By Dr Olav Albuquerque

THE chairman of the Tamil Nadu Minorities Commission, S Peter Alphonse, said on December 12, 2022 at Chennai during the 27th National Convention of the Indian Catholic Press Association( ICPA) that he had read out an article of the winner of the Fr Louis Careno Award, John Dayal, in Parliament several decades ago, which said that the RSS was the largest recipient of foreign donations. This had evoked consternation because at that time Atal Behari Vajpayee was the prime minister from 1998 to 2004. LK Advani was the deputy prime minister from 2002 to 2004 when Alphonse read out John Dayal’s article in Parliament. The convention was held on December 10 to coincide with the International Human Rights Day.
The president, Ignatius Gonsalves, said “Raise your words. Not voice. It is rain that grows flowers. Not thunder.” He said present-day television debates were nothing but sound and fury, signifying nothing. This is why journalists had to put up an existential fight, he said.
John Dayal, who received the Fr Louis Careno Award from the ICPAm was seated in front and later thanked Alphonse for mentioning this. Apart from being a Congress legislator in Tamil Nadu, Alphonse was also a former Congress MP. John Dayal was the former editor of the Delhi edition of “Mid-Day” after its launch. The ICPA award for the best reportage on scheduled castes and scheduled tribes was given to Jesuit priest Fr Irudhaya Jothi, for his bold writings on the downtrodden, while writer-activist Sister Ganga Rawat was given the Swami Devanand Chakkungal Award for her bold writings in the Hindi language.

FIGHTING AGAINST INJUSTICE
THESE awards were instituted in the year 2000 and have been regularly bestowed every year on activist-writers for fighting against injustice. A notable feature of these awards is one cannot apply for them but must be recommended by those who have recognized the impact created in society by these articles.
Fr I Jothi raised slogans, when he was called to the dais to deliver his acceptance speech, to show how he was a grassroots activist who fought against injustice. He said even the Intelligence Bureau and other state agencies kept a watch on his movements because of his well-known activism and fight against exploitation of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. He is presently in the north-east. He said his activism has also caused consternation to his superiors.

BIGGEST THREAT
VETERAN journalist and chairman of the Asian College of Journalism at Chennai, Sasi Kumar, said journalism was facing its biggest threat of all times, which was evidenced by the news debates on television which were nothing short of gladiatorial shows where one protagonist is pitted against another to titillate people and grab eyeballs.
He urged journalists not to peddle propaganda as news. He also warned about the “post-truth culture” in which lies are repeated countless times until the public believes these lies. “An informed citizenry makes for a better democracy because today the Constitution is slowly being eroded. In such challenging times, journalism itself is facing the biggest challenge of all times,” he said.
Another dignitary who spoke at the award function was Justice K Chandru who reportedly disposed of 96,000 cases during a tenure of just six-and-a- half years as a judge of the Madras high court. He reportedly told advocates not to address him as “Lordship” and refused to accept an orderly as part of his staff when he was a high court judge. When he retired, he immediately returned his official car and returned home on the metro.
Alphonse said after he read the article of John Dayal in Parliament, Sonia Gandhi summoned him to ask for a copy. The Tamil Nadu Minorities Commission was inaugurated through a government order in 1989 under the then DMK government headed by the late chief minister M Karunanidhi. An act was passed to make it a statutory body in 2010.
The 27th Convention of the ICPA took place between December 10 and 12, 2022 during which several speeches were delivered and ICPA members from all over the country gathered at Chennai. The president of the ICPA, Ignatius Gonsavles, was re-elected for a three-year term with the secretary, Fr Suresh Mathew, a Capuchin friar, also being re-elected. Sr Tessy Jacob was elected as the vice-president, whereas Fr Joe Erupakkatt took over as the Treasurer from Fr Joby Mathew.

FIXING EVIDENCE
THE ICPA has issued a press statement on December 15, that a report of the Massachusetts-based digital forensic agency Arsenal Consulting, has revealed the evidence used to arrest the frail and ailing Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy after labeling him a traitor was concocted.
The ICPA press release quoted the report to say the digital evidence was planted on the ailing priest’s computer’s hard drive and also on the electronic devices of Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling, the alleged accomplices of Fr Stan Swamy. “The same hackers who targeted the priest were the ones who launched a cyber attack against Wilson and Gadling,” the press release alleged. This nefarious connection between the hackers and those who wanted to incarcerate the Jesuit priest was pointed out by the cyber security company Sentinel One earlier,” the press statement added.
Fr Stan Swamy died in the custody of the authorities even while arguments to release him on bail were dragging on in the Bombay high court.