Author: Dr C. I. Issac
Publication: Organiser
Date: October 24, 2004
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=47&page=35
The present socio-political condition
of Kerala compelled once its former Chief Minister, Shri A. K. Anthony,
to accept certain realities on the economic front. In the reading of the
former Chief Minister, the religious minorities are more organised politically
and also as an economic force in the state than anywhere else in the country.
One of the factors that contributes to this state of affairs is the remittances
received from the Gulf countries.
The reason behind the incidents
like 'Marad genocide' was a result of the 'acquired' collective bargaining
power (vote bank) of the religious minorities. In the former Chief Minister's
own words, "My personal feeling is that such bargaining power may lead
to an imbalance in the economic status of the majority and the minority
communities. There is already a feeling among the majority community that
minority communities are securing most of what is due to them through collective
bargaining. This should not be allowed." Whatever may be the wisdom behind
this recognition, no doubt, it points to the burning realities.
On the very day of the above disclosure
by the Chief Minister, the leadership of the organised religions as well
as the pseudo secularists started to attack tooth and nail the statement
of Chief Minister. It ultimately ended with the recent dethroning of the
Chief Minister by a most favoured Christian, Oommen Chandy. On behalf of
minorities they began to argue that the minorities gained nothing in an
out-of-the-way manner and if they got anything, it was the legitimate right
guaranteed by the Constitution. The pro-minority leadership including the
Left parties and a faction of the Congress pose a serious threat to the
state government. No doubt, the objective behind their political drama
is the appeasement of the organised minority vote bank that constitutes
45 per cent of the total population.
It is interesting to see that the
minorities in Kerala, particularly the Christians, have objected to any
governmental attempt at meaningful social control over the educational
institutions in this state since the days of Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyyar
(the 40s of the last century), the Diwan of princely state of Travancore,
to the days of Shri Achuta Menon, Chief Minister of Kerala in the 70s of
the last century. Before the muscle power of the organised minority religions
of Kerala, all such efforts turned as futile on the part of the successive
governments. Now they are using the same muscle power in the case of self-financing
of professional colleges. But it is paradoxical to see that the Marxist
party is cynical to Chief Minister's statement on the minorities' organised
bargaining strategy. What is the logic behind the Marxist´s foul
play?
Is it the same Christian minority
leadership that sabotaged the first elected communist ministry of 1957
through their notorious liberation struggle of 1958? Long before it, the
same Christian forces set fire to the famous Shasta Temple of Sabari Hills
and later attempted to occupy the land by attempting to plant a cross in
the holy garden of the temple. The fertile Malayattoor Hills near the birthplace
of Jagatguru Shankaracharya were occupied to construct a church initially
by planting a cross. The organised Hindu forces defused the foul stratagem
of the Catholics to occupy a Hindu temple at Matrumala near Kottayam, about
three decades back. Crosses in several streets of Kerala still continue
to serve as stumbling blocks to its progress. The Christians, particularly
the Catholics of Kerala, are zealous in occupying the PWD roadsides by
planting a cross and subsequently constructing chapels. The 'cross cultivation'
of this minority´s muscle power is not merely satisfied with the
roadsides but has shifted its attention to revenue lands and forestlands.
Kanjikuzhi is a busy junction in
Kottayam, a district headquarters town, where two chapels of different
Christian denomination are creating traffic congestion and accidents. In
the same town, within the district collectorate compound a church is functioning
smoothly at the cost of development of the concerned area. Likewise, the
cross as well as chapels stand as 'stumbling blocks' to human development
in various towns like Piravom, Ernakulam, Aluva, Mallappally, Calicut,
Alleppey, Kanjirappally, Thriuvella, Changancherry, etc. In Kerala there
are several cross- junctions, which are bearing the burden of the sin of
the muscle power of the Christians. Is this not minority obstinacy?
Including the Marad seashore, where
the recent Hindu genocide took place, there are several unauthorised mosques
which have been constructed in the last two decades. In Changanacheery,
a municipal town in the Kottayam district, the Muslim religious hierarchy
of Puthoor Palli (a mosque) forcibly occupied a public stadium and a road
with impunity on acquiring political power through the successive coalition
regimes. The same mosque authorities forcibly occupied the land of a nearby
government school too. The district revenue authorities, including the
District Collector, remained as passive spectators before the Muslim muscle
power by not knowing what to do. Three years ago, at Pathnamthitta, a district
headquarters town, as part of the anniversary of the demolition of the
'shameful structure at Ayodhya', some Muslim goons looted and set fire
to non-Muslim business establishments. The culprits of this crime are still
living in the same place as respectful citizens of Bharat. All the above-mentioned
are a few episodes in the long sceptical existence of the minorities in
Kerala protected under the special umbrella (minority rights) of our Constitution.
The minorities in Kerala are, nowadays,
politically and religiously an organised force. So, they can very easily
sabotage the UN norms regarding the identification of minorities in the
state. As per the above charter, minorities should be a category that constitutes
a population of below 10 per cent of the respective state's population.
Even in USA in certain states the Blacks are not included in the category
of minorities. If the UN norms are strictly implemented here, none of the
present minority communities would fall under the purview of the special
privileges granted to minorities.
In the 40s of the last century,
40 per cent of the total land of the state was thick forestland. Now the
forest area in the state has fallen to 10 per cent. It happened so because
of the organised effort by the Christian Catholic church through the stratagem
of planting the cross along the forestlands. The Catholic church openly
interfered to protect the forest encroachers' interests. Father Vadakkan,
a Catholic priest became the Messiah of the forest encroachers with the
blessings of the church hierarchy. Nobody can forget the Gandhian style
of agitation staged by this priest in the Churili- Keerithode forest region
of Idduki district to desist government effort at eviction of unlawful
occupants from the forestland. This practice continued through years and
now has reached the Mathikettan forests. The recent attempt by the state
government to evict the unlawful occupants from the said forestland was
countered by the church alongwith the Marxist companion, Shri P.J. Joseph,
the man who dishonoured Sarasvati Svandanam recital in the Education Ministers'
conference held at Delhi some five years ago. On the other hand, if a landless
Vanavasi was to make an effort to occupy a piece of land in the forest
area of Kerala, what would be the politico-church reaction of Kerala? The
recent incidents in Muthanga forest show that immediately after the occupation
of the forestland by the Vanavasis, the ruling government indiscriminately/cruelly
used its machinery to oust the poor unorganised Hindus. Earlier the media
of the state protrayed it as an encroachment of the forestlands and as
a danger to ecology.
Is the land reform drama of Kerala
staged during the days of the first communist ministry and continued by
the subsequent ministries a result of the conspiracy hatched to impoverish
the Hindu community? Let us examine the socio-political background of the
ministers who were at the helm of land reforms. In order to save the landlords
belonging to the minority community, the church intervened to allow use
of excess land to continue by the minority by including relaxation clauses
for the plantation lands/estates. Now with mounting minority pressure,
the government is making amendments to the old land reform act to save
those Christians and Muslim landlords who later converted their surplus
land into cashew plantations by giving estate status to cashew-cultivated
lands. This attempt is termed as a passing episode in the highly communalised
and politicised society. In short, the coconut plantations of the Hindus
did not come under the purview of the estate when drafting the land reforms.
Hence the entire land of temples became surplus land and the deity of the
temple became the landlord/janmi. At the same time the land owned by the
churches was not included under purview of land reforms. All these events
in the yesteryears are unforgettable chapters in the Hindu history of Kerala.
The foreign funding for religious
propagation and proselytism received over the years and predominance in
the political scenario made the minorities economically secure and they
resulted in getting an upper hand in the field of education business than
the Hindu majority. During 2000-1 alone Kerala received Rs 360 crores as
foreign contribution. Nearly 90 per cent of this went into Christian hands.
On the other hand, Muslims received such contributions through hawala transactions.
Recently the police unearthed a hawala transaction to the tune of Rs 350
crores. Such unnoticed transactions may take place by more than ten to
fifty times. In 2002-03 the bank deposit in Kerala crossed Rs 59,399 crores.
The share of Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) was Rs 28,696 crores. But the
source of the remaining bank deposit of Rs 30,703 crores is a bit mysterious.
How a state, that is industrially and agriculturally poor, can contribute
such a big sum to the banks? No doubt, the foreign contributions either
through a proper channel or through a hawala source is the villain of the
piece. All these things are happening in the state only because of the
organised strength and collective bargaining power of the minorities.
(The author is Head of the PG Department
of History, CMS College, Kottayam, Kerala and can be contacted at Chavanickamannil,
Vadavathoor P.O, Kottayam, Kerala 686 010. E-mail: ciissac@sancharnet.in
Visit: www.christiansofkerala.com)
