Page 10 - Demo

10 JANUARY’19-JUNE’19
THE REVIEW
PUNE AGM 2018
we can make a difference—the caring India, the compassionate India, the tolerant India, an India that gives, and an India that forgives. Let us try and make one India by reaching out to the people who want to take us in a different direction.
If there’s one thing that I can’t tolerate personally, and I am sure many of you can’t—I can tolerate mistakes, fights, differences; but there’s one thing I don’t tolerate, and I don’t think any Anglo-Indian tolerates: the art of bullying. Being forced to do something, putting the gun to your head. Talk
to me, I will listen, I may even agree. But don’t threaten me or chase me with a stick. This brings me to my great concern about India today. Friends, you can build all the roads and all the bullet trains, and you can clean up everything around you because you want a clean India. But if you have
an India where the mind is with fear, you don’t have the India that people want. You don’t have
an India that the Constitution assures you of. I think most of you will agree with me, and this
is not a political statement, but the mind IS NOT without fear. Because people are concerned and worried, and we get messages saying a church
is being attacked in Agra or something else is happening somewhere else. We’re happy that
we get those messages, but we can’t do a thing about it. So, who can do something about it? The
representatives who represent us, especially those in Parliament. Are they doing it? I’ll let you answer the question later on. I would appeal to our two MPs—Mr George Baker and Professor Richard Hay—please pass on the message
of the Anglo-Indian community and the Christian community that our minds are NOT without fear. Many of us are living in fear, not directly you and me, but the community as a
whole. So, when suddenly there’s a news item
that they are taking away property in Allahabad because they are Christians and Anglo-Indians and people start voicing all sorts of advice and telling you what you should do, please be well informed and then come forward. I don’t mind if somebody wants to give advice, it’s a good thing. But what I am against it somebody sending me a message saying, ‘I believe your name is O’Brien.
I am Sir so-and-so. I left India forty-five years
ago. What are you doing about this? Get your
act together.’ And then again let’s not blindly
club all issues under the same slot - that they are religious or community related issues, or worse spread rumours or become arm chair critics from thousands of miles away, especially if you haven’t set foot on Indian soil for three or four decades.
So, don’t make every issue the fear issue. That’s also wrong! Everything is not, ‘I didn’t get selected because I’m an Anglo-Indian and they don’t like Anglo-Indians; I’m a Christian, they don’t like Christians.’ That’s a mindset. That’s not true. If I ask how many of you are working for non-Anglo- Indian or non-Christian organisations and are doing really well, I am sure many hands will go up.
There are two issues here: one is that the fear is