The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
(BMC), Mumbai’s municipal government, has started to tear down 729
crosses, ostensibly for the purpose of urban renewal.
Mgr Oswald
Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, firmly condemned the action, calling it
“unjust and illegal”.
He added that legal action against the
municipality could not be excluded.
Two days earlier, state authorities had reassured concerned citizens that religious structures built before 1964 would be protected.
However, the BMC went ahead anyway, tearing down the cross at Hathi
Baug, Love Lane, in Mazgaon (Mumbai).
Two more crosses were demolished
on D’Lima Street in Byculla. The demolition squad even broke the plaque
marking the date of construction (1936) of one of them.
On Saturday, the BMC had issued 48-hour demolition
notices for a number of ‘illegal’ religious structures in 24
administrative wards.
Residents in Hathi Baug and Byculla complained
however that their cross was “legal” and “of great significance even to non-Christians in the area.
According to the BMC, demolitions are part of an urban
renewal plan to remove “illegal” places of worship built after 1964.
The plan aims at widening roads and improving traffic and needs land
earmarked for public use.
Following peaceful protests by Christian residents,
the BMC said that structures built before 1964 would not be touched.
And
yet, it proceeded to tear down crosses built before the cut-off date as
indicated in the papers in the possession of local Christians.
A meeting was arranged at Cross Maidan, South Mumbai, with Christian residents and Card Oswald Gracias.
Speaking to AsiaNews, Mgr Gracias expressed
“sadness and anger” at the “unfair act against the law abiding and
peaceful Christian community.”
The municipal government, he said, “has
done an unlawful act, especially since we were assured that our crosses
would not be demolished. Last night I personally visited the site where
the cross has stood since 1936, and it was heart wrenching to see the
helplessness of the people, elderly women, youngsters, children,
families; all so helplessly standing amidst the rubble”.
For many, the
cross was a token of protection.
First, it “was very insensitive for the BMC to paste
the [demolition] notices on the crosses,” the prelate said.
It “was
completely wrong. It was a defilement of our religious symbol.” What is
more, the notices ordered “cross owners/trustees to furnish details of
its legality (i.e. built before 1964) within 48 hours.”
Second, “in 2003, all the relevant documentation was
submitted to the BMC. It is not the fault of the Christian community if
the BMC could not locate/retrieve their files.”
“These crosses were built by individual families and
mostly on private property, but over the years because of many reasons,
including road widening, they found themselves on public land,” the
archbishop said.
“I myself saw the plaque at Hathi Baug, Love Lane, in
Mazgaon”. It says that “the cross was erected in 1936,” whilst, “The
Supreme Court ruled that 1964 was the cut-off date.”
“The cross at Hathi Baug, Love Lane, in Mazgaon, stood
at the end of a road, and was in no way obstructing traffic. We are
seriously contemplation taking the BMC to court for breaking the
crosses.”
The BMC has justified its action, saying that the
religious structures prevent the widening of the roads and improve
traffic.
For the municipality, the structures are on land earmarked for
public services.
“The cross is the symbol of our faith,” Mgr Gracias
said. “These crosses were built as a token of gratitude to God for
protecting people.” They are also a sign of a desire “to seek God’s
continued blessings”. For the prelate, they “inspire hope among all
people,” and are a “symbol of God that is part of the cultural and
religious heritage of the great city of Mumbai.”
Furthermore, “I too was
born and brought up in this beautiful city and these crosses are an
intrinsic part of who we are.”
“The chief minister, who is currently out of Mumbai,
phoned me this morning, and apologised for the demolition of the
crosses. He stated that instructions were given that the crosses should
not be demolished. I will be meeting with him on
his return to the city and will demand that the BMC rebuild the crosses
at the same site. Ironically, even as the Chief Minister was apologising to me, news came of another cross being demolished at Dadar. This bring the tally to four.”
“The religious sentiments of the community have been
seriously grieved, wounded and this is not acceptable,” Archbishop
Gracias said.
For members of the local section of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the municipality’s action is illegal.
Ashish Shelar, a lawyer and a member of the BMC
council for the BJP, said he would move to stop further demolitions.
In
the standing committee, he called for a stop to the demolition of
religious structures because it violates a Supreme Court ruling.