Metropolitan Yuhanon Meletius criticized PM Modi's Christmas feast in Delhi. Over 200 prominent Christian citizens issued a press note highlighting Christian persecution under Modi’s regime, urging community leaders not to whitewash this record by inviting him
Published Dec 25, 2024 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 25, 2024 | 12:00 PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends Christmas celebrations organized by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India at the CBCI Centre in New Delhi. (Photo Credit: ANI)
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi worships Infant Jesus in Delhi alongside Christian bishops on the occasion of Christmas, offering messages of love and admiration for Christian missionaries, a stark contrast emerges in Kerala.
In Palakkad, the crib of Infant Jesus was vandalised, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders who disrupted Christmas celebrations at a government school have been arrested.
The teachings of Jesus Christ celebrate love, harmony and brotherhood. We must unite to uphold harmony and confront challenges like violence and disruptions in society. pic.twitter.com/nS10yeShiX
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 24, 2024
Modi’s social media platforms are filled with warm tributes to Jesus and praises for Christian missionaries and their contributions to society.
Yet, in Kerala, a prominent figure like Metropolitan Yuhanon Meletius of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church shared his displeasure on Facebook: “There, they honour bishops and revere the crib. Here, they destroy the cribs.”
His words allude to the recent disruptions of Christmas celebrations in Kerala, leading to political tension for the BJP.
The contradiction between Modi’s Christian outreach and the local disruptions in Kerala raises one key question: Is the prime minister’s effort to connect with the Christian community not widely known among the Sangh members in Kerala?
Metropolitan Yuhanon Meletius mocked PM Modi’s Christmas feast in Delhi. Over 200 prominent Christian citizens released a press note listing the instances of persecution of Christians under the Modi regime, and calling for leaders of the community not to whitewash this record by inviting Modi to a Christmas reception.
There were some Christian leaders who had a different approach to this concern, even though they worried about the disruption of Christmas celebrations in Palakkad.
Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, clarified that Metropolitan Yuhanon Meletius’s comments were his personal opinion, not an official statement from the diocese.
He too, however, expressed concern over the vandalism of Christmas cribs.
Modi at CBCI Christmas Celebrations in Delhi
The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), Andrews Thazhath, addressed the press in Thrissur and said: “We invite India’s PM Modi, not the BJP leader, to our events and welcome him. We have also raised our concerns with him, and there is no politics involved. During Christmas celebration, the prime minister assured me that the central government would formulate inclusive policies and promised to address the concerns we raised. I also brought up the issue of fringe groups. Our Constitution guarantees the freedom to practice religion and celebrate.”
CM Pinarayi Vijayan strongly condemned the Sangh Parivar’s attacks on Christmas celebrations, describing them as a stain on Kerala’s cultural fabric.
In a Facebook post extending Christmas greetings, he criticised the incidents as blatant acts of cultural intolerance and urged society to reject such divisive actions.
CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam however did not care to be politically correct, and said Prime Minister Modi’s Christmas celebrations were “political drama.”
Congress leaders shared similar views, and explained that the meeting between Cardinal George Jacob Koovakkad and Sonia Gandhi was initiated at the cardinal’s request.
K. Surendran and other BJP leaders with Thamarassery Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil at Bishop House(Photo credit: K surendran FB images)
As part of its outreach efforts, the BJP in Kerala continued its annual tradition of visiting bishops during the Christmas season, under an initiative called “Sneha Yatra” (Love Journey).
This year, BJP state president K. Surendran visited Thamarassery Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil and presented him a Christmas cake and a Christmas card featuring Modi, instead of Jesus Christ or Santa Claus.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Surendran claimed that there was a conspiracy behind the recent incidents in Palakkad. He said action should be taken against the vandals.
He described the events as a conspiracy to damage the BJP’s relationship with Christians.
Surendran said his party had a clear stance, and pointed out that when former BJP Wayanad district president K. Madhu referred to Christian priests protesting against wildlife attacks as “terrorists in cassocks,” the party had promptly removed him from his position.
Joy Mathew, a rubber planter from Kottayam, said, “After reaching an all-time high of ₹247 per kg on August 9, rubber prices fell sharply to ₹187 per kg by October. During the last Lok Sabha elections, Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany of the Thalassery Archdiocese declared that Kerala would vote for the BJP if the party promised to raise the price of natural rubber to ₹300 per kg, up from the average ₹146 per kg at that time. Look what has happened to the price of rubber – these are mere political gimmicks. Christians in Kerala are worried; we are following developments in Manipur, and never in my memory has a sacred crib ever been destroyed in Kerala.”
Three-fourths of the 1.2 million small and medium rubber farmers in Kerala are Catholic. They collectively cultivate over half a million hectares in the hilly regions. The livelihoods of nearly 800,000 families depend on rubber prices, making it a critical issue across the state.
Kerala produces 600,000 tonnes of natural rubber annually, and the fluctuating price of rubber is a concern not just in the Malabar highlands but also in constituencies like Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Chalakudy.
The BJP’s attempt to gain support in Pathanamthitta by fielding Anil Antony as a candidate was unsuccessful.
During this time, Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil openly supported Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany, who backed the BJP.
image- https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X5KJceqW2Wk/maxresdefault.jpg
Meanwhile, in the Thrissur constituency, Suresh Gopi promised to donate ₹10 lakh worth of gold to the church if he won the Lok Sabha seat then.
Prior to his daughter’s wedding in January, Suresh Gopi and his family also gifted a golden crown to the Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral in Thrissur.
Later, a controversy erupted over the crown, with claims that it was not pure gold, but an alloy with copper.
It was alleged that the “golden crown” was no more than a trick on the Christians. Despite the controversy, he won the Thrissur constituency, which has a Christian voter base of around 30%.
The BJP has been actively involved in the Munambam Waqf land dispute, with protests primarily led by the local Christian community.
Despite the busy schedule surrounding the Palakkad bypolls campaign, BJP candidate P.K. Krishnadas visited Munambam, while MP Suresh Gopi also made an appearance at the site.
In response, CPI’s mouthpiece, Janayugam, criticised the BJP and Sangh Parivar for allegedly attempting to create divisions on religious lines in the Munambam land issue.
Last year, the Catholica sabha, the official publication of the Thrissur Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, expressed strong disapproval of the central government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for their perceived indifference in handling the Manipur riots.
A front-page article titled “We Will Not Forget Manipur” voiced the community’s concerns.
Last January, Minister Saji Cherian criticised the bishops who met Prime Minister Modi on Christmas Day, accusing them of enjoying wine and cake at the event without a care for the violence in Manipur.
One VHP leader who did not wish to be named asked, in conversation with South First: “What is the need for Christmas celebrations in government schools? It is a religious festival. If such events are allowed, then why not also celebrate Sreekrishna Jayanti? After all, it marks the birth of a deity worshipped by more people in Kerala than Jesus.”
Secularism is defined in India as equal distance of the state from all religions, and it is true that government schools must ideally not be sites of religious celebrations; however, in the interest of education and fostering religious knowledge, schools might conduct events to familiarise students with the significance of different celebrations.
BJP Palakkad president K.M. Haridas told South First that the recent incidents in the district were orchestrated by opposition parties who fear that the Christian community would ally with the BJP in Kerala. Asked of the VHP’s involvement, Haridas said: “BJP need not ask for an explanation from VHP. They are independent.”
Sabari, an RSS leader from Palakkad, said, “VHP mainly fought against religious conversions in the North. Their presence in Palakkad is minor. The Sangh and BJP are more closely linked to Hindu Ikyavedi (a movement to unite Hindus) than to VHP.”
South First reached out to the Christian Association and the Alliance For Social Change (CASA), both of which have aligned with the BJP in the past, in matters like the controversial “love jihad”; no response was received.
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas)
