By Bijay Kumar Minj
INDIA – A proposal to hold a Christian prayer service at the inauguration of a university in a northeast Indian state has been criticized by political leaders and civil society.
Church leaders in Meghalaya, where Christians form a majority, advised caution and suggested upholding the nation’s secular tradition.
The plan to “consecrate the Captain Williamson Sangma State University on Jan 13 by following Christian rituals” was announced by the state’s Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma recently, the New Indian Express newspaper reported on Jan 5.
The university, named after the state’s first chief minister, focuses on tribal studies and indigenous language preservation.
“Ours is a Christian state. We want to consecrate the first state university with a massive prayer meet. If parliament can be blessed with Hindu rituals, why not Christian rituals in a Christian state?” Sangma reportedly said.
The new building of the Indian parliament was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2023 by invoking Hindu gods. However, critics of Sangma’s proposal pointed out that a multi-religious prayer was also held at the new Indian parliament.
Thma U Rangli-Juki, a non-government organization (NGO) in Meghalaya, said Sangma’s statement goes against the constitutional values of secularism.
“Meghalaya may be a state where majority of its population practices various forms of Christianity but that in itself does not make it a Christian state,” the NGO said in a statement.
The state is home to people of several faiths and “the minister’s ignorant statement blatantly creates discriminatory conditions for the state’s other religions,” it said.
The NGO demanded that the planned prayer service be canceled immediately.
The opposition Voice of the People Party urged the state government led by the National People’s Party with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party as a coalition partner, to remove Sangma as the education minister citing his “lack of understanding of key educational issues.”
Archbishop Victor Lyngdogh of Shillong, the state capital, said the inauguration of a state university “should not be seen as a religious program.”
“The state has peace-loving people and the proposed program should not be made into a political issue,” he told UCA News on Jan 6.
Reverend D. C. Haia Darnei, president of The United Christian Forum of Dima Hasao said all faiths are equally respected in Meghalaya and saying a Christian prayer does not mean degrading other religions.
“It should not be taken as a retaliation for the inauguration of the new Indian parliament,” he said.
A. C. Michael, president of the Federation of Catholic Associations of Archdiocese of Delhi, said that Meghalaya is part of a secular nation and “there is no scope for calling it a religious state.”
“The education minister of Meghalaya is wrong. But his party is in alliance with Modi’s BJP,” he told UCA News. “Sadly, none of the constitutional experts told Modi that what he was doing was against the very constitution he swore to uphold while taking oath .”
Christians account for 83 percent of Meghalaya’s 3.2 million people. Two other states in northeast India are Christian majority ones — Nagaland with 87.93 percent and Mizoram with 87.16 — while Manipur has 41.29 percent and Arunachal Pradesh 30.26 percent Christians. – UCA News
