THE CALL OF GOD FOR FR. STAN LOURDUSWAMY

 

THE CALL OF GOD FOR FR. STAN LOURDUSWAMY

 

Once up on a time a young man was grazing sheep at the far side of a desert.  While he was sitting and keeping watch on his sheep suddenly, he saw at a distance a strange sight. He saw a bush burning but the fire was not consuming the bush.  When he went close to see the strange event, he was told that the place he was standing was holy and he should remove his sandals.  The voice from the bush said, “I have seen the humiliation of my people at the hands of their exploiters and I have heard their cries. Go now I am sending you to bring my people out of their slavery.”

Almost in a similar fashion a young boy from Tiruchirappalli was called by God to go to the tribal region of Bihar/Jharkhand to set His people free.  After his ordination on 14^th April 1970 in the Society of Jesus (S.J.) he left to Bihar/ Jharkhand to work with the Adivasis.

Stan believed that it was not enough to dole out material goods and food relief to the Adivasis.  He should work for their emancipation and development.  The only way to work for the development of the Adivasis would be to educate them to understand their rights and fight for their rights.

After working for several years in Bihar (Jharkhand) he was asked to work in Indian Social Institute the Nation’s premier research, training, and documentation institute in Bangalore.  Through this institute he trained many social workers and youth to work for rural development and nation building. He enabled them to understand the social, economic realities of our society to be able to work effectively with the Dalits, Adivasis and weaker section of the society.

After completing his term at the Indian Social Institute, he went back to Jharkhand to work with the Adivasis.  He knew that the constitution and the legal frame work has enough space for the rights of the Adivasis.  For example, “the 5^th schedule of the constitution” deals with the administration of Schedule areas as well as Scheduled Tribes residing in different states. Secondly in 1996 the central government had passed a law called “Panchayats (extension to Scheduled Areas) PESA Act 1996”.  By virtue of this act the constitution gives to the people living in the schedule area the power of self-governance through traditional Gram Sabhas.  This laws prevent outsiders to enter the schedule area to exploit the people and the natural resources for their private gain. 

The successive government did not have political will to implement these laws which protect the lives and livelihood of the Adivasis.  Fr. Stan was concerned about non implementation of the 5^th Schedule of the Indian Constitution and PESA. 

One does not need rocket science to understand why these laws were not implemented.  The schedule areas where Adivasis are living are rich with mineral resources.  The hitherto practice has been the government would evict the Adivasis from their homes and lands and hand over their land to the corporates and multinational companies to excavate the minerals below their land.  To put in the words of Fr. Stan, “every mine that is dug not only destroys the green forests, fertile lands and water bodies but displaces entire village habitations”.

Perhaps in olden days when Adivasis were ignorant and unorganized they could be easily pushed out of their land.  It is because of this mindless exploitation of the Adivasis and

With sustained work of conscientization by people like Fr. Stan Adivasis have woken up to understand their rights. Through their prolonged struggles PESA Act was passed in 1996. They have started resisting the oppression.  They started a movement called Pathal Ghadi.  They started erecting stone slabs at the entrance of every Adivasi village.  They inscribe relevant parts of the constitution and PESA Act on the slab.  They also inscribe the names of the people who have given their lives in the struggle to protect the rights of the Adivasis. The government has dealt with heavy hand with all the resistance of the Adivasis from their eviction.  More than 6000 youth are languishing in jail without charge sheet or trial.

Fr. Stan has meticulously documented the torture and the sufferings of these Adivasi youth.  Along with other civil right activists Fr. Stan has filed public interest litigations to bring relief to the Adivasis.

In response to this the government filed the case of sedition against Fr. Stan.  The National Investigation Agency has implicated him in Bhima Koregaon violence.  At first, he was only a suspect but now they have accused him of being involved in Bhima Koregao violence.  They have further accused him as a cadre of the Maoist.  They raided his office in Ranchi and took away his mobile phone and laptop.  The most atrocious things the NIA has done is they have planted material in his laptop to prove that he is a Maoist. What is ludicrous is that such material the NIA has planted in many who have been arrested in Maharastra contain the same spelling mistakes and Marathi words.  Since Stan does not know Marathi one wonders how could he use Marathi words in the documents planted in his computer.

Fr. Stan being a staunch Christian and a Jesuit priest does not believe in indulging in false hood let alone using violence.

The real issue is not that Fr. Stan is a Maoist or uses violence.  NIA’s charge sheet will not stand the test in trial court.  The real problem is that Fr. Stan has awakened the Adivasis to understand their rights to their land and homes.  They have started resisting. They are demanding a share in the wealth that lies beneath their land. This creates difficulties for the government to hand over their lands to the crony capitalists for excavating rich minerals from the lands of the Adivasis.

Fr. Stan asks, “why truth has become so bitter, dissent so intolerable and justice so out of reach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conflict Between Agriculture and Industry

 

Since more than twenty days the farmers from Panjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and many other states are agitating in and around Delhi.  One Sikh Baba gave his life in support of the agitation.  More than twenty people died in the biting cold of Delhi.  There is no slowing down of the agitation.  The entire world is talking about this agitation as being the world’s largest protest by the Indian farmers.

The farmers are agitating against the three farm laws the Modi government passed under the pretext of doubling the income of the farmers.  The farmers are not convinced.  They see a bigger and mischievous design by the government to hand over the farm sector into the hands of the Indian largest corporate houses.

The gist of the three laws are as follows:

1.     Elimination of all subsidies and minimum support price for the farmers. Eliminate APMC, Agricultural Produce Market Committee and Mandies (APMC Yards).  Now the farmers can sell their product to private traders and corporate houses.  This also means that any corporate house can procure food grains from the farmers and stock in unlimited quantity in their godowns.  Earlier it was illegal for private people to hoard food grains.

 

The farmers will not get the benefit of the system of minimum support price. Government used to fix minimum support price for several farm product to ensure that the famers do not incur losses. Further farmers will not get subsidy such as fertilizer subsidy and on the input for cultivation.

 

2.     Introduction of contract farming.  This means traders and corporate houses can make an agreement with farmers to produce food grains and sell to the corporation.  In case of dispute the farmers cannot have recourse to the court but some local government official can intervene to solve the dispute.

 

3.     These corporations can stock any amount of agricultural produce.  This could result in artificial scarcity and food prices to rise

Background:  Soon after the independence India had a massive food shortage.  The Indian government was forced to import food grains.

Indian farmers were cultivating land under tenancy system where the cultivators were not the owners of the land.  The lands were owned by the zamidars who collected tax from the farmers either in cash or in food grains.  The land owners were not bothered if the drought had made it impossible for the farmers to cultivate the land.  If the farmer failed to pay corvee then the landlord would take the land from the farmer and give to another, more prosperous farmer who could pay taxes regularly.  This let to a lot of farmers becoming landless and were forced to work with other farmers for wages or migrate to the cities to look for employment. 

This system was not able to increase the productivity of land resulting in food shortage.  The government announced land reforms under which the land was supposed to be given to the tillers.  Most of the government officials who were responsible to implement land reform came from the landlord class and they favoured the landlords and little came out by the way of cultivators owning their land.  Then there was a law of land ceiling by virtue of which the land owners could not own more than a prescribed limited acres of land.  This too was bypassed by landlords by registering land on fictitious names.

Indian agriculture moved from the feudal tenancy form to capitalist form of cultivation where the cultivators became owners of their land and they cultivated by employing wage labourers.

This transformation of agriculture into capitalist agriculture did not solve the problem of low level of food production and the farmers continued to remain very poor and exploited.

To over come the precarious situation of farmers and low level of food production the government of India undertook three programmes: 1. Building dams to improve irrigation, 2. Green revolution by modernizing agricultural production and introducing intensive farming in selected areas in the country, such as Panjab, Haryana, Mandya, Kuttanad, Tanjaoor. 3. Farmers’ support programmes such as agricultural cooperative societies, minimum support price and Agricultural Market Committees (APMC).

APMC, is a marketing board established and operated by the state government in order to eliminate the exploitation of the farmers by intermediaries to whom the farmers could sell their produce at minimum support price. This system was introduced to regulate the sale of agricultural products.  APMC was to ensure remunerative prices for the farmers for their produce and timely payment. 

In spite of these measures the farmers were always in distress.  The farmers have committed suicides in large number.

1.     There are relatively high proportion of people involved in agriculture.  60% of the Indian population and 45% of the total labour force is involved in agriculture.  There are high percentage of farmers who are subsistence farmers who barely produce for their livelihood. The middle farmers and the rich farmers employ wage labour, tractors, harvesters and high yielding varieties of seeds and fertilizer and they produce for the market.

 

2.     The fact of the matter is agriculture gives very low return. The farmers do not get the rent on their land as it is not included in the cost of production.  The farmers’ average income per month is around Rs. Six thousand five hundred only. The law of the country does not allow the owners of the land to change the land use for nonagricultural purpose. But when the government decides it will throw out the farmers and snatch their land and give to the industrialist to build their factories.

 

The most significant issue which relates to our present day farmers agitation is against abolishing of APMC and Minumum Support Price.

The preset day farmers’ agitation is an indication that the farming and industry are in conflict with each other.  It is an attempt on the part of the corporates and industrialists to gain control on the agriculture and subordinate it to industrial capital.

The gist of the development that the present-day NDA government wishes to bring into effect is to allow the corporate capitalist to gain control of the agriculture. 

The system of Mandies and the minimum support price is government’s responsibility to intervene in the economy of agriculture to prevent it from going below the level of break even.

Conflict between Industry and agriculture:

The human civilization started with agriculture.  All the non-farm products were produced by the craftsmen who were rooted in agriculture.   Industry came up out of the womb of agriculture

In the feudal society the only economic activity was agriculture. It was under the control of kings and feudal lords as the peasants did not own the land they were cultivating.  The entire wealth of the society was owned by the kings.  People produces only for consumption and for paying to the kings, warlords and feudal lords.  In the womb of agriculture, there existed craftsmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers and oil press mills.

As the productive forces developed in agriculture and with the craftsmen, they started producing surplus.  They began to exchange their product. They used to take their surplus product to the religious pilgrim centers to exchange or sell.  Gradually, these places became permanent local markets.  Gradually the craftsmen who did not need to remain in the rural areas in the midst of agrarian society to product their good shifted to the centres of market places and began to produce and sell in the markets. Gradually these market places and towns became centres of production of non-agricultural goods.  After the industrial revolution the history witnessed emergence of large industries.

Gradually the owners of these industries required large plots of land to established their factories.  They began to encroach on the land of the farmers. The history saw the eviction of peasants from their land to make place for industrial development.

Up to this day we are seeing the process of eviction of farmers, Dalits and Adivasis being driven out from their land for the same of industries, mega projects and urbanization --  the process of extermination of farmers by the rising capitalism.  They were driven out of their land to make place for the emerging industrial capital.  We can truly say that the capitalism was built on the graves of the peasants.

“In the history of primary accumulation, we must regard as epoch-making all revolutions that acted as stepping stones for the capitalist class in course of formation.  Above all, this applies to those moments when the great masses of human beings were suddenly and forcibly torned away from the means of subsistence, and hurled into the labour market as masterless proletarians. The expropriation of the agricultural producers, the peasants, their severance from the soil, was the basis of the whole process.” K. Marx, Primitive Accumulation, Das Capital,

The ultra-Neo-liberal programme of the NDA government:

In the name of doubling the income of the farmer the NDA government is making a way for the Corporate companies like Ambani and Adani to enter into farm business.  There is a report that Adani is buying thousands of acres of land in Haryana and building ware houses to stock food grains.

Once the corporate companies enter into agricultural production and procuring food grains from the farmers, we might anticipate unregulated food grain market.  These industrialist will be free to sell their stock any where in the world where they get maximum prices.

The programmes of agricultural reform adopted since independence have failed to bring about "the required changes in the agrarian stricture.

One report further brings out the truth that,

“In no sphere of public activity in our country since independence has the hiatus (gap) between the precept and practice, between policy-pronouncements and actual execution, been as great as in the domain of agriculture.”  P.D. Ojha

 

I would lie to quote an event that occurred in the year 1775

“In the years between 1757 and 1766 the East India Company received 6,000,000 Pounds from the native of India as gifts.  In the year 1769 and 1770, the English brought about a famine by buying up all the rice and by refusing to sell it again except at fabulous prices.

 

In the year 1866, the one province of Orissa, more than a million Hindus perished of hunger.  Nevertheless, an attempt was made to replenish the Indian State Treasury out of the price at which necessaries of life were sold to the starving people.

This is also very true about Bangal famine in 1942.  Churchil did not accept the fact of famine as Mr. Gnadhi did not die of famine.” 

 

The kind of famine we have seen in the history is a permanent feature of our rural society where huge number of people are living below the poverty line.

The first most important change we are witnessing is that the state has abdicated itself from its role in the market and in the economy as a whole.  It had apparently shown being concerned only about governance.  In reality it turned out to be busy with internal and external “security”.  It meant being busy with the military and security forces to defend big business and multinational capital.  We have seen the use of force to carry forward the programme of industrialization and foreign investment.

To sum up: “The government’s understanding of the farmers’ knowledge in not only flawed but also insulting”.

The major thrust of the protest suggests the government’s steps are not in farmers’ favour but in the favour of big business.  Farmers understand the logic of the market driven by private interests.” (Editor, EPW Dec 5, 2020)

 

 

The Nation that does not learn from its mistakes and the mistakes of its leaders is doomed to vanish.

 This post is a special one.  It is prepared by Prakash Louis and John Dayal.  These two people give leadership to the sentiments of all of us in Praxis and many others.  I have published this in our Blog to give further publicity.  We give full merit to Praksh Louis and John Dayal, the ardent supporter of the sentiments, aspiration of all of us who struggle to create India with justice, equity away from all sloganeering.

Lessons of 2020 and Responses of  the Indian Christian Community in 2021

Year 2020 began, as every New year does with the promise of hope and possibilities. It soon turned into a nightmare for entire humanity. Covid 19 ravaged our world. Even the mightiest nations on earth have felt the chill of 350,000  dead in nations such as the US. But with far fewer dead,  India still suffered possibly its worst social impact. It ruined the lives and livelihood of over 1,000 million,  or 80% of marginalised and vulnerable Indians. These toiling and  exploited Indian fellow citizens have a historic resilience and a spirit strengthened and not broken in struggle. We hope they will spring back to a better life.

 

Our hope is rooted in our belief that the rest of the country, its government at the centre and in the states, and its institutions have learnt a lesson in thi4r experience  with the universality of the pandemic. When governance failed and institutions let down the people, including the migrant labour trudging back home from closed factories, were helped by common people roused  by the misery and pain they saw in the images on their television sets and social media. Religious groups,  healthcare workers and our youth risked their own lives to provide the much needed relief.

 

But more than the pandemic, 2020 is also seared in our memories for the corporate driven, , undemocratic, authoritarian, and anti-poor government unleashing one policy and program after the other to grievously injure the Constitution and ethical governance. In  cold blood, this encouraged targeted hate which often resulted in violence against minorities and the poor, often leaving many dead in its wake. The 2019 protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, and National Register of Citizens (NRC) were crushed in the Covid curfew. Central ministers and politicians were among those spewing murderous have. Police impunity reached heights not known even in the darkest of previous years. The climax is the series of ordinances by several states in the strange dog-whistle name of Love jihad which target Muslim men, robs Hindu women of all agency, and in passing, puts fear in the heart of the Christians, Tribals and Dalits.

 

In between terrorising students of Jamia Milia, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Aligarh Muslim University, among others, governments jailed brilliant scholars and ageing activists, many critically ill,  on charges of treason, using courts to keep them in jail without bail.  But in the year, 2020, the government enacted ordinances and framed policies without any debate inside and outside the parliament and when the citizens were grappling with the deadly pandemic.

 

Long term damage to the citizens, the economy and the environment was done in the passing, without any worthwhile debate, of the National Education Policy, FCRA Amendment Act, Environmental Impact Assessment, three Labour Ordinances and three Farm Ordinances and . The tillers of the soil are forced into an unequal equation  national and international corporate sector. Farmers from across the country have laid siege of the national capital, demanding that the government  repeal the rapacious laws. Democratic and secular forces  stand in unity with the farmer in what they see is a common struggle to wrest back democracy which was envisioned by the founding fathers. Though the  government and crony media has all but blacked it out, alternate people’s media, its force multiplied on social media, is carrying the message of this struggle to every citizens in the remotest village of the country.

 

The farmers' agitation also reminds the people of what the government failed to do by way of  reforms in Education, Electoral processes, Ecology,  Labour laws, Judicial, Police and Prison systems.

 

The closing days of this forgettable year offer an opportunity to us, the Indian Christian Community, to recognise  our constitutional and religious responsibility the emerging India. We are called upon to respond in actions based as much on Gospel as on constitutional values.

 

To be able to do that, we would necessarily have to understand the multiple, and multi-layered crises we face as a community t and as a people. The issues are both external, and within the community.

 

Some of the External Crisis: denial of the constitutional rights of the women, Children, Dalits, Tribals, most backward castes and minorities, aggressive monoculture, long pauses of uncertainty, market-led wants, corporate-driven economy, donor-driven developmental programs, fundamentalism and fascism, breakdown of family, cultural and moral values, and poverty amidst plenty A vast majority of people are on the move and have become migrants and refugees and not citizens, the increasing technology results in insecurity which is aggravated  by diminishing opportunities for educability and employability for a major segment of youth from rural, marginalized and excluded communities. This augur an a disordered and disintegrating nation and an undemocratic, authoritarian and autocratic regime.

 

Some of the Internal Crisis within the Church: heightened clericalism and patriarchy, abuse of children and women, aggressive pursuit of consumerism, careerism and individualism, often uninspiring and weak leadership which encourages cronyism and mediocrity, caste, ethnic and regional, denial of proportionate representation and participation of the Dalit Christians, and insensitivity to the struggles of the Tribals. A singular lack of meaningful planning and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, deficiencies in competence, commitment, passion, and creativity in mission remain the order of the day. Even religious cum spiritual practices are sacrificed for modern gadgets. It is a long list, and every member of the clergy, religious or lay person will recognise her and his experience in one or more of these.

Emerging India and the crisis within the Church demand a positive and proactive response from the Christian community. We were silent spectators, barring. few examples and instances,  in resisting the Emergency in 1975, implementation of new economic policy in 1991, demolition  of the Babri Masjid in 1992, enactment of draconic laws like TADA, POTA, UAPA, etc., and imposition of CAA, NRC, NPA, National Education Policy, FCRA Amendment Act 2020,  etc.

Now it is do or die.

The Indian Church cannot remain a mute spectator, nor pretend to be safe. If we fail the nation, our fellow citizens may  not stand by Indian Christians when we and our identity face an existential threat from fascist, authoritarian, and autocratic governments.

Some Possible Internal Programs of Actions are:

Ø  Let us be observant, gather information, study-analyze the emerging situation and the issues that arise out of it

Ø  Let us organise webinars, seminars, meetings on issues that affect the common masses of this country. Also, on constitutional rights, human rights, legal literacy, policies and programs of the government that are detrimental to the poor and vulnerable

Ø  Let us not limit ourselves to issues involving Christians only. Let us get involved in all Human Rights issues, especially in the defence of Dalits, Tribals, women, children and other minority and vulnerable groups

Ø  Let us use the social media to highlight national issues like Farmers’ Movement, Anti-CAA Campaign, etc.

Ø  Let us join, support other initiatives taken by civil society and human rights groups like PUCL, PUDR, Sabrang India, NAPM, Fishworkers’ Forum, Minority Rights Groups, JPCD ,  HRLN, Adivasi Adhikar Manch, Dalit Adhikar Manch, साझा संस्कृति मंच , All India Secular Forum, Indian Christians for Democracy, etc to name a few.

Ø  Let us participate in the activities, public programs, initiatives, campaigns, dharnas, rallies,  sign online petitions [after reading the content carefully] of  other like-minded individuals, NGOs, CSOs, etc.

Ø  Let us publicize secular efforts, initiatives in our churches, institutions and invite credible persons from civil and secular organisations and other religions

Ø  Let us start or join Youth Clubs, Peace Clubs, Eco Clubs, Women’s Forums, Dalit Forums, Tribal Forums, etc.

Ø  Let us pay just wages;  have service conditions, appointment letters (cfr. Labour laws), etc. Let us practice internal democracy

Ø  Let us be linked with the local, diocesan, institutional and congregational, inter-church commissions and forums that are outward looking and have credibility

Ø  Let us identify a spokesperson on secular and social issues in our houses, institutions, dioceses, congregations and collectives of Christian Community to join civil and secular society to express our solidarity

Ø  Let us pray without ceasing. Let us pray within the Christian community and where possible with people of other faith for God’s intervention to protect and promote the life, livelihood and rights of all the citizens

 

Let us feel with our heart, think with our head and work with your hands with all the citizens to uphold the Constitutional Values.

Some Possible External Programs of Actions are:

Ø  First and foremost, the Indian Church should realise this fundamental fact, “NO FARMERS – No FOOD”. Further “NO FARMERS – NO PRODUCTION – NO EUCHARIST”. It is the hard labour of the farmers in sun and rain, day and night which provides food to all which includes the Indian Christians. If the farmers are denied of their rights which the present government wants to do, then the Indian Christians will die of starvation and cannot have the Holy Eucharist.

Ø  Indian Church should learn from the others to get out of its comfort zone and join others in support of the various movements that are going on in India. Media reported that Delhi Police on 1^st December, 2020, stopped Bilkis Bano, the ‘Dadi’ who became a symbol of the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh, from entering the site at the Singhu Delhi-Haryana border. This shameful fact also was published that around 20 police personnel escorted Bilkis away from the site. But she became a witness to her faith as a believing Muslim.

Ø  Conscious medical personnel supported the protesting farmers by providing free medical camp. Church has done well providing health care during disasters. But that is only relief and not restoration. Indian Christians need to be present in all situations and not just in relief and charity.

Ø  Conscious and committed Indian Christians hang their head in shame when they realise that some of the waring churches have invited Narendra Modi to resolve the conflict between them. Instead of aligning with the ruling establishment at all times to save its minority status, and its business interests, the Indian Church should undertake actions that resist the sinister plans of this fascist and exploitative government.

Ø  Indian Church which organises prayers and fasts when its interests are affected should have broad based itself and should call for fast and prayer to save the Constitution and ultimately save democracy, secularism of the country and save itself.

Ø  Even if it feels scared and frightened of the consequences of organising any protest, it should at its level should join the various actions like fasting in solidarity; social media engagements; create posters and spread across; use the pulpit to bring awareness among its faithful; join demonstrations, protests, bharat bandh, etc., for various issues of the masses of India.

Ø  Church has the responsibility to engage with its various constituencies, especially the students and youth. It is time to prepare this future generation to be part of the wider civil and secular organisations. Consciously and committedly planned and executed orientation and motivation programs for the students and youth will build at least the future generation to be more socially conscious and committed citizens and Christians.

 

We the undersigned share this statement with you seeking your endorsement, and to invite you to be part of this enterprise.

 

Prakash Louis

John Dayal