FR. AMBROSE IS NO MORE!
It was a
shocking news for me. I knew he was ill
with cancer and had shifted to Mount St. Joseph. But it was just about six months ago. I thought he could be on the way to
recovery. Why do people say, “now cancer
is curable’? But Fr. Ambrose’s cancer
did not get cured!
I always
believed he was the right voice in today’s world. He had a message for world in
the present context. He was very much
needed. He spoke for the poor, for Dalits, for the exploited. He had the right understanding of what is to
be a secular society which alone ensures real democracy. I was very happy to read him in different
journals, and newspapers. Listening to
him was a great experience. Soft spoken
but firm on convictions. Martin Luther
King could have called him “a person with tough mind and tender heart”. He did not mince his words and he did not
hurt anyone. He could not but get upset with atrocities against Dalits. But his approach was that of a humble yet
determined person to demand justice.
He was a
great support to the social activists. He
understood them and took them at their stride.
Constantly with the youth he understood their pulse. He put a great vision before them as their
aspiration.
He was a Christian
by faith and a Jesuit by vocation.
Education was his passion. But his
idea of education was “Education for Liberation”. He struck a right balance
between his radical commitment for the exploited and his life in the Society.
I affirm
that he was very much needed in today’s political and social context of our nation. Our country is led astray by antiquated ideas
that propagate majoritarianism as Democracy and Hindutva as Secularism. There is so much intolerance of the people
and their way of life, the people who belong to the minorities, Dalits and
other backward castes.
There is a
great need to bring the direction of our social and political movement back to
genuine equality of cultures and democracy.
Fr. Ambrose’s voice was very much needed. But he has been taken away from us. This puts on our head a great responsibility
to carry forward his mission. His voice
will not be silent.
Long live
Fr. Ambrose Pinto!