By Thomas Scaria
Mangaluru, Sept. 23, 2021: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has debunked a bishop’s allegation that some groups are using fake love and narcotics to trap Catholic youth in the southern Indian state.
The chief minister on September 22 presented data from the crime department to prove the allegations of Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of Palai were “utterly baseless” as they have no documentary evidence.
Bishop Kallarangatt had urged his people to become vigilant on some Muslim groups who use “Love Jihad and Narcotic Jihad” to trap Christian youths, especially women. He made the remarks September 8 while addressing families at the Marian shrine in Kuravilangad, ancient Christian center in central Kerala.
The prelate’s statements evoked heated debates among Christian Churches and political parties, with some favoring and other opposing the claims.
The chief minister said love and drugs have no connection with any particular religion and there have been no evidence about any conversions taking place with them.
Presenting figures, he said 72 of the 100 people from Kerala who joined Islamic State (IS) were not recruited from Kerala, but from other countries where they migrated for jobs, and they were all Muslims, except one.
Among the remaining 28 who were lured into IS ideology from Kerala, only five were from other religions and got converted to Islam, he said, adding even they did not hint any forcible conversions.
Regarding narcotic jihad, he said the data does not support any link between drugs trade and religion. Among 5,422 people arrested in Kerala in 2020 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS Act), around 49.8 percent were Hindus, 34.4 percent were Muslims, and remaining 15.8 percent Christians.
“This shows drugs trade were not carried out on the basis of religion,” the chief minister asserted.
“When the comment and allegations are baseless, those responsible should review their stand,” said the chief minister who, however hinted that the government will not demand an apology from the bishop.
Vijayan had earlier endorsed the bishop saying religious heads can alert their people against negative influences.
Sabu Thomas, a Syro Malabar Catholic living in Bengaluru, Karnataka, supports the bishop’s comments about love jihad and narcotic jihad. The phenomenon “is not limited to Kerala, but universal,” he told Matters India September 23.
The bishop has all the rights to caution his people about the dangers posed, asserted Thomas, a senior life coach and a member of the Church activities.
“He did not mention any particular community as a whole, but only referred to a small section of that community,” Thomas explained, adding that even Muslims as a community does not endorse extremists in their community.
According to him, the chief minister and other politicians are only trying to take “political mileage” and one should not take them seriously.
Thomas did not support Vijayan’s claim. According to him, the kingpins are often international drug lords and those being caught are just pushers or victims.
Thomas Vettickal, a philanthropist and writer, however supports the chief minister and said the prelate has to apologize for bringing “deliberate attempt to disrupt the harmony” in society by issuing “irresponsible statements without validity.”
“It was an untimely and unwarranted comment from a religious head, when the people of Kerala always enjoyed a culture of living together in peace,” Vettickal told Matters India.
Congratulations to the Chief Minister for countering the bishop’s subjective opinion with objective facts and figures. We have had enough of Catholic bishops making ludicrous statements, especially with political overtones, that are an embarrassment to the community.
The Catholic Church authorities – Cardinals, Arch/bishops and priests – must learn a lesson from the Kerala CM who challenged the bishop of Pala with data evidences.
The Church authorities think that their religious studies of Philosophy, Theology and other academic degrees they acquire, empower them to speak anything, write anything and do anything. The dioceses, institutions, personnel still are “far behind professionalism”. So, it is right to say that they live in “fools’ paradise”.