When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with eight ecclesiastical heads, including Cardinal George Alencherry of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, in Kerala’s Kochi on April 25, it was touted as an event cementing the new-found bonhomie between Christian community in the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But a week later when Manipur, where a BJP-led government is in power, slided into chaos due to ethnic strife between non-tribal Meitei people and tribal Kukis, who are predominantly Christians, faultlines reappeared.
The attack on Christians and the alleged widespread targeting of churches belonging to multiple denominations in Manipur soon gave rise to criticism within the Catholic Church. Many felt that the Church was playing down the violence in Manipur and that their official response was safely worded in order not to upset the Union government.
When Shekinah News, a prominent Christian YouTube channel with 4.68 lakh subscribers, posed a question on Manipur violence to Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos, the President of Kerala Catholic Bishop Council, he replied: "Dragging religion into a conflict between two tribes should end. The Manipur government should intervene immediately to bring about a solution to the conflict.”
Joseph Pamplany, Bishop of Thalassery diocese, while acknowledging the violence against Christians, told the channel: “In Manipur the law and order is at stake. Many Christians were killed and churches were attacked. Not just Christians, other tribal communities were also attacked. Government should interfere immediately before this clash between two tribes turns communal. Nobody should use this for political gains,” said Pamplany, who had earlier courted controversies for statements supportive of BJP.
The guarded statements by these Church leaders also revealed an imperfect understanding of the complexities of the ethnic strife in Manipur. The conflict was never between two tribal communities as they said but the Meitei people, who belong to OBC and Scheduled Caste groups, and are seeking ST status and the Kukis, comprising many tribes, mostly live in the hills.
Their statements were similar in tone to one issued by Andrew Thazhath, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. The CBCI statement on May 5 said it was "deeply saddened by and shocked to note the resurgence of persecution of Christians in the peace loving state of Manipur.” It ended with a request to all bishops to spread the message to have prayer services in parishes for peace in Manipur. The KCBC statement issued by Bishop Cleemis on May 6, acknowledged the communal nature of violence in Manipur and asked the Union government to take steps to end the riots in Manipur. But these statements did not carry even a single word critical of the BJP government, which is in power in Manipur and the centre.
Priests and catholic nuns serving in Manipur, who had a better understanding of ground realities were however sharply critical of the BJP. A catholic nun from Kerala who had been working in Manipur for many years said: ¨The two communities had long-standing issues. But the recent surge in Hindutva activism inside the Meitei community is a major reason behind the recent happenings. The churches were burnt down intentionally. The influence of BJP in the community has widened the rift.”
The low-key responses by the Church drew criticism from organisations like the Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace, which wrote an open letter to the president of the CBCI. In the letter, the forum expressed its disappointment at the lukewarm response of the Church against incidents of violence against Christians ever since the Narendra Modi government came into power.
Cardinal Poola Anthony, Archbishop of Hyderabad and Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bengaluru Diocese, who earlier filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging widespread attacks against Christians across the country, also strongly condemned the Manipur violence. They have pointed out that Christians and Christian churches are being targeted.
Sathyadeepam, the mouthpiece of Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala in its editorial in the first week of May wrote, “Why did the Prime Minister, who was eloquent about the 'Kerala Story' during the Karnataka election tour, not utter a word about Manipur?¨¨Not only was the church leadership's response to the Manipur issue delayed, there was also criticism that it wasn’t strong and well-organised. Even some isolated official responses have seen a simplification of the problem as one of law and order breakdown,” it said.
Sathyadeepam had been a constant critic of the Church leadership in Kerala on various issues.
“The Church leadership is still reluctant to say openly that the Manipur conflict, planned by the Sangh Parivar, worsened to the point of turning genocidal because of the support extended by the BJP government,” the editorial alleged adding that one is not sure whether the Church leadership still maintains the position that Christians are safe across India.
“Those who claimed that the talks held by heads of Churches with the Prime Minister in Kochi were successful are bound to answer this,” it said.
A catholic priest from southern Kerala told TNM: “I have many times been targeted for opposing Sangh Parivar ideology. In this situation, the Church can either please an autocratic government or follow the spiritual preachings of Christ and be with the people. Obviously they have chosen the first option but this is not in the best interest of the Church. It’s in the best interest of some personal gain.”
In February 2023, more than 15,000 people from 100 churches of various denominations took part in a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The event was organised under the banner of United Christian Forum against the increasing hate and violence against Christians. According to a memorandum submitted by them, the situation is serious in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Jharkhand.
In April, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, disputed the figures presented in a clutch of petitions in the Supreme Court, alleging attacks on Christian churches and institutions calling them "exaggerated". In the same month, Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, in an interview said Christians are secure in Modi's India, sparking a controversy.
¨Priests who opted this life for the sake of spirituality will have to question the politics of the leadership. We cannot betray our people, our faith. We can consider these leaders only in the place of Judas Escariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ for 30 silver coins. Now it is many other things like safeguarding illegal assets, foreign funds or other personal gains. They should remember where this all would lead us to wouldn’t be good," said a Syro-Malabar catholic priest, who requested anonymity.
Fr Joshi Mayyattil, secretary, Kerala Catholic Bishops Council’s Bible Commission, in an article in Sathyadeepam wrote: “If anyone in the Church leadership is ready to join hands with the RSS and BJP for temporary gains, it can be assumed that they have lost memories of the history of Nazism and fascism.¨
Since 2020, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has been recommending to include India in the list of “countries of particular concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) for engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
¨India’s constitution establishes the nation as a secular, democratic republic, and Article 25 grants all individuals freedom of conscience, including the right to practise, profess, and propagate religion. Despite these secular principles, since 2014, the Indian government—led by the BJP—has facilitated and supported national and state-level policies that undermine religious freedom for minority groups,¨ said the USCIRF annual report released on May 1, 2023.