By K. Surender
The pastor of Emmanuel Ministries stated in his speech titled ‘2024 New Year message’, that “We have the Constitution today because of Dr. BR Ambedkar. Did you know that the Constitution is a copy of American and British constitutions? Dr. BR Ambedkar picked certain provisions from these two constitutions and compiled the constitution of Bharat. If you look closely, the opinions of intellectuals, they lead one to believe that the American and British Constitutions were literally derived from holy books. Thus, it is evident from this that the Constitution of Bharat is indirectly derived and based on the Gospels.
These controversial and biased comments were made by Paul Emmanuel of Emmanuel International Ministries and Christ Temple Foundation, while speaking to a large number of followers at Christ Temple, Mary Stella Indoor Stadium in Vijayawada.
Paul Emmanuel and his wife Nissy are well known Christian evangelists operating from Andhra Pradesh. On Every Sunday, they conduct prayer meetings which draws a huge number of followers. Their videos on Christianity and Bible are highly influential with a reach of over 7 lakh viewers on YouTube.
Paul Emmanuel’s comments and observations are insulting in nature and against the spirit of the Constitution with an intention to belittle the rich philosophical, cultural, social and economic history of the Bharat. Comments are subtly aimed at convincing the gathering that the United States of America (USA) and European countries are advanced and developed due to their faith in Jesus.
It is certainly true that many of the elements of organisational structures like Parliament, Judiciary etc. are adapted from the other countries, but the soul, values and principles which guide them are certainly Bharatiya in nature. As the book edited by the judges of the Supreme Court (Courts of India – Past to Present Supreme Court of India, 2016, p. 15) articulated, “The Constitution that ultimately emerged after two years of debate and discussion, was distinctly Indian in form, features and character; but part of its very Indianness was its openness to the outside world, its cosmopolitanism and its willingness to engage with other traditions and other streams of thought, without submerging itself in their tides. The Constitution represented the best of India”.
It further adds, “Indeed, one of those aspects of India was its plurality and its diversity, which stemmed from a long history of encounters, engagement and ultimately, assimilation.… The Constitution was an instance of lawmaking in a 5000-year old history of lawmakers and lawgivers, who thought, argued and debated with one another in a dialogue across centuries of time, and forests, rivers, and mountains of space. The Constitution did not erase, but rather, drew upon and was influenced by all those traditions. So, when we think of the history of law and legal institutions in India, we must not think of 1949 as a tabula rasa, upon which the Constitution was written. We must think of it as a beautiful palimpsest, upon which the Constitution is but the last – albeit profoundly important – piece of calligraphy”.
However, global Christian missionaries are known to distort anything that is not linked with Jesus or Christianity. Particularly, in Bharat very strategically and systematically, these evangelical forces portray Christian nations as advanced countries and non-Christian’s nations as poor and uncivilised. Their preachings often draw conclusions that Hindus are inferior and uncivilised, influencing the subconscious psyche of the Church followers. As church pastors hold a very respectable position in the lives of their followers, they believe their statements are true, without bothering to verify or reasoning with logic and become the carriers and amplifiers of the same message to their near and dear to solidify their Christian faith.
Earlier, PD Sunder Rao, the Director of Bible Open University of India (BOUI) in Vishakapatnam as well as the National President of AITCC (All India True Christian Council) called the Indian national flag a ‘piece of cloth’. He questioned why people are saluting to a piece of cloth that has wheels and spokes. Further, he called singing of the National Anthem as ‘Braying of a Donkey’ and challenged police to arrest him. He also said that ‘people go mad at singing the National Anthem. He ordered his subordinates to make copies of this seditious speech (insulting the National flag) and circulate it all over India.
Supporters of PD Sunder Rao also called for a re-partition of Bharat, with one part going to the Christians.
Though these kinds of comments look silly and childish, these same comments are carried at Christian homes and their neighbourhood. Whenever these Christians find an opportunity, they propagate the same lines of Pastor to Hindus with a sense of Christian pride, making it tough for the common man to retaliate and burst the manufactured narrative.
