Verghese V Joseph –
Addressing a meeting of the Catholic farmers’ conference in southern Kerala state on Saturday, Mar Joseph Pamplany, Arch Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic church in Tellicherry district, touched a raw nerve among Christians across India when he stated that believers of the Church would help the ruling party in the Centre, the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to elect its first MP in Kerala if the prices of natural rubber were raised.
The low price of natural rubber and recurring animal incursions have made the lives of farmers in the state extremely difficult.
Natural rubber in Kerala is priced between ₹130 and ₹150 now and he wanted to Centre to hike it to ₹300 a kilogram.
Adding that there was no point in keeping the country’s ruling party away from the church, Arch Bishop Pamplany went on to mention, “The church has no aversion or untouchable attitude towards the BJP as it’s the ruling party of the country. If the BJP agrees to address the framers’ problems, we are ready to vote for BJP.”
Mar Joseph Pamplany, who was appointed Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Tellicherry last year in January, debated, “Is there any boundation that we can’t hold dialogue with the BJP? We normally won’t support any political party but at the same time, BJP is not untouchable for us. Be it the union or state government we will stand with those who support farmers.”
Highlighting the plight of rubber farmers is one thing but to offer an electoral trade-off is another thing. One way or the other this is bound pay rich political dividends for the BJP in the upcoming general elections in 2024.
Back in 2021, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF created history in Kerala by coming back to power for a second consecutive. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) put up an impressive show and bagged 62 of the 140 seats. The CPI, on the other hand, won in 17 seats, while the Congress and IUML ended up with 21 and 15 seats respectively. The BJP, on the other hand, did not manage to open its account in a state that it fought very hard.
The prelate’s statement has now given BJP, which is yet to open its innings in Kerala, a shot in the arm.
“The BJP has an upper hand in the face of growing scandals among sections of Kerala Christians. Apparently, some Christians (including some hierarchy and clergy) are warming up to the BJP. Everyone knows why!” feels Fr Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit Priest of the Gujarat province and a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist. He knows too well as he has observed communal strifes from close quarters for over three decades. He has had several run-ins with the ruling dispensation on this.
The church in Kerala has, most often than not, waded into controversies and those have further alienated the community.
Just last week, the Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the head of the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church, Cardinal George Alencherry, to quash seven criminal cases against him in connection with a controversial land deal in his archdiocese.
A division bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Dinesh Maheshwari on March 17 turned down the 77-year-old cardinal’s appeal paving the way for him to face trial in land deals he executed some five years ago in Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese in Kerala.
The decades-old controversy over offering the mode of celebrating Mass in Kerala is still fresh in the mind.
On 10 September, 2021, Joseph Kallarangatt, the Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala’s Pala town, warned Christian women of the threat of “narcotics jihad”, which according to him involved “jihadis” entrapping the women through drugs, thereby creating a growing rift between the Christian and Muslim community, much to the delight of BJP!
Cut to the present, another thing that one needs to keep in mind is that if Arch Bishop Pamplany’s observations do indeed have an effect on the Christian community, this will lead to further polarisation of communities in Kerala.
Another worrisome aspect is the decline in the growth of Christians in Kerala.
Hindus constitute 54.7% of the population of Kerala, followed by Muslims with 26.6% population and Christians at third with 18.4% population as per 2011 census.
According to a study, in 1901, Kerala’s Muslims constituted 17.5 percent while Christians were 14 percent. By 2011, the Christian population increased to 18.4 percent while the Muslim population reached 26.6 percent. Going by this trend, the Muslim population may reach 35 per cent by 2051 and the Christian population would be only half of that. The Hindu population was witnessing a declining trend of 68.5 per cent in 1901 to 54.7 percent by 2011 and may fall below 50 per cent by 2051.
Lack of adequate government support of protection, compared to other minority communities in the state, was a reason. In addition, the Christian community was also campaigning for social reforms like having only one of two children for quite some time, which has led to a decline in its numbers.
Baiting the BJP to open an account in Kerala is indeed a gamble. What if, despite the assurance, rubber for votes does not fructify?
To be fair to the church, could it be a case of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds?
Only time will tell.
What an absolute shame, if no less than a bishop betrays the congregation and the nation for money.