Expressing concern over the raging violence in Manipur, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has urged the Union government to show the initiative to bring the situation under control.
Addressing the mediapersons here on Friday, Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews III, head of the orthodox church, said there was a clear lapse from the part of the Centre in taking control of the situation. The silence maintained by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the developments in Manipur had indeed been shocking.
“We are not sure if the clash between two ethnicities can be regarded as religious persecution. But at the same time, the Christians in Manipur are the one particular community to suffer most from from this raging clash,” the Catholicos noted.
Stand on UCC
To a query on a purported move by the NDA government seeking to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country, the Catholicos held that the civil code should not put secularism at stake.
“We are not in a position to comment on it before analysing its content. However, any civil code that affects the freedom for secularism will jeopardise the culture of the nation. It should not be implemented in a haste. The civil code should be prepared ensuring the freedom of various religions and minorities and also by taking into consideration their unique customs and practices,” he said.
“When the UCC is formed based on the principle of equality, other principles in the preamble of the Constitution should not be undermined. Moreover, a law commission has already termed that UCC is not needed and necessary for the time being. A religion has its own civil law, customs, and nature of activities. If the UCC imperils such things, it would put the minorities in a difficult situation,” he added.
