Naqvi rejects Goa archbishop's letter on minorities

A day after the archbishop of Goa and Daman said that the Constitution was in danger, Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi asserted that minorities in India were well protected and nobody should issue "fatwas and farmaans".

Achbishop of Goa and Daman Father Filipe Neri Ferrao, in a letter on Sunday addressed to Christians in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, had said, "Today, our Constitution is in danger (and that is) the reason why most of the people are living in insecurity."

His office on Monday suggested that he was expressing his "anxiety to his own people", but insisted that the remarks were not against any political party or government.

Reacting to the letter, Naqvi told reporters, "A season of fatwas and farmaans (diktats) has started. There is protection for minorities in India. There is constitutional protection, social security and religious freedom for minorities. Nobody should make such fatwas and farmaans and harbour any misunderstandings."

Ferrao's secretary Fr Joaquim Loila Pereira on Monday said that people should read the entire 15-page letter and not "take this statement or that statement out of context and make it look as if the letter is against political parties".

The archbishop had said that human rights are under attack and democracy appears to be in peril.

The letter, issued in the beginning of the Pastoral Year that lasts from June 1 to May 31, is addressed to Christians in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman.

"Today, our Constitution is in danger (and that is) the reason why most of the people are living in insecurity," the archbishop had said.

"In this context, particularly as the general elections are fast approaching, we must strive to know our constitution better and work harder to protect it," the letter stated.

The archbishop said that "in recent times, we see a new trend emerging in our country, which demands uniformity in what and how we eat, dress, live and even worship: a kind of mono-culturalism."

"Human rights are under attack and democracy appears to be in peril," Ferrao said, adding that "various minorities fear for their safety. In short, respect for law is frankly on the decline in this country."

Ferrao's letter came weeks after Delhi Archbishop Anil Coutos, in a letter, said that a "turbulent political atmosphere" posed a threat to India's democratic principles and secular fabric.