Thamarassery: Drawing a sharp parallel to the Citizenship Amendment Act, which grants Indian citizenship to Hindus from Pakistan citing religious persecution, Bishop Mar Remigius Inchananiyil of Thamarassery has posed a provocative question “Should Christians in India now go to Europe?”
Speaking to the media on the growing hostilities towards Christians, the bishop accused the government of pushing anti-conversion laws as a weapon to dismantle the Christian community in the country. “Christians are deeply concerned,” he said, warning that the situation has reached alarming proportions.
Strongly condemning the recent assault on Malayali nuns in Jaleswar, Odisha, Bishop Remigius noted that attacks on Christians have surged over the past decade. “Religious persecution has increased a hundredfold in the last ten years,” he claimed, urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah to respond to such attacks with the same determination used against Naxalites.
He acknowledged the government’s assurances of protection to Christians in Chhattisgarh and the granting of bail to the attacked nuns as a sign of partial responsiveness. However, he accused authorities of neglecting promises to hill farmers in Kerala. “They pledged solar fencing to protect farms from wild animals, but today there is no fence and no fulfilment of that promise. Elephants are ravaging crops, and tigers are threatening lives. Justice given to animals must also be extended to human beings,” he stressed, lamenting the “pitiful” plight of farmers.
The bishop’s remarks intertwine two pressing concerns the safety of religious minorities and the struggles of rural farmers both, he argues, being overlooked by those in power.