I AM CATHOLIC. I AM INDIAN

I was born in India. I was raised here by a father who served in the Indian Army. A man who honoured his country through the faultless observation of the motto: ‘Service before self. Death before dishonour.’ I was raised to this standard too. I continue to live here. I hold an Indian passport.

Does this make me Indian?

I am as accustomed to greeting with a Namaste as I am with a handshake. I am at home in a sari. In fact, I have earned compliments abroad for its grace and beauty. We enjoy upma and masala chai for breakfast and chicken korma, raita, rotis are lined up for lunch. I stand to attention and sing my National Anthem with enthusiastic devotion. I pay my taxes. I obey the law.

Does this make me Indian?

NO! Not if what my Catholic Faith teaches me is true. I am only Indian – a true citizen of my motherland – when I serve my country. For Christ taught us to be servants and not masters. And we must continue to be servants till all know and understand that they are equal in God’s sight. This is our calling. This is what we believe. This is who we are.

This is why Catholics build schools: we educate all, irrespective of economic status, social background, gender and religious belief so that our children – the children of India – can step out on an equal platform, formed as ethical citizens to face the future with the necessary skills and knowledge. We turn out thinking citizens who will make India proud.

This is why Catholics build hospitals: to offer medical help to the needy, the economically distressed, the ones who are discriminated against.

This is why Catholics start missions and homes: to reach out to those who live beyond the margins and fringes, the forgotten, the neglected, the ignored, the abandoned – migrant labour, untouchables, lepers, street children, the dying.

This is why the Catholic heart beats for the poor: we are taught that even when we have little – too little for ourselves – we must still share. For there are those who have even less.

This is why Catholics practice their faith in peace: our churches are quiet oases in a troubled world which allow us to come together to praise and thank God.

And this is why Catholics may be perceived as a threat: we are opposed to violence, fanaticism, closed minds, inequality, muzzling of free speech, gender discrimination – everything that denies the rights of humanity.

Yes! I am Catholic and proud of it. I am also Indian.

When did I become an ‘outsider’ in my own country?

Wendy Chaves

I am a Catholic

Raised in a Catholic family, I was educated in Catholic institutions and, since our Parish Church provided us with a Youth Club, I spent my leisure in a very Catholic social environment too.

We wore our Catholicism like a badge. This had its positives and its negatives. One appalling negative was the ‘holier than thou’ attitude which, thankfully, has now been shed. But the positive is what I would like to dwell on here.

If we were truly Catholic, we had to be perfect. Now, don’t get me wrong. We were not superhuman or even supernatural; it was just that we were expected to put in our very best effort and take pride in all that we did. Let me illustrate: employers and prospective spouses always wanted the ‘Convent trained’ because this meant that the best possible education had been provided. Catholic teachers, nurses, secretaries were always in demand because they could be expected to deliver and deliver quality. To say, “I am a Catholic’ was as good a certificate as any. If someone needed a repairman or wished to make a purchase from a particular vendor, you would recommend the person with the postscript, ‘Go to so and so. The work is excellent, you won’t be cheated and he(or she) is a Catholic.’ Yes, we had a very good name.

I once numbered among my acquaintances a Catholic carpenter who rejoiced in the name of Romeo. He was so much in demand that you had to plan at least a year in advance, book him for the work and issue interim reminders lest he forgot. He never did, but I was a nervous customer. His work was first class and he always followed up on the job. He made sure that the customer was fully satisfied. I still look on his work with pleasure, some 30 years on. Considering the demand, he could have overcharged, but he never did. Then there was Robert the contractor. He started out as a simple stonemason but went on to be a builder in his rural community. He was a byword and no job was too small to merit his personal supervision. I once queried a wall that he had constructed for me. His reply? ‘This is built by Robert. It will stand for a hundred years!’ I will certainly not live to see that, but a quarter century on, that wall is still robust and it stands tall against the elements.

When did we start to fall by the wayside?

The decline has been insidious. I first noticed it when some years ago I entered into a contract for renovation with a ‘Catholic’ contractor. The work seemed good. Once the final payment was made, however, things started coming apart. That was when I discovered that the fervently promised guarantees were nothing but dust in my eye (pun intended). I put it down to individual aberration.

Now, several years down the line, I have clocked many more such incidents and I am deeply saddened. It is a blot on our collective escutcheon.

It has happened and we cannot turn back the clock. But we can remedy the situation. Perhaps we need to make it known that this is ‘not Catholic’. Perhaps we need to go out and reaffirm our faith and values. Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that, in the words of a much loved mentor, ‘We must shine for Christ!’