Thursday 20 October 2011

INDIA’S VANISHING CHRISTIANS

Nine out of ten Christians in Bihar have disappeared! In Andhra Pradesh the population of Christians has decreased. The Population Growth Rate (PGR) of Christians in Goa and Kerala is a fraction of the national average. But Delhi has seen a phenomenal growth in the number of Christians. Don’t believe me, but believe the statistics of the Census of India. A study of the figures for 1961 and 2001 (the latest available) is startling. Are they facts? Yes and no, for statistics are easily manipulatable. I do not wish to be a manipulator, so I will present both facts and figures.

The figures in the attached annexure are taken from the Census of India report of 2001. In 1961 there were 502,195 Christians in Bihar. Forty years later, in 2001, they were down to just 53,137, a drop of 89%! What the statistics don’t say is that in the interregnum a new State of Jharkhand was formed, and the majority of erstwhile Bihar’s Christians are to be found there. The data shows that the All India PGR between 1961 and 2001 was 134%. In contrast the Muslim PGR was much higher at 194%, while the Christians’ was lower at 124%. IN Delhi the Christian PGR was 345%, obviously because of immigration. Andhra Pradesh is the only State where the Christian population has actually dwindled from 1,428,729 in 1961 to 1,181,917 in 2001, a negative growth of 17%. And Telengana is still a part of Andhra. What does this indicate? Andhra has been in the forefront of the Dalit Christian movement. Is this indicative that the denial of equal rights to Dalit Christians has resulted in large-scale apostasy in Andhra? So much for our evangelisation.

Kerala and Goa are the two States that had a well-entrenched Christian presence. Their statistics merit attention. As against the national PGR of 134, and the Christian PGR of 124, in Goa the Christian PGR is lowest at 58%, and Kerala is not much better at 69%. Before we set the alarm bells ringing, we need to look at some other demographic realities.

Both Kerala and Goa have a high exodus of emigrants to other countries and States. Equally, they have a large influx of immigrant labour, as Keralites and Goans find manual labour below their dignity. Family planning is also more evident in both these States. In 2001 the Proportion of Age (0 – 6 years) had a national average of 15.9%. The average for Muslims was again higher at 18.7%, while that of Christians was lower at 13.5%. Goan Christians had the lowest proportion at 9.6%, while Kerala’s was 11.2%. Literacy has been a contributory factor. In 2001 the national literacy rate was 64.8%, while for women it was 53.7%. Among Christian Goans this was much higher at 83.8% and 78.8% respectively. Kerala Christians fared even better at 94.8% and 93.5% respectively.

One’s nature of work is also related to population growth. Those who till the land believe that for every mouth to feed there are two hands to work. They consider children an asset, not a liability. But the nature of Christian workers in Goa and Kerala again is different from the national norm. Among the categories of workers in 2001, the national average for cultivators and agricultural labourers was 58.2%. In contrast, for Goan Christians this was just 11.4%, and for Kerala Christians it was 24%. Small wonder then that all these factors have contributed to the vanishing Christians of Goa and Kerala (though Andhra is a sociological, not a demographic problem).

It is in this context that we need to address recent developments like the “Welfare of Women & Children Bill 2011” in the Kerala Assembly, and the strident reactions from Muslim and Christian religious leaders in Kerala. Why is the Bill so objectionable?

It seeks to enact harsh measures to control the population. It advocates a two-child norm; and three months’ jail or a fine of Rs 10,000/- for those who don’t follow this diktat. It further says that those organisations or individuals that campaign against family planning would also face imprisonment. This draconian measure has been likened to Sanjay Gandhi’s forced sterilisation drives during the Emergency (1975-77), and China’s one-child policy (1979).

Writing in Indian Currents (IC) Dr John Dayal says that China’s population policy has resulted in 30 million Chinese men without wives, with the attendant danger of increased violence against women and prostitution. A newspaper report says that wife-supplying agencies have erupted, arranging for women (wives) from Vietnam, with a money back guarantee of satisfaction. This is not surprising. Unabated female foeticide in India has resulted in a skewed sex ratio, with men from Haryana and Rajasthan actually paying for brides from poorer States. So the danger of excessive State control is real. However, Kerala, which incidentally has a high sex ratio, also has the highest population density of 859 persons per sq km; which Dr Dayal says is 3 times higher than the national average.

How has the Kerala church responded to this complex issue of a dense population and a draconian Bill? Long before any Bill was on the horizon the late Cardinal Vithayathil had advocated larger families; accusing parents who could afford it, of being selfish, by not producing more children. At that time I had strongly rebutted the cardinal’s convoluted logic. Now St Vincent de Paul Forane Church in Wynad district of Kerala has announced a Rs 10,000/- fixed deposit to be given to parents that produce a fifth child. The person who made the announcement, Salu Mecheril, is also the spokesperson of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Conference. So the announcement cannot be treated in isolation. The secular press has already splashed the news and made adverse editorial comments. The Kerala laity has also not taken this lying down. As reported in IC, Joseph Pullikkunel, Director, Indian Institute of Christian Studies, has objected, saying that “Catholic women are not just human machines producing children”.

The Kerala Bill is downright insane, even though the Christian Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, claims that “resentment against the draft is unwarranted”. How warranted is the reaction of the Catholic hierarchy? Rev Mathew O. Praem, writing in the same issue of IC, lets the cat out of the bag when he says that the bishops’ policy is “mainly in view of languishing vocations to priestly and religious life”. Had a layman like me said this, I would have immediately been branded anti-clerical. Coming from the horse’s mouth, need I say more? The reality is that large families in Kerala generously sent many of their offspring to novitiates and seminaries. Several foreign congregations even set up “fishing centres” in Kerala. With small families, the boom is over. They are no longer willing to contribute their mites (pun intended)!

This month the world population will cross the 7 billion mark. Here in India we are unable to define poverty. Infrastructure has collapsed, and forests have been slashed because of a burgeoning population. Voluntary family planning is essential to macro planning, and should not be opposed on purely sectarian grounds like empty novitiates and seminaries.

One must also ask the Catholic Church how effective has its propagation of Natural Family Planning (NFP) been? I taught about NFP before I got married! From the Rhythm Method we had progressed to the Sympto-Thermic Method, the Ovulation Method and the Modified Mucous Method. What happened? I throw an open challenge to the Catholic bishops of India to show us how many NFP centres are functioning in India today, and how many adherents they have. There is also mounting evidence that the Catholic Church is unable to cover the socio-economic needs of its existing members, particularly that of the Dalit Christians. So why talk of financial support to a fifth child?

The draconian Kerala bill should be thrown out, and the bishops’ fixed deposits with it. We need flexibility not fixity.

STATISTICAL DATA
Source – Census of India Report 2001

Population Growth Rate from 1961 to 2001 (40 years)

Category 1961 2001 % age Growth
All Religions 439,234,771 1,028,610,328 134
Muslims 46,940,799 138,188,240 194
Christians 10,728,086 24,080,016 124
Christians in Delhi 29,269 130,319 345
Christians in Bihar 502,195 53,137 -89
Christians in Goa 227,202 359,568 58%
Christians in Andhra 1,428,729 1,181,917 -17
Christians in Kerala 3,587,365 6,057,427 69

Proportion of Age (0-6 years)

Category Percentage
All India 15.9
Muslims 18.7
Christians 13.5
Christians in Goa 9.6
Christians in Kerala 11.2

Literacy Rates – 2001 (in percent)

Category All Female
All India 64.8 53.7
Christians 80.3 76.2
Christians in Goa 83.8 78.8
Christians in Kerala 94.8 93.5

Categories of Workers – 2001 (in percent)

Category All India Christians Christians in Goa Christians in Kerala
Cultivators 31.7 29.2 4.8 12.8
Agricultural Labourers 26.5 15.3 6.6 11.2
Household Industry 4.2 2.7 3.1 2.5
Others 37.6 52.8 85.4 73.5

* The writer has 42 years of experience in youth ministry, marriage preparation and community leadership.
October 2011

GROWING PAINS

When a child is young its parents go all out to teach it how to walk and talk. When it grows up, the very same parents now expend double the energy telling the “child” to shut up and sit down! A reversal of roles, or a changed situation? What has gone awry in the Parent-Child relationship, often referred to as growing pains?

Dr Eric Berne, in his best seller “Games People Play – The Psychology of Human Relationships” has developed a school of psychology called “Transactional Analysis”. It is based on the three ego states in every individual – Parent, Adult and Child. The all knowing, all-powerful Parent interacts naturally with the ignorant and dependent Child. Similarly, two Adults can interact naturally on an equal footing based on mutual respect and rationality, not superiority or authority. The problem arises when a dependent and ignorant Child grows up and evolves into a young Adult, with its own critical awareness.

The equations now need to change from a Parent-Child transaction to an Adult-Adult one. This is where the conflicts, aggression and misunderstandings begin, often called the “generation gap”. It is actually a “communications gap”, where the Parent still wants to speak (give orders, make decisions), and expects the young adult to listen and obey. The young Adult does not see the rationale of the Parent’s diktat, and rebels or reacts, resulting in a breakdown of relationships and communication. If left unattended it degenerates further into resentment and recrimination. Here the role of the Parent is crucial. It must recognise the changed circumstances, and make a deliberate climb down. The Parent must get off its high horse and recognise the rational young Adult. If not, the emergent Adult will either rebel, withdraw into silent indifference, or simply walk out.

Let us now juxtapose these transactions (relationships) on the Catholic Church, which is also a family (community). For centuries the Church has been referred to as a Mother, and its pastors, even if they are in their twenties, are called Fathers; thereby reinforcing the “Parental” nature and stature of the hierarchical church. The natural consequence was that the laity was treated as an ignorant and dependent Child, who had to pray, pay and obey. The Parental role of the hierarchy was accentuated in a Gora Padre Sahib/ Brahminical order, in a mission land like India. Here the convert was totally dependent on the missionary priest – for salvation, education and employment. The Parental role was deeply entrenched.

What happened in the West? The industrial and print revolutions resulted in the Protestant Reformation. The people were no longer dependent or ignorant. They had grown up, and flew from the nest, to live their own independent lives.

Despite its rich liturgical and artistic legacy, the Catholic Church in Europe (erstwhile Christendom) was faced with a mass exodus and empty churches, especially after the two World Wars. Pope John XXIII recognised these symptoms in time, and converted adversity into an opportunity. In 1962 he convened the Second Vatican Council (VAT II), praying for a new Pentecost, a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit and aggiornamento (updating or renewal).

VAT II was a sea change in the Church’s self-understanding (ecclesiology). Unfortunately, 46 years after VAT II ended in 1965, we have seen only cosmetic changes, as in the liturgy and the dress of priests and nuns. We have not seen the deeper attitudinal changes envisaged by VAT II vis-à-vis the world, other religions, science, etc; and its own internal attitudes, especially with regard to the laity. Here again, in a poor, ignorant, dalit or tribal community like India’s, the laity has been largely ignored or sidelined. Lay leaders who quote scripture, VAT II or Canon Law are not treated with equanimity as behoves an Adult-Adult relationship. They are, instead, branded as rebels, critics or troublemakers. Such knowledgeable lay leaders therefore withdraw into a silent sulk, rebel against the system, or simply quit the Church, as they are no longer afraid of damnation or ostracisation.

It is time for the hierarchical church (bishops and priests) to make a determined and conscious climb down, to shed their earlier Parental role, and interact with the laity on an Adult-Adult basis. This obviously requires openness, love and humility. The evidence so far is to the contrary.

In Sunday sermons we are reminded ad nauseum that we must be childlike to enter the kingdom of heaven. We are also reminded that the poor will inherit the earth. The message is loud and clear – stay where you are as an ignorant, dependent Child. Don’t attempt to be self-reliant – financially, intellectually or spiritually. You have to come to the “Father”, the one in the presbytery, not the one in heaven, for all your needs! This is a gross distortion of sacred scripture and VAT II ecclesiology.

Some of St Paul’s exhortations are poignant. He rebukes the Corinthians for their inability to grow up. “I was not able to talk to you as spiritual people; I had to talk to you as people … still infants in Christ; I fed you with milk and not solid food, for you were not able to take it” (1Cor 3:1-2). He exhorts them to imitate his maturity. “When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does; and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways” (1Cor 13:11). The Letter to the Hebrews is even more explicit. “We have many things to say, and they are difficult to explain, because you have grown so slow at understanding. Indeed, when you by this time should have become masters, you need someone to teach you all over again; …you have gone back to needing milk, and not solid food. Truly, no one who is still living on milk can digest the doctrine of saving justice, being still a baby. Solid food is for adults with minds trained by practice to distinguish between good and bad” (Heb 5:11-14). These words seem to be addressed directly to the infantile suckers that the Indian laity is.

Let us also revert to the Old Testament. The prophetic call to Jeremiah is, “I have put my words into your mouth. Look today I have set you over the nations and kingdoms, to uproot and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer 1:9-10). A clarion call to revolution?

The prophet Ezekiel warns against the sin of silent indifference. “If you do not speak to warn someone wicked to renounce evil and to save his life, it is the wicked person who will die for his guilt, but I shall hold you responsible for that death” (Ez 3:18-19). He expands further by saying “If, however, you do warn someone wicked to renounce such ways and repent, and that person does not repent, then the culprit will die for this guilt, but you yourself would have saved your life” (Ez 33:8-9). Jesus, who was familiar with, and often quoted Jewish scriptures, may have had Ezekiel’s warnings in mind when he said, “If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you … But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a gentile or a tax collector” (Mat 18:15-17).

It is therefore incumbent on enlightened lay leaders to speak out on matters of common interest, be they acts of commission (wrong doing); or acts of omission, like the non-implementation of VAT II teachings regarding the role of the laity, or the provisions of Canon Law pertaining to the temporal goods of the Church, and participatory bodies like pastoral councils and finance committees.

VAT II ecclesiology has also moved from papal authoritarianism to the collegiality of bishops; from a paternalistic attitude towards the laity, to a fraternal (Adult-Adult) one. A few quotes from the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (Lumen Gentium) will suffice for now. Talking of the laity in Chapter IV it says, “They are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetic and kingly functions of Christ” (LG 31). It defines the lay vocation saying “A secular quality is proper and special to laymen” (Ibid). And again, “The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God” (Ibid).

Those who wrote this document must have been good psychologists. Here is what it says. “By divine condescension the laity have Christ for their brother .. They also have for their brothers those in the sacred ministry” (LG 32). In relation to the clergy it again says “Every layman should reveal to them his needs and desires with that freedom and confidence which befits a son of God, and a brother in Christ” (LG 37). Harking back to Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s prophetic roles it states “An individual layman by reason of the knowledge, competence or outstanding ability which he may enjoy, is permitted and sometimes even obliged to express his opinion on things which concern the good of the church” (Ibid). It is more than obvious that the laity has an important, fraternal (Adult-Adult) role to play in both church and society. There is a rider though. One needs learning, competence and outstanding ability. This is where the laity has failed miserably. We are still a bunch of ignoramuses that are largely unaware of our rights and duties.

This suits the “Fathers in Mother Church”, who are quite comfortable with an ignorant, subservient and dependent laity. The blame must be apportioned between both the hierarchy and the laity. Where there is a will there is a way. Who has stopped the laity from acquiring knowledge and skills? For years the AICU has been laying stress on leadership training, from the time of late Rev D.S. Amalorpavadas’ Jagruti programmes, to George Menezes’ emphasis on “Effective Christian Leadership”, down to the present day under Dr Remy Denis’ presidentship.

Those familiar with pre and post VAT II ecclesiology would have heard of the pyramidical and concentric models of the Church. In the pyramidical model there was a hierarchical structure, with the laity at the bottom of the heap. This followed the trickle down theory. But if the pyramid is made of hard rock, nothing can permeate it. The water will just run off. In the concentric model we are told that we are all equal (fraternal) but the laity is in the outermost circle, the periphery. Hence nothing much has changed. Earlier we were at the bottom, now we are at the edge. In this latter model we are exposed to the ripple effect, as from the epicentre of an earthquake. Here again, if the structure is earthquake resistant, there will be hardly any impact.

Judging the tree by the fruit it bears, one is constrained to conclude that the hierarchical church in India is both waterproof and earthquake resistant, which is why the wished for renewal of VAT II has not permeated the life and praxis of the church. How do we rectify this?

I see three approaches in history. All begin with the letter R. One is the Reformation, as initiated by Martin Luther, that resulted in a mass exodus from the Catholic Church. The second is Revolution, as seen in the French Revolution’s battle cry of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”. The ire of the revolutionaries was directed as much against the opulent church as against a corpulent aristocracy. This resulted in a sharp divide between Church and State, and an inordinately secularised way of life, as prevalent in France and much of Europe till today.

The third option was Renewal. The Catholic Church in thirteenth century Europe was going through the Dark Ages, where temporal power and lust reigned supreme. In that dismal scenario St Francis of Assisi was given the onerous task, “Go and repair my church”. He did it through personal and collective Renewal, by a return to pristine gospel values. He chose to renew from within, rather than to reform, revolt or criticise from outside.

We the laity of India could learn some lessons from church history, sacred scripture, VAT II teachings and Canon Law. Who is there to stop us in the true Renewal of the Catholic Church in India? I see the role of the AICU and its affiliated Catholic Associations, as also the forthcoming Lay Synod, as an important step in that direction. It will avoid unwarranted growing pains, and make for a happy family (community) life, based on mutual respect.

* The writer is a former National President of the All India Catholic Union.

THE CUCKOO TRAP

When we left our ancestral house of 150 years, we moved to one that had a lot of open space. Being fond of gardening, I wanted lovely flowers. But I had a tough choice – trees or flowers. As an environmentalist I opted for trees like neem and ashoka, which have thick foliage. This meant little sunlight and even fewer flowers.

The variety of birds and butterflies in the garden more than compensated the loss of flowers. My father, who was a member of the Bombay Natural History Society and National Geographic (long before the advent of TV), taught me to recognise and identify birds, aided by Salim Ali’s classic “The Book of Indian Birds”. So I quite enjoy bird watching, not necessarily limited to the feathered species!

There are two birds that seem to be deeply ingrained in Indian culture – the peacock and the koel (Indian cuckoo – zoological name – Eudynamys scolocea). Today the koel’s call is heard more on door chimes and mobile ring tones, than in gardens. I am not enamoured of koels. Let me tell you why.

Remember the scene from “Three Idiots”, where Dr Virus says that winners take all. He uses the cuckoo’s nest as an example, with an egg being dropped to the ground. Unfortunately, Dr Virus did not know that cuckoos don’t have nests. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

The koel, cuckoo that it is, is a slender version of a crow. The male is shining black, with a yellow beak and beady red eyes. The female is spotted brown. It lays its eggs in the crow’s nest. The pale greyish green eggs are similar to the crow’s. The gullible crows literally do not know what is hatching! Meanwhile the koel flits around caring a damn. When the eggs hatch, the koel fledgling is far more aggressive and strident than the crow’s. It pushes the crow’s fledglings out of the nest.

Last month I saw this drama unfold in my garden. The koel’s cry is high pitched. The fledgling screeched like the plaintive bleat of a lamb to the slaughter. The hapless crows would rush to feed it. While other fledglings like the bulbuls and pied wagtails learnt to fly and fend for themselves, the koel kept shrieking, pressurising the crows to feed it.

In ornithology the koel’s behaviour is called parasitical – feeding off others, depriving them of their due, or taking undue advantage of the gullibility or susceptibility of the other. It made me think. Who are the parasites in Indian society today? They are cunning or shining masqueraders, who live off an unsuspecting public.

Steven D Levitt, in his bestseller “Freakonomics – The Hidden Side of Everything”, says that as the world has grown more specialised, there have evolved countless experts who enjoy a “gigantic informational advantage”. This coign of vantage is often used to exploit gullible dependents. Levitt counts doctors, lawyers, contractors and auto mechanics among the “advantaged”, that exploit the ignorance of the other. He observes that “In a medical study, it turned out that obstetricians in areas with declining birth rates are much more likely to perform caesarean section deliveries – suggesting that when business is tough, doctors try to ring up more expensive procedures”.

Levitt also admits that, as with corruption or domestic violence, “It is one thing to muse about experts abusing their position, and another to prove it. The best way to do so would be to measure how an expert treats you, versus how he performs the same service for himself”.

Annaji, ofcourse, would have us believe that the much-maligned politician is the real cuckoo, feeding off others. To a large extent he is correct. Politicians, like actresses and sportspersons, have a limited shelf life, so the corrupt ones would definitely try to “feather their nests” while the going was good. However, I believe that those with a longer innings, and a greater “informational advantage” are the real cuckoos.

Remember the British serial “Yes Minister”, and its pathetic Hindi version “Ji Mantriji”? The senior bureaucrat is the one who wraps the unlettered minister around his little finger, quoting rules and regulations to scuttle the minister’s plans. It is these high level bureaucrats who influence policymaking, its implementation or otherwise, who are the real cuckoos. Do a reality check. Ask them for a house allotment, and compare it to how they get their own allotments done. Need I say more?

A layman will agree with Levitt that the lawyer, doctor or auto mechanic has a “gigantic informational advantage”. But in India pride of place should go to the bureaucrat, not so much the executive one, as the policy maker. They have even scuttled all attempts at administrative reforms, that is the root cause of corruption (Annaji please note). To the list of Indian cuckoos I must add educationists and religious leaders. You can’t cross swords with them for fear of failure or eternal damnation!

There was a guy called A. Crowe, who was always teased as “a crow”. A friend suggested that he use his first name. It was Adam. That made it worse – a damn crow! Will the damned crows of India arise? Identify the cuckoos before you get trapped. Be a good ornithologist, lest you end up at a psychiatrist!

4th October 2011