CBCI rejects ‘Hindu Rashtra’ claim, reaffirms India’s secular constitutional identity

Catholic bishops say India remains a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republic, reject suggestions Christians are Hindu and cite constitutional history and minority contributions to nation-building.

NEW DELHI (Indian Catholic News) — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India reaffirmed India’s status as a secular democratic republic, highlighted Christians’ contributions to the freedom struggle and nation-building, and rejected claims that the country is a Hindu Rashtra.

In its Nov. 10 press release, the CBCI said it was responding to news reports carrying statements attributed to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat. The bishops said the reports contained “misleading and deceptive statements” and said they were issuing the release “to caution all, and in particular the Christians.”

The CBCI cited reports that included, among others, “Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone follows ‘Bharateeya’(Indian) culture- so nobody is ‘Ahindu’ (non-Hindu),” from the Times of India,” and “… Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra. It doesn’t contradict the Constitution…” also from the same daily.

‘Not Hindu, but proud Indians’

“At the outset, CBCI categorically denies the devious suggestion that Indian Christians are also Hindu,” the statement said. “Indian Christians are proud Indians and proudly ‘Bharateeya’ but not Hindu.”

The CBCI said even the Supreme Court of India has addressed terminology related to India’s identity, noting that a judgment dated 11-03-2016 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 203/2015 “has rejected the plea for using the names / words like ‘Hindustan’, ‘Hind’ etc. for India.”

The bishops directly rejected the assertion that India is a Hindu Rashtra. “CBCI refutes the statement that India is a ‘Hindu Rashtra’,” the release said. “We also deprecate all such nefarious attempts to convert India into a ‘Hindu Rashtra.’”

Reiterating constitutional language, the CBCI said: “India is and will always remain a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.” The bishops called on citizens, “and in particular all Christians, to take all constitutional measures to protect the present Constitutional character of India at any cost.”

Commission report and communal violence

To underline its concerns, the CBCI referenced findings of the Justice Venugopal Commission, which was constituted to inquire into the 1982 Kanyakumari communal violence against Christians. The statement quoted the report at length, saying:

“The RSS (Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh) adopts a militant and aggressive attitude and sets itself up as the champion of what it considers to be the rights of Hindus against minorities. It has taken upon itself to teach the minorities their place and if they are not willing to learn their place, to teach them a lesson.”

The CBCI also cited the commission’s description of what it called the “RSS methodology for provoking communal violence,” listing points including: “a) rousing communal feelings in the majority community by the propaganda that Christians are not loyal citizens of this country; b) deepening the fear in the majority community by a clever propaganda that the population of the minorities is increasing and that of the Hindus is decreasing; c) infiltrating into the administration and inducing the members of the civil and police services by adopting and developing communal attitudes; d) training young people of the majority community in the use of weapons like daggers, swords and spears; e) spreading rumours to widen the communal cleavage and deepen communal feelings by giving a communal colour to any trivial incident.”

Caste, inequality and constitutional concerns

The CBCI also referred to an August 2024 issue of RSS-affiliated Panchjanya weekly, quoting it as saying, “In the form of caste, the Indian society understood one simple thing – betraying one’s caste was betrayal of the nation.” The statement linked that with Manu Smriti (a significant Hindu text that historically served as a foundational legal and societal framework in ancient India), which it quoted as saying “only one work did the Lord ordain for Shudras, viz to ungrudgingly serve the other three social orders,” and with claims that “there is no need to eradicate caste.”

The bishops said these references were “a clear pointer of Mr. Bhagwat’s intentions,” adding: “We leave it for the people of India to have their own views on these matters.”

The CBCI further said it was concerned about “the lowering of economic inequity in India to pre-independence levels today because of the blatant misuse of contract labour system by government and private sector; exploitative working hours; huge difference in calculation of minimum wages etc.”

Concluding, the statement stressed the community’s role in the country’s history and future: “Christians in India have made significant contributions to our nation’s freedom struggle and to its ongoing nation-building and will continue to do so.”