All Pernicious Influence of Communalism in Kerala

Joseph Kurien Pulikuthiel

jkjkpuli@gmail.com

The act of spraying cow dung solution in the office of Mr. A.K. Ramakrishnan after his retirement from the post of Registrar of Cooperatives early this year is an unnerving experience in the Kerala social scenario and exposes how the Kerala community is still not fully disentangled from the cancerous social evil of caste-ism.  This exercise was done to eliminate pollution of the office by contact of a lower caste member. This heinous act is a shame on the Keralites who are reckoned as the most literate and progressive group within India.  It also indicates that we have remained impervious to the movements by a host of social reformers like Vivekananda, Mahatmaji, and Sree Narayana Guru. A genetic study undertaken by the Budha College, near Chengannoor recently has revealed that Keralites are all the same genetically.

Deplorably, this evil attitude is deep rooted among the Christian community of Kerala as well. Jesus Christ advocated universal brotherhood of all human beings. Giving scant respect to this, a section of the Syrian Christians assume that they are descendents of Namboodiri Brahmins and claims  superiority over the Latin Christians and others converted from lower castes. The Knanaya Christians think that they are the descendents of certain migrants from the West Asiaand maintain the anachronistic and primitive practice of endogamy. These attitudes breach the very essence of teachings of Jesus. The arrival of St. Thomas into Kerala and the religious conversion of Namboodiris is a myth and are repudiated by all eminent historians.  After all, why should Namboodiris embrace a then foreign religion forfeiting the high status and privileges they enjoyed? According to Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, the Namboodiris started migrating in large numbers into Kerala only by the second half of the sixth century.

Poets and scholars like Kapilar, Tolkappiar and others were only Aryan missionaries who arrived in Kerala in the fifth century.  In the first century the inhabitants of Kerala were of Tamil origin and some of them practiced Budhism or Jainism.   Herman Gundert, who devoted his life for learning Malayalam and delved deep into the history of Kerala swears that it is most unlikely that St. Thomas ever came to Kerala. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in an article in 2007 stated that St. Thomas preached Gospel to the Persians and from there Christianity came to Kerala.  But in the face of stiff opposition by the local church heads, poor pope had to make some modifications in the original article, as Pontius Pilate washed his hands off and eschewed his complicity in the crucifixion of Jesus.

The stigma resulting from caste feelings reflect in social arena as well.  A few decades ago in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Kuravilangad, a backward Christian was buried in the same cemetery vault where a Syrian Christian was previously interned.  The Syrians could not tolerate this and they, allegedly with the connivance of the then vicar, Fr. Thomas Melvattath, exhumed the dead body and buried  in the Themmadikuzhy (A portion of the cemetery meant for scoundrels).  This provoked upheaval of protests from the Dalits and a criminal case was registered by the police. The case was written off later presumably by political pressure.

In olden days, in this very same church, for fear of pollution, the backward Christians were not encouraged to approach the statue of St. Sebastian who was a Patrician by birth, a noble group in Rome.  The creation of Vijayapuram diocese was necessitated within the territories of Palai and Kottayam dioceses only because the Syrians were reluctant to accommodate the converts from subaltern casts. The St. Joseph’s Seminary at Alwaye, where aspirants to priesthood from all dioceses pursued their studies is now divided between the Syrians and Latins reminiscent of the pangs of India Pakistan division.

Numerous similar cases can be narrated. Even in the forward thinking protestant church the caste divisions are deep rooted. Two CSI churches at Palayam in Trivandrum is a sad witness to this. The legend of Namboodiri origins of Nazranis is a fabricated story. In fact until a couple of centuries ago, the Syrians were reckoned as Soodras and were forced to do Uliam jobs for temples. Jesus says “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from your body. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell”. In heaven God doesn’t look for a sacred thread on your shoulders. The present Major Archbishop, Mar George Alancherry has appealed to everyone to get rid of all narrow thinking in terms of caste and religion and live as brethren. This is a welcome gesture in the right direction. But how far it would materialize would depend on his resolve to enforce it among the ecclesiastical cadres.