Happy Gestures
During the pre-independence period certain prominent
Christians of India had stood against communal
representation. Early in the twentieth century Joseph
Baptista, a prominent Christian leader in Bombay said, "I
thoroughly disapprove of separate electorate for Indian
Christians in water-tight compartments". He was wisest
when he considered it best not to alienate the sympathy
of majority by clamouring for separate electorates. He
could stand up against the pressures of certain Muslim
League leaders and strongly refused to have anything to
do with them on this proposal. Bishop Azariah another
leading Christian, opposed communal representation and in
1928 he issued an appeal recommending the abolition of
all forms of communal representation. K.J.Paul of the
Y.M.C.A. movement advised : "We cannot exalt merit,
character and efficiency in the services or insist on
probity in public leadership, and at the same time do
what is commonly called fight over community".
There were quite a few well-intentioned Christians and
their goodness was duly reciprocated by the Hindus.
Christianity in India was mixed up with the British rule
and to some extent with the rule of the Portguese. The
Indian Christians were uneasily aware that their
bonafides were under a cloud and one of the foremost
leaders of the Christian community, H.C. Mookerjee,
confessed "We have to demonstrate by every word we utter
and by every act we perform that the professing of a
different religious faith has not tended in the least to
make us less Indian in our outlook than our non-Christian
brethren, that we are prepared to play our part and to
shoulder our share of the responsibility in every kind of
work undertaken for the benefit of our country as a
whole".
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