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Journalism of Courage
In a bid to make inroads in Kerala politics, the BJP has been making attempts to reach out to the influential Christian community in the state. The saffron party has however not been able to take up the community’s deep concerns over the issue of the proposed buffer zone or eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) in the state so far.
Protests have broken out across Kerala since early last month after the state government made public a satellite survey report on areas that are to fall within the proposed one-kilometre buffer zone around 22 wildlife sanctuaries and parks in the state. The satellite survey was conducted following the Supreme Court’s June 2022 order.
The Catholic Church in Kerala, particularly its largest segment Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, has taken the lead in organising farmers’ protests against the proposed buffer zone in various parts of the state.
The Church had earlier identified various livelihood matters concerning the farmers, including buffer zone in forest tracts and increased incidence of wild life attacks on villages there, as major issues for its intervention in the coming days. Last year, it floated a coordination committee of various farmer outfits, called Kerala Karshaka Athijeevana (Survival) Samithi, which is now spearheading the Church-organised agitation against the buffer zone and the forest department’s satellite survey, which allegedly did not cover the entire gamut of human settlements in the proposed zone.
The ruling CPI(M), which initially faced the farmers’ ire on the issue, has sent its cadre to the forest-bordering villages to assuage their concerns and dispel their fears.
The principal Opposition Congress has also held several rounds of conventions in these villages across the state since early last month in a move to champion the affected farmers’ cause.
The BJP, however, has still not been able to connect with the Church or the protesters at the grassroots level over the buffer zone issue, although the party had last month announced that it would stand by the farmers. Over a month since the satellite survey row, the BJP has now announced that it will kick off a padayatra on January 22 at Angel Valley village near Erumeli, a base camp for Sabarimala pilgrims, on the issue.
A senior BJP leader, who did not want to be named, said the party has been missing in protests against the buffer zone so far mainly due to its “disconnect” with the Christian community at the grassroots level. “Our party’s engagement with the Churches in Kerala has by and large remained confined to high levels with party leaders meeting the bishops at times. At the ground level, our cadre are yet to win over the Christian community. A rapport between the two sides has still not happened. In many villages affected by the buffer zone threat, Christian institutions are more visible, which has also left an impression in our circles that let the Church take care of the issue. Besides, CPI(M) and Congress are traditionally strong in these affected areas, where BJP is organisationally rather weak,’’ he said.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India’s laity commission secretary V C Sebastian said that being the party ruling the Centre the BJP should have played a “pro-farmers role” on the issue. “The stand of the central government in this regard is very crucial when it comes to the Supreme Court and the empowered committee. If the BJP was keen to win the support of the Christian community in Kerala, it would have stood by the farmers in the buffer zone and would have prevailed upon the central government. Unfortunately, we see a double standard on the part of BJP on the issue,’’ he said.
It is another matter that the BJP has never lost an opportunity to promptly make an outreach to the Church on fraught and polarising issues like “love jihad” and “Popular Front of India (PFI)’s threat”.
Last year, when Catholic bishop Joseph Kallarangatt made a claim about the “narcotic jihad threat”, the BJP extended its support to the beleaguered bishop. Similarly, when ex-Kerala Congress leader P C George had sparked a row by asking non-Muslims to shun restaurants run by the Muslim community, the BJP had rallied behind him.
The Kerala BJP’s chief K Surendran had earlier told The Indian Express, “A natural alignment between Hindus and Christians would happen in Kerala, when the BJP emerges stronger. They would repose faith in the party. We are gradually increasing our base in Christian areas.”
