A rather different Holi

By Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI, MARCH 10. In a bid to ``break the ice'' with one of the organisations speaking out frequently against Christianity, the Bishop of the Church of North India visited the headquarters of Vishwa Hindu Parishad here today to greet its senior vice- president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, on the occasion of Holi.

While the visit saw Bishop Karam Massih and Acharya Giriraj Kishore exchange pleasantries and speak out against wanton destruction of ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban, contentious issues raised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad vis-a-vis the Christian community in recent weeks and months were not brought up.

Later, talking to The Hindu, Acharya Giriraj Kishore said ``there is no point in having a dialogue unless and until they change their ways and accept that Christianity is not the only way to salvation''. Also, he maintained that ``Christians would have to Indianise and sever links with churches abroad''.

Elaborating on ``Indianisation'' of Christianity, the VHP leader said: ``Christians should acknowledge that their basic heritage is Indian. We have many sects in Hinduism itself. It is not as if we are asking them to convert to Hinduism. We just want them to stop taking directions from abroad.''

Still, not discounting such interactions in toto, the Acharya said ``it is good to meet like this''.

Having sought the meeting in his ``personal capacity and not as representative of the Church of North India'', the Bishop was more optimistic. Insisting that the visit was no more than a courtesy call and not an indication of a shift in the stance of the Church vis-a-vis saffron outfits, he said ``it will be welcome if this visit paves the way for clearing some of the misunderstanding''.

As to why he had chosen to visit the VHP leader instead of other heads of organisations that make up the Sangh Parivar, the Bishop said: ``I have met him earlier, and so I decided to call on him on the festival of colours when all differences are forgotten.''

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