ASIA/INDIA - Easter lived by Christians and non-Christians

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 easter dialogue politics human rights

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Shillong (Agenzia Fides) - "Easter 2020 was significantly different from previous years, especially in northeastern India, where four of the seven states have a considerable Christian population. While the lockdown at a national level, with its focus on social distancing, forced Christians in the country to give up participating directly in all the Easter celebrations, Conrad K. Sangma, the Prime Minister of Meghalaya, one of the states of northeastern India, chose to spread the message of hope on Easter Sunday in a truly unique way, inviting the whole nation to pray together with him and the people of his State": this is what the Jesuit, Fr. Anand Pereira SJ, Director of the regional development in Kohima reports to Agenzia Fides.
The Indian Jesuit continues: "Using the powerful social media tool, Sangma, who is the only Catholic Prime Minister in India, invited the people of the nation to join the people of Meghalaya by praying with an initiative, entitled "Meghalaya Prays", broadcast live on various television channels in India". With a short message Sangma highlighted the power of Easter. "As we fight Covid-19, which has endangered human life and upset the global economy, we can draw inspiration from the life of Jesus Christ, from his agony on the cross and from the power of his Resurrection which is our living hope", he said. Prominent artists of Meghalaya then sang three moving hymns: "Amazing Grace", "How Great Thou Art" and "Why He Lives".
In response to the appeal of Prime Minister Sangma, several important personalities from Northeast India, the world of culture, sport and entertainment shared the appeal to join the prayer. Expressing his gratitude to the people for attending the online prayer event, Sangma said, "This is truly a blessing for all of us as it has brought people from different states and from different parts of the world together to pray for our nation and the world".
In another particular initiative, a group of leaders from the world of culture and civil society, all non-Christians, wrote an "Easter Letter" to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, remarking that "in this solemn and gloomy moment for the country and the world, the Easter feast is marked by solitude, sobriety, reflection, prayer and, in many cases, pain". "You may be surprised to receive this letter from non-Christians: but one of the wonderful things about being an Indian citizen is the freedom to celebrate mutual religious holidays and greet each other on occasions when we may not necessarily celebrate ourselves".
Studying the life of Christ, the text continues, "we can cite five distinctive traits of the life of Christ: courage, justice, commitment to truth, service, equal dignity for every man". These attributes, it should be noted, "also constitute the five qualities of a great leader", inviting the Prime Minister to draw inspiration from them. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 15/4/2020)