Statements in ‘Vicharadhara’ irrelevant; no need to bring up past incidents: Archbishop Pamplany

Kannur: Mar Joseph Pamplany, metropolitan archbishop of Tellicherry Archdiocese, Syro-Malabar Church, on Tuesday said people have the maturity to understand the historical context of what is said in ‘Vicharadhara’ (Malayalam translation of the book ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ by RSS ideologue MS Golwalkar). He was reacting to critics of the alleged ‘BJP-Church alliance’ who quoted the book to claim that RSS sees Christians as enemies.

Earlier, Kerala minister Mohamed Riyas had held a press conference and read excerpts from the book and other publications of Sangh to argue that BJP was always against minority communities in the country... Pamplany, one of the four metropolitan archbishops who are second in command of the powerful Roman Catholic church of Kerala, was reacting to a question from a Mathrubhumi News representative regarding the controversy.

“I am not qualified to comment on ‘Vicharadhara’. But, there may be many people from several religions and ideologies who see Christians as adversaries. These are all things said in particular situations. The public is matured enough to understand those situations,” he told Mathrubhumi News.

Earlier, BJP leader MT Ramesh said the book was written in the "1940s and 1950s” and is “no longer valid.”

When mentioned that the critics pointed out the fate of Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who died in jail after being charged with UAPA by the NIA in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence, Pamplany said the Church had already expressed its opinion on the matter. “It was unfair to Christians. We have faced many such acts in the past. But they need not be brought into this. Some vested interests try to mix religion into this. This is a farmers’ issue… BJP’s ideology is not relevant here. We are talking to the Government of India,” he said.

Pamplany had recently courted controversy by stating that the BJP would get a Lok Sabha member from Kerala if it hiked the price of procured rubber to Rs 300 per kg. Majority of the settler farmers in the high ranges of the state who grow rubber belong to the Church. BJP, waiting for a moment to make inroads into Christian communities in the state, was quick to capitalise on the moment. Congress and CPM slammed the archbishop.

Following this, on Easter day, prime minister Narendra Modi and state BJP leaders visited several churches and held discussions with bishops. Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Church, Cardinal Mar George Alancherry stated that the Church has no enmity towards the BJP.

CPM leader and minister Riyas said people would recite sentences from ‘Vicharadhara’ that declares Christians as enemies of RSS. K Surendran, BJP state president, in reply to Riyas, accused him of having ties with banned organisation Popular Front of India.