A YEAR after its launch, The Kerala Story is roiling the state’s heated political battlefield, with different Catholic dioceses saying plans to observe within the footsteps of the Idukki diocese and display the controversial movie, as a part of efforts to “enlighten youngsters towards love jihad”.
The choice of the dioceses follows vehement criticism by the ruling CPI(M) and Opposition Congress of State-run Doordarshan for its screening of the movie, days forward of the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. That they had additionally approached the Election Fee in search of a directive to ban its telecast.
The film depicts the story of 4 ladies from Kerala changing to Islam and becoming a member of the IS, with the filmmakers claiming that hundreds of ladies from the state had fallen to this. The movie had confronted a number of courtroom circumstances forward of its launch in Could 2023.
On Tuesday, because the dioceses’ transfer grew to become recognized, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the film as “towards the cultural ethos of the state”. With out mentioning the Church, he mentioned: “The movie is being screened with a selected agenda. Canards are being unfold to insult the state. Nobody ought to fall within the entice of the RSS, which sees Communists and minorities as its enemies. They need to get rid of Christians. We have now seen it in Manipur.”
Chief of the Opposition V D Satheesan mentioned the film had nothing to do with actuality. “Kerala has no such problem. It’s a deliberate try to denigrate the state.”
Whereas the Idukki diocese aired the movie on April 4 for college kids of sophistication 10 and 12 as part of its annual summer season catechism programme, it is going to be screened later this week in gatherings and household conferences by the Kerala Catholic Youth Motion (KCYM), a youth organisation of the Syro-Malabar Church within the dioceses of Muslim-dominated Thalassery and Thamarassery.
Defending the transfer, Fr Jacob Vellakkamkudy, director of the KCYM Thamarassery diocese, mentioned: “A number of ladies from Kerala have been trapped in love and recruited by the IS. The film’s screening shouldn’t be towards Muslims… Lately, now we have rescued many ladies from the traps of affection jihad.”
The Church, which has been marred by inside administrative tussles and alleged monetary scandals of its personal, has seized on “inter-caste love” as an agenda to rally its troops.
Now, pro-RSS social media teams have urged Hindu teams to take a cue from the Catholic Church and display the film. The BJP, which is making an attempt to achieve a foothold in Kerala, and has “love jihad” as a pet plank, has hailed the Church’s transfer.
Minorities, together with Muslims at round 27% and Christians at 18%, make up 45% of Kerala’s inhabitants and are a standard vote financial institution of the Congress-led United Democratic Entrance (UDF).
These days, the CPI(M) has been making an attempt to woo Muslims, whereas the BJP has held quite a few outreach programmes for Christians. Whereas the CPI(M) pitch to Muslims is that the Congress shouldn’t be sturdy sufficient to tackle the BJP because the latter makes its play in Kerala, the BJP is enjoying on the worry amongst many Christians of “rising Islamic extremism”.
It is likely one of the uncommon points on which the BJP and Church share frequent floor, with the BJP silent on many different points raised by it.
The Kerala Story has offered the BJP one other opening as properly: the occasion is utilizing it to spotlight “the double requirements” of the CPI(M) and Congress with regard to “freedom of expression”, citing their silence after the discharge of Kakkukali, which the Church had claimed insulted nuns.