Solidarity is an important aspect for connecting people together. Solidarity leads to “commitment to the common good and participation by all.”166 In India the disparity between rich and poor is high. The economically disadvantaged section of people needs the help of the socially and economically advantaged. Without solidarity these poor people will not advance. It is an essential element to bring people into unity. “Solidarity requires both a radical commitment to the dignity of each human person and the dignity of the one human family.”167 Solidarity calls for a total commitment. Pope John Paul II said, “Solidarity is not a vague compassion but rather it is a
164 Christopher P. Vogt, “Fostering A Catholic Commitment to the Common Good: An Approach Rooted in Virtue Ethics,” Theological Studies 68 (2007), 400.
165 Ibid., 399.
166 Clarke E. Cochran, “The Common Good and Healthcare Policy,” Health Progress 80, no. 3 (1999): 41.
167 Meghan J. Clark, “Anatomy of a Social Virtue: Solidarity and Corresponding Vices,” Political
firm and preserving determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of each and every individual, because we are all really responsible for all.”168 An awareness of solidarity is needed in tribal society. The principle of solidarity not only applies to some wealthy people but it applies to all. Lisa Cahill argues that people living in developed nations have a responsibility to take care of people living in poor nations.169 We are relational beings and we need each other for human flourishing. Solidarity as a virtue calls for the attentiveness and prompt response to those who are in need. Further, “solidarity has to do with understanding the interconnections that exist between oppression and privilege, between the rich and the poor, the oppressed and the oppressors.”170 Besides this awareness of the sinful state of the world, solidarity as a virtue demands the structural change to replace violence with the new loving society. In addition, “solidary demands that the restructure of society be reformed in such a way that this situation of interdependence is transformed into a morally positive relationship that respects the human dignity of all.”171
In today’s world, oppression is everywhere, both in developed and underdeveloped places. My experience in northeast India shows that exploitation such as oppression, discrimination, injustice, violation of human rights, and inequalities is happening frequently among the poor people and especially among those who are migrants, victims of conflict and displacement. The poor and marginalized people’s voice often goes unheard. For instance, in India the caste system is an inherent part of Indian culture. And very often people in the lower castes go through an
168 Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis,38, http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-
ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30121987_sollicitudo-rei-socialis.html
169 Lisa Sowle Cahill, “Global Health and Catholic Social Commitment,” Health Progress 88, no. 3 (2007): 55.
170 Vogt, “Fostering a Catholic Commitment to the Common Good,” 402.
inhuman experience such as extreme poverty, malnutrition, lack of healthcare, education, and housing. It is truly horrifying to see them going through inhuman suffering for no reason. For example, women, because of the dowry system, face a good deal of social pressure from the patriarchal society. There are countless ethical issues. My concern is that the leaders of church and society view those problems as normal. Their faith and action are something to be reflected upon. I would argue that faith without action is morally wrong.
A liberationist perspective argues that
Solidarity as an activity engaged alongside the oppressed is inseparable from the idea of solidarity as a process of knowing. One does not first come to know the truth of solidarity and then act upon it, but rather one comes to know the true meaning of solidarity only by first acting. This liberationist insight is important for our understanding of solidarity as a virtue. It explains why we cannot understand solidarity to be exclusively intellectual; the process of coming to know how human beings should be interdependent cannot stand independently of acting alongside the vulnerable and developing feelings of concern for them.172
The demands of solidarity may look unspecified in action and practices for many people but its social character is clear. Hollenbach argues “Solidarity is not only a virtue to be enacted by individual persons one at a time. It must be expressed in the economic, cultural, political and religious institutions that shape society. Solidarity is a virtue of communities as well as individuals.”173 The problem in NER cannot be solved without solidarity. The Christians leaders need to be aware that overall development can take place through solidarity. Pope Paul VI in Populorum Progressio states, “There can be no progress toward complete development of individuals without development of all humanity in the spirit of
172 Ibid., 404.
173 David Hollenbach, The Common Good and Christian Ethics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002) 405.
solidarity.”174 Pope John Paul II expressed a similar idea, “true development must be achieved within the framework of solidarity and freedom.”175 I find this a very important insight for human flourishing of the tribals of NER.