Church: Facade and reality

It's not for the first time that the Church has dabbled in politics. Funded from abroad, the Church in independent India has stalled several development projects to suit its agenda

Is Church in India a religious organisation wedded to spiritual upliftment of the laity, or an outfit with its own socio-political agenda? This issue has been brought to fore once again following a violent turn in the Church-led agitation, going on for nearly 140 days in Kerala against the construction of Vizhinjam International Sea Port, in Thiruvananthapuram.

It was fire and brimstone at Vizhinjam on November 27. The agitators, led by the Latin Catholic Church against the Rs 7,525 crore international sea port project in Thiruvananthapuram, allegedly vandalised the local police station and thrashed 27 police personnel, three of them seriously.

Police allege the violence was planned. "They (protesters) had done detailed planning. Two youths, wearing masks, had removed CCTV cameras installed at shops near the police station while another group had been patrolling the area on bikes before the attack." The inference is obvious - the mischief makers were professionals, and sure were not men of God.

It was no ordinary protest. It was violent and was orchestrated by the top hierarchy of the church. The police registered 30 cases of rioting against the protesters, including Thomas J. Netto, archbishop of the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, and 50 priests.

Ironically, the agitation has turned violent after the state government have had several rounds of talks with the church leaders and accepted all their six demands, except stalling the construction. No wonder, Pinarayi government views the protests as politically motivated.

The Vizhinjam port project was initiated in 2015 by the Oommen Chandy-led UDF (United Democratic Front) government. At that time, it was welcomed by the Latin Catholic Church then. The port, with planned 30 berths and designed to handle giant 'megamax container ships', is expected to emerge as a major shipping location in the country.

It's indeed an interesting battle, with a surprising line-up on either side. Arraigned against the Church in this battle are several Hindu organisations such as Nair Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and Vaikunda Swami Dharma Pracharana Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Left front, including CPM. The Church, in this slugfest, has the support of Congress, which had initiated the project, while in power. The Kerala High Court too has prodded the state government several times to take suitable measures to ensure that mischief makers don't impede the project.

It's not for the first time that the Church has dabbled in politics. In India, prior to independence, a large section of Church sided with the British. Funded from abroad, the Church in independent India, has stalled several development projects, to suit its agenda. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, which was developed in collaboration with Russia, also saw a lot of protests, hitting India at a time when its energy requirements were rapidly increasing.

The majority of those who took part in the protest marches against Kudankulam project were from various Catholic churches. The Idinthakarai St. Lourdes Church complex was repurposed into a protest camp for the plant. The power project was conceptualised as the largest Nuclear Power plant in India with a total capacity of 6000 MW. The construction of the plant began way back in 2002 but it was marred by constant agitation.

Similarly, the Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper factory in Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) was eventually shut down by the Tamil Nadu government in 2018 following protests by locals over purported environmental concerns caused by the plant.

The shutdown of the Sterlite Copper plant dealt a huge blow to the country's copper trade and India slipped from being one of the top five exporters of copper cathodes in 2017-2018 to becoming a net importer from 2018-2019. In this case too, Catholic priests and nuns led demonstrators calling for the factory's closure.

Last year, a protest erupted over the Bengaluru metro rail project. In this case, too, the protest was led by 'All Saints Church,' which had opposed the metro's construction under the pretext of conserving trees.

Likewise, the Church of England had impeded the Indian conglomerate Vedanta Group's proposed project to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills in Odisha. In 2009, agitation against the Niyamgiri bauxite mines was spearheaded by the local tribals who are supported by foreign NGOs and churches.

The Church hasn't hesitated to drop its spirituality mask, and come out brazenly with its temporal ambitions and in pursuit of its agenda. In Europe and elsewhere, the Church has a long chequered history of taking over the functions of the state and forcing its beliefs on common people and subjecting dissenters to inhuman indignities.

The British monarch is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and 26 bishops (Lords Spiritual) sit in the upper house of government, the House of Lords. These bishops are able to (and do) vote on legislation, make interventions, and lead prayers at the start of each day's business. The clergy outranks the office of the PM.

Emergence of Hitler prior to the Second World War as a devil in Europe, responsible for the genocide of Jews, was after all not in an ideological vacuum. Catholic aligned Centre Party in Germany had an alliance with the Nazis in March of 1933. The evil alliance gave Hitler his first majority, which in turn allowed him to assume dictatorial powers.

The Centre Party in Germany voted for the Enabling Act of 1933. This Act transferred overriding powers to the cabinet, of which Hitler was a member, and ended dependence on the parliament. Hitler, empowered by the Church turned into a devil, lusting for the blood of innocent Jews.

The Church, had surely contributed a big deal in creating an anti-Jew mindset over the centuries. In 1466, Catholic church Pope Paul ll forced Jews to race naked through the streets of Rome. They ran amid city's taunting shrieks and peals of laughter, while the 'Holy father' stood upon a richly ornamented balcony and laughed heartily.

As part of the Saturnalia carnival throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, rabbis of the ghetto in Rome were forced to wear clownish outfits and march through the city streets to the jeers of the crowd, pelted by a variety of missiles.

On December 25, 1881, Christian leaders whipped the Polish masses into anti-Semitic frenzies that led to riots across the country. In Warsaw, 12 Jews were brutally murdered, huge numbers maimed, and many Jewish women were raped. Two million Rubles worth of property was destroyed. Hitler was the end product of this centuries old assembly line.

Christianity came to India in the first century, with the arrival of St. Thomas. As was India's wont, none questioned the new alien faith or its followers. However, India experienced another facet of Christianity with the coming of missionaries to Malabar after Vasco da Gama found his way to Calicut in AD 1498. It took a serious turn in AD 1542 when Francis Xavier and his Jesuits arrived on the scene.

Francis Xavier led a massive campaign against Hindus in general, and Brahmins in particular. Temples were destroyed and churches came up in their place. The Catholic Church didn't spare even local Christians who didn't owe allegiance to Vatican.

According to Dr. B R Ambedkar, "The Portuguese who represented the Catholic Church in India were scandalized at the appearance of the Syrian Churches which they declared to be heathen temples scarcely disguised. The inquisitors of Goa discovered that they were heretics, and like a wolf on the fold, down came the delegates of the Pope upon the Syrian Churches".

What's happening in Kerala is a repeat of history. The Church, once entrenched in an area, has little use for secular institutions. It has no compunctions in appropriating the domain of other institutions, including the state or functions of legislature.

(Mr. Balbir Punj is a Former Member of Parliament and a Columnist. He can be reached at: [email protected])

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