As a staunch believer in the tenets of the Constitution of India and the teachings of Jesus Christ upon which the Catholic Church is built, I found myself deeply disappointed with the narrative propagated by Church leaders in Goa and other parts of India against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The narrative, cloaked under the guise of supporting a ‘secular’ candidate and a ‘secular’ party, is nothing more than a facade for the Catholic Church’s true intention: to vote the BJP out of power. The Church’s opposition stems from a fundamental dissonance with the BJP’s brand of politics and governance. The Catholic Church, refusing to align with the BJP’s religious-based majoritarianism, perceives Modi as a threat to its idea of secularism and sees the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as an instigator of communal tension in India.
The Constitution of India gives an Indian the right to an opinion, even as a religious leader belonging to a religious denomination. I respect that right and therefore did not find a problem in the efforts of the Church leaders to encourage people to vote or even encourage them to vote for a secular party or candidate. That is not unusual. I also understand the history around the angst between the Church and RSS and the BJP not only in Goa but across India. And while I disagree with some of the viewpoints on both sides of the angst, I can comprehend the dissonance. I can also understand that most Church leaders do not like ‘Modi’ because they believe that he is communal, though I do not see him as communal. But I cannot come to terms with the lies over Manipur and the deliberate misinformation or half-information propagated on the conflict between the Meitei and Kuki in Manipur by the Church leaders.
Nobody is a saint in Manipur. Human rights are not the prerogative of Christians and Muslims in India alone. Even the Hindus have their human rights. But over the Manipur conflict, the agenda was the portray the Kuki Christians as the victims and Meitei Hindus are the perpetrators of the violence. That is not true. Hindus were not burning Christian homes or Churches. Meitei burned Kuki homes, Kuki burned Meitei homes and some miscreants burned down the Churches and Temples.
One priest at a Church in Margao, during Sunday Mass, in his homily, categorically stated, “We are called as Christians to choose the lesser of evils. Ask God for wisdom. Remember that Churches were burned in Manipur. Nothing was done to stop the violence. It could happen in Goa. These are divisive people. Dividing people on Religion. Targeting Christians and minorities. See the plight of the Christians across India.”
A significant factor in the Church’s opposition was the conflict in Manipur, a state in northeastern India struggling with ethnic violence. Over 221 people were killed and more than 50,000 were displaced according to the Commission of Inquiry (COI) due to clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities over territorial rights. The ethnic conflict, fueled by a narcotics lobby with an estimated value of Rs 70,000 crore, sparked tensions between the valley-dwelling Meitei and the hill-dwelling Kuki communities. The trigger was the High Court verdict granting ST status to the Meitei community – a demand that was logical considering the changing demographics but debatable.
The Manipur conflict drew condemnation from global bodies and human rights organizations. The Catholic Church, particularly vocal about the safety of Christians in Manipur, demanded swift government action to restore peace. The perceived failure of Modi and the BJP to adequately address the Manipur crisis, coupled with its silence and inaction, was seen as a disregard for the safety of the Christian community.
One senior Catholic Church leader who is known to me and someone whom I respect but I do not agree with all his views, questioned me. He asked, “Modi is known to speak on several issues plaguing not only India but the world. Why did he not speak on Manipur at the onset of the violence? Why did it take him 80 days to speak about the conflict in Manipur? Was the brutal video of women paraded naked before Parliament, the only reason Modi decided to speak on Manipur to avoid further embarrassment over his silence?
I did not see the questions as irrational because even for a few days at the height of the Manipur conflict, I too grappled with similar questions. I hoped and prayed that Modi could have made a difference in the initial stages of the Manipur conflict either by visiting Manipur or by speaking to the people of Manipur. I believe if Modi’s intervention happened earlier, it could have changed the course of the conflict but that too is debatable because the hate I saw in Manipur between the two communities was frightening and the pain inconsolable. Amit Shah did go to Manipur and did his role as the Home Minister, which was set in motion systems to dose the fire. Modi was required to heal the pain faced by both communities due to the conflict and give them hope.
But to blame Modi and the BJP for the Manipur conflict and insinuate that they have failed to bring under control the crisis between the Meitei and Kuki is a bit unfair because when two grown children are hellbent on fighting with each other to the point of harming each other with death, who does the parent pacify first without further accentuating the conflict by indirectly chastising the other child. The conflict is intricate with different layers, like the peals of an onion, each layer you peel off will bring tears to your eyes. Playing divisional politics or religious politics around the Manipur conflict does not change the situation on the ground during the ongoing conflict or the plight of the people faced in the conflict.
No matter the conundrum around Manipur, people from both the Meitei and Kuki communities were disappointed with Modi and Amit Shah more than the Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh. They told me in plain and simple words: Modi does not have time for us. This hurt and anger is reflected in the fact that the BJP failed to secure victory in the two seats in Manipur in the Lok Sabha 2024 Election.
In Goa, many Christian voices resonated with the view of their Church leaders on Manipur. Even the video of Cardinal Oswald Gracias opining that it was not a religious conflict had no impact on the half-truths that had already percolated through social media particularly WhatsApp across the Christian community in Goa, the rest of India, and around the world. Many Christians viewed the vocal stance of the Church against the BJP in the context of Manipur as a necessary intervention. The violence and displacement in Manipur, largely seen as affecting Christian communities demanded a response. The Church’s call for action and its mobilization of voters were aimed at ensuring that such crises are not ignored and that the voices of affected communities are heard. But sadly, the fear propagated by the Church leaders was based on their own biases and failure to understand the real moot points of the conflict in Manipur. The crisis in Manipur is not about saving only the Kuki but also the Meitei. It is about saving the lives of people in Manipur, living in relief camps irrespective of their religious beliefs.
If 317 Churches were burned and destroyed in Manipur as reported by Church leaders, then we as Christians cannot close our eyes to the truth that 393 temples as reported by the Meitei community were also destroyed in the violence. The horrific video of the two girls being paraded naked and one of them being gang-raped as mentioned in the CBI chargesheet from the Kuki community is a heinous crime but it was not only Kuki that was affected by the sexual crimes and violence. The Meitei too faced their persecution and violence in the conflict. 11000 affidavits have been filed before the Commission of Inquiry (COI). The CoI is expected to probe the causes, the extent of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, the sequence of events, and whether there had been any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities and individuals.
The Catholic Church’s fear has been only for the Christians and not for the Hindus in Manipur who also suffered and are suffering just like the Christians. When a child in a relief camp in Manipur is hungry for food, my understanding of Jesus’ teachings taught me that I should not ask him whether he is a Christian or a Hindu to help me decide whether I should give him food or make arrangements for some food, I am taught to see the humanness in that child and respond to it with kindness.
While the Church leaders vehemently articulated the evils of Manipur during the Lok Sabha elections, they did not even utter a word about the horrors of humanity in West Bengal. In the post-poll violence in West Bengal, women were raped, brutalized, and killed. In one horrific case, a 62-year-old grandmother was gang-raped in front of her 8-year-old grandson. Not once did leaders of the Catholic Church in Goa, question Mamata Banerjee when she was in Goa during the Assembly Elections 2022 to launch her political party TMC’s operations in Goa. Most Christian political leaders and some priests came out in support of her and her party. No one questioned her about violence in West Bengal and the continuance of fear among Hindu women who did not support her political ideology because these women were Hindu.
The majority of the Christians from South Goa did not vote for the BJP and its candidate Pallavi Dempo, whose family has never distinguished between people on religious grounds in their business, education, or other philanthropic work. They were punished because they stood with the BJP openly for the first time. Such was the hate for the BJP, triggered by the fear psychosis created by the conflict of Manipur and its probable eventuality in Goa by the Catholic Church leaders that 85 percent and more Christians voted against Modi and BJP in South Goa.
I believe that the truth about Manipur was convoluted in Goa and other parts of India not by the political leaders of the INDI Alliance but by the Catholic Church leaders so that they could teach the BJP a lesson. They wanted to teach Modi and BJP not to ignore the plights of the Christian minorities. Their message to Modi was simple, we upset your plans in Karnataka, now we will upset your plans across India where there is a sizable Christian population. They wanted to show their silent but effective force.
If Catholic Priests start preaching about ‘Choosing the lesser evil’, which is contrary to the teachings of Jesus, one needs to introspect whether the influence of Church leaders in politics has outstretched their arms to push their religious bias or political agenda. Most importantly, are some Catholic church leaders indirect brand ambassadors for political parties that suit their religious agenda?
I am reminded of a verse that the Church leaders can reflect upon over the half-truths on Manipur: 1 John 1:18, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
