christian saints on coin versus hindu saints on coins

Appeal by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

Regd. No. 1540/I-634,12112002

Add: 8,Jayshree Siddhivinayak co.op.hsg.society. Shivajinagar, Thane(W) 400602

Email: pravakta@hindujagruti.org Telefax : 022 – 25478990 Website: www.hindujagruti.org

To,
Shri M. Prasad
Joint Secretary (Admn.) & Director of Public Grievances.
Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs,
Room No. 166-D, North Block, New Delhi.
Tel. 23094905 (Off.) Fax No. 23093422
e-mail:mprasad@nic.in

Dear Sir,

Sub: Request to stop production and distribution of coins which propagates and glorifies only Christian Religion.

Hindu Janajagruti Samiti is an NGO engaged in Nation building, educating people about Dharma and Dharmacharan (religion & righteousness), and awakening and uniting Hindus peacefully and through legal means. Kindly visit our website www.hindujagruti.org for further details.

We came across a five Rupee coin with one side embossed with Saint Sister Alphonsa birth centenary 1910-2009 and her photograph. After seeing this there is lot of unrest and people are protesting against this coin. We regret to state that Ministry of Finance GOI always neglects our rich Indian and Hindu culture,Hindu Dharma and Hindu Saints and purposely glorifies minority saints and symbols while producing currency and coins. Ministry of Finance had produced two Rupee coins with Christian cross for which there were lot of protests throughout India. Similarly you have produced a coin with one side embossed with Sister Alphonsa who is unknown to majority Indians and who might have been active during British rule in India doing conversions,miracles etc. This has hurt our sentiments and we have received lot of complaints in this matter.

In view of above you are requested to withdraw this disputed five rupee coin which glorifies only Christian Saint and purposely neglects Hindu Dharmagurus and Saints.

Kindly acknowledge the receipt of this letter and inform us the action taken in this matter at the earliest.

Thanking you ,

Yours Faithfully,

(S.G.VATKAR)
For Hindu Janajagruti Samiti
Mumbai

Idiosyncratic background of St Alphonsa

Annakutty alias Sr. Alphonsa became an orphan at a tender age. She lived under the nominal care of relatives until she entered the convent. In 1946, she died at the age of 36 years, after 20 years nun life within the four walls of the convent at Bharananganam, near Kottayam. At the age of 13 years, she had attempted to suicide.

According to the Church, her abortive attempt at suicide was to register her objection to marriage proposals brought by her guardians. Those aware of Kerala Christian family relations and the position of girl children in the pre-1960s could not believe this story. The truth is that girl children became dearer to Christian families from the 1960s with the emergence of nursing as a lucrative profession.

Even today, economically poor Catholic Christians of Kerala are using the profession of nun-hood as a shortcut to evade the liability of unbearable dowry. The choice of nun-hood is the last option of poverty-stricken Catholic families. If the girl child is not fit to get any job, parents find nun-hood as an alternative to dowry. No one can deny this bald truth. From this reality one can envisage the true cause of Annakutty’s [Alphonsa’s] suicide.

Whatever the secret behind her convent entry, her 20-year tenure in the convent was a miserable one. The authorities hated and ignored her; she didn’t even get decent accommodation. She was not provided with a coat, but slept on a mat made of pandanus leaf spread on the floor. Possibly her guardians didn’t paid sufficient alimony to the convent. The bedridden and rejected Sr. Alphonsa died due to paucity of proper treatment. The convent where she lodged had 88 nuns at the time of her death, but only ten nuns attended the funeral. This is the necessary number to carry the coffin to the burial ground.

Today, one who visits this convent can see a luxurious apartment attributed to Sr. Alphonsa as the quarters of her 20-year nun-hood! Don’t worry, this is an age of globalization and market economy, hence it is indispensable to have a good showroom for marketing a product. Sr. Alphonsa and her saint-hood is a product to be marketed to mint money.

Psychopath of frustrated nuns

Not only Sr. Alphonsa, others in the convent were equally ill-fated. The reaction of such lesser nuns poured out as psychopathy. Such nuns exalted Sr. Alphonsa with stories of miracles; the greedy church made it an opportunity of encashment. Thus Sr. Alphonsa came into the limelight; several miracles were attributed to her.

The Vatican started the beatification process on the basis of the news of a miraculous cure of a clubbed foot with her intervention. Her contribution to society was zero because of her ever-deteriorating health. Her attempted suicide made her cripple-footed. The paradox is that while she failed to cure her own foot, her divine intervention cures others. The psychopathy of browbeaten nuns became a blessing in disguise to the church in monetary terms.

Encashment of Virtuous Hindu psyche

For whom was Sr. Alphonsa raised to sainthood? Of the 60,57,427 [as per 2001 Census] Kerala Christians, only 40% [24,22,970] believe in the Catholic way of using saints as intermediaries between God and man. Other Christians pray to God without intermediaries.

Thus the target group of the Church is 1,76,94,062 virtuous Hindus who bow before all gods. The success story of Sr. Alphonsa strengthened Vatican Kerala ties. To the Vatican, Kerala became a secured recruiting place for clergy and nuns. And to the Kerala Church, liberal Hindu offerings before St. Alphonsa became a lucrative resource.

Demand for more saints

Kottayam is the Rome of India and Palai its Vatican. St. Alphonsa is stationed at Palai. The economic success of Palai through St. Alphonsa spread like wildfire throughout Kerala’s Catholic world. Thus the Church demand for more saints to cater to the demand of various parishes in need of money. Now souls of several dead are taken out from various cemeteries and paraded before the Pontiff to obtain space in the overcrowded galaxy of saints.

Souls in forefront of the queue include Fr. Kuriakose Elias of Koonammavu, near Cochin; Fr. Kunjachen Thevarparmbil, near Palai; Sr. Evuprasi of Trissur; etc. The Church is well aware of the weakness of Hindu psyche.

Source: Vijayvaani.com