Archbishop of Mumbai Highlights India’s Economic Disparities

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Mumbai, recently announced his fears over the widening gap between the rich and poor of India. Gracias stated: "We have two sets of Indians. One section of the people is racing ahead while the majority are limping."

UN figures reveal that India is emerging as the fourth largest economy in the world, yet 35% of the Indian population lives on less than US$1 a day.

Social and economic disparities are a matter of global concern, they exist not just in India but throughout the globalised world in which we exist and as such require urgent theological praxis for Christians today.

T. K. Oommen, a prominent Indian sociologist, challenged the gathering of Bishops in India to answer, "on whose sides are we -- on the side of the flourishing few or the sinking many?"

This is a question that we as Christians must ask ourselves, if we are to affirm our faith in the God of the oppressed then surely the powers that be, the systems that allow for such grave disparities to persist on the global agenda need to be questioned. Cardinal Gracias' call for unity and transformation, in order to "make a difference in the life of the marginalised" must be heard and acted upon.