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MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

PAGE 1

VOLUME 29 ISSUE 06

MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

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Easter Message

Tak
e Easter
ake
To Our Hear
ts
Hearts
Michael Kinnamon

In Jesus Christ, we see revealed the divine compassion that counts this world
as precious and calls us to participate in its ongoing renewal. To confess again
that He is risen! is to commit ourselves to this call.

We wish all our beloved readers a joyous Easter

It is my joy to greet the readers of the Peoples Reporter

in the name of the Resurrected One, whose triumph over death
we celebrate on Easter Sunday!
Contd. Page 5 Col. 1 ..>>>

PR

National Co-ordination Committee for Dalit Christians,

National Council of Churches in India &
Catholic Bishops Conference of India

Extend Scheduled Caste Status

To Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims

Photo: J. S. Murthy
I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies:
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. John 11: 25

Contents
Editorial
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis inaugurates the protest meeting.
Mar Thoma Church Senior Metropolitan Philipose Mar Chrysostom, aged 98, can be seen on his left.

Demanding SC Status for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims, a public protest meeting
was held at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 10 March 2016.
Five thousand people from all over India participated.
The Constitution of India enshrines the equal treatment of all religious
communities, along with the freedom of religion and conscience (Article 25). Granting
Scheduled Caste status to Sikhs and Buddhists of Scheduled Caste origin has not
weakened Hindu religion or encouraged conversions to those religions.
It is not the Indian Constitution, but it is the Presidential Order 1950, paragraph 3
that discriminates against the Christians and Muslims of Scheduled Caste origin.
We urge the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment to speak an inclusive
language. His remarks divide the Dalit community on the basis of religion.
We appeal to Prime Minister Modi who said in the Parliament, India
India first is the
only religion and the Constitution the only holy book for his government, to work for
the welfare of all sections of people irrespective of their religious affiliations.
The Government must guarantee equality to all citizens and see that the majority
people do not force their will on minority communities to exclude and marginalize
them. If it happens, it will impede the development of the whole nation.
Contd. Page 3 Col. 2 ..>>>

Transformative theological
education and the future of
the ecumenical movement
Theological Existence and
Pastoral Ministry
Pauline Insights

End the exclusion and

marginalization

To confess that He is risen!

is to commit ourselves to the call
for the renewal of the world
Claim
the sustaining power of God

Gender Concerns
in the Union Budget
The Easter Message
of the Risen One Himself
Gender Concerns

Theology is not only reproduction

of tradition,
but also creative production
Seven weeks for water

Neither Innovative
Nor Stimulative!

Celebration of
40 Years of Mission and Ministry

Stem
the Tsunami of Diabetes
Jawaharlal Nehru and
The Indian Polity in perspective

PAGE 2

MARCH
25 - APRIL
10, 2016
MARCH
25 - APRIL
10, 2016

Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College

Easter
A call to go beyond
our boundaries
When Jesus sends out his disciples, during the early part of
his public ministry, he tells them, Do not go to any Gentile territory
or any Samaritan towns. Instead, you are to go to those lost
sheep, the people of Israel. But the Risen Christ tells his
disciples, . .. you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all
Judaea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Cross is
not one final act. The Cross is a process. After the successful
completion of that process, the Risen Lord announces the
redemptive love of God the Parent, for all humanity and for all the
creation.

Being on the Road Together:

Transformative theological education
and the future of
the ecumenical movement
Amele Adamavi-Aho Ekue
A theological education, which is designed and practised from within the redemptive and transformative
nature of the cross, and which prepares to engage with the major changes of the religious and ecclesial
landscapes in the world Christianity, will also have a significant impact on the future of the ecumenical
movement. These changes have already influenced the composition and discussion culture in the ecumenical
movement over the past two decades. Depending on the position adopted, some have described this impact
as crisis or as opportunity for a new ecumenical paradigm.

The Risen Jesus reveals to us the inescapable love of God

for all the creation, and in particular, to the whole humanity. Easter
calls us to cross our boundaries and witness to that redemptive
love.
We wish all the members of the Peoples Reporter family
a blessed Easter and the indestructible hope,
Easter assures us of.

Banks for whom?

These days, the stories about the non-repayment of huge
loans taken by some big business houses from the Public Sector
Banks (PSBs) and the leaving of the country unnoticed by Vijay
Mallya who owes Rs.9000 crore to the banks, rob most of the time
and space of the media. The impression these stories create in
the minds of the public that this is a new phenomenon is false.
The writing-off of big loans of big business houses by PSBs and
suppressing the fact from the public view have been a regular
business. People are made to believe that these are isolated
misbehaviors of some businessmen. This is not true. What is
unfortunate is that people are incapacitated to realize that this is
the result of the policy of our rulers who have been encouraging
big businessmen to loot the PSBs for many decades.
What is new is that the scale of looting has crossed the limits
and it threatens the continued existence of these banks. As per
the report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Bad loans Non
Performing Assets (NPAs)-of the banks increased from 5.43%
(Rs.2,67,065 crore) at the end of March 2015 to 7.30% (Rs.3,61,731
crore) at the end of December 2015. Rs. 60,000 crore had been
writtenoff by the scheduled commercial banks in 2014-15. This
is the outcome of the liberalized financial policy, a part of the postcapitalist accumulation policy, being adopted by our ruling class
from 1991. Under this policy, the government takes pro-active
steps to enlarge the volume of capital of big business houses
through various ways: concessions in the budget, big allocation
for the development of infrastructure facilities, sale of public sector
companies , transfer of land and natural resources for a song
and liberal lending by the PSBs.
Big business houses are encouraged to take big loans without
adequate securities; proper and effective steps are not taken to
recover loans from them. Therefore, those who do not pay back
the loans are not branded as deliberate defaulters. They are the
chosen few of the ruling class. This is corroborated by the fact
that the combined debt of 10 big business houses have increased
by seven times in the past eight years to reach Rs.7,33,000 crore.
The banks rush to recover even very small loans from the poor by
using coercion but they are very careful not even to remind these
big borrowers about their loans. They also avoid calling them as
deliberate defaulters. There may be some reasons for singling
out Mallya .The ruling class may be following this policy to raise
the GDP, promote crony capitalism and to receive kick-backs.
Unfortunately, the people are prevented from knowing the truth
when the ruling class bury the realities under the carpet by playing
tricks.

Thought for the Fortnight

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.

Come, see the place
where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28: 6

[ Third and concluding part of

excerpts from the paper, Being
on the Road Together:
Transformative Theological
Education and the Future of the
Ecumenical
Movement
presented by Prof. Dr. Amele
Adamavi-Aho Ekue at the
meeting of the Board of
Theological Education of the
Senate of Serampore College,
held at ACTC, Hyderabad, on 3 &
4 Feb. Dr. Ekue is Professor of
Ecumenical Ethics at the
Ecumenical Institute, Bossey
(Switzerland)]
I will focus on three major
trends and explore how
transformative theological
education will shape the future
of the ecumenical movement.
First, consideration will have
to be given to religious shifts due
to demographic projections and
migratory
movements.
Christians and Muslims will
constitute by the year 2050 the
two largest religious groups in
the world; and significant growth
in
Christian
migrant
communities is projected,
especially for Europe and North
America. This development of
migrant communities, with
Christian churches of African,
Asian and Latin American face in
other parts of the world, will
significantly
alter
the
composition of the ecumenical
movement and prompt to redefine the understanding of the
vision of unity.
Transformative
theological education can
help building bridges of
understanding between
migrant and local churches,

especially when theological

education
is
itself
understood as intercultural
enterprise and when it
fosters
models
of
integrative ecumenical
learning.
This will be of utmost
importance,
as
the
denominational character of
these
new
international
churches no longer corresponds
with the classical confessional
definitions. Interdenominational
churches, mainline churches
with Pentecostal/charismatic
worship style and theologies, as
well
as
multicultural
communities will challenge
monocultural spiritual practices
of the local churches in many
migrants host countries. At the
same time many mainline
churches in Europe are declining
and the plausibility of the
Christian symbolic system is
being questioned especially
among the younger generation.
The future of the ecumenical
movement will depend on its
capacity to integrate those
divergent constituencies and
articulations of the Christian faith.
It will have to pay an accentuated
attention on how a new second
and third generation of
immigrant Christians, often fully
integrated citizens, articulates
faith, claims representation and
defines the theological agenda.
A transformative theological
education, which intentionally
embraces pedagogies of
embodied transformation, i.e. of
transformation,
which
encompasses learning from,
and through, intercultural
encounters without losing out of
sight the common vision of
theological education rooted in
the Gospel, will certainly help the
ecumenical movement to adapt
to the changes.
Transformative
theological education will
have to remain attentive for
the indivisibility of the unity
of the Church and the unity
of humanity, and may
succeed in this task by
emphasising the vision and
purpose of theological
education, over against
curricular changes, which

tend to remain at the surface,

and enable an integral
experience of a lived
transformational
community.
Last
not
least,
the
transformative
theological
education will be crucial for the
future of the ecumenical
movement in re-actualising the
quest for a democratisation of
theological
education.
Ecumenical resource sharing
will have to be translated into the
realities of increasing economic
and political disparities and the
resulting divergent ecumenical
agendas in the different regions
of the world. This constitutes
perhaps the most difficult
challenge for the ecumenical
movement and its future.

Conclusion
In my reflections I have argued
that the transformation has to be
understood as integrative,
embodied change, which from
a Christian perspective of
theological education reposes
on the biblical narrative and in its
centre on the liberating Gospel
message.
Transformative
education begins, therefore, as
an existential, internal process
and experience, before it can be
applied to cognitive concepts or
to practical domains. It is from
this
understanding
that
transformative
theological
education relates to major
changes of World Christianity
and to the future of the
ecumenical movement.
A
transformative
theological
education, which is shaped
according to the underlying
imageries of the story of
Emmaus, as being on the road
together, is different from a
theological education, which
defines itself functionally with
regard to its envisioned and
expected objectives. To put it in
Jung Young Lees words:
Nothing can be finished or
completed from the marginal
perspective, because marginality
is a process of movement,
creativity and change.
Transformative theological
education aims at beingtransformed individuals and
communities
of
hope,
embedded in a shared longing
for the Kingdom of God.

For All Editorial and Business Correspondence:

Prof. Mammen Varkey
Editor in Chief
Peoples Reporter, Post Box No.12,
Mavelikara - 690 101, Kerala, India
Phone : 09446916374, 0479 - 2300096, 2304355
E-mail : mammenvarkey@gmail.com, prprtr@gmail.com

MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

PAGE 3

Serampore College (University) Convocation 2016

Theme of the Convocation Address: The Theological Existence and Pastoral Ministry

Theological Existence and

Pastoral Ministr
y PPauline
auline Insights
Ministry
Klaus Schafer

God-knowledge does not only expand ones brain, but touches also the heart and soul, the body and
the relationships of a person. Theology, as an exercise of reflection, has a spiritual dimension;
theology and spirituality are like sisters and brothers, for theology without spirituality remains a purely intellectual
exercise as well as spirituality without theological reflection remains a vague and hazy thing.

1. Theological
Existence and Pastoral
Ministry The need
of continuous
appropriation of faith
for myself

[The Rev
chafer
Rev.. Dr
Dr.. Klaus S
Schafer
chafer,,
Director of the Centre for Global
Ministries and the Ecumenical
Relations of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Northen
Germany
Germany,, delivered the
Convocation Address at ACTC,
Hyderabad, on 6 Feb. Second
part of excerpts from the
address].
If we move into an
exploration of the relationship
of theology and ministry in
Pauls writings, there are three
dimensions I would like to spell
out. 1) The need of continuous
appropriation of faith for myself;
2) The communication of the
gospel with people within and
outside the church; and 3) The
ethos of a minister in the service
of Jesus Christ.

The first area where

theologizing plays a vital role in
the ministry of the apostle Paul
is the reflection on his own
understanding of faith. Any
minister of Christ needs the
reflection and nourishment of
ones own faith and the growth
within ones own faith. Paul
experienced I guess much
more than any one of us a
dramatic conversion; this set him
on a total turn of his existence
and led his life in a new direction.
But even though Paul
used to emphasize on
occasions that he received
his gospel directly from the
Lord, it is quite obvious that
he also had to learn about his
new faith, to think and reflect
about it, to read about it, and
to talk about it with other

persons in order to be
educated in faith and to grow
in understanding and
strength of the Christian
commitment.
The
metaphoric talk of infants in
Christ, fed with milk, not
solid food (1. Cor. 3:1f.)
might even give a hint to the
notion of different stages in
faith.
This growing in faith has on
the one hand intellectual and
cognitive aspects. Faith has
indeed to do with gaining
knowledge and reflecting about
the Biblical sources, liturgical
materials, creeds that had been
formulated in course of the
history of the church. But since
the kind of knowledge in question
here is knowledge of God Godknowledge it is much more
than, or something very different
from, pure academic learning or
educational exercise. Religious
knowledge has an existential
dimension; learning leads to
transformation in life, to an
impact on my total being, my

longings as well as my
commitment.
I therefore like the slogan that
ACTC here in Hyderabad has
developed to describe its
ministry: Equipping Men &
Women with Knowledge of God,
that leads to love of God. Godknowledge does not only expand
ones brain, but touches also the
heart and soul, the body and the
relationships of a person.
Theology, as an exercise of
reflection, has a spiritual
dimension; theology and
spirituality are like sisters and
brothers, for theology without
spirituality remains a purely
intellectual exercise as well as
spirituality without theological
reflection remains a vague and
hazy thing.
This kind of continuous
theological
and
spiritual
engagement as a striving to
grasp the reality of God for me
and within my life, can perhaps
be illustrated by St. Pauls
witness about his eagerness to
continuously get to know Christ
better and deeper. It is interesting
that Paul and Timothy at the very

outset of the letter to the

Philippians in Phil 1:1 call
themselves servants of Christ
we could again say ministers
of Christ, even though the Greek
word doulos is used here, what
actually is a stronger word than
diakonos 3; later in the letter the
apostle writes as one who had
earlier introduced himself as
servant of Christ: I want to
know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the sharing of
his sufferings by becoming like
him in his death (Phil. 3:10)
Paul, the servant of Christ,
was a great theologian. He
certainly read the Biblical
writings for himself, pondering
about their meaning and the
application of the old words his
scriptures were the Old
Testament writings for his life
and the community of faith of
which he was part. He also read
and transmitted the creeds and
confessional formulas that were
already formulated by sisters
and brothers who had become
Christians earlier than he. He
sought to understand them for
himself, reinterpreting them and
relating them always, if
necessary, to new experiences,
insights, and life situations.
Contd. Page 4 Col. 1 ..>>>

National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christians,

National Council of Churches in India & Catholic Bishops Conference of India

Memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-Excerpts

End the exclusion and marginalization

We, the Dalit Christians and
Dalit Muslims, continue to be
discriminated from our Dalit
brethren of other religions even
after 65 years of the
Presidential notification of
Constitution
(Scheduled
Castes) Order 1950, conferring
Scheduled Caste rights to only
Hindu Dalits originally and, later
on, amended to extend the
rights to Sikhs in 1956 and
Buddhists in 1990. We continue
to be blatantly discriminated in
spite of our earnest demand for
extending the status to us for
more than 25 years by appeals,
dharnas, rallies etc., throughout
the country.
Sir,
we
are
thoroughly
disappointed
by
the
Governments in power on the
wrong premise of no caste in
Christianity. Sir, we are the sons
of the soil and citizens of India.
But the social discrimination
continues to be thrust on us by
the society, the primary reason
being that the caste prevails
everywhere in the country in
social, educational, economic
and in political fields also. This
is the pitiable situation of, Dalit

Christians and Dalit Muslims in

India. And we could not, and
certainly cannot in future,
escape the rigours of caste, we
being the sons of the soil and of
Scheduled Caste origin.
Though the then Congress
government introduced a bill in
March 1996 in the Parliament at
the fag end of their term, it was
rejected for want of sufficient time
and notice. A Civil Writ Petition
(no. 180/2004) was filed in the

Supreme Court. Though the Apex

Court insisted several times for
the counter/reply of the
government indicating their
stand, they hood-winked even
the Supreme Court by not filing
the same even after getting
extension of time, several times.
Finally, the UPA government
entrusted the issue to the
National Commission on
Religion
and
Linguistic
Minorities (NCRLM) to study the

issue
and
report.
The
Commission headed by the
retired Chief Justice of India, Shri
Ranganath Misra, toured widely
in all states and after detailed
deliberations with all the
concerned, submitted a report in
2007.
The
Commission
recommended as follows:
..we recommend that Para 3
of the Constitution (Scheduled
Caste) Order 1950- which
originally restricted the S.C.
Caste net to the Hindus and later

Extend Scheduled Caste Status

To Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims
>>> Contd. from Page 1 Col. 2
Cardinal
Baselios
Cleemis, President, CBCI, Mar
Thoma Valiya Metropolitan
Philipose Mar Chrysostom,
Most Rev. Dyvasirvadam,
Moderator, CSI, Mrs. Ramani
Ramya Krupa, Chairperson,
Commission on Dalits, NCCI,
Rev. Dr. D.R. Sadananda,
General Secretary, CSI, Most.
Rev. P. K. Samantaroy,
Moderator, CNI, Rt. Rev. P. C.
Singh, Deputy Moderator, CNI,

Bishop Geevarghese Mar

Coorlios, Chairperson, SCMI, Bp
Subodh C. Mondal, President
North West India Council of
Churches, Rt. Rev. Edwin
Jaykumar, TELC, Most Rev.
Neethinathan, Chairman, CBCI
Office for SC/BC, Mr. A. Dana,
President, National Council of
Dalit Christians, Fr. AXJ. Bosco,
S.J., National Advisor, NCDC, Mr.
Alwan Masih, General Secretary,
CNI, Ali Anwar Ansari, MP,
JD Seelam MP, many Bishops,

Priests, Nuns, Pastors,

Maulanas, Christian and
Muslim leaders and political
leaders from all over India
participated in the Protest Rally
and Public Meeting.
A memorandum was given
to the Prime Minister
requesting to grant Scheduled
Caste Status to Dalit
Christians and Dalit Muslims.
Reported by
NCDC, CBCI and NCCI.

opened it to Sikhs and

Buddhists, still excluding from its
purview the Muslims, Christians
etc. should be wholly deleted by
appropriate action so as to
completely de-link the S.C.
status from religion and make
the Scheduled Caste net fully
religion-neutral, like that of the
Scheduled Tribes.
Sir, we pitch our hopes on you
to render justice to us by
considering this burning issue
and extending Scheduled
Caste status to Christians and
Muslims of Scheduled Caste
origin.

Signed by
Mr
Mr.. B. Danam,
President, NCDC
Most. Rev
Rev.. Dr
Dr.. A. Neethinathan,
Chairperson, CBCI SC/BC
Fr
Fr.. AXJ Bosco SJ,
Advisor
Advisor,, NCDC
Most Rev
Rev.. Dr
Dr.. G. Dyvasirvadam,
Moderator
Moderator,, CSI
H.E.Baselios Cardinal Cleemis,
President, CBCI
Mr
Mr.. Alwan Masih,
General Secretary
Secretary,, CNI

MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

PAGE 4

Serampore College (University) Convocation 2016

Theme of the Convocation Address: The Theological Existence and Pastoral Ministry

Theology is not only reproduction of

tradition, but also creative production
>>> Contd. from Page 3 Col. 5
The Holy Scriptures are certainly a
treasure from where we have to lift up
inspiration and orientation. But on the
other hand one has to say that Christian
faith and Christian confessions are not
simply formulated and given once for all,
so that they simply can be repeated, and
thats all.
Christian faith needs the intellectual
engagement; theology is not only
reproduction of tradition, but also creative
production. It is the continuous exercise
to pull the Bible into my life, and to pull my
life into the Bible.
I would like to give two examples as
illustration of this thought, one from
Germany, the other one from India.
Ten years ago biblical scholars in
Germany published a new translation of
the Bible that is called: The Bible in Just
Language.4 This translation aimed at a
just or inclusive language, following the
criteria of gender justice (no malecentered language, not even for the
names of God), justice regarding the
special, theologically motivated,
relationship of Jews and Christians (no
wordings disregarding or discriminating
Jews), and social justice (highlighting
the social context and the social realities
of the biblical world). Of course, this bible
translation, even though it was developed
and published by well-known biblical
scholars, met with very controversial
responses, particularly due to avoiding for
the reference to God and Gods names
and titles any notion of male gender; even
the so-called Tetragram in Hebrew with
the capital letters YAHWE, in English
translations usually rendered with the
LORD, was replaced with words such as
the Eternal, the Heavenly or other
wordings that were not related to a male
gender bias. This approach was meant
to liberate the God-talk from male
domination, and was also a reference to
the Jewish custom in reverence before
God to avoid the usage of the name of
God.

Christian faith needs the intellectual engagement; theology is not only reproduction of
tradition, but also creative production. It is the continuous exercise to pull the Bible
into my life, and to pull my life into the Bible.
However controversial the discussion
about that translation was, my point here
is to say that it was, and is, a meaningful
attempt to appropriate the Biblical teaching
in a new time, for new people, for me. Many
women particularly were very happy about
this translation, for it met their sentiments
and helped them to get new perspectives
that aimed at overcoming the malecenteredness still so prevalent in the
church and in church-language.
As a second example, I refer to the way
of formulating for me and my fellow-people
my own statement of faith. This may
happen in songs and bhajans, in poems
and lyrics, in music and in dance. I find it
interesting that there emerged new
expressions of Christian creeds within the
struggle of dalits for human dignity. Such
statements, as the following, are current
forms of an appropriation of faith by, and
for, people who earlier were perhaps not
able to express their own suffering and
struggle with Christian language of faith.
Here is one of those confessional
statements:
We believe in Dalit Jesus
He was conceived by the power of the
Holy Spirit
And was born, among cattle, of a
handmaid of God
He lived and ministered among
the polluting people of Galilee
Rejecting social norms, accepted
morals and taboos of pollution
He assumed the role of bonded slaves
In order to energise them with the
vision of the kingdom
Because of his identification with the
polluting people
He suffered, was crucified, died and
was buried
Third day he rose again and ascended
into heaven
Affirming a new future for all the

crucified people
He will come again to vindicate the
Dalits
and to judge their oppressors5
The Holy Scriptures are certainly
a treasure from where we have to lift
up inspiration and orientation. But on
the other hand, one has to say that
Christian faith and Christian
confessions are not simply
formulated and given once for all, so
that they simply can be repeated, and
thats all.
I sum up so far: Theological existence
is important, first of all, for myself and my
own life before God. The ministry of a
pastor is a very demanding job. And yet, it
is very important not to neglect the
dimension of theological reflection,
spiritual nourishment and the search for
my own genuine identification with what I
tell other people about the Gospel. I need
to remain aware of my own integrity in faith
and in my theological convictions, and I
should not hesitate to address if needed
my own doubts, pain and afflictions.
Martin Luther coined the famous
statement that there are three things that
make a good theologian: In Latin the
words are oratio, that is prayer and
means a prayerful life with reverence
towards God and the knowledge of God;
meditatio, that is reflection, the
pondering and thinking what the Christian
faith means to me and to the people
around me; and tentatio, the experience
of temptation relating to affliction, pain
and bitter moments in life that threaten to
shake the ground of my life.6 Theology,
that was Luthers conviction, is actually
born out of the experiences such as Jona
had while in the belly of the big fish, with
all his anxiety and agony, or from the
experiences of Job struggling with the
justice of God, or Jacob fighting with God
at the river Jabbok (Gen. 32:22ff). Here, in
such situations one may discover afresh
that theological existence is intellectual

reflection in a spiritual dimension,

intertwined with astonishment and
amazement, bewilderment and
perplexity,
commitment
and
involvement, thankfulness towards God
and open hands that at last only Godself can fill.
References
3
It should be noted that in Phil. 1:1 Paul and
Timothy as the sender of that letter are introduced as
douloi Christou Jesou (in the NRSV translated as
servants of Christ Jesus, but actually it should read
slaves of Christ Jesus), whereas as addressees are
mentioned generally all saints in Christ Jesus who are
in Philippi and in addition the bishops and deacons
(epikopois kai diakonois) who are apparently office
bearers within the congregation or church. While Paul
earlier uses the word diakonos usually for a general
description of his ministry, we find here in Philippians
a later development of church structures that already
know the office of bishops and deacons. Paul himself
shifts here as well as in Romans 1:1 to the term
doulos, in English usually translated with servant.
4
Ulrike Bail/Frank Crsemann/Marlene
Crsemann/Erhard Domay/Jrgen Ebach/Claudia
Janssen/Hanne Khler/Helga Kuhlmann/Martin Leutzsch
and Luise Schottroff (Eds.), Bibel in gerechter Sprache
(Gtersloher Verlagshaus), Gtersloh 2006. See also
www.bibel-in-gerechter-sprache.de. For further
information in English language cf.: www.sbl-side.org/
publications/articles.aspx?Articleled=760.
5
Authored by V. Devasahayam, quoted from
Johannes Hoffmann, Exodus of the Broken People.
Dalits and Dalit Theology, published on his own in
1996, p. 141f.
6
For Luthers understanding of theology and of
being a theologian cf. the article on
Theologieverstndnis in: Das Luther-Lexikon, ed. by
Volker Leppin and Gury Schneider-Ludorff (Verlag
Bckle & Bhm), Regensburg 2014, p. 679-681, with
more literature.

Theological Existence and Pastoral Ministry Communication of the Gospel with people
within and outside the church

WCC Water Campaign

Seven weeks for water

The Seven Weeks for Water Lenten Campaign of
the WCC Ecumenical Water Network has gained much
attention recently, but the campaign is not new. It
started in 2008 as a gathering of weekly reflections
and other resources on water, says Dinesh Suna, EWN
coordinator since November 2012. Israels government
is displeased about the World Council of Churchs
Lenten Water Justice Campaign, refuting its assertions
on Palestine.

Suna noted that some West Bank communities spend

up to half of their income on water, particularly in the
designated Area C, under Israeli control.
Suna explained that since the Oslo II Accord of 1995

There is also the fact that Israel continues to overdraw without the JWC approval, on the estimated potential
by more than 50 percent, up to 1.8 times its share under
the Oslo II Accord.

The U.S.-based conservative Gatestone Institute has

sprung to Israels defense. World Council of Churches
demonizes Israel again, Gatestone railed in a headline
on Feb. 23. Two days later Gatestone fulminated again in
another article headlined: World Council of Churches
starts seven weeks of brainwashing.
Suna refutes the Gatestone Institutes accusations
that the WCC is demonizing Israel. One community is
deprived of water. The other community has plenty of
it, even more than in some developed countries.

there has been an Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water

Committee (JWC). But there has been almost negligible
approval for new water facilities for Palestine, he
observes while noting that Israel can veto Palestinian
proposals in the JWC.

The WCC in its letter to Gatestone says, Instead of

attacking the WCC for raising pertinent questions about
the unjust distribution of water in the occupied
territories of Palestine...why not devote energy and time
in advocating with the Israeli government to address
critical water issues in Palestine?
Photo: Peter Kenny / WCC
Mr. Dinesh Suna, program executive of the WCC Ecumenical Water
Network stands in front of the Separation Wall at Bethlehem
on the West Bank.

Why not advocate for making the Joint Water

Committee more functional to its purpose as stipulated
in the Oslo II agreement?, asks the letter.
WCC News

MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

PAGE 5

Easter Message

Take Easter To Our Hearts

To confess that He is risen!

is to commit ourselves to the call
for the renewal of the world
The empty tomb is a sign of Gods power
over all the forces which keep us away
from his love and goodness ...
the ultimate expression of the Fathers gift of
reconciliation and unity through the Spirit.
reports of violence against women,
against the poor, against civilians caught
in the middle of conflict fill our
newspapers. It is not hard to understand
why the Italian novelist, and devout
Christian, Ignazio Silone, would write that
in the history of the world, it is still Good
Friday.
The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon is a
retired seminary professor, formerly on
the staff of the World Council of Churches,
and former General Secretary of the
National Council of Churches in the USA.
>>> Contd. from Page 1 Col. 4
With Christians everywhere, I
gratefully confess, in the words of a
report from the World Council of
Churches, that the empty tomb is a sign
of Gods power over all the forces which
keep us from his love and goodness ...
the ultimate expression of the Fathers
gift of reconciliation and unity through
the Spirit.
And yet, I also acknowledge that 800
million people in this world for whom
Christ died do not have enough to eat,
two-thirds of them in Asia. You know the
toll that poor sanitation and disease
continue to take on Gods children. And

With this in mind, I have long felt

that the most overlooked day on the
liturgical calendar is Holy Saturday,
because that seems to me to be
where we livestill confronted with
the reality of crucifixion, yet
comforted with the assurance that
it does not have the final word.

community that knows itself responsible

for helping to effect the future of Gods
promise.
When I was a student in Israel, more
than forty years ago, I attended an Easter
morning service in what is called the
Garden Tomb, just outside the walls of
Jerusalems Old City. In order to get inside
the Garden, worshippers on that Easter
morning had to walk through a gauntlet of
persons asking for moneymany of them
disabled, all of them impoverished. The
preacher, I will never forget, informed us,

in no uncertain terms, that there was little

point in helping those people along the
walk outside because they were
indications of Gods coming judgment on
creation. The world must, in effect,
become hell, he told us, before Christ will
return in triumph.
Yes, I affirm, through gritted teeth, that
this preacher is my brother in Christ; but I
also am convinced that his message took
neither the real human suffering of Good
Friday nor the real human hope of Easter
seriously enough.
In Jesus Christ, we see revealed the
divine compassion that counts this world
as precious and calls us to participate
in its ongoing renewal. To confess again
that He is risen! is to commit ourselves
to this call.

To say this another way, Christian faith

that is blind to the deep-rootedness of
poverty and racism and war hasnt taken
Good Friday seriously enough. But
Christians who are paralyzed by these
realities havent taken Easter to heart.
Christians are, in this sense, a Holy
Saturday people who live with the Easterbased conviction that the story does not
end with Good Friday, and who
demonstrate the credibility of this
conviction by acting to help make it so.
Perhaps part of what Christ accomplished
on the cross is the formation of a

Easter Message

Claim the sustaining power of God

Evelyn R. Bhajan
Rather than concentrating on the bad news we hear
or the dreadful experiences we have, we must claim the sustaining power of God,
who brings life out of death and reconciliation in the midst of conflict.
As Christs followers we are also called
to proclaim this hope and bring healing to those who are broken and wounded.
he overcame all destructive forces.

Rev. (D) Evelyn R. Bhajan is a member of the Pastoral

Team of the Central Cathedral of Praying Hands
(Lahore), Diocese of Raiwind - Church of Pakistan.

John 20 relates the story of Mary and

two disciples who went to the grave
early Sunday morning. Each responded
in their own way. One saw the grave
clothes neatly wrapped and believed
while Simon Peter saw the same thing
but displayed uncertainty, and Mary
needed to hear her own name before she
could Go and tell. But above all, the
story tells of God saying no to the murder,
hate and violence of the powers that be
through Jesus life and resurrection as

This year marks the first anniversary

of the attacks on two churches in
Youhanabad, Pakistan. We are reminded
not only of the devastation caused by
terrorists but also the gruesome act of
burning two suspects. Even today many
q u e s t i o n s
r e m a i n
unanswered,
several families
have lost their
loved ones to
death or they
have
been
abducted with no
assurance of
their safe return.
In the
midst of this

bleakness and despair, a world

where violence and infringement of
human rights are everyday realities
for thousands; a world where
spiritual values seem to be lacking
and self-centeredness and selfish
gains are the priority, the Easter
message
brings hope:
that Christ
w
a
s
triumphant
over death
and He lives
a
n
d
extends the
gift
of
abundant
life to us as
well.

Therefore, the Easter story challenges

and compels us to respond. Our belief in
the resurrection is moving beyond
uncertainty and simply saying yes to the
claim as shown by the men in the Easter
story and countless others throughout
history. As Mary was surprised into
believing by hearing the sound of her name
being called, we are also to wait
expectantly to be amazed by Gods saving
grace. Affirming the resurrection also
means saying no to the power of death
and destruction that surrounds us.
Rather than concentrating on the bad
news we hear or dreadful experiences we
have, we must claim the sustaining power
of God, who brings life out of death and
reconciliation in the midst of conflict. As
Christs followers we are also called to
proclaim this hope and bring healing to
those who are broken and wounded.
This Eastertide, may we overcome
our fears and suffering and let the bliss
and hope of Easter be ingrained in our
hearts. As we go and tell the good news
to the world, may we also be led towards
peace and reconciliation.

MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

PAGE 6

Union Budget 2016-17

Neither Innovative Nor Stimulative!

P. Jegadish Gandhi

The National Democratic Alliance, (NDA) Governments third Union Budget for the year 2016-17, though presented in the backdrop of a healthy growth rate aided by oil-price reduction and a stable India
amid global economic upheaval, by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, missed a fine opportunity to introduce innovative tax initiatives to stimulate the sagging sectors of economy. The Finance Minister
announced that the allocation for agriculture was raised from Rs.15,809 crore in 2015-16 to Rs. 35,983 crore in 2016-17, a huge jump of 127 per cent aiming to double agricultural workers income by 2022,
by transferring the subsidy on farm loans from the accounting books of the dept. of financial services to that of the dept. of agriculture! This is a Budget in the old direction and with no new intentions.
As for the farm sector, whose welfare
is purportedly the primary focus of this
Budget, the allocation of Rs.35,000 crore
is woefully inadequate given the droughtrelated distress that farmers have faced
on consecutive years. According to the
Socio-Economic and Caste Census
(SECC) data made public last year the
main earning member in 75 percent of
Indias rural households had an income
of less than Rs.5,000 a month, and 50
per cent of rural households make a
living through casual manual labour. This
suggests that a major chunk of the rural
population is living at subsistence levels.

are conspicuously missing from the

Budget. The sketchy and small sops will
not increase the production and
productivity of farm sector.

What this calls for is greater public

spending on social entitlements which

For millions of salaried Indians, the

EPF is the bedrock of saving for their

The most disappointed section is the

salaried class without an increase in
income tax exemption limit, IT slabs and
any incentive to honest tax-payers. The
various hikes in indirect taxes, high cost
of utilities and services, mounting medical
expenses, high rents, increase in service
tax and the inbuilt inflationary pressures
will definitely reduce the disposable of fixed
income earners and the potential saving
of the household sector.

sunset years. By planning to tax this, the

government is snatching away whatever
little peace of mind the working class will
have. This is also a move that might put
off young people who will see no point in
investing and saving. The Finance
Minister must have tax policies for those
who evade payment through various
nefarious activities.
Mr. Jaitleys Budget is marked by a
number of tall claims. History shows that
none of the tall claims made in the
Budgets in the last two years has been
realized, and expenditures have been
eventually cut in most sectors/
departments. So be it education, health,
pensions for the socially vulnerable,

distressed farmers, or MGNREGA, the

2016 Union Budget has nothing radical to
offer. A poor revenue record over the next
year, a sure possibility given the sluggish
projections of growth, is likely to raise
pressure on expenditures in 2016-17 also.
While the rhetoric is pro-farmer and
pro-poor, inadequate resource
mobilization and an obsession with
fiscal deficit targets ensure that the
government cannot give its growth
strategy a much needed human face.
Overall, the contextual vote-bank politics
has overarched the budgetary
proposals.
Dr
Dr
Dr.. P
P.. Jegadish Gandhi is founder
Chairman,
V
ellore Institute of
Vellore
Development Stu
dies (VIDS)
Studies

Gender Concerns in the Union Budget

Vibhuti Patel
The Railway Budget and the Union Budget for the financial year 2016-17 were presented on 25-2-2016 and 29-2-2016 respectively. The Union Budget 2016-17 has allocated
Rs. 90625 crore for gender concerns in different ministries. But it does not show any increase in the Gender budget i.e. financial allocation that directly benefits women and girls
with budget allocation of 4.58% of the total. The revised estimate in the Union Budget for 2015-16 is 4.55 per cent of the total allocations. The financial allocations to the Ministry
of Women and Child Development (MWCD) were slashed from Rs. 21194 crore to Rs. 10382 crore. Due to pressure from the MWCD, the revised budget was increased to
Rs. 17352 crore. The current budget has made financial allocation of Rs. 17408 crore to MWCD.
Cooking Gas:
The Union Budget allocates Rs. 2000
crores to provide the BPL families with a
cooking gas connection at a subsidized
rate so that poor women will not have to
use Chulha for cooking resulting in the
inhalation of carbon monoxide, major
cause of their respiratory tract infections.
Gender economists have demanded that
the LPG connection must be in the name
of women members of poor households.
The budget also promises to continue the
Scheme for at least two more years to
cover a total of 5 crore BPL households.
This scheme may be a boon to neomiddle class but majority of the toiling
poor women cannot afford to buy
subsidized cooking gas.

Predicament of women Farmers

Women farmers and cultivators are the
backbone of agricultural production in
India. Majority of agricultural labourers are
women. In agricultural sector also the
allocation of Rs. 20400 crore is lower
compared to that of the 2014-15 in which
the allocation was Rs. 22309 crore. The
current budget makes a non-plan
allocation of Rs.15000 crore to the Ministry
of Agriculture to transfer funds to
compensate to the commercial banks for
providing subsidised credit to agriculture.
The budget permits 100 per cent FDI
in rural markets. This will hit women small
and marginal farmers hard. The entry of
corporate sector into agrarian marketing
has already made the condition of farmers
precarious as a result of their monopolistic
control where large number of poor
sellers face a handful of buyers.
Desperate farmers will have to do distress
selling of their products to the
multinational corporations.
Several states in our country are facing

severe drought resulting in agrarian

unemployment. In this context, increase
of MGNAREGA allocation by 7.7% is highly
inadequate.

Stand Up India Scheme

The Union Budget has provided an
outlay of Rs. 500 crore to promote
entrepreneurship among SC/ST and
women. Each nationlised bank will have
to facilitate at least two projects per
branch, one for SC/ST and one for women
entrepreneur. This scheme claims to
benefit at least 2.5 lakh SC/ST/ women
entrepreneurs. Quarterly social audit is a
must for this scheme. Otherwise like
Nirbhaya Fund, this allocation will also
remain unspent.

Railway Budget:
The Railway Budget has promised a
33% sub-quota for women under all
reserved categories. Looking at the
increasing attacks on women commuters,
the railways need to allocate more funds
for security and safety of women on the
railway platforms and in the trains.

National Mission for Empowerment

of Women (NMEW):
The Gender Budget Statement has
increased MNEWs allocation to 50 crores
which is double compared to the previous
years. The budget has not taken serious
consideration of the violence against
women that has escalated many fold.
While schemes to combat trafficking and
empowering adolescent girls have
received increased funds, the schemes
meant for the implementation of PCPNDT
act, the Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act have not received
much allocation. The corpus of
Rs. 3000 crore under Nirbhaya Fund has
largely remained unutilized. The Union
Budget 2015-16 had allocated Rs. 653

crore for the Scheme for Safety of Women

in Public Road Transport, with the
objective to ensure safety of women and
girl child in public transport by monitoring
location of public road transport vehicles
to provide immediate assistances, in
minimum response time, to the victims in
distress. The proposed scheme under
the Nirbhaya Fund envisages setting up
of a National Emergency Response
System with a control room under the
overall control of Ministry of Home Affairs,
which will receive alerts from distressed
women and take action on it. Under the
scheme for giving grants to states for
setting up driving schools, preference is
given to proposals for driving school for
women. Similarly, Beti Padhao, Beti
Bachao scheme was announced with the
goal of improving efficiency in delivery
services for women. The proposals
submitted by different ministries, local self
government
bodies
and
state
governments under these schemes are
gathering dust and funds have remained
largely unutilized.

Social Sector:
Subsidised education and health are
most beneficial to women and girls. The
Union Budget, 2016-17 provides
Rs. 40000 crore for school education
which is slightly higher than last years
allocation of Rs. 39039 crore and higher
education has received Rs 16500 crore
this year as compared to the last years
Rs. 15855 crore. Both are grossly
inadequate. This will result in
intensification of privatisation and
commercialization of school and higher
education.
The same is happening with respect
to health sector- withdrawal of the state
from public health to promote private

health sector. The budget subsidizes

private insurance companies and
pharmaceutical industries in the name of
public private partnership.
Flagship programme such as
Integrated Child Development Centre
(ICDS), has faced cuts in the allocations.
Nutrition of pregnant mothers and
children in 0-6 age group will suffer as the
Union Budget 2016-17 allocates only
Rs.14000 crore. Even the Mid-Day Meal
Programme will face financial crunch as
the allocation is merely Rs. 9700 crore,
while inflationary prices of food items have
increased drastically. In spite of increase
in workload, the foot soldiers of ICDS and
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)
dont even get minimum wages; leave
aside pension, social security benefits
and health insurance.

Public distribution system:

Instead of direct distribution of food
grains and essential items, the budget
paves way for cash transfer to the PDS
through provision of automation facilities
for 3 lakh Fair Price Shops, ATMs and miniATMs. The budget does not promise price
control for essential commodities to ease
poor womens woes.
Trend analysis of allocation to social
sector in the pre (before 1991) and post
(after 1991) structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP) phase has revealed
that poor women have suffered the most
due to drastic budgetary cuts in Public
Distribution System and public health,
safe public transport & child care facilities,
food security, drinking water and
sanitation. There is no gender
mainstreaming with respect to safety of
women in the budgets of Local Self
Government Bodies.

Digital India Scheme

Contd. Page 7 Col. 1 ..>>>

MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

PAGE 7

Easter Reflections - 1

The Easter Message

of the Risen One Himself
322
Mammen Varkey
Then he said to them, These are my words I spoke to
you, while I was still with you, that everything written about
me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms
must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to
understand the scriptures, and said to them, Thus it is
written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day
rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness
of sins should be preached in his name to all nations,
beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24: 44-49
[These reflections are
continuation of the reflections,
Along With Him 299 - 305
published in the issues 7 to 13
(V
ol. 28) of the People
s
(Vol.
Peoples
.]
Reporter
Reporter.]
It would be very surprising,
very revealing too, that one of
the first things the Risen Jesus
had to do, as he stood in the
midst of the eleven and of those
who were with the eleven, Luke.
24: 33, was to open their minds.
Then he said to them, These
are my words which I spoke to
you, that everything written
about me in the Law of Moses
and the prophets and the
psalms must be fulfilled. Then
he opened their minds to
understand the scriptures
Luke 24: 44, 45.

Whose minds, had

the Risen Jesus to open?
The minds of the eleven and
of those who were with them!
Especially of the eleven!! The
eleven had been with their Master
for atleast three years. The
Master and the disciples had the
closest
interactions
and
fellowship. Still, their minds had
not been sufficiently open to
understand the scriptures. They
were not intellectual dwarfs! They
had the capacity to think and
understand. But they refused to
open their minds especialy to
one thing.

We have to be with him

intellectually and
spiritually too
What was it to which their
minds were not open? To one

thing, earlier, they had some

difficulty. That was to the fact of
the resurrection. Now, they could
see the Risen Lord with their
own eyes. So they had no
difficulty in believing, in that fact.
But their minds were not open to
another vitally important thing.
This is a critically important thing
in human life and history. The fact
remains that the human minds
are shut against many truths. In
the history of science, there are
several examples for the failure
of even brilliant intellectuals in
opening their minds. The
digitalized world unravels some
eloquent examples. But the
failure of the eleven was
qualitatively different. They had
been chosen to be with him,
Mk 3: 14. They were
chosen to be with him not only
in a physical sense. Though all
of them had run away from the
foot of the cross on Golgotha, on
this occasion, they were all back
with him physically. But they had
been chosen to be with him
intellectually and spiritually too.
We, now, see that they were, in
that respect, far away from him;
they were, still, lacking in
understanding. They had not,
still, opened their minds!

The disciples
slowly open their minds
The Risen Lord had to open
the minds also of the two, who
walked to Emmaus. As per
Lukes narratives, it was after a
long interaction with them and in

the process of dining together,

that the minds of the two were
opened. Jesus had to call the two
bluntly, O foolish men, and slow
of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken! Luke 24:
25. It is recorded, And beginning
with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them in all the
scriptures the things concerning
himself. Lk. 24: 27. On the
second occasion also when he
addressed the eleven and the
others, the Risen Lord had to tell
them, These are my words
which I spoke to you, while I was
still with you, that everything
written about me in the Law of
Moses and the prophets and the
psalms must be fulfilled.
Lk. 24: 44.

Fulfillment of the Scriptures

So the most important
question is what is the fulfillment
that the scripture, the Law of
Moses and the prophets and the
psalms are proclaiming? Jesus
as he began his public ministry
said, The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God is at hand.
Mk 1: 15. So Jesus came for the
establishment of the Kingdom
of God, or more correctly, the
empire / the rule of God against
the tyranny of the Roman
Emperor. In that context,
unequivocally, the Crucified and
Risen Jesus, told the eleven and
all those who had gathered
there, that they were witnessing
the fulfillment of the law and of

the prophesies. That he had

decisively opened the way for the
establishment of the Kingdom
of God. What way? The way of
the Cross. But, most sadly, he
found that they had not opened
their minds to it. And the Risen
Lord told them inescapably that
they had to open their mind to the
wisdom of the Cross, the way
of the Cross, for the
establishment of the kingdom of
God. This was the Risen Lords
Easter message.

Do we have?
Do we hear that Easter
message of the Risen Lord? We
have no difficulty in believing
and declaring the Lords victory
over death. That is a fact rather
easy to understand. But what
the Risen Lord wants us to do,
is to open our mind to the new
way, unravelled before us, for
the establishment of the
Fathers rule. Do we, the
established
churches,
independent
churches,
Prosperity Gospel preachers
and ordinary believers, open
our mind to this call of the Risen
Jesus, as we celebrate Easter?
Let us fully open our minds to
the Easter message of the
Risen One Himself and commit
ourselves to it.

Union Budget 2016-17

Gender Concerns
>>> Contd. from Page 6 Col. 4
The Union Budget promises
a lot thro digital India scheme
but there is no financial
allocation
for
specific
programmes and schemes for
digital empowerment of girls and
women.

Smart Cities:
The Union Budget 2016-17
has given priority to formation of
100 smart cities. Smart Cities
have to be Safe Cities. Town
planners, policy makers and
budget experts need to do
gender budgeting to ensure
women-friendly
civic
infrastructure - water, sanitation,
health care, safe transport, public
toilets, help lines, skill
development
for
crisis
management and, safety at work
place. While making budgets for
social
defense
services,
consideration must be given to
safety of girls and women in
schools and colleges, in terms
of prevention of child sexual
abuse through public education

Trend analysis of allocation to social sector in the pre (before 1991) and post (after 1991) structural
Adjustment Programme (SAP) phase has revealed that poor women have suffered the most due to drastic
budgetary cuts in Public Distribution System and public health, safe public transport & child care facilities,
food security, drinking water and sanitation. There is no gender mainstreaming with respect to safety of
women in the budgets of Local Self Government Bodies.
and counseling facilities,
separate toilets for girls and boys
in schools, legal literacy on
POCSO Act 2012, and Prevention
of Sexual Harassment Workplace Act, 2013. Provision must
be made to have special cells in
the police department to take
action against display of
pornographic images, SMS
messages, cyber-crimes that
victimize young girls at public
places or in public transportbuses, local trains, rickshaws
and taxis.
There is need to integrate
safety of women as a major
concern in flagship centrally
sponsored schemes such as
Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM),
PMSSY, NUHM are supposed to
have 30% of funds as Womens

Component.
Revenue Generation
The allocation of 5% of the
total revenues for women and
children, should be increased to
10%. Kerala has done this.
Moreover, urban local selfgovernment (LSGs) bodies can
raise revenues by levying taxes
on Tobacco, alcohol, private
vehicles and entertainment
industry. Some amount of the fine
collected for causing damage to
environment (introduction of
Green Tax), high speed driving,
wrong parking and breaking
rules can also be used for
welfare of women and children.
Surcharge, earmarked charge for
specific purpose such as
Education Cess-2 % of salary,
income tax for disaster
management
has
raised
revenues for urban LSG.

The Centrally Sponsored

Schemes are meant to have
national focus on poverty
alleviation, or welfare. The fund
sharing pattern between centre
and state has changed from
75:25 to 60:40 and many poor
states are not able to contribute
their share, as a result most of
the anti-poverty progrmmes and
flagship schemes are not fully
implemented or are not
implemented at all. By putting the
onus on state governments to
provide for social sector, the
Centre is washing off its hands
with respect to the needs of the
SC, the ST, women and
minorities.
Prof. Vibhuti Patel is Head
of the Economics Department
of SNDT W
omen
s University
Women
omens
University,,
Mumbai

PRAY with ease

you get
PEACE

PAGE 8

Women to Women (W2W)

Womens Conference on Diabetes

Stem
sunami of Diabetes
the TTsunami

MARCH 25 - APRIL 10, 2016

We make a living
By what we get,
But we make a LIFE
By what we give
Winston Churchill

CSI Diocese of Vellore

Celebration of
40 YYears
ears of Mission and Ministr
y
Ministry

A Womens Conference was held at Indian Science

Congress Auditorium, Kolkata, on March 5.
The conference to empower women in the community was
held under the aegis of W2W, an initiative of Dr Usha Shriram
from Chennai. The aim was to train 100 lady physicians in 25
cities across India who would then train women, young girls,
pregnant women with diabetes, career women and care-givers,
to prevent and manage the diabetes.
It is a unique initiative for women by women, and it will help
stem the tsunami of diabetes which has hit India. India is home
to some 70 million diabetics and an equal number of people
who are unaware they have diabetes.
Eminent endocrinologists of the city participated and trained
physicians. Dr Dheera Ganguly, former HOD Endocrinology Dept.
of IPGMER, was the chief guest and she spoke about the rising
prevalence of diabetes.
Dr. Moutusi Raychaudri, National Coordinator, W2W,
introduced the program and spoke about the increasing
incidence of cardiac problems in women, appealing to women
to look after their health.
Reported by Mary DCruz
[Dr
[Dr.. Mary DCruz is the Regional Coordinator of W2W]

Jawaharlal Nehru and

The Indian PPolity
olity in PPerspective
erspective
Edited by Dr. P. J. Alexander
A collection of twenty three
Papers, touching the different
facets of Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru, the foremost among
Indias national leaders, the
protege of the Mahatma, the
Fabian socialist who stood for
a Caring State, the Statesman
who envisioned India emerging
as a nation with a value system
based on Gandhian principles,
scientific temper, deep roots in
parliamentary democracy and
the Great Helmsman of this
Country, who loved the people
and toiled for a better future for
all of them, for seventeen years,
brought out on the occasion of
his 125th birth anniversary.
The Volume also attempts to recall the inimitable leadership
and selfless service of T. M. Varghese, one of the tallest leaders of
the struggle for freedom and responsible government in Travancore
State. His 130th birth anniversary was on April 22, 2015 and his
54th death anniversary on 31st December 2015.
Copies are available at the pre publication price Rs. 1000/
Please send your orders to the T
reasurer
Treasurer
reasurer,,
T. M. V
arghese Foundation,
Varghese
35-Belhaven, Kowdiar
Kowdiar,,
Trivandrum 695 003, Kerala
Payments may be made by Cheque/Draft in favour of
T. M. V
arghese Foundation.
Varghese

Bishop Rajavelu delivers the presidential address. On the dais: Dr.Sunil Chandy,
Mr. Vijai MLA, Mr. Kalai Arasan MLA, Mrs. Karthiyayini, Mrs.Padmini Rajavelu, Rev.Isaac
Kadirvelu, Rev. H.Sharma, Rev. D.Barnabas Absalom, Rev. Samuel Jacob

On the day our nation was

celebrating its Republic Day on
January 26, 1976, a lotus
bloomed for the people of
Vellore. Yes indeed. It was a
prayer that was being heard by
our Lord, the liberator Christ
Jesus, and was a long awaited
dream that was realized by the
grace of God.
On 26 January 1976, at a
divine service at Central Church,
Vellore, the CSI Diocese of
Vellore was inaugurated by the
Most Rev. J. Ananda Rao
Samuel, the then Moderator of
the CSI. It was the defining
moment in the life and witness
of the people of God of the Vellore
Diocese, the Western Area of the
erstwhile Madras Diocese.
Though the Vellore Diocese had
a humble beginning with 27
pastorates and 26 pastors, it
grew over the 40 years into a
major spiritual domain with 100
pastorates and 100 pastors.
Today the Diocese of Vellore
stands as the evangelical
headquarters of all the C.S.I.
dioceses.
On 26 January 2016, the
Diocese of Vellore celebrated its
40th year of formation under the

leadership of the Rt. Rev. Dr. A.

Rajavelu. As part of the
Celebrations a Missionary
Convention was held on 15 & 16
January. Also a thanks giving
service, a seminar on Mission
and Ministry, a procession, a
public meeting and a grand
cultural programme were held.
The seminar conducted on
the theme Mission and Ministry
at the centenary Chapel,
Voorhees College, was attended
by presbyters. Mrs. Sheela Rufus
was the resource person. Rev.
Dr.
Babu
Masilamani
coordinated the seminar.
A
massive
peace
procession was held on 26 Jan.
Atleast 10,000 members
participated in the rally
enthusiastically.
A public meeting also was
held. The Rt. Rev. Dr. A. Rajavelu,
Bishop in Vellore, presided over
the meeting. Mrs. Padmini
Rajavelu, President, Womens
Board, Rev. Dr. Isaac Kadirvelu,
Vice-President, Rev. H .Sharma
Nithiyanandham, Hon. Secretary
and Rev. D. Barnabas Absalom,
Hon. Treasurer spoke at the
meeting. Rt. Rev. Dr. A. John
Rajadorai, Bishop, Episcopal

International AIDS Conference

The 21st International AIDS Conference will be held
at Durban from 18 to 22 July 2016
Held every two years, international AIDS conferences draw
over 20,000 researchers, policy-makers, activists, people living
with HIV and others to share the latest advances and to help
identify and tackle continued obstacles to the pandemic.
The World Council of Churches Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance
(WCC-EAA) is now in full preparation for the 21st International AIDS
Conference. Participation at the International AIDS Conference is
an essential part of the Live the Promise Campaign, where the
WCC-EAA advocates for access to treatment, eradication of stigma
and discrimination, and most importantly, elimination of root
causes of vulnerability to HIV transmission said, Francesca Merico,
HIV campaign coordinator for the WCC-EAA.
To encourage participation and engagement worldwide, the
WCC-EAA has now relaunched www.iacfaith.org, where information
on faith-based activities at AIDS 2016 is published.
WCC News

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for and
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Published at
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Editor
Valiyapurayidam
Mammen Varkki

The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the editors.

W2W program inauguration by Dr. Dheera Ganguly former HOD Dept of Endocrinology
IPGMER ,flanked by city doctors

Diocese of Tennessee, was the

Chief guest. Dr. M. Sunil Chandy,
Director, CMC, Mrs. P.
Karthiyayini, Mayor, Vellore
Corporation, Mr. M. Senguttuvan
M.P., Mr. M. Kalai Arasan M.L.A.,
Dr. V. S. Vijay M.L.A., Rev. Dr.
Samuel Jacob, Hon. Secretary,
Madras Diocese, and Rev. Paul
Dayanandhan, Vice President
Madras
Diocese,
and
Dr. Selvakumar, Treasurer,
Madras Diocese, brought
greetings.
The great contributions of
the
American
Arcot
Missionaries and of the CSI
Vellore Diocese in the fields of
Education, Health and Socio
Economic Development were
greatly lauded.
A souvenir was released to
commemorate the occasion.
The celebrations concluded with
a Cultural Program led by the
internationally acclaimed troupe
from Kalai Kaviri College of Fine
Arts Trichi. The physical
arrangements at the venue were
made by the officers of the
Voorhees College.
Reported by H. Sharma
Nithiyanandham
[The Rev
Rev.. H. Sharma
Nithiyanandham is the Hon.
Secretary of the CSI V
ellore
Vellore
Diocese & Gen. Convener of the
Organising Committee of 40th
Anniversary Celebrations.]