Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – It's a good document which seeks to protect the idea of a secular country, where rights are equal for all, and aims to prevent incidents of intercommunity and interreligious violence. But it is a law that, in order to achieve its benefits, needs some changes. This is what Fides learned in a statement from the All India Christian Council (AICC), an ecumenical organization that includes Christian leaders of all denominations, while the Indian federal government is preparing to discuss the draft of the "Communal Violence Bill 2009,” then submit it to Indian Parliament.
The draft law provides for means to prevent clashes between different communities, tools for rehabilitation and compensation of victims, as well as ways of supporting and promoting social harmony.
While acknowledging the goodness of government efforts, the AICC notes that "the document does not adequately address the roots of violence," the campaign of hate spread in public, including through the media, organizations and radical militants. Also, there are no clear "criteria for compensation and compensation for victims,” while they should “expose the activity of the police and local administrators with greater clarity," as in some cases, they have proved complicit in the violence by failing to implement the necessary means to stop them.
One of the most serious problems, notes the AICC, is precisely the fact that violence campaigns (for example, against Christians in Orissa or against Muslims in Gujarat) are not the result of some occasional rebellions, but campaigns that are well-orchestrated, thanks to organizations and political parties that hold power in some districts and in some states. What should be done then, when the seed of violence is found amongst the public administration? This is the question that the document is called to respond to, by adopting measures and effective action, emphasizes the AICC.
Among the AICC's suggestions for improving the law are: strengthen the powers of the National Commission for Minorities; provide severe punishment for police officers who refuse to register the complaint of a citizen; ban from public office those officials complicit in campaigns of social violence; establishing appropriate forms of government assistance to IDPs due to social conflicts, according to United Nations standards. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 18/3/2010)
