that,  in the context of radically changing Indian contexts, the  ‘majoritarianism’, rise of  ‘right-wing ideological fundamentalism’ and hate campaigns are creating panic and insecurity among the ‘minority communities’, ‘economically poor’ and ‘religiously and culturally excluded’, such as Dalits, Adivasis, Tribals, Women and Children. They turn the communities to be against one another with hate and hostility.

In this context of crisis, the churches as called and committed faith communities are to be prophetic and mandated to work ‘on’ equality and ‘for’ equality. The 2010 Edinburgh declaration calls the churches of our times to re-look and review our vision, theologies and ministries from the growing influence of ‘prosperity theologies’, ‘individualistic eschatology’, upholding caste and patriarchy, and becoming the mammon worshipers.

We affirm that…

  • The Diakonal Church as a prophetic community, is called to ensure respect, dignity and life of the earth communities including the human communities through the appropriate interventions and encounters with the oppressive attitudes of the  ‘Powerful, Dominant Empires and States’ by engaging in ‘diakonia’.

  • The Diakonal Church is a conscious servant ‘of’ and ‘to’  all by prophetically engaging and encountering conformity with the Powers
  • The Diakonal Church is called to promote and prorogate the liberative and transformative Gospel values of Love, Justice and Peace in combating the exclusivism,  fundamentalism and economy based prosperity gospel and theology

We Confess that…

  • the ‘diakonia’ today is mainly dependent on funded projects and serving from comfortable zones
  •      the Indian Church today is panicked and suffocated  by the ‘minority phobia’ with  exclusive demands of ‘minority Rights rather than working towards promoting, defending and affirming the fundamental rights of every individual
  • the churches today are mostly crawling with the exclusive and prosperity theologies rather than having faiths on ‘theology of fullness of life and Economy of Life’.

   the diakonal expressions were initially founded to serve the poor and the excluded communities but now it meets the expectations of the elites and rich involving in commercialization and comodifaction of knowledge  through our Institutions

  • the Churches today are strategically made silent by the law enforcement of States while it is supposed to be prophetically accompany the journeys with the victims.

We are committed to…

  • charting a discourse on vision, mission and diakonal expressions of the churches today in  terms of Kerigma,  Metanoia  and Koinonia as embedded in the Scripture.

    envisioning a world with fuller humanity and fullness of life by enabling truth and  reconciliation with the entire earth communities towards Just-peace

    ensure the ‘transparency, accountability and responsibility in all our structures and institutions and launch a campaign for ‘transparent India’

  • listening stories of the ‘diakonia’ of neighbors of other faiths  to encompass the diakonia ‘of’ all and diakonia ‘for’ all

We call upon all the churches and ecumenical movements:

  • to draw  a creative and relevant, radical and prophetic ‘diakonia’ for today
  • to strategically plan and execute ‘prophetic ‘diakonia’ by facilitating the local congregations  for public witness

    to be united in combating the hate campaigns such as ‘Ghar Wapsi’ constitutionally and politically.

Proposed Activities

  • Net-working with the churches, Christian Institutions and Ecumenical Movements to         promote a relevant ‘diakonal Church’

      Initiate the process of organizing conversation with the church leaders and ecumenical   bodies at the regional level enhancing the capacities of the laity and clergy engage in the  ‘prophetic-dia’konia’ towards transformative mission in the Socio Economic and Political   Context of  India

  • Initiating process to develop, articulate and promote a new context specific and relevant ‘diakonia’ for all
  • Facilitating the theological fraternities and local congregations to move from the prosperity theology to ‘economy of life’ and to move from charity to solidarity and accompaniment

  • Promoting the holistic vision of theology of life as a pilgrimage of justice and peace

Life Giving Agriculture Forum India Launched

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‘Life-Giving Agriculture’ Forum – 2015

Theme: “Agriculture is Life – Agriculture is Right”

 

2 – 6 Feb 2015, ECC, Bangalore, India

Jointly organized by:

Commission on Justice Peace and Creation – National Council of Churches in India – NCCI

Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society – CISRS

Ecumenical Christian Centre – ECC

Korean Christian Life Giving Agriculture Forum – KCLGAF

Mainstreaming Life-Giving Agriculture in India & Korea  

(Statement Issued by the Participants)

We, the 55 participants representing various walks of life such as farmers, activists, theologians, clergies and academicians from India and South Korea meeting at a National Consultation on ‘Life Giving Agriculture‘ from 2nd to 6th February 2015 at the Ecumenical Christian Centre, Bangalore, India, deliberated on important concerns and issues affecting farmers in India and Korea, and have issued the following Statement:

I-                Life-Giving Agriculture – Threats & Challenges

Through the deliberations, exposure, sharing and interaction discussion we  realize that, the Life Giving Agriculture Forum meets in the context of adverse effects of the Economic Globalization and Market Economy faced by farmers in both countries (and elsewhere) wherein agrarian communities have started moving from ‘agri-culture to agri-business’ by paving ways for Genetically Modified (GM) technologies to the cash crops and high-yielding variety and, often, termination seeds, mechanization for ploughing and harvesting, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides aiming at quantity rather than quality.

Secondly, the States’ pro-corporate stance leads to enforcing anti-agriculture and anti-farmer policies having adverse affects on the peasants, resulting mostly from agri-based debts, leading to migration and reducing their status to argi-refugees, as well as a major cause for forcing farmers to commit suicides. India is now opening up to corporate pillaging like never before.  Traditional knowledge Systems and indigenous practices are being snuffed out. The poor and the marginalized which are solely dependent on agriculture as a means of livelihood, have been forced to abandon their traditional sources and resources for life and livelihood, and migrate to cities.  Such onslaught affects mostly the Dalits, Adivasis, Women and other marginalized and excluded communities, especially the landless agricultural labourers in India.

We do inform that, large segment of Indian populace is facing critical questions of food sovereignty and food security since the corporates’ plunder of land, water and other natural resources continue unabated. Initiatives of low external inputs and sustainable agriculture experiments are mostly limited to the land-owning farmers, whereas such initiatives could not be practiced by Dalits and Adivasis who are marginal farmers and landless.

II-              LEARNING FROM SOUTH KOREAN FARMERS:

We do learn from South Korean farmers that,

  • Korea has experienced land reformation in 1950s.  However, the government adopts the globalised economy and World Trade Organization (WTO) and, thus, imports food grains at a large scale. This results in an open confrontation between the imported GM grains and the produce of organic farmers of Life Giving Agriculture Forum. Even so, most of the Korean youth are leaving agriculture for softer options.
  • The LGA movement promoted new strategies to popularize the traditional farming methods and knowledge systems with a view to recapturing the youth for farming. The Church in Korea is also actively involved in efforts of promoting LGA and exploring alliances with similar movements in other countries. In Korea, responding to the present oppressive conditions faced by farmers, a movement forLife Giving Agriculture was initiated which faces stiff opposition from GM Corporate giants supported by the Government Machinery. Even, in this adverse context, Korean Life Giving Agriculture Forum continues with its struggle to strive for better food security, ultimately leading to food sovereignty with a priority for the marginalized.

III-           A CALL TO THE CHURCHES & CIVIL SOCIETY:

In this hostile situation against marginal farmers prevailing in the two countries, the participants deliberated on the role of the Churches in promoting Life Giving Agriculture. Bible Study inputs helped to understand Faith response to present crisis in agriculture. There were also efforts to understand civil society initiatives and peasant movements both in Korea and India.

We the participants therefore call upon both the Indian and Korean Churches and Civil Societies,

(a)   To bring to the centre the rural Dalit and Adivasi Churches which are predominantly agrarian and who constitute eighty percent of our congregations but have been pushed to the margins for generations;

(b)   To re-read the Bible through the eyes of the marginal farmers and evolve liturgies that reflect agricultural motifs, seasons and festivals.

(c)    To lobby with the Government to implement radical land reforms and sustainable agriculture in the society-at-large.

(d)   To plead with Indian Churches to entrust vast tracts of land in their fold with local congregations promoting LGA rather than keep the land idle.

(e)   To motivate Churches in India to campaign for Food Sovereignty and negotiate with their respective States to ensure the just and fair public distribution system, and draw up schemes to eradicate hunger, malnutrition, and hunger deaths.

(f)    To organize Indian Churches to lobby for just and pro-farmer Land Legislations, and also reject the Land Acquisition Ordinance, 2014 introduced recently that supports multinational industries and corporate houses, and takes away the fundamental rights of farmers.

(g)   To promote alliance building with neighbouring South Asian countries so that churches and farmers’ movements learn from each other through exposures, joint consultations and best practices in Life Giving Agriculture.

(h)   LGA in Korea and India to address the serious problem of youth abandoning agriculture in villages and address the same on war footing.

(i)     LGA in Korea and India to explore new ground for ecumenical cooperation and collective action between rural and urban churches and between diverse denominations with LGA as focal point for the ecumenical journey tomorrow.

(j)     LGA in Korea and India to influence Seminaries to adapt theological education per se to include LGA in their regular courses as part of Ministerial Training.

IV – WE RESOLVE:

With regard to mainstreaming LGA in India, we resolve that the NCCI- CJPC promote Life-Giving Agriculture in India, and continue to dialogue and partner with LGA-Korea and promote Joint solidarity struggles and exchange of information on Life Giving Agriculture.

===================================================================

Contact:

The Executive Secretary,

Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation,

National Council of Churches in India,

<ncci.cjpc@gmail.com>, <ncci@nccindia.in>

Prof. Dr. Ninan Koshy passes away

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drninankoshyThe National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) is grieved to hear about the sudden death of globally celebrated ecumenical leader Prof. Dr. Ninan Koshy on 4th March 2015.
Prof. Dr. Ninan Koshy will be remembered as a noted political thinker, foreign affairs expert, theologian and social analyst. He started his ministry as President of the Youth movement of the Church of South India (CSI) Madhya Kerala Diocese, later going on to be Professor of English at the CMS College, Kottayam.  He was also the founder Vice-Principal and Head of the Department of English at Bishop Moore College, Mavelikara, and member of the Syndicate University of Kerala.  Later on he taught in Changanassery S.B. College, and Thiruvalla Marthoma College too.

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Rev. Dr. James Massey passes away.

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drmasseyRev. Dr. (Habil) James Massey, one of the greatest champions of the Dalit cause in India, passed away on 2nd March 2015 in Patna where he was undergoing heart treatment.

As one of the strongest voices for rights of Dalits, especially the Christians of Dalit origin, and having dedicated his life for the subaltern communities in India, his passing away is a great loss and has shocked the Indian Church and society. Being one of the pioneers and proponents of Dalit Theology, his contributions are immense to the field of theology and theological formation. He will be remembered as a “mentor to a generation of upcoming Dalit Theologians”. Rev. Dr. Massey, who was originally from Punjab, translated the Bible in Punjabi. He authored and edited more than twenty books, most of which are in-depth studies on Dalits and other subaltern communities in India. One of his major contributions is the Dalit Bible Commentary. He also served the minority communities in India in the capacity of member of Minority Commission.

NCCI Centenary Celebration 2014 – Glimpses

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National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) celebrated its centenary in 2014 in a series of regional programs all over India. This video is a a compilation of the highlights / glimpses of the year-long celebration.

Check out the video from our YouTube channel:

Launch of HELP HOTLINE and Information on Rights related to police complaints, arrests and legal aid for Indian citizens

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Do You Know Your Rights?

The rise of violence against Christians in India has led to the formation of a legal aid agency and the establishment of a help hotline both to monitor and provide assistance in the event of an attack against Christian Indians.

According to the World Watch Monitor, Christians in India formed the United Christian Forum for Human Rights on January 19. The forum’s spokesperson, John Dayal, said that its purpose is “to coordinate both legal and advocacy assistance to the community, which has been traumatised in recent months by communal violence in several states.”

The statement gives further details on the agency’s hotline and its purpose: “The UCF has commissioned a 24-hour National Helpline, 1-800-208-4545, so that lawyers and experts can assist victims of violence, intimidation, coercion and illegal confinement by any criminal or political group.”
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FIRST INFORMATION REPORT

Anybody can lodge a FIR. You do not need to be a witness to the crime to be eligible to lodge an FIR. If you have come to know about the crime, that would suffice.

  • It is illegal for the police officer to deny lodging an FIR. If such a situation occurs, send a copy of your complaint to the Commissioner/ Superintendent of Police by registered post or AD.
  • The FIR must be taken down in writing, read over and explained to you before you sign it.
  • You can lodge an FIR at any police station convenient to you. The police officer must ensure that it is sent to the appropriate police station nearest to the place of crime.
  • Always ask for a copy of the FIR for your personal records. You have the right to a copy of the same free of cost.
  • You may also give information of a crime by telephone, to an officer in charge of a police station. In such cases, the police will ascertain your personal details (such as name, age, address and phone no) for their records.

SEARCH

Two independent witnesses (panchas) should always be present when you or your premises are searched.

  • An accurate list of articles seized must be prepared and given to you immediately.

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An appeal from CCBI: Uphold Rule of Law, Peace and Harmony

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The Conference of Catholic Bishops in India (CCBI), during their 27th Plenary session in Bangalore from February 3 – 9, 2015, represented by 140 Bishops from around the country, expressed their anguish and concern over the attacks on Christians, Churches and Christian institutions.

Here is their appeal to uphold the rule of law, peace and harmony.

We, the 140 Bishops from across the country attending the 27th Plenary Assembly of the Conference of the Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) during February 3–9 in Bangalore, hereby express our deep anguish and concern over increasing threats to peace and communal harmony in the wake of various untoward incidents affecting the Christian community in different parts of the country.

Hardly a day has passed off in recent months without reports of attacks on Christians, Churches and Christian institutions from across the nation. Churches have been torched even in the national capital while reports of ‘Ghar Waspsi’ and blatant threats to hold mass reconversions are causing anxiety to the Christians scattered in the far corners of the nation.

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Solidarity group opposes Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) ordinance

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Please find here below the press release from BHOOMI – a Forum for Protection of Land in India (FPLI) opposing Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) ordinance.

Bhoomi – a Forum for Protection of Land in India (FPLI)

PRESS NOTE

New Delhi, India | 27 January 2015

The solidarity group resolved on 22nd January 2015 at Visakhapatnam meet to call upon people of our country to oppose and resist the undemocratic Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) ordinance to take away the democratic rights of the farmers, tribals given in the Act 2013. The soul of the new Act was that the acquisition could not be done without consent of 80% land owners and Social Impact Assessment on which the public hearing was a must. But without consulting the public, people and organizations, and political parties and Parliament members the Union Government’s ordinance to end the democratic action of land acquisition process is nothing but to establish despotic corporate rule in our country at the cost of life and livelihood of millions of farmers, agriculture workers, Fishers, Adivasis and Dalits.
This arbitrary anti-people decision is the gateway of corporate governance which will also mill the Forest Rights Act 2006 and the autonomy of Gram Sabha, PESA CRZ regulations, environment protection on laws by which the Fishers, Adivasis, Dalits all the marginalized people depending on natural resources like sea, forest, land of any category, rivers in name of so-called development. As main opposition party BJP had extended support to the LARR in two houses of parliament to be smoothly passed but its newly elected government did not hesitate to murder a democratic people’s law made after more than hundred people sacrificed their lives resisting forceful land acquisition under 1894 law. As a result of this ordinance, corporates will continue to take over the common people’s resources for their own growth in the name of nation development that will further aggravate the trend.

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