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Five years ago, during a church mass in May 2018, soon after the declaration of Karnataka Assembly Election results, Harish Poonja, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, who had just won from Belthangady, walked into St Lawrence Cathedral church. The service was stopped midway to offer the politician a warm welcome and compliment him on his victory. Poonja, who received 98,000 votes, defeated Congress candidate and five-time MLA K Vasanth Bangera by a margin of nearly 23,000 votes.
As per some of the congregants who attended the mass, Harish while thanking them said he was sure that a majority of the church goers voted for him. The disruption of the sacrament was criticised by many within the church who held the view that that holy mass cannot be stopped under any circumstances once it starts. Also, some of them were concerned about the Church getting saffronised and were opposed to it.
For someone who still had memories of communal tensions the region experienced a decade ago, there was terrible irony in this public display of political affection. Several churches under Belthangady diocese had come under attack, like churches elsewhere in the state, between 2008 to 2011 by miscreants belonging to Sangh Parivar outfits. In 2011, Belthangady Bishop Lawrence Mukkuzhy, condemning the attack on St Alphonsa church, Kankanady in 2011, had called it a shameful act against the Constitution. In 2008, St George Church, Ujjire, which falls under the same diocese, also came under attack.
The Belthangady diocese was formed in 1999 as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tellicherry (Thalassery) to effectively address the needs of Syro-Malabar Catholics in three districts— Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Until then it was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Tellicherry. Currently, there are around 53 parishes and eight forane churches under the diocese.
The political leaning of the Catholics here, traditionally supporters of the Congress, began shifting to the BJP, even before the party was elected to power in the country for the second term in 2019. It was also the time when bishops and clergy in Kerala had started periodic statements in support of the BJP.
“The Thalassery diocese still holds sway over community members and clergy in Belthangady, who hail from Kerala. Whatever political influence Syro Malabar christians in Kerala are displaying now can also be seen here. The stand taken by bishops in Kerala would influence church goers here,” said T Varghese, a farmer and resident of Belthangady.
Syrian Catholics, Jacobites, Orthodox and Marthoma churches in Kerala all come under the umbrella of Syrian Christians. The largest among them are Syro-Malabar Catholics, who identify as an indigenous, Upper Caste group. Most of these communities believe their ancestors were Namboodiri brahmins who were converted to Christianity by St Thomas, who is said to have arrived in Kerala in 52 AD. The conversion of lowered caste Hindus happened in the 16th century (Portuguese missionaries) and 19th century (British missionaries).
As landlords in the feudal hierarchy along with ‘Upper’ Caste Nairs, Syrian Christians have acted as caste oppressors in the past and their racial and class privileges have made the interactions with other communities including Christians, Muslims and Hindus problematic, according to researchers. Historically, they were opposed to accomodating converted christians in their churches. All these factors have contributed to them developing a natural affinity to the Brahminical Sangh Parivar and the ideologies espoused by them.
When asked about the attacks against churches in 2008, community members who were supportive of the BJP said they happened due to misunderstandings and that the saffron party has compensated enough for this. “Those attacks were aimed at the evangelical churches, they were not aware of the difference between catholics and people behind those churches. Later, when they realised, they extended all support to the community. I personally know instances when the party provided financial help for the construction or renovation of churches. Isn’t that enough compensation?” asked a parishioner from Belthangady.
Evangelical churches are mostly known to work among lowered caste populations and Syrian Christians, who prides themselves of the Upper Caste identity have no basic conflict with the BJP, which is anti-conversion.
Consumption of beef is a touchy topic in Karnataka but as a delicacy it’s something Syro Malabar catholics cannot do without. Because of the risks involved, the cooking of beef in many catholic households is now done secretly. “We slaughter bulls secretly and distribute meat among our acquaintances. If they come to know (vigilante groups engaged in cow protection) it wouldn’t be easy to prove the slaughtered animal was not a cow. So we keep it secret,” said Lawrence, whose family migrated to the region 70 years ago.
But Lawrence doesn’t think it's a problem, “Why do we have to do everything in public? Survival is what we require. We have never stopped eating beef,” he said, adding that he has come across lynchings over cattle trade only in news reports.
The people here are farmers who depend on rubber and arecanut cultivation. They can be lured by politicians who offer a rubber price hike. Moreover, the diocese is in Karnataka, that too Dakshina Kannada, the stronghold of BJP. Survival is the primary need of any migrant farmer, so for them, coming to terms with BJP is justified,” said Varghese. A priest who was associated with the St Lawrence Cathedral church shared similar sentiments.
Community members whom TNM spoke to were happy with Poonja. “He Is young and vibrant and has initiated several development activities since he was elected. This cannot be forgotten during this election,” said Mary,* who works closely with the church. She said the clergy have been reminding the people unofficially about the development that has happened in the constituency. “Not in church or during the prayers but in closed circles. When the representatives of the parish take part in meetings priests used to discuss this. Most of these discussions are in support of developmental activities undertaken by Poonja,” she said.
While Belthangady diocese shows an open saffron influence, the Mangalore diocese, which is located in the same region, seems to have kept them at a distance. TNM met Florence Pinto, a 55-year-old regular church goer outside Milagres church under the Mangalore diocese after a mass. “Most of us are just interested in spiritual activities at the church and are against politics being mixed with it. Clergy might have either politics but that is not being projected to the parishioners. That is why they are clergy and not politicians. Also, we usually vote for a person from our community. So even this time our preference is JR Lobo (Congress candidate, Mangalore South constituency),” she said.
Anitha Sequera said that Roman Catholics in the Dakshina Kannada have always shown affinity to congress, and the situation has not changed. “Many of us haven’t forgotten church attacks. Such attacks continue to happen across India. Most of us are not in support of the BJP. Maybe, a minority are getting influenced, just because of their anti-Muslim stand,” she said.
Anitha however said Islamophobia is a factor that has brought the Hindu and Christian communities together, though Christians are not so hateful.
Milagres Church, Mangalore (Credit: Special Arrangement)
“In the prominent Christian management colleges here a friendship that develops between a Hindu and Christian from opposite sexes is not questioned. But the scenario would change if it’s with a Muslim. Even a section of progressive priests believe that Love Jihad exists. But this hasn’t largely affected the community’s politics like it happened in Kerala,” she said. An activist from Mangalore, who belongs to the catholic community, reflected the same opinion.
None of the bishops or catholic priests in Dakshina Kannada, unlike their counterparts in Kerala, have yet taken a stand on electoral support to BJP or have made public statements supportive of Sangh Parivar hatred against Muslims.
Frequent statements by Church leaders in Kerala criticising Muslims over the bogey of ‘Love Jihad’ and ‘Narcotic Jihad’ the recent overture by Mar Joseph Pamplany, bishop of Thalassery diocese, who went to the extent of offering an MP to BJP from the state if rubber prices are hiked to Rs 300 per kg are all seen as a reflection of their ideological shift.
In an Easter day interview to The New Indian Express, Cardinal Mar Alencherry, major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a good leader and said Christians don't feel insecure in Kerala. These statements have not gone without criticism from within the church. In the last week of April 2023, while speaking to Sathyadeepam, a weekly published by Ernakulam-Angamaly diocese, two former bishops - Leo Cornelius and Thomas Menamparampil - criticised the church leadership in Kerala for garnering political support for BJP without realising the situation in the country.
According to the United Christians Forum, more than 500 churches were attacked across India by Sangh Parivar extremists in 2021. The figure was more than 200 in 2022. Violence against Christian Adivasis was witnessed in Chattisgarh in December 2022. On May 6, 2023, the Catholic Bishops Council of India (CBCI) had to issue a statement expressing deep concern after churches came under attack in Manipur.
On April 24, 2023, while the Prime Minister was in Kerala, he held a closed door meeting with . Mar George Alencherry, Jacobite Church bishop Joseph Mar Gregorius, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church head Cardinal Clemis, Latin Catholic archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, Malankara Orthodox Church head Baselios Mar Thomas Mathews III, Knanaya Catholic Archbishop Mathew Moolakkatt, Chaldean Church head Mar Awgin, and Knanaya Jacobite archbishop Severios Kuriakose.
People receiving Prime Minister Modi (Credit: BJP Keralam)
Among them, Bishop Joseph Kalathiparambil said he handed over a letter to Modi seeking his immediate intervention over the atrocities unleashed against Christians across the country.
A section of Catholics for long had been building ideological bonds with exponents of Hindutva politics because of the hatred they have for Muslims. While they were dismissed as fringe elements by the Christian intelligentsia until a few years ago and disparagingly labelled ‘Chrisanghis’ for pursuing the agenda of the Sangh Parivar, many of them are now ready to self-identify under the label.
Apart from Catholics, Jacobites and Orthodox church leadership too has shown interest in the BJP. A spokesperson for the Jacobite church, Bishop Kuriakose Mar Theophilos, had earlier declared that they have no untouchability to any party and they will cast votes for those who stand by them. In September 2018, two Jacobite priests and a deacon joined the BJP.
Syro Malabar, Syro Malankara and Latin Catholics are major rites that come under the Catholic Church in the state. Other protestant churches in the state are Jacobite Syrians, Orthodox Syrians, Mar Thoma Syrians, Church of South India (CSI), Pentecost, Church of God, Brethren and so on. As per the 2011 census, 61% of Christians in Kerala are catholics. Among the catholics in the state, more than 60% are Syro Malabar catholics. “It is the second largest Eastern Catholic Church after the Ukrainian Church and the largest of the Saint Thomas Christian (Nazrani) denominations with 4.6 million believers,” as per the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council website. There are 47 bishops, 8547 priests under the church.
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's head Baselios Marthoma Mathews III met PM Narendra Modi (Credit: Facebook/Chandra Prakash)
Meanwhile, with an eye on Christian votes, a new political outfit National Progressive Party (NPP) was launched in Kerala. VV Augustine, former National Minority Commission member is the chairman and Johny Nelloor, who recently resigned from Kerala Congress, is the working chairman of the party.
There are other groups like the Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action (CASA), which calls itself independent but works in tandem with the Catholic church and has the patronage of some prominent priests. CASA activists have been linked to BJP’s Minority Morcha and have taken lead roles in emotive campaigns against ‘Love Jihad’ and Halal food that are entrenched in Islamophobia.