In a strongly worded message delivered during Good Friday observances, senior Christian leaders in Kerala slammed the recent attacks on Christian communities in Manipur and other parts of North India. They also questioned the shortage of effective intervention by authorities to stop the violence and voiced fears in regards to the erosion of India’s secular fabric.
Archbishop Thomas J. Netto of the influential Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram said Christians were being subjected to “cruelty and violence by dark forces” in Manipur and North India, but there was no firm motion taken by those in power.
“There is a must take steps against such evil powers,” Archbishop Netto stated after a Way of the Cross procession in Thiruvananthapuram attended by multiple Christian denominations. He called on all churches to unite and clearly express their stance against divisive forces looking for to sow fear amongst minorities.
The archbishop also urged Christians to know the “mystery” behind the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and fight against “narrow-minded approaches” like this laws. His strong remarks assume significance as they arrive just weeks ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections within the state.
Echoing similar concerns, Bishop Thomas Tharayil of the Syro-Malabar Church said any try to “terrorise” people within the name of faith or race have to be firmly resisted. He reminded that the Indian Constitution guarantees all minorities the best to live without fear.
“If even one individual, be it the weakest in a nation, lives in fear, then we must always have the option to contemplate it the failure of your complete nation,” Bishop Tharayil said through the Good Friday prayers.
Fr Jacob G Palackappilly, deputy secretary general of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, invoked the haunting memories of the Nazi persecution of Jews to drive home the risks of staying silent. “When they persecuted Jews in Nazi Germany, others did nothing. We don’t want that to occur in India,” he said soberly.
Fr Palackappilly also issued a stark warning that the Christian community’s very existence in India can be under threat if secularism was undermined. “The Christians in Germany helped the Nazis at the moment. Then they persecuted the Christians. If the secular fabric of India is lost, we will even stop to exist,” he added.
The stinging criticism from two of Kerala’s most outstanding Churches – the Latin Church with its 15-lakh strong laity having a decisive say in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, and the Syro-Malabar Church with 35 lakh members wielding major influence in areas like Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Changanassery and Thalassery – comes as a significant setback for the BJP’s outreach efforts towards the Christian community within the state.
The party’s national leadership had been attempting to woo the sizable Christian voter base, especially in potential gains just like the Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur Lok Sabha seats. However, the firm stance taken by the Latin and Syro-Malabar churches against the Modi government’s perceived bias and lack of motion to guard minority rights has deflated the BJP’s hopes.
Responding to the Church leaders’ remarks, Union Minister V. Muraleedharan insisted minorities didn’t face any threat from the Modi regime. However, BJP state president K. Surendran blamed the CPI(M) and Congress for “propaganda” during election season.
In an apparent bid to counter the scathing criticism from influential Church leaders over minority rights, a pro-BJP media outlet has selectively quoted the Bishop of Calicut diocese in an try to portray the Christian community’s stand in a more favourable light.
The report by JanamOnline got here after BJP Kerala Poll in-Charge Prakash Javadekar, together with the NDA candidate for Kozhikode MT Ramesh and other party leaders, met Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal to convey Easter greetings on March 31.
According to JanamOnline, Bishop Chakkalakal “firmly stated” that the federal government would desist from implementing the CAA if it caused harm to anyone. He was also quoted as explaining that the CAA doesn’t deport residents but merely provides an identity, adding that the Modi government mustn’t be faulted for enacting the law.
“The Modi government is undertaking several commendable initiatives. I actually have never sensed that minorities are unsafe under Modi regime. While some untoward incidents are happening within the country, they could not necessarily be with the knowledge of senior leaders and could possibly be isolated incidents,” the Bishop is quoted as saying.
However, sources inside the Catholic Church have raised doubts over the veracity of JanamOnline’s coverage, dismissing it as a BJP mouthpiece’s spin attempt.
“The whole coverage is suspicious because it is published by JanamOnline which is a BJP mouthpiece. The fact stays that many bishops in Kerala have strongly spoken against the ruling regime during their Good Friday sermons. Since the Calicut bishop was addressing the media immediately after the visit of Prakash Javadekar, he probably played protected together with his words,” said a Catholic Priest who wished to stay anonymous as a result of security concerns.
The purported remarks attributed to Bishop Chakkalakal appear to contradict the strongly worded stance taken by other senior Church figures like Archbishop Thomas J Netto and Bishop Thomas Tharayil against the Modi government’s policies and lack of motion over attacks on Christians.
As Kerala’s influential Christian community emerges as a key think about the upcoming elections, the BJP appears keen to downplay the criticism from Church leaders through selective media narratives in a state that has thus far remained largely impervious to the Sangh Parivar’s brand of politics. In the meantime, secular voices demanding protection of minority rights remain defiant and the upcoming elections will test if the BJP’s gambit to win over the Christian voter base in Kerala has any takers amidst the growing fears of a weakening secular democracy.
 In a strongly worded message delivered during Good Friday observances, senior Christian leaders in Kerala slammed the recent attacks on Christian communities in...){kind=link}