Elizabeth Nongbri

Respected Church Elders,

Please accept my humble gratitude for having afforded me an opportunity to meet with you.

As a brief introduction, I hold the appointment of National Executive Member, Minority Morcha BJP, Meghalaya and Incharge Mizoram. My husband is a Veteran Colonel from the Assam Regt. My late father John Matthews was from Norfolk in UK, and my late Mother a Khasi from Meghalaya. I too have been raised in the Christian Faith.

I am aware of the strong influence that the Church has over social life in Meghalaya. The Church and its associated bodies have only done well for the society. Today, The Church has made tremendous progress in the fields of Education, Social Reform, Health Care, Women’s’ Empowerment and Charity. In every sphere, the Church by its selfless service, has brought progressive changes in society, all for the common good.

There are a number of misconceptions about the BJP, the main one being that they are a Hindu Party, and will not allow other religions to flourish in the country. I wish to dispel these misconceptions in a few brief points.

Religion

• Christianity is the most widely practised religion in the world and is about 2000 years old. Hinduism is at least 5000 years old.
• 21 nations in the world have officially declared Christianity as their State religion. 27 others have officially adopted Islam. A slim majority of countries have no official or preferred religion. We are probably the only nation to have declared in our constitution, that we are secular.
• A country’s official religion is primarily a legacy of its history. Hinduism which has been our historical legacy, has been trampled, victimised & desecrated under 1000 years of subjugation by different religious dispensations. The horrors of this victimization on society, culture and religion, are too numerous to recall.
• After independence, the political class continued to suppress the Hindus in order to gain votes and remain in power. So now, by reviving Hinduism the BJP is only rectifying a great historical wrong. Is that not right? Restoring the pride and preservation of ancient culture, is as vital as progressive development.
• Some elements in political parties find the easy way of mobilizing people by appealing to their religious sentiments. This is much easier when the population is large and are relatively poor. However, the BJP has strongly been advocating only secular values. They always emphasize on sabkasaath, sabkavikas and sabkavishwas – inclusive growth and development for all.
• By BJP guidelines everyone is free to practice their religion. However, forcible conversion through coercion, financial inducements, educational institutions & matrimony will not be tolerated.
• BJP is an inclusive party and does not suppress anyone on basis of religion.

Visible Progress and Improvements in the Country in Eight Years of BJP Governance

There is a tangible improvement in the lives of the common citizen which is very clearly visible.

These arewide ranging, covering all aspects of our life, and enumerating them here would detract from the main purpose of my message. I am however, attaching a leaflet separately your perusal.

Fringe Elements and Social Media

• There will always be extreme elements on the fringes of society to discredit the good work done by a progressive Govt.
• It is very easy to influence public opinion by false narratives spread on social media.
• There is a strong lobby of paid media being effectively employed by vested foreign and national bodies, to deliberately denigrate and undermine our elected Govt.
• The effectiveness of AI is being adversely manipulated. It is impossible for the lay- person to identify fake news/ videos. People need to be very cautious of negative influencers and perception managers.
• There are sections of the society whose livelihood is threatened by stoppage of corrupt practices. They will only highlight wrongdoings of fringe elements and magnify it.
• A number of extremist organisations based outside the country, are paid huge sums of money and resources to start agitations against democratically passed laws, to bring discredit, unrest and harm the Nation. There are some prominent celebrities who are similarly employed.
• The youth are restive. Like all of their generation the world over, they want quick money & instant gratification. They are reluctant to invest time on hard work or education. The party is aware of their need. With the emphasis on incentives for start-ups, entrepreneurs and make in India projects, the Govt is encouraging them to be job creators rather than job seekers.
• Our Hon’ble  PM leads a progressive party, a party for the future, intent only on development; transparent functioning; emphasis on work culture; use of technology; responsibility & accountability.
• The Big Picture and Faith
• Finally, I would make a humble appeal to all respected Church Elders. Please look at the big picture that the BJP has in mind for our Nation.
• Have faith. The party is working for all of us jointly. Corruption has been deeply rooted in our psyche by a millennia of subjugation. It cannot be eradicated in a few short years. But it is happening, and the change is gradually visible.
• We hope to build a strong  prosperous Nation, where every citizen lives without fear, is free to exercise his choice of religion, place of stay, employment, freedom to express his thoughts, a roof over their heads, quality education and a life of honour and dignity.
• The Indian today, is proud of the country he belongs to.

 I humbly request you to spread these facts in each parish.

Service to Nation, is service to God.

(Smt Elizabeth Nongbri, is a National Executive Member of Minority Morcha BJP. The letter written by her to various Church elders of NE India is reproduced here)

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