logo
Christian unity after nuns' arrest shows vote bank power: Kerala Hindu group leader

Christian unity after nuns' arrest shows vote bank power: Kerala Hindu group leader

India Todaya day ago
A prominent Hindu caste leader from Kerala has said that the Christian community, though only two per cent of India's population, has proven that even a small but united group can act as a powerful vote bank capable of influencing political parties and drawing national attention. Vellappally Natesan, General Secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam and a leading figure of the Ezhava community in Kerala, made the remarks while addressing a gathering in Alappuzha. advertisementReferring to the arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh, Natesan said the Christian community had responded in a highly organised and united manner. 'There are many different denominations in Christianity, but they all stood together and brought the government to their knees. They were so many to speak for them,' he said.
Natesan pointed out that political leaders from across the spectrum, including the Congress, Left parties and even the BJP, had rushed to Chhattisgarh in support of the nuns. 'Let it be right or wrong, but when two nuns were arrested, even BJP leaders were running around like their tail caught fire. To visit them in jail, announcing support. The Left is going, the Right (he meant Congress) is going and even BJP is going,' he said.Drawing a comparison with his own community, he asked, 'Did we (Ezhavas) listen to anything what our Guru said? If we could organise and stand together where would we have reached?'The Ezhava community is the largest Hindu caste group in Kerala and has historically been linked to the reformist teachings of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru. Natesan, who leads the SNDP Yogam that represents this community, said the Christian community's reaction to the arrest showed how even a small group can become a political force if it remains united. 'I am not saying anything about whether the arrest is right or wrong,' he clarified, 'but their unity showed what can be done.'- Ends
IN THIS STORY#Kerala
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Assam to drop foreigners tribunal cases against non-Muslims who entered state before 2015, cites CAA
Assam to drop foreigners tribunal cases against non-Muslims who entered state before 2015, cites CAA

Scroll.in

time15 minutes ago

  • Scroll.in

Assam to drop foreigners tribunal cases against non-Muslims who entered state before 2015, cites CAA

The Assam Government has asked district authorities and members of the foreigners tribunals to drop cases against members of six communities – Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi – who entered the state on or before December 31, 2014, citing the Citizenship Amendment Act. The state's home and political department held a meeting on July 17 and had discussed 'issues related to Foreigners Tribunal with reference to Citizenship Amendment Act' and the 'dropping off cases'. The meeting was held following a directive from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The Citizenship Amendment Act is aimed to provide a fast track to citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities, except Muslims, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the condition that they have lived in India for six years and have entered the country by December 31, 2014. It was passed by Parliament in December 2019. The Union government notified the rules under the Act in March 2024. The foreigners tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship based on lineage and a 1971 cut-off date. They rely primarily on documents submitted by persons to establish their family's residency in Assam or India before 1971. The tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory. Of the 1.6 lakh persons declared foreigners so far, more than 69,500 are Hindus. The department, under which the border police and the foreigners tribunals function, directed district commissioners, police chiefs and members of the tribunals to submit an action taken report in the matter. 'As per the amendments made to the Citizenship Act, the FTs are not supposed to pursue cases of foreigners belonging to the six specified communities (Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi and Jain communities) who had entered into Assam on or prior to 31.12.2014,' showed the minutes of the meeting signed by Ajay Tiwari, the additional chief secretary, home and political department. Scroll has seen the document. 'It was suggested to drop all such cases,' the minutes added. It added: 'In this regard, the district commissioner and the senior SPs [superintendent of police] should immediately convene a meeting with their respective FT members and also review the developments periodically and submit the action taken report to this department.' The notification sent to district authorities said that 'foreigners should be encouraged and supported' for applying for Indian citizenship as per provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act. It also noted that the Assam government had issued 'clear cut' instructions for withdrawal of all cases filed against persons belonging to the Gorkha and Koch-Rajbongshi communities. 'This should be complied with forthwith,' the government said. In July 2024, the Assam government had asked the state's border police not to forward cases of non-Muslims who had entered India illegally before 2014 to foreigners tribunals. The border police, which investigates citizenship cases, was told by the Assam home department at the time that the undocumented immigrants from the six communities should 'be advised' instead to apply for citizenship on the Citizenship Amendment Act portal, and that their cases would be decided by the Union government. Sarma had said at the time that existing cases would not be dropped. Critics contend that the Citizenship Amendment Act undermines the 1985 Assam Accord between the Union government and the leaders of the Assam Movement, which was launched in 1979 to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. The accord stipulates that anyone who entered Assam after the midnight of March 24, 1971, be identified and deported. Assamese nationalist view 'illegal migrants', irrespective of their religion, as a threat to the state's culture and resources. The Citizenship Amendment Act had sparked massive protests in Assam and several other parts of the country in 2019 and 2020. However, the amended law was welcomed by Assam's Bengali Hindus. In August 2019, Assam published a National Register of Citizens with the aim of separating Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in the state. More than 19 lakh persons, or 5.7% of the applicants, were left out of the final list. In March 2024, Sarma said five lakh Bengali Hindus, two lakh Assamese Hindu groups Koch-Rajbongshi, Das, Kalita and Sarma (Assamese), and 1.5 lakh Gorkhas had been left out of the National Register of Citizens. The chief minister had also said that seven lakh Muslims are among the 19 lakh persons excluded from the register. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had claimed that Hindus excluded from the register in Assam would be able to gain citizenship under the amended law. There have been fears that Muslims would be the only ones who stand to lose their citizenship in such an exercise.

BRS Gadwal In-Charge Basu Hanumanthu Naidu Slams Congress Over Kaleshwaram Report, Calls It a Political Vendetta
BRS Gadwal In-Charge Basu Hanumanthu Naidu Slams Congress Over Kaleshwaram Report, Calls It a Political Vendetta

Hans India

time15 minutes ago

  • Hans India

BRS Gadwal In-Charge Basu Hanumanthu Naidu Slams Congress Over Kaleshwaram Report, Calls It a Political Vendetta

Gadwal: The Kaleshwaram Commission report is part of a politically motivated vendetta jointly carried out by the Congress and BJP parties, said Basu Hanumanthu Naidu, BRS Party in-charge for Gadwal constituency. He made these remarks after attending a live screening of the PowerPoint presentation delivered by former minister T. Harish Rao on the Kaleshwaram issue. The session was organized on Tuesday at the BRS District Office in Gadwal, where Basu Hanumanthu Naidu, along with party leaders and cadres, watched Harish Rao's presentation—broadcast from the Telangana Bhavan, Hyderabad—on an LED screen. The presentation addressed what the BRS party claims are false allegations made by the Congress government about corruption in the Kaleshwaram Project. Speaking on the occasion, Basu Hanumanthu Naidu stated that Harish Rao 'broke the lies into pieces' with factual clarity. He accused the Congress of proving the saying 'one lie leads to a thousand lies.' Referring to Congress' earlier claims of ₹1 lakh crore corruption in the Kaleshwaram project, he criticized them for fabricating new lies to back their initial baseless claims after coming into power. 'No matter how many commissions you set up, how many investigations you conduct, or how many hundreds of pages you publish in your reports, the BRS party is ready to face all of it,' he asserted. He added that what the Congress government failed to achieve in 60 years, KCR accomplished in just three years by completing the Kaleshwaram Project and bringing water to drought-hit fields. 'No amount of fake documentation can erase this truth,' he emphasized. The event saw participation from a large number of BRS leaders and supporters, including Nagar Doddi Venkata Ramulu, Chakradhar Rao, G. Raghavendra Reddy, Angadi Basavaraj, Patel Janardhan Reddy, Atukuri Rehman, Monesh, Kottapalli Venkateshwara Reddy, Beechupalli Kurava Palleiah, S. Ramu Naidu, Ganjipeta Raju, Venkatesh Naidu, Tower Mukbal, Mahadevappa, D. Shekhar Naidu, Rayapuram Veeresh, Govindu, Maddileti, Rajini Babu, Muni Mourya, Rolli Krishna, Kangaru Thimmappa, Abraham, Anji, Govardhan, Obulesh, Ramudu, Venkatesh, Thimmappa, Gonupadu Ramu, Nagaraju, Anjaneyulu, along with several party leaders, workers, youth members, and supporters.

Congress leaders in New Delhi to expedite reorganisation process
Congress leaders in New Delhi to expedite reorganisation process

The Hindu

time15 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Congress leaders in New Delhi to expedite reorganisation process

Congress leaders in Kerala made a beeline for New Delhi on Tuesday to enlist the help of the national leadership in streamlining the party's much-delayed reorganisation ahead of the local body elections later in the year. A triad headed by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, MLA, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, and United Democratic Front (UDF) convener Adoor Prakash held marathon meetings with MPs from Kerala, reportedly to ease purported intra-party tensions over recasting district congress committees (DCCs). KPCC working presidents were also involved in the discussions, along with a few select general secretaries. According to a Congress insider, the KPCC aims to replace at least eight DCC presidents, prioritising community, caste, and age demographics, as well as efficiency, over factional considerations. However, he claimed that some tension loomed over the reorganisation process, with a few leaders questioning the wisdom of changing 'entrenched' DCC presidents, including a few of their loyalists, when the local body polls were at the doorstep. 'The KPCC leadership will likely focus on bringing sceptical MPs on board to broadcast a message of unity to flip the script on the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the local body elections projected to be a three-cornered fight,' he said. The leadership meeting also occurs amid intra-party criticism, recently voiced by Congress veteran P.J. Kurien, among others, that, apart from the bluster of young leaders, the party lacked boots on the ground for door-to-door campaigns to ensure pro-party voter turnout. Mr Kurien also pointed out that the Congress lacked ward committees in several regions. Mr. Satheesan rubbished reports that dissent plagued the reorganisation process. Mr. Joseph said the reorganisation would make the Congress election machinery battle-ready. He refused to set a deadline for the process. When asked whether MPs had suggested any particular names for DCC president posts in their respective constituencies, Mr. Joseph said there was 'no dearth of names for leadership roles in the Congress. We are hoping to strike a balance between youthfulness and experience,' he added.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store