AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS HOLINESS, POPE FRANCIS, SERVUS SERVORUM DEI, REGARDING HALTING OF PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITIES OF SOME OF THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS DUE TO THE DHFL SCAM

Posted on 17/03/2021

His Holiness Pope Francis,

Apostolic Palace,

00120 Vatican City

This open letter is

Dedicated to

Graham Stuart Staines, a revered Christian Missionary, who along with his two sons, Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6), was burnt to death (23^rd January, 1999) in India by members of a Hindu fundamentalist group named Bajrang Dal, one of the branches of the present ruling party of the Indian Republic

“I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home.”

–Matthew (25:35)

“Saturn Devouring His Son” by Francisco Goya

Revered His Holiness, Servus Servorum Dei,

This is to request you to kindly look into the following matter related to India:

· DHFL (DEWAN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED) SCAM AT A GLANCE VIEW HERE ⤡

Due to this scam, the following Indian charitable Catholic societies (or otherwise non-Governmental Organizations), who have their money at the DHFL in a form of Fixed Deposits, are deprived of their dues and they cannot tithe to the physically challenged children; contribute to the poor’s education and nutrition; cannot continue with their media training especially in the context of worldwide pandemic. Thus the philanthropic activities of the following Catholic Institutes are stalled.

1. Marian Education Centre⤡

2. Chitrabani Society⤡

3. Howrah South Point⤡

4. Help a Poor Child, 120 M Deb Banerjee Road, Picnic Garden, Kolkata – 700039

5. Claretian Society⤡⤡, Claret Nivas, Barasat – Barrackpore Road, Sewli, post, Debpukur, Kolkata, West Bengal 700121

All the above institutes, as far as we know, are getting donations from the citizens of Germany, France, Switzerland and the UK.

Paradoxically enough, at the time of pandemic, loans over Rs 68k crore taken by some super-rich willful defaulters was arbitrarily written off by the Indian PSU Banks.

A. Loans over Rs 68k crore, including to Mehul Choksi’s firms, VIEW HERE⤡ (As reported on Apr 28, 2020 ©Ahmedabad Mirror)

B. Banks Technically Write Off Over Rs 68,000 Cr Loans, Choksi Among 50 Top Wilful Defaulters: RTI VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on Apr 28, 2020 ©News 18)

Thus I am reiterating St. Matthew (25:40), not to you (that is carrying coal to Newcastle), but addressing to our “welfare” state, i.e. India, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”; and also St. Luke (12:33), “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.”

On the contrary, controversial fund set up by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight Covid-19 is alleged as an opaque operation:

A. Coronavirus: Secrecy surrounds India PM Narendra Modi’s ‘$1bn’ Covid-19 fund VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 30 June 2020 ©BBC News)

B. PM-CARES Fund ‘Not a Public Authority’, Doesn’t Fall Under RTI Act: PMO VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 31st MAY, 2020 ©The Wire)

It is alleged that the scam has happened due to “political donations”⤡ —the invested money was siphoned by the political parties and the shadow economy of the so-called “underworld” in the context of crony and monopoly capitalism. It is important to note that:

1. BJP’s Declared Assets Increased By 627% in 10 Years: ADR Report VIEW HERE ⤡ (as reported on October 17 2017 © BloombergQuint)

2. BJP highest earner in FY19 at Rs 2,410 crore; TMC’s income spikes 3,628% VIEW HERE ⤡(as reported on January 16, 2020 © BusinessToday)

3. BJP’s assets increased by 22% in 2017-18, Congress’ down by 15%: ADR VIEW HERE ⤡ (as reported on 01 Aug 2019 © Economic Times)

One may find co-relation or one-to-one correspondence between the scam and three reports cited above. We cannot deploy Right To Information Act in the case of political parties as they are not, as claimed, “public authorities” ⤡. Thus, Indian political parties are committing sinful acts of concealing facts instead of confession. (cf. Proverbs 28:13: “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” )

For more details, you may browse this despite your busy schedule:

CONSEQUENCES OF CRONY AND MONOPOLY CAPITALISM IN INDIA: THE CASE OF DHFL SCAM⤡

We do not dare to send these documents to you after knowing your appreciable criticisms on the neo-liberal capitalist free market economy:

“The spiritual leader of the Catholic world recently criticised capitalism, suggested he found the free market system inadequate when it comes to meeting basic human needs.” VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 6 OCT 2020©TRT World )

We strongly agree with your logical entailment that the capitalism has been proven to be a failure by the consequences of COVID-19:

Pope Francis issues blistering rebuke of capitalism — and says the coronavirus pandemic proves ‘not everything can be resolved by market freedom’ VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on OCT 6, 2020 ©Business Insider)

All these reports have made us remember the Catholic Mission’s great contributions to the Latin American struggles against the capitalist autocracies.

This is an event of grave importance and to be intervened as a matter of utmost urgency. We, trying to be Good Samaritans (may be outsiders, though sympathetic to the causes of the Catholic Mission’s philanthropic activities) will remain obliged if your wise and venerable counsel kindly and urgently intervenes into the matter for the sake of poor, underprivileged, physically challenged and deprived children of West Bengal, India.

We are in a claustrophobic situation within the ‘Orwellian State’ and suffering from ‘Orwellian Nightmare’ due to illicit free flow of private capital and market fundamentalism.

Prayerfully Yours,

Dr. Debaprasad Bandyopadhyay

Mrs. Rupa Bandyopadhyay

Mr. Akhar Bandyopadhyay

ON BEHALF OF ALL ANGUISHED, AILING DHFL FD HOLDERS [USUAL DISCLAIMERS APPLY]