A seminar was held in Bishop John Joseph’s home town Faisalabad to commemorate the first anniversary of his dramatic death and to reaffirm his fight against injustice and tyranny. FAIZA HASAN reports. Daily, The News Lahore, May 23rd 1999.

On 6th May 1998, Bishop John Joseph shot himself in front of the Sahiwal sessions court. For many, his act was the ultimate sacrifice: he was seen to have given up his life in protest against the discriminatory laws that have reduced Pakistan’s religious minorities to the status of second class citizen. His death was greeted with shock, disbelief and sorrow by many, especially the Christian community, for whom his departure created a vacuum that could never be filled. Consolation was sought in the belief that Bishop John Joseph’s dramatic act of self-annihilation would not be in vain. But a year later nothing has changed for the better as far as Pakistan’s religious minorities are concerned. Indeed, many of those mourning him and remembering his sacrifice a year later found themselves up against the might of the state in some parts of the Punjab where they were prevented from commemorating the event.

In Sahiwal, tensions ran particularly high as the Christians were prevented from holding a candle-lit vigil in front of the sessions court, for fear that the ceremony might lead to trouble. And a day before the Bishop’s death anniversary, another priest, Father Nadeem Francis, publicly announced that he would be the Next to sacrifice his life for his community.

But many cynically feel that even if the Father succeeds in carrying out his threat, his death is unlikely to make an impression on the authorities or change the lot of his community for the better.

To commemorate John Joseph and his fight against injustice three day long memorials were held throughout the country culminating with a seminar at Faisalabad, the Bishop’s home town.

On a day that promised to be hot and sweltering, it was surprising to see more than 500 people converging quietly in the early morning on Faisalabad from all parts of the country. The seminar, attended mostly by Christians also drew a fair number of participants from the mainstream communities, and was addressed by speakers from all religious backgrounds from all over Pakistan.

As we made our way towards the Bishop’s flower strewn grave, there was a palpable feeling of sorrow and loss amongst his flock who had lined up to pray for his soul.

His death has been a great loss to us, said Rubina Feroz, a Chemistry teacher who had made the three-hour long journey from Sahiwal. No one will ever be able to fill his shoes. He loved his people and he died for them. Despite the fact that he belonged to a well-off family he mixed with the people as if he was one of them. He listened to our problems and tried to find ways to help us.

Bishop John Joseph tried to build a bridge across the chasm of religious hate and mistrust. He understood that the minorities would never get their rights handed to them on a platter, but would have to work and sacrifice for it. And he realized that the only way they could fight bigotry and ignorance was with education and enlightenment.

To make the mainstream understand that the minorities are an essential part of them, he felt it was of the utmost importance to highlight their work and sacrifices towards the making of Pakistan. With this in mind, the speakers at the seminar focused on the Past, present and future of Pakistani minorities in their talks.

Speakers included Shahbaz Clement (Christian Liberation Front), Zubair Rana (journalist), Peter Jacob (National Commission for Justice and Peace), Gulzar Chaudhry (All Pakistan Trade Unions Federation), Farooq Tariq (Labour Party Pakistan), Mustafa Qureshi (actor), Johnson Michael (Bishop JohnÆs nephew) and Dr. Mehdi Hasan (columnist and educationist.)

Speech after fiery speech discussed how the minorities in Pakistan have been largely disregarded and pushed to the background, their achievements as Pakistani citizens largely ignored. By turning a blind eye to the plight and also the achievements of the minorities, the media and society have helped reduce them to the status of third class citizens.

Bishop Joseph worked for the identity and recognition of the Christian community, said Dr. Bonnie Mendes, a community leader. We should remember his work and carry on his mission. John Joseph told everyone that we are loyal Pakistanis who, along with the rest of the population, are working for the betterment of Pakistan. Blind laws and ordinances have also contributed to building walls of mistrust and misunderstanding. While remembering John Joseph, his battle against discriminatory laws like 295-B & C (the blasphemy laws), the separate electorate and 8th amendment were not forgotten.

The proposed 15th Amendment was particularly targeted along with the other discriminatory laws as a murder of Justice, as Tariq Farooq put it. He urged the people to go beyond the seminar to the streets to end this unjust system in memory of John Joseph. Speakers also reiterated their demands to end the system of separate electorate which effectively bars a large proportion of the country’s population from mainstream politics. An interesting question asked during the course of the proceedings was that if the separate were supposed to guarantee representation for the minorities, then why were they not also given proportionate representation in the Senate ?

The minority community has been crushed by injustice for so long that they now need to find more effective ways of making the government heed their demands. As some speakers suggested, it is now time for them to take their activism beyond their church walls out into the streets. The time for diplomacy is passed, the minorities have to find other non-violent ways of making their presence felt. The change can not be immediate, it will take time but the minorities need to prepare themselves by educating themselves and gaining economic and political emancipation, was a general consensus. The only way the minorities can become politically emancipated, suggested Fr. Arnold Heredia, is if Christian politicians join the main stream secular parties. It is only when Christian and other minority leaders have a say in major political parties will the political leaders sit up and take notice of their problems.

We are the white portion in the Pakistani flag, he reminded those present, if we go then the white portion goes and the Pakistani flag will be no more. His sentiments were echoed by Group Capt. Cecil Chaudhary, known for his courage and bravery during the 1965 war. I too am a Pakistani citizen, he said. This is our country too and we should also be recognized as a part of the nation. His statement was greeted with loud applause. In the end after a prayer by Bishop Joseph Coutts a resolution unanimously accepted by the hole gathering demanded equality for all, no religious discrimination, end to discriminatory laws, end to separate electorate and the blasphemy laws. Although it remains to be seen whether the Bishops successors will be able to fill his shoes, and complete his mission, this struggle is not restricted to them alone. It is a struggle against injustice, which to succeed, will have to involve all the people and nations of Pakistan.