Love and hate

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Love and hate

Saturday, 18 September 2021 | Pioneer

Love and hate

The influential Church is taking up cudgels against elements that seek to ‘divide’ people in Kerala

The virus of communal hatred has come out in the open in Kerala following the startling disclosure made by Mar Joseph Kallarangat, the Bishop of Pala Diocese. Addressing thousands of Catholic devotees who had gathered for a religious congregation at the ancient Marth Mariam Church in Kuravilangadu, the Bishop warned the laity about the dangers of “love jihad” and “narcotics jihad” that have done irreparable damage to the community. Thousands of Christian girls, many of them conservative Catholics, have fallen prey to these jihads over the last few years, said the Bishop. Elaborating on the modus operandi of the aggressors, the spiritual leader said that some elements of a particular religion were out in the open to liquidate the non-believers as part of their mission to establish a Caliphate in India. This is not the first time a statement like this is being made. The Christian community has been on a warpath against the State administration because of the alleged callousness of the police and other law-enforcing agencies towards their complaints that girls belonging to their sect were being targeted through the two “jihads” and are trafficked to west Asian nations.

There were many instances of Christians staging demonstrations across Kerala to highlight their plight which were ignored by the mainstream media and liberals, labelling these as part of the “Sangh Parivar agenda” to divide Christians and Muslims. While Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan feigned ignorance about “narcotics jihad”, Opposition leader VD Satheesan warned the Bishop from issuing irresponsible statements. But Bishop Kallarangat was joined by Bishops of the Changanassery and Irinjalakkuda dioceses, who too expressed their fear over the phenomenon haunting the laity. The Bishops’ statements come immediately after the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council announced anxiety over the depleting Christian population in the State due to factors like family planning and migration. The Church even announced incentives, including financial as well as educational allowances, to couples who raise more children. Kerala is known for communal amity and this should not be overturned as part of appeasement and vote bank politics. Most of the de-addiction centres in Kerala are under the Church’s management and they keep track of the number of persons getting addicted. Hence, the Bishops are speaking from a position of strength and the administration should listen seriously to what they say.

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