Is ministerial berth to Kannanthanam Alphons, a Syrian Christian from Kerala, Modi’s way of “appeasing” the Christian community in Kerala? Or is it that the BJP does not have competent Hindu leaders in God’s Own Country?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserves a pat on his back for the inducting an upright bureaucrat-turned politician Kannanthanam Alphons, a Syrian Christian from Kerala, as minister in his council of ministers. The Modi government that took office 39 months ago did not have a Christian representation till last Sunday. The glaring omission was compounded by a simulated “cultural nationalism” narrative and attacks on Churches in far-flung Hindi belt hamlets and raids on beef eaters by cow vigilantes. Since July over 100 crosses were mysteriously vandalized in Goa. The insidious strategy to undermine plurality pitted the liberal and progressive sections and the people of North-East, Goa and Kerala against the divisive agenda.
Is ministerial berth to Alphons, Modi’s way of “appeasing” the Christian community in Kerala? Or is it that the BJP does not have competent Hindu leaders in God’s Own Country? Informed sources said (ironical it may sound) that his rapport with Kerala Marxists also helped. Modi had difficulty in picking a credible BJP face from Kerala where its leadership is mired in corruption cases and turf wars, save suave and affable former union minister and the lone BJP MLA O. Rajagopal (but at 86, he was out of reckoning).The RSS had initially favoured light weight but ideologically grounded BJP state president Kummanem Rajasekheran , while former president V. Muraleedharan lobbied for himself, some others pushed for Suresh Gopi, actor-turned Rajya Sabha MP, but his being a nominated member came in the way.
Last two years, many interlocutors, Alphons included, were at work to bridge the trust deficit between the Church and BJP. A few parleys were held, the last being Amit Shah’s one-on-one meetings with the bishops including Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of Catholic Bishops Conference of India, in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuam in June. And as a quid pro quo Kannanthanam had to be rewarded. He was in the reckoning as Delhi Lt. Governor after the resignation of Najib Jung, but that did not fructify and a few months ago, the Modi government tried to install him as Chandigarh Administrator, but the Akalis vetoed the proposal.
He was elected in 2006 as an independent MLA with CPM support. Subsequently he tried to his luck with the Congress but AICC sharks were not suitably impressed but astute BJP strategists including Arun Jaitley found him useful. In Kerala, the RSS and CPM have been engaged in competitive political killings since last six decades and after the inauguration of Modi government in 2014, the RSS cadre acquired a new heft intensifying the hostility. Last month the BJP demanded President’s rule in the Kerala after the murder of an RSS worker by “CPM activists”. Unfortunately for the BJP, it lost the perception battle soon after the death of 69 kids in a UP hospital for want of oxygen and the killings of 36 persons in Haryana in the clashes between police and Dera supporters. BJP does not have any direct channel with Marxist honchos and Alphons could become a bridge between two ideological adversaries.
The BJP had critiqued Congress for “Muslim appeasement”, a misnomer though, as the minority community hardly benefited from the so called appeasement save a few symbolic gestures. The BJP has apparently resorted to a “carrot-and stick” policy vis-a-vis minorities; appeasement through tokenism while outsourcing sectarian agenda to foot soldiers of Bajrang Dal, VHP and various fly-by-night Senas. Even some ministers and MPs such as Sakshi Maharaj have betrayed divisive streak with impunity.
Muktar Abbas Naqvi, minister of state for minority affairs, was elevated to cabinet rank. Congress turncoat Najma Heptullah was also a cabinet minister till last year before being made a governor. Despite the presence of these high profile Muslim leaders in Modi government, Muslim men were lynched in Dadri, Alwar and Ballabhgarh for carrying beef.
What is worse, Naqvi, more loyal than the King, even denied the lynching of 55-year-old dairy farmer Pehlu Khan in Alwar (April 1), by gau rakshaks. “No such incident, as being reported, has taken place on the ground. The media reports which are being cited, the state government has already condemned,” Naqvi told Rajya Sabha with characteristic gusto when Madhusudan Mistry, Congress MP, raised the issue. The next day the Opposition kicked up a big ruckus over the minister’s denial and Naqvi did a quick U-turn confirming that “the incident in Alwar took place and an FIR has been registered against six persons”.
It remains to be seen if the induction of Alphons as minister of tourism, electronics and IT will allay the Christian misgivings. Like in Naqvi’s case, empowerment of an individual does not necessarily empower his or her community.
Soon after assuming office, Alphons patted Modi saying since 2014 India has not witnessed any major sectarian violence overlooking the fact that ruling parties can prevent or sponsor communal eruptions depending on the prevailing electoral matrix. Low-intensity flare-ups, often ignored by the national media, are electorally more paying than large-scale carnage which drive foreign investors away.
In an interview to NDTV Alphons magnanimously declared: “……Kerala is a beef-eating state. It is not going to stop eating beef. It will continue to eat beef. BJP doesn’t have a problem”. He said he would be “a bridge” between the PM and the Christian community.” Can the Christians live by beef alone? May be; but not the Church. Jesus said: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
On a mundane note, the Church has a host of other weighty issues with Modi government than beef – choking of foreign funds, especially to church-run NGOs, hospitals and educational institutions, HRD ministry’s cultural agenda, conversion and re-conversion. It remains to be seen if Alphons will take the discourse beyond the bovines. Remember, his next brief is to deliver Christian dominated, poll-bound Meghalaya to BJP as he helped the saffron cause in Goa.
The author is an independent journalist.
