Author: Fr M.A. Joe Antony, SJ

By Stephen Selvanathan, SJ

My companions and I chose “Service beyond Boundaries” as our motto for our Diaconate as well as Ordination. This motto inspired me to cross boundaries in various realms. It enthused me to serve the people of God beyond cultures and languages.

The seed of the missionary spirit was sown at the time of my Diaconate ordination. Soon I felt inspired to offer my service beyond my own geographical and cultural realities. I was aware that being away from one’s culture, language, people, and a familiar working environment is always going to be a big challenge that will require a lot of sacrifices.

My missionary life started in 2012, when I was given the opportunity to serve the youth of Afghanistan through the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). The main focus of JRS was to forge young leaders by offering education to the youth living in the mountains. I feel happy that I was part of the JRS that served the young people of Afghanistan. The two years that I spent in Afghanistan are still fresh in my memory.

After two years I went for my Tertianship and the Jesuit who came to replace me in Afghanistan was Fr. Alex Premkumar, who was kidnapped and later released by the Taliban. After this, I could not continue my missionary work in Afghanistan.

But during my Tertianship the desire to be a missionary kept growing. But it was my bad luck that there was no invitation from any country. In 2017, my Jesuit superiors asked me whether I would like to work in Guyana. I was not very enthusiastic about travelling to Guyana because of some personal reasons which the Society considered genuine. However, my Jesuit superiors encouraged and motivated me to travel to Guyana. I came on a three year contract, but the pandemic and pressing needs made me decide to stay for three more years. I continue to serve in Guyana.

My missionary life started in 2012, when I was given the opportunity to serve the youth of Afghanistan through the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS).

Guyana, called British Guyana earlier, is a beautiful country below sea level. It has borders with Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname (Dutch Guyana earlier). The temperatures range from 17 to 31 degree Celsius throughout the year. The population is around 800,000. People here are of different origins – Indian, African, Portuguese, Chinese, etc. Most of them live along the coast, while the indigenous people live in the forest. Only 1% of land is used for human infrastructure, and 50% are for farming. The rest is forest area.

I reached Guyana on 17 August, 2017. The very next month I was sent to the northwest of Guyana, near the border of Venezuela, to serve among the indigenous people. I really enjoyed those six months, travelling by boat most of the time to celebrate Mass to the communities along the rivers. Driving was really tough, since the roads were very bad. After those hectic six months I am mostly in administration and I miss all those exciting and challenging trips.

Catholic Guyanese accept gladly missionary priests from anywhere around the world, since they don’t have enough local priests. Local pastors cater to the other Christian denominations. Only the Catholic Church suffers without sufficient priests in Guyana. There are no local vocations now and I feel that the main reason is the demand for celibacy as elsewhere in the global Catholic Church. It is a real challenge for the locals. Where priests are not available, local lay leaders called PLA – Parish Lay Assistant – and Eucharistic Ministers take care of the pastoral and spiritual needs of the faithful.

The major concern I have for Guyana is the future of its children. Many couples are not legally married. They just live together. More than 50% of children born to these couples are cared for by their grandmothers. What will happen to children brought up by grandparents – not by their own parents? When the parents get separated, the future of the children becomes bleak. The opportunity to live with the one whom they like may promote personal freedom, but it victimizes children who suffer in many ways. This way of life not only affects the future of children, but it also destroys the institution of family life.

Another major concern is the racial tension, particularly between Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese. Because of this racial tension and rivalry the progress of the country is affected. The major political parties exploit the racial division. The attention of whole world is on Guyana, because of the new oil wells found in recent years. Though the oil wealth is a boon to the country’s economy, the rising cost of living has become a serious concern for the ordinary people. The Guyana dollar has the least value among the Caribbean dollars. Mostly due to offshore oil wells, the livelihood of fishermen is endangered. This affects the environment too, when Guyana is already facing grave environmental challenges because of the climate crisis.

Many couples are not legally married. They just live together. More than 50% of children born to these couples are cared for by their grandmothers.

We are in the process of creating a new Caribbean Jesuit Province. It is our present General, who knows the strengths and problems of this part of the world, who wanted to bring different regions in the Caribbean, now administered by different Provinces from different parts of world, to form one single Province. But the Society left it to the different units in Caribbean to discuss and discern if this will facilitate our life and mission. The different units (Haiti, Belize, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Jamaica and Antilles) came together twice and took part in the discernment process. At the end Guyana (Region of British Province) and Jamaica (Region of UEA Province) have decided to join the existing Antilles Province, which will eventually be called the Caribbean Province from 31 July 2023. The other units are not yet ready to unite at this point of time.

We hope they too will soon join the new Province. The city of Santo Domingo will be the seat of the Provincial Curia and of the Archives of the Caribbean Province. In the beginning, the new Province will be formed by four sections: The Dominican Republic (Spanish), Cuba (Spanish), Miami (Spanish), and the English-speaking Caribbean (Guyana-Jamaica).

Let me, through this article, ask the readers for their prayers for the just-born Caribbean Province and the people of Guyana. You should also pray for missionaries all over the world who, just like me, have volunteered to serve in a different country and culture, placing their total trust in God and in the people whom they serve.

Stephen Selvanathan, SJ (MDU), who worked in Afghanistan earlier, now works in Guyana. He can be contacted at selsten@gmail.com.

to see what his students have become

By J.M. Das, SJ

Last month I was invited to the retirement function of one of my students. He hailed from a remote village in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India and a first generation graduate from an economically backward community. Though rustic, quiet and unassuming in nature, he had the grit to come up in life. He exhibited signs of leadership in taking up responsibilities in the hostel. I clearly saw the Ignatian principle of ‘magis’ inspiring him to take up certain initiatives. His ‘solidarity and kinship’ with the larger society was quite strong. He chose to give expression to his genuine concerns and reactions to the society’s problems through a Tamil monthly called ‘Kumurum Nenjam’ run by a Jesuit.

That was just a beginning. Later he joined the AICUF and associated himself with yet another Tamil magazine called ‘Then Mazhai’ to develop his journalistic capabilities. The seeds of his growth and development as a leader began in AICUF. Then he matured to become a University Professor who donned different hats in his life. Today people of different walks of life look up to him as a man of wisdom who would find solutions to their problems. Listening to people who heaped encomiums of praise on his retirement, I was praising God for transforming the simple village boy into a mature leader and an erudite scholar. That was the magic of Jesuit education.

I think of a poor boy who felt shy of acknowledging and introducing his father to his companions in the hostel. He was from a poverty- stricken family. His father, a differently abled person, needed a stick to move around. The student felt humiliated to own him as his father in front of his hostel mates. Later through counseling the student accepted the reality and learnt to give his father due respect and was happy to acknowledge him as his dear father. But he was clever and showed signs of great intellectual capabilities. His professors, who had imbibed the Jesuit value of ‘Cura Personalis’ (caring for the person), helped him blossom into a big achiever. Later he became a professor in a college in Chennai and acquired a doctoral degree in his area of study. He stands as an excellent example what Jesuit education could achieve in an individual in spite of his background.

I know the story of a girl from a minority community, who lived in the outskirts of the city. Her father was a teacher and her mother a homemaker. Mother was a conservative and quite orthodox in her thoughts and actions. She was totally opposed to the idea of her elder daughter going for post-graduate studies in a Jesuit college, whereas her father was all for it. The girl was shy, timid and quiet in nature. She had to struggle painfully to complete her studies.

One day her mother would not let her enter the house and made her wait outside for a few hours for coming a little late from her college. She felt hurt and humiliated, as all their neighbours were watching. But this did not deter her from persevering in her studies. The care she enjoyed from the professors and students gave her the strength to put up with such painful experiences and continue her studies. By the time she completed her studies, she changed into an outgoing, bold and expressive person and today she successfully manages her family life and work in one of the Gulf countries. The magic wand of Jesuit education has worked wonders in her life.

I recall these real life stories with joy and satisfaction as I look back on my life as a Jesuit educator. My involvement with educational apostolate has been for little more than 30 years. I had the singular privilege of working in all the colleges in the MDU province, except Loyola College, Mettala in the erstwhile undivided MDU province. I have worked in different capacities as professor, administrator, counsellor and director of work.

Listening to people who heaped encomiums of praise on his retirement, I was praising God for transforming the simple village boy into a mature leader and an erudite scholar.

I enjoy a tremendous sense of satisfaction and fulfillment to feel I have left a Jesuit stamp in the lives of so many men and women. I thank God for the French Jesuits, who, blessed with an extraordinary vision and foresight, started schools and colleges. They did not stop with primary schools alone. They began colleges of higher learning and established them on firm foundations.

All these educational facilities were a boon to the disadvantaged sections of the society. Doors of higher education were out of bounds for the underprivileged and the people on the fringes of the society. In a caste ridden society it was no easy task for the poor and the marginalized to enter the citadels of higher learning. Jesuits, with indomitable courage and farsightedness, provided opportunities for the children and youth of our highly discriminated society.

I feel proud to consider the tremendous contributions made to the people of God by St. Joseph’s College, Trichy for the last 175 plus years. Palayamkottai has a century old St Xavier’s College, while Chennai has Loyola College, one of the top ranking colleges in the entire country, which is waiting to celebrate its 100 years of service soon. Arul Anandar College, Karumathur stands as a testimony for the Jesuits’ contribution to Rural Development, crossing 50 years of its existence. Our alumni, spread all over the world, are a powerful witness to the quality of education the Jesuits provided and the Ignatian spirit they imbibed.

To anyone who would ask about the particular traits that distinguish Jesuit education, I will list these:

1. Magis: A Latin word for ‘more’ is a watch word of Jesuit education. It drives them to go beyond what is expected. It motivates people to keep aiming higher and higher, to do better and better and never to feel that we have done enough.

2. Cura Personalis: ‘Care for the whole self’ is the meaning of Cura Personalis. It is a call to realize that each person is unique and so demands that the educator gives individual attention to every student, a sincere respect for diversity and an emphasis on holistic care for the mind, body and spirit.   

3. Discernment: Jesuits, who are called to keep discerning God’s will for them, are expected to impart this skill and habit to their collaborators and students, with the expectation that they too would learn to be open to God’s spirit in taking decisions and doing things that lead to greater good. Discenment necessarily involves prayer, reflection, consultation with others.

4. Finding God in all things: Jesuit education involves imagination, emotion and intellect. Seeking God in all things is the core of the Jesuit charism that helps them see God’s presence in all peoples and cultures, in all areas of study and learning and in every human experience.

5. Reflection and analysis: The practice of reflection is a foundational value of Jesuit education. Students are taught to reflect deeply and clearly on all they see and experience. This leads them to see what is good and what is wrong in their society and to challenge the status quo, acknowledge biases and accept responsibility for their actions.

6. Service rooted in justice and love: Jesuit education opens the eyes of the students to social and personal evil and cultivates a critical awareness towards them. It helps them realize that loving God requires reaching out to suffering humans. This value is demonstrated through community service programmes, reaching out to the poor in their neighbourhood or nearby villages. Jesuit institutions provides various opportunities to the students for social involvement and service.

7. Solidarity and kinship: Students develop bonhomie among themselves to work together for greater good. They engage with all people of good will to come up with innovative solutions to the ills and problems of the society.

By the time she completed her studies, she changed into an outgoing, bold and expressive person and today she successfully manages her family life and work in one of the Gulf countries.

Jesuit education inspires students to live meaningful and satisfactory lives of leadership and service to others. There is a very strong urge in them to create a better world. It develops in them the habit of life-long learning. Another salient feature of Jesuit education is paying special attention to values, ethical issues and development of moral character.

I am happy to have encouraged and helped hundreds of my students become critical and analytical individuals who understand the societal problems and try to come up with innovative solutions. I am glad to see that my students are mature enough to embrace interfaith engagement and collaboration. It is a unique satisfaction to see that Jesuit education has fostered individuals who love God, their country and the suffering humanity.

Jesu Michael Das, SJ, who has been in the field of higher education for more than 30 years, is now the Coordinator of Mentor Care at Arul Anandar College, Karumathur, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He can be contacted at jmdas6@yahoo.com.

How do we deal with them?

By V. Joseph Xavier, SJ

Introduction

The future of a nation depends on the education it offers to its youth. Therefore all educators who care for our future should focus on the students and their world, which is very different from ours.

The way a student looks at his future and the role he visualizes for the educators and educational institution in it vary vastly from the way the parents and the faculty look at the formation of the students. This is why students feel that very few understand them and the problems and the pressures they face every day. What saddens them the most is the feeling that their own parents fail to understand their aspirations and anxieties.

This is why educators who take their role seriously should try to understand the problems and pressures their students face.

Academic Pressure: Last year in Kota, Rajasthan, called the coaching hub of India, more than 15 students were reported to have committed suicide because of high academic pressure. Still parents send their wards to such institutions every year to prepare for competitive exams for professional courses like engineering and medicine.

The students experience enormous academic pressure. A majority of the students find it difficult to balance academics, tests, assignments, and extra-curricular activities. This results in stress and exhaustion. They are aware that without high grades they cannot realize their dreams. Therefore they feel the need to maintain high grades, which increases the stress.  They also fear being constantly compared with their peers by teachers and parents.

Mental Health Issues: Psychological counselors confirm that today’s students are increasingly experiencing anxiety, sadness, and other mental health disorders because of academic stress, peer pressure, and the transition to adulthood.

Having come to a new place, students feel alone, as initially their fellow students are all strangers and they struggle to make friends. Unlike in their school where they felt connected and enjoyed a sense of belonging, many students feel disconnected with the new college culture. So their self-confidence may decline.

If the mental health concerns are not addressed early, they can escalate and impact a student’s ability to function normally in his daily life. It will interfere with a student’s ability to concentrate and sleep.

Students feel that very few understand them and the problems and the pressures they face every day.

Relationship problems: Students frequently experience intense social pressure in the new college culture. They struggle to maintain friendships, and some fall in love. In order to maintain friendships they may feel they are forced to give up their values and principles. Disagreements and quarrels within their social groups may increase their feelings of isolation.

In one of the workshops, the students were asked to indicate some of the issues they are confronted with as students. Here is a sample for the questions they raised: 1. Do you think unconditional love exists? Don’t we all expect something from loved ones? How to stop expecting from others? 2. How to build a good relationship? 3. Can a person be judged today for what he had done in his past? 4. When is the right time to let go off a relationship? 5. How to manage relationships with our close friends who are far away? And also how to manage the time for them? 6. How to deal with people who profess love for you but you feel completely disconnected with them? This could mean that you have really lost the friendship, but you’re still holding on to them, because you don’t want to hurt them, as they meant so much to you in the past.

Technology and Distractions: The digital natives – the students of this generation – are influenced by online gaming, social media and the internet. Cell phones have a negative impact on their academic performance. All these come in the way of concentration and so academic achievement. Social media eat up the critical study time.

Some students get into online relationships, which affect their concentration and study. This is why media addiction has become a serious issue among the students.

Career Uncertainty: The job market is constantly changing and so the jobs available now may not exist in a few years. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking over many of the mundane jobs. So students struggle to choose a career path that suits their strengths and promises much. It can be extremely stressful for hard working students to hear that the present educational system may not be relevant in a few years and that they may not be able to find a remunerative job. Another fear is that they themselves may not be fully aware of their potential and so could make a wrong decision.

Financial Problems: Education has become a costly commodity. The cost of education, especially for professional courses, has skyrocketed. Students from poor and middle class families find it hard to pay tuition fees, textbook costs and living expenses. Financial concerns can be a major source of stress and may even prevent some students from pursuing their education.

Problematic Students & Disruptive behaviour: Problematic students in educational institutions can pose challenges for not merely teachers and administrators, but also other well-behaved students. While it is important to approach each situation with empathy and understanding, it is crucial to address behavioural issues to create a conducive learning environment. Students who frequently disrupt classes by talking out of turn, making excessive noise, or openly doing things students are not expected to do in a class room can negatively impact the learning environment. Some students may frequently skip classes or be consistently absent.

The students experience enormous academic pressure. A majority of the students find it difficult to balance academics, tests, assignments, and extra-curricular activities.

An increasing number of students get addicted to drugs or alcohol and this affects every aspect of their lives.

Having considered the problems and pressures today’s students may face, let us now look at ways in which we can help them deal with these problems.

What can help?

Teachers should aim at building effective relationships with the students. The relationship should be professional. These strategies might help:

Learn and use names consistently: When the teacher calls the student by name, it enhances the relationship of the student with the teacher. The students will feel that the teacher is interested in her. It would be useful to learn a few more names every day, and let students know that you are trying to memorize their names.

Engage students individually: Teachers could informally talk to the students before and after class and enquire about the weekend, or the homework, or any common interests. In some institutions, teachers join small groups of students for lunch to present themselves as more approachable. Some teachers meet the students individually and promise to help them whenever needed.

Differentiate instruction: Teachers must adjust the teaching methods to accommodate diverse learning styles and abilities. Provide opportunities for students to engage in hands-on activities, group work, or multimedia resources.

Communicate expectations: In order to prevent disruptive behavior address the individual needs of students. Establish clear expectations. At the beginning of the academic year, it is useful to communicate expectations regarding behavior, academic performance, and classroom behaviour. Develop a behavior management plan that includes a set of clear and consistent consequences for inappropriate behavior. Consequences should be fair and proportionate to the offense committed. A mix of positive reinforcement and appropriate disciplinary measures would help. By enforcing established classroom rules, expectations from the beginning of the academic year, employing positive reinforcement and reward for good behaviour could lead to reduce disruptive behaviour.

Praise consistently: Teachers should develop the habit of praising students who work hard, who consistently demonstrate appropriate behavior, and who perform well as this can motivate others to follow suit.

Offer job-counselling: Career counselling services, internships, and networking have become crucial in the life of a student. Their exposure to many industries helps them to obtain the needed skills and help to make informed conclusions about their professional aspirations. These bring to focus the need for the importance given to career guidance in educational institutions.

Build positive relationships: Establish positive relationships with students. Get to know each student individually, understanding their background, and showing empathy. This could lead to improved behavior and engagement. Building an environment where students feel that they are listened to and feel comfortable to express their concerns and problems is important.

Help them relate to others: Students could be helped to overcome social pressures by developing healthy relationships based on mutual respect and shared interests, joining supportive groups and practising open communication.

Help them improve: One of the strategies that might work with problematic students who skip classes is to establish open lines of communication with their parents or guardians to understand the reasons for their absence. Collaborating with college counsellors and mentors you can identify the underlying psychological problems that may be beneath their disruptive behaviour. Regularly interact with students to identify any issues that may be affecting their behaviour.

Provide support and guidance: Identify challenges the student may have, such as learning disabilities, emotional issues, or difficult home situations and do your best to help them cope or find solutions.

Involve parents and guardians: Communicate regularly with parents or guardians and keep them informed about their child’s progress, both academically and behaviourally. Engage them as partners in addressing any challenges their child may be facing and seek their support in reinforcing positive behavior at home.

Seek professional development: Improve your skills in class room management by attending workshops, seeking mentorship, or participating in professional development opportunities. Learning new strategies and techniques can help to address challenging situations effectively.

Conclusion

Today’s students are very different from the students of older generations. As educators and teachers, we need to get to know their problems and try our best to help them deal with them. Apart from traits that distinguish the students of the present generation, every student is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is important to approach each student with patience, understanding, and a willingness to find solutions that best meet the needs of the student, while maintaining a positive learning environment for everyone.

A former Principal of Loyola College, Chennai, and former Research Director at the Indian Social Institute, Bangalore, V. Joseph Xavier, SJ has worked in the field of Higher Education for more than 40 years. He can be reached at: vjosephxaviersj@gmail.com.

By Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S.

When the Church celebrates the assumption of Mary, we might wonder what this has to do with us. The answer is quite simple: Whatever God has done for Mary, God has done or will do for us. Mary was conceived without original sin, and in the waters of baptism, we are cleansed of original sin. Mary brought Christ into the world, in the anointing with chrism, we are commissioned to bring him into the world by what we say and do. And as Mary was assumed into heaven, a place in heaven awaits us.

In today’s gospel, we hear Mary’s great prayer of thanksgiving (Luke 1:46–47), a prayer we are invited to make our own: Our souls proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Our spirits rejoice in God our Savior.

Whatever God has done for Mary, God has done or will do for us.

Many years ago, when I was a seminarian, I did some volunteer work at an inner-city parish in Chicago. The pastor emeritus had been retired there for many years. When he was pastor in the 1960s and 70s, the neighborhood around the parish changed. It had once been a large Irish Catholic community, but as Black families began to move in, most of the long-time parishioners began to move out.

The pastor strove to welcome the new members of the community and at the same time to encourage the parishioners to stay in the neighborhood and welcome their new neighbors, too. While many of the white parishioners moved away, he stayed. And when he retired, he asked the new pastor if he could continue to stay.

I got to know him as a kind, old man—a man of God—who cared deeply for the people of God no matter their race, color, or creed. When I was a deacon, I would sometimes assist him at Mass. His vision was going and he was sometimes forgetful, losing track of where he was in the celebration. After a while, he could no longer preside and rarely left his room, and on occasion I would bring him his meals and we would talk.

During one conversation, he told me that he wanted the Magnificat, the prayer of Mary, to be read at his funeral. He was afraid that whoever preached at his funeral would make him out to be a good and holy man, and he wanted none of that.

During one conversation, he told me that he wanted the Magnificat, the prayer of Mary, to be read at his funeral. He was afraid that whoever preached at his funeral would make him out to be a good and holy man, and he wanted none of that. What he wanted people to remember was what Mary wanted people to remember: “The Mighty one has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). Mary takes no credit for anything and instead points to what God has done for her. The old, dying priest wanted to be remembered for what God had done, not for what he had done.

Every evening, millions of people in the Church pray the Magnificat. Every time I pray it, I am reminded to remember what Mary and that old, dying priest remembered: “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

– courtesy: U.S. Catholic

By Paul Michael, SJ

One might wonder why the architects of the Indian Constitution preferred a Democratic form of governance rather than other forms. These three factors should have played a decisive role in their decision to make India a Democracy.  

Awareness of the prevalent discriminations:

The architects were aware of the prevalent discrimination on the basis of a) caste hierarchy and practices of untouchability, b) Gender – that males are superior to women, and c) Creed – that Brahminic religion is superior to others. They believed that a Democratic form of governance would put an end to these discriminations, since all will be equal according to the law.  

Awareness of the pluralistic nature of our country:

Many different races, cultures, religions, and linguistic ethnic groups exist side by side in India. This is why they call our country the Indian sub-continent. In order to integrate people of different backgrounds with due respect to the uniqueness of each of them, the architects of the country rightly thought that a Democratic form of governance would be an appropriate structure.  

A drafting Committee, consisting of 8 members, was formed on 29 August 1947, under the leadership of Dr. Ambedkar. It first met on the 09 December 1946. The committee took more than two years, 11 months, and 18 days to complete the work.

Knowledge of significant events of world history: The main proponents and architects of the Indian Constitution such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Dr. Ambedkar were all Western-educated scholars. They must have been exposed to the major events in world history such as: i) Renaissance and Reformation resulting in the birth of a philosophy that differentiated politics from religion. ii) French Revolution (1789), iii) Communist Manifesto (1848), iv) Russian Revolution (1917), v) World War I (1914), vi) World War II (1939), vii) Fight against Racial Discrimination in the USA (1850 onwards), viii) Fight against Racial Discrimination in South Africa (1900), ix) United Nations Human Rights Declaration (1950). Our Indian stalwarts must have learned the lessons in these major historical events and utilized them in the envisioning of independent India.  

Therefore the architects of the Constitution of India discerned thoroughly and made a decisive choice to adopt a Democratic form of governance in our country.   

What they chose to ignore: It is important to note that they deliberately refused to consider the rules of Manu – Manu Dharma Sastra, to be the guiding principle for our country – an ideology that was pushed forward by Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) vehemently at that point in time. They knew well that Manu Dharma Sastra would uphold the caste hierarchical system, as well as Aryan-Brahminic supremacy and patriarchy, which was inherently rooted in inequality.  

Long discerning process: Pursuing the idea of a Democratic form of Governance for independent India, a drafting Committee, consisting of 8 members, was formed on 29 August 1947, under the leadership of Dr. Ambedkar. It first met on the 09 December 1946. The committee took more than two years, 11 months, and 18 days to complete the work. In the process, the committee had gone through the Constitutions of 60 countries. During this period the Constituent Assembly has altogether held eleven sessions, which had consumed 165 days. Out of these, the Assembly spent 114 days for the consideration of the Draft Constitution. Finally, the Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 Nov 1949, and came into force on 26 Jan 1950).

The idea of India: Sashi Tharoor, in an article in the Hindu (22.01.2022) says, “The idea of India as a modern nation based on a certain conception of human rights and citizenship, vigorously backed by due process of law, and equality before the law, is a gift of the Constitution. Earlier conceptions of India drew their inspiration from mythology and theology. The modern idea of India, despite the mystical influence of Tagore, and the spiritual and moral influences of Gandhiji, is a robustly secular and legal construct based upon the vision and intellect of our founding fathers, notably (in alphabetical order) Ambedkar, Nehru, and Patel. The Preamble of the Constitution itself is the most eloquent enumeration of this vision. In its description of the defining traits of the Indian republic, and its conception of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, it firmly proclaims that the law will be the bedrock of the national project.”

The architects of the Constitution of India discerned thoroughly and made a decisive choice to adopt a Democratic form of governance in our country. 

Not the document, but individuals: On 25 Nov 1949, addressing India’s Constituent Assembly for the last time, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said, “I feel, however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot.  However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good, if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot. The working of a Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution. The Constitution can provide only the organs of the State such as the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary. The factors on which the working of these organs of the State depend are the people and the political parties they will set up as their instruments to carry out their wishes and their politics. Who can say how the people of India and their parties will behave? Will they uphold constitutional methods of achieving their purposes or will they prefer revolutionary methods of achieving them? If they adopt the revolutionary methods, however good the Constitution may be, it requires no prophet to say that it will fail. It is, therefore, futile to pass any judgment upon the Constitution without reference to the part which the people and their parties are likely to play.”

A vision for a new India: It is clear, therefore, our Constitution was the ‘articulated vision of our leaders for a New India’. It laid down a broad framework for the normal functioning of the Nation as per the evolved vision. It upheld the principles such as a) Live and let others live, Respect, b) Recognize, and Acknowledge others, c) Exercise your rights and let others do so, and d) Exercise your freedom and let others enjoy their freedom too. However, Dr. Ambedkar gave caution that the effectiveness of the Constitution depends upon the agencies which are going to implement it.

The dangerous shift: Unfortunately, of late, the political course of the country seems to drift away from its original democratic principles towards Right-wing politics, which is centered around both the Brahminic Hindu religion and the Aryan race. Apparently, the move is towards a unitary ideology, ‘One Nation, One Culture and One Religion’ which appears outwardly as ‘religion-centered’ but actually is ‘caste and race centered’. This trend is obviously antithetical to the principles of the Indian Constitution. The implications of this shift come to light gradually as days pass by.

Making the victims fight among themselves: First of all, the general public, especially oppressed, vulnerable sections such as Dalits, Tribals, and women, who were organizing themselves and consolidating their strength to resist their age-old oppression, have now been polarized on the basis of their religion and sub-castes and are busy fighting among themselves for flimsy reasons, because of the propaganda of the right-wing ideologues.  

Demonizing religious minorities: Secondly, a vicious propaganda that   demonizes religious minorities (Muslims and Christians) is encouraged.  They are portrayed as the cause of all the existing evils in the country – evils such as degradation of Indian culture, caste system, poverty, etc. These minorities, who had already been alienated from the mainstream, because of their limited number, are being pushed further to the margins. In short, the weak, vulnerable sections of Indian society are unable to understand the real political aims of their oppressors and the religious minorities of India are forced to become scapegoats to the onslaught of right-wing ‘high caste and race cantered’ politics.

Propagating falsehoods: In order to carry forward this political agenda, they propagate harmful falsehoods such as ‘India is nothing but Bharat which has its existence for thousands of years’,  ‘Aryans are the original inhabitants of Indian soil’, ‘Muslims and Christians were the invaders’, ‘The evils of the caste system were imposed by the invaders – Moguls and the British / Christians’, ‘Christians are the root cause for the erosion of Indian culture’, and ‘India, that is Bharat, is a nation (not a union or federation of different nations)’ etc. These lies are injected into the minds of the youth of the country in a systematic manner. A well-planned systematic propagation of these dangerous myths is one of the root causes of the prevalent chaos in the country. 

What will be the future of India? What will happen to this federal and democratic country, divided into 28 states and 8 union territories, with a population of 1.21 billion?

Fr. Paul Michael, SJ (MDU) is a veteran social activist. One of the Co-Founders of Kalangarai, a State-level movement to get justice for widows, he is now the Director of PEAK (People’s Education and Action, Kodaikanal). He can be contacted at paulmikesj@gmail.com.