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 Status quo has been restored, with the Government of Gujarat, led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, declaring a (restricted) holiday on Good Friday. Of course, it was not done out of any consideration for the Christian community in the state. To do so would have been impossible for him. He had to keep on baiting the minority community to appease himself and his masters with fundamentalist leanings.
Narendra Modi gave in, though reluctantly, under immense pressure from all sides. The Christian community across the country, particularly in the state, rose as one body, cutting across all their differences, and staged massive protests. The Christian leaders, under the umbrella of the aicc, sought the direct intervention of the President of India, the National Human Rights Commission, and the National Commission for Minorities. The President of India issued a letter, asking the State Government to reverse its order. But the final blow came when the National Human Rights Commission slapped a notice on the government, seeking an explanation for its decision to hold examinations on Good Friday. This is not the first time this has happened in Gujarat. The State Government had been holding examinations on days marked for important Christian festivals, ignoring the protests by the state unit of the aicc. But when the State Government resorted to its communal agenda this year as well, aicc decided to take up the issue at the national level. This had its desired effect, with the Modi Government reversing its earlier order and restoring the status quo. “For the first time, Christians of all denominations have come together to demand justice. The national body of the aicc will continue with its agitation programme even after Good Friday,” aicc joint secretary Samson Christian said. With the Gujarat Government sticking to Good Friday as only a restricted holiday, the fight has to necessarily go on. With the Supreme Court washing its hands of the matter, the Christian community has a task cut out for itself. It may be recalled that when the Modi Government did not even pay heed to the letter issued by the President of India, the Christian community moved the Supreme Court to intervene. But the highest court of the land refused to come to the aid of the hapless community. Instead it admonished the aggrieved party saying “not to mix religion with education.” Only a concerted effort by all the Christians in the country can save the community from Narendra Modi and his kind.
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