File photo of Archbishop Joseph Pamplani of Thalassery Archdiocese of Syro-Malabar Church during the ceremony at Thalassery in Kannur. , Photo Credit: SK Mohan
Aan unusual press conference in t March, the Kerala leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) described his continued discussions with Christian groups as a natural phenomenon. He was quick to dismiss suggestions that Christians in Kerala are suspicious of the RSS’s intentions. But in the same breath, he stuck to his objections about Muslim organizations in the state.
after a few days, Archbishop Joseph Pamplani The Thalassery Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church created a political storm when it said that if the Center raised the price of natural rubber to ₹300, the farmers of Kerala would raise their hands to send a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Lok Sabha. Will mix Which is more than double the price now.
Despite the criticism, the bishop stuck to his point. The BJP, trying to woo Christians, tried to capitalize on his remarks by saying that it was a sign of the party’s growing acceptance among Christians. The Congress downplayed it as an emotional outburst, while the Left criticized the remark. Kerala Congress rival P.J. Joseph and Jose K. The Mani faction, which has its support base in the central Kerala rubber belt, saw the remarks as a reflection of the plantation community’s sentiments and an expression of dissatisfaction with the Centre’s apathy. sector, respectively. The numerically strong Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro Malabar Church pulled the bishop over the coals in its mouthpiece, SatyadeepamFor his short sightedness and for ignoring the bigger problems of the farmers settled in the hill districts.
Bishop’s statement may be an exaggeration considering the current rubber price and Kerala’s electoral history, but it cannot be denied that it has encouraged the BJP. Read the openly anti-Muslim positions by an ‘elite’ section of the Church in recent days, as well as flagging the hoax of ‘love jihad’, and meetings organized by some leaders of the Roman Catholic and Syrian Orthodox churches. The BJP, the party, would be more than happy to promote this notion. The BJP has been able to forge alliances with Kerala Congress renegade leaders like PC George and gain the trust of some anti-Muslim leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, with an eye on Catholic votes in parts of central Travancore.
It is a fact that the central leadership of the BJP is reaching out to Christians in Kerala as the state unit of the party lacks the standing and resources to influence the church leadership. Top party leaders realize that a pact with the community is the only way for them to break the electoral impasse in the state. But it is easier said than done.
The Syrian Jacobite Church, traditionally considered a pocket borough of the Left Front, reiterated its support for the CPI(M) in the wake of the state government’s move to bring a law to end its age-old standoff with the orthodox. confirmed from. church. This has naturally angered the conservative group, which is losing ground under a directionless Congress. Through talks and tacit alliances in central Travancore, the party is trying to wrest that space from the Congress.
The Kerala Congress parties, in alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left parties and the Congress-led United Fronts, are grappling with the loss of identity in their one-time strongholds with youth migrating to other countries in search of better livelihood options. The challenge is being faced. , The absence of strong leaders in these identity-driven parties is a matter of concern and the bleak future of the rubber economy is not helping them either.
Attacks on Christians elsewhere in India have also been a talking point in Kerala politics, and have put the BJP on the backfoot a bit. But the relief for the party is that many affluent and elite Christians are not deterred by it. To make it easier for the community, a new Christian-led political party is being talked about in the central Kerala region, on the example of the BJP, which, as discussed, also enjoys the implicit support of some church leaders. Will take
Though the Congress-led coalition would be a victim of such a move, it does not seem to have woken up to it. But the question is whether members of this class-ridden, politically divided community will be willing to toe the line of church leaders, for whom a compromise with the BJP is not an anathema.