A Dimapur-based Christian organisation has asked BJP chief Amit Shah, who made his maiden visit to Nagaland on Friday, to look into the foreign funding for both Hindu and Christian religious groups and publish the details for the “good of the nation”.

The Dimapur Christian Forum, which wrote an “open letter” to Shah, also dismissed allegations by made by various Sangh Parivar outfits about Christian missionaries wooing tribals, and said it was “deprivation” that had prompted tribal communities to embrace Christianity.

“We like BJP to understand that our ancestors were not Hindus, because they did not worship Lord Ram, Shri Krishna, Hanuman or any other deities of the Hindu pantheon. They accepted Christianity. There was no inducement, but only deprivation, because our forefathers who became Christians were expelled from their villages,” the open letter signed by Dimapur Christian Forum secretary Father Chacko Karinthayil said.
Related

The Forum also wanted to know why no “Hindu missionary” came to tell the tribals of the Northeast about the Hindu gods. “One relevant question is, why no ‘Hindu missionary’ came to tell us about Lord Ram, although we were living as neighbours for three millennia or more?

The Hindu missionaries went only to palaces of the kings, like those of the Ahoms and Meiteis. They did not come to us because we were considered as mlechchas (barbarians). The Christian missionaries came because Jesus taught them to call all human beings brothers and sisters,” the letter said.

But the Forum made it clear that it was not BJP as such which have been complaining about the Christian missionaries. “We are aware that the there has been no official accusations from BJP on any aspects of our Christian faith. We thank you and the party for it. The accusations have been from your constituents, viz RSS, VHP etc, who made you what you are. We are not listing the accusations here. But they boil down to one thing, that Christianity is a foreign thing, Christian faith is suspect, traitorous, anti-national, and so to be destroyed,” it said.

On the oft-repeated allegations about foreign funds flow to Christian missionaries, the group asserted that churches do not use funds for any anti-national activities. Instead, it asked Shah to study the foreign funding details of both Hindu and Christian religious organisations and make those public.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada has generated business worth more than 1.6 billion Canadian dollars, according to official figures released by the Harper government here.

Sixteen commercial agreements and announcements were made by Canadian and Indian companies and organisations during Prime Minister Modi’s visit this week.

The commercial agreements and announcements have a combined value of over 1.6 billion Canadian dollars, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office said in a statement.
Related

Canada to supply uranium to energy-starved India from this year
Canada hopes for ‘new era of partnership’ with India
Canadian PM to visit India next week,N-deal on agenda

The announcements cover a wide range of sectors, including aerospace and defence, education, energy, mining, infrastructure, sustainable technologies, information and communications technology.

The agreements further demonstrate the significant growth taking place in the Canada-India bilateral commercial relationship, the statement said.

“One commercial agreement involving Saskatchewan-based Cameco will see the company supply India with over seven million pounds of uranium over the next five years. This deal was made possible due in part to the Canada-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement negotiated by our Government,” it said.

Harper also welcomed Prime Minister Modi’s announcement that India will issue visas upon arrival, which will make it easier for Canadians to travel to India.

Harper and Modi welcomed the progress made on negotiating a Bilateral Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and agreed to intensify discussions to finalise all outstanding issues.

The two Prime Ministers also participated in several cultural events where they met with members of Canada’s vibrant Indo-Canadian community.

During these events, Harper paid a tribute to the tremendous contributions the Indian-origin community continues to make to Canada’s social, cultural and economic landscape.

“With its expanding population and impressive economic growth, India represents tremendous opportunities for Canadian companies. But we have only begun to scratch the surface of our true commercial potential. That is why Prime Minister Modi and I were pleased by the scope and volume of
bilateral initiatives and commercial agreements that took place during his visit,” Harper said.

“These initiatives will help to further strengthen our relations. Canada and India enjoy a special friendship, underpinned by a vibrant Indo-Canadian community, which continues to make tremendous contributions to our nation’s cultural and economic fabric,” he said.

“It was a pleasure this week to meet with Prime Minister Modi and members of the Indo-Canadian community to further cement the strong bonds that unite our countries,” he added.

During the visit, Harper and Modi committed to elevate the bilateral ties to a strategic partnership and further broadened its scope through a number of important initiatives.

The two leaders also saw the completion of memoranda of understanding in a range of areas, including civil aviation, rail regulation, education and skills development, space cooperation, and projects focused on maternal, newborn and child health.

Canada and India also finalized all steps necessary for the entry-into-force of the Social Security Agreement, which will take place on August 1, 2015, the statement added.

The publication said among the lessons that can be drawn from the ‘2015 TIME 100 list’ is that Asia has a crop of strong leaders.

Both India and China are today run by “forceful leaders” eager to put their “stamp on history”, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi working to lead from the front after Manmohan Singh’s decade of “increasingly listless rule”, according to TIME magazine.

Mr. Modi was named by TIME among the 100 most influential people in the world in its annual list on Thursday, with U.S. President Barack Obama penning a flattering profile of him.

The publication said among the lessons that can be drawn from the ‘2015 TIME 100 list’ is that Asia has a crop of strong leaders after years of being run by not-so-dynamic politicians.

“China and India may be two of the most dynamic countries in the world, but for years their leaders were anything but,” TIME said, adding that from 2002 to 2012 China was run by the “colourless and cautious” President Hu Jintao, though most decisions were made not by him alone but through consensus among the top tier of the Communist Party.

In India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presided over a decade of “increasingly listless rule”, ending in 2014 when he left office at the age of 81.

But today, both China and India are run by forceful leaders eager to put their stamp on history,” it said.

TIME referred to Mr. Modi’s rock-star reception at the Madison Square Garden during his visit to the U.S. last year, saying not many world leaders can get the kind of audience he commanded at the iconic city arena.

Unlike many of his predecessors, Mr. Modi has “worked to lead from the front, and he’s already carved out an impressive international profile — not too many other international leaders can pack Madison Square Garden for a speech, as Mr. Modi did last September”.

Mr. Obama notes that Mr. Modi has “laid out an ambitious vision to reduce extreme poverty, improve education, empower women and girls and unleash India’s true economic potential”.

TIME said that Chinese President Xi Jinping “is even more powerful” and more determined to exert direct control of his country.

In the ‘TIME 100’, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd writes that Mr. Xi is now “likely to be China’s most powerful leader since Mao”.

“That’s not always a good thing. While Xi is carrying out reforms that are needed to make China’s economy more sustainable, he’s also ruthlessly cracked down on civil society and challenged the U.S. for global leadership,” said the magazine.