Leading Indian cardinal concerned about fundamentalist Hindu influence

March 17, 2016

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India expressed concern recently about an “aggressive minority” of Hindu fundamentalists who do not respect the nation’s secular character.

“If the entire Hindu community in India decided to be communal, Christians, Muslims and Sikhs would not be safe,” Cardinal Baselios Cleemis told the nation’s bishops, according to an AsiaNews report. “Thank God that most Hindus in India are secular.”

“There is certainly an aggressive minority among them that seeks to keep alive the memories of historic wounds that Hindu society suffered in the past in order to obtain the dominant positions in the country,” he continued. “The mistake of the present government is to be excessively influenced by this minority, and occasionally surrender to them, especially since its leaders know that they depend on these people's energies to win votes.”

 

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Further information:

• Indian bishops: most Hindus are secular, but there are aggressive and intolerant minorities (AsiaNews.it)