Indian Christians mourn passing away of Arafat

New Delhi – Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who was laid to rest on Nov. 12, 2004 has received praise from the Catholic community in India for his tireless struggle for peace in the Holy Land of Jerusalem.

The death of the towering Palestinian leader, whose career was mired in controversy, had saddened the Christians in India, according to John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union and the secretary general of the All India Christian Council (AICC).

“India and Indian Christians are saddened at the passing away of Yasser Arafat and are praying for him and for peace in the Holy Land,” said the veteran journalist and outspoken spokesman of the Christian community in a recent interview.

“Arafat was a frequent visitor to India, especially during the long period when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister,” John Dayal said. “Even during the rightwing rule of the Bharatiya Janata party, when the government became economically and militarily close to Israel, India continued to support his cause. India was in fact the first country ever to recognize the Palestine Liberation organization.”

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who honored Arafat’s death by calling him “a friend of India,” was among the long list of World leaders who paid tribute to Arafat and expressed their condolences to the Palestinian people.

Indian Christians, like their fellow Indians, remember Arafat as a symbol during the Cold War of the entire liberation struggles of the peoples of Asia and Africa against imperialism and neo–colonialism, Dayal said. “He fought for the liberation of his people,” Dayal shared, though admitting that “his struggle did not justify hijacking airplanes or other acts of terror.”

But regardless of Arafat’s past mistakes, Dayal said, “India Christians expressed solidarity towards Christian Palestinians several times, especially those of Bethlehem and Jerusalem and other symbolically important places.”

Meanwhile, a condolence message from the Vatican to Palestinian authorities said Pope John Paul II was praying "to the prince of peace that the star of harmony will soon shine on the Holy Land" so that Palestinians and Israelis "may live reconciled among themselves as two independent and sovereign states."

The message, according to AP, also said the pope "in this hour of sadness" was "particularly close" to Arafat's family, the authorities and the Palestinian people.

Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro–Valls said Arafat was "a leader of great charisma who loved his people and sought to guide them toward national independence."