Justice & the gospel [Being Indian & Christian #10]
Reflections on the story of a minor wrongfully sentenced and imprisoned for 25 years
Hi friends,
I have been reflecting on the theme of justice and our response to it over the past 2 weeks. The murder of Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed confronted me with the question of how to respond when we face injustice.
Christianity often does not have clear cut easy answers to difficult questions. The Biblical response to difficult questions comes in the form of two or more truths that need to be held in tension. The Biblical response to the question of injustice is a case in point. How do we respond to gross injustice in the world?
I have also received some helpful feedback about how I can improve these writings of mine. Thank you to those who take the time to give feedback. I find it really helpful.
Blog Post of the Week
In 1994, Narayan Chetanram Chaudhary was arrested with two others for the murder of 7 people. Within 4 years, a trial court in Pune convicted and sentenced all 3 of them to capital punishment. Narayan's sentence was then confirmed by the Bombay High Court in 1999, and then the Supreme Court of India also upheld the death sentence. Narayan's review petition to the Supreme Court's judgement also was denied and the sentence was upheld. What is interesting is that after spending 25 years on death row and having his case heard at least a minimum of 4 times in the various courts of the country, Narayan is released in 2023. What was the reason for this release?
Useful links
The Man who got free after 25 years
As I have been sharing over the past few times, I am again going to recommend the podcast 3 Things by the Indian Express. They are the ones who shared the story of Narayan Chetanram Chaudhary.
The Moral Challenge while reporting
Here’s an interesting article which appeared in The Hindu newspaper a couple of days ago. Do try and read it if you can. Here’s a link but it’s paywalled.
‘Can you help us?’ The moral challenge while reporting
Let Justice Roll — Building Bridges, Pursuing Justice
I’ve always enjoyed the Word and World magazine from the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). In the latest issue, they reflect on the idea of justice through different articles. Here’s an interesting introduction to the issue.
Let Justice Roll -- IFES Word and World Issue 9 Race and Justice
That’s it for this week folks! See you next week!
Cheers,
Caleb