Washington DC, June 27. FIACONA (Federation of Indian Christians in North
America) is happy to note that President Trump raised concerns about
anti-Christian policies and the Hindu radical vigilantism carried out by Prime
Minister Modi’s supporters against innocent people across India, in a private
meetings with him yesterday at the White House.
However, FIACONA is deeply disappointed
that the President who emphasized the need to eradicate Islamic radicalism in
public, missed a historic opportunity to speak out openly against the
devastating impact Hindu radicalism has on Christians in India.
History would judge President Trump
harshly for this omission to speak out openly in support of a 2000 year old
church that is bleeding in the hands of the man he hosted yesterday at the
White House.
American people fully understand the
urgency in fighting radical Islamic fundamentalism, however, if that is done at
the expense of fighting Hindu radicalism which is posing an imminent danger to
the well-being of Christians, it may not bode well for our nation nor will it
be consistent with our long-time commitment to the values we so cherish.
Modi’s government has been actively
shutting down Christian worship places and social organizations at an alarming
rate.
Christendom which expected President
Trump to be on the right side of the history is seen as abandoning the lives of
over 300 million Christians and other non-Hindus for short term gains.
Vulnerable Indian Christian population that has been bleeding under the radical
Hindu extremism feels let down by President Trump.
In Modi’s India today, bigotry is
masquerading as nationalism, creative freedom being proscribed, freedom of
speech and expression being brutally crushed by the state and the Institutions
of democracy slowly being undermined by Modi whom our President called a True
Friend.' It is about time, U.S. administration realizes that the so-called bond
based on shared ideals is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. The man
who is presiding over this historic wrong in India cannot be a friend of
anyone, let alone our President.
When asked if President Trump considers a
radical Hindu nationalist as his True Friend, because it surely looked like Mr.
Trump called Modi a True Friend in his tweets and in his comments, a friend of
Mr. Trump pointed out that the President calls the people of India as his True
Friends. He said the President wants the people of India to know that they have
a True Friend at the White House and not necessarily Mr. Modi personally. But
still President’s reluctance to stand openly with a bleeding Christian
population is a great concern for the American people who elected him to the
office.