Chennai: The NR Congress' alignment with the BJP could cost the party the Christian vote in Puducherry as the BJP is viewed as “anti-minority” and “anti-constitutional”. with its latest move to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) further stoking this narrative.
The Catholic church of Puducherry has said that the “ulterior motive” of amending the FCRA was to create a lot of stress and trouble among the minorities and take away the possibility of getting any foreign donations or funds for any development or religious needs.
“They don’t want us involved in the social upliftment of the poor, downtrodden and the rejected,” Father AJ Philomindoss, financial administrator of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, told ET. “Catholic people feel that we are not able to do even the religious constructions or repair and maintenance in our existing chapels, churches, orphanages and old age homes because of lack of funds. It is not possible for us to do that with local funds alone."
Further, he called the government “majoritarian” and “fundamentalist” and added that the BJP projects minorities as anti-Hindus and anti-national, which is false.
“We are not against majoritarian Hinduism but are against Hindutva,” Father Philomindoss said. “When pluralism is not respected on Indian soil, it is anti-constitutional and anti-national as well. We have urged those from our community to vote for candidates and parties who are secular in nature and do not divide society on the basis of religion and caste.”
Also Read | Confident of winning second consecutive term: Puducherry CM N Rangasamy
Vicar general of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, Father Kulandaisamy S too said that the Christian community felt that the BJP coming to power might cause trouble. “It was better when the Congress was in power because they did not restrict us this way and were not against us," he said. “We were able to do our work smoothly but the present government is putting a lot of restrictions in the field of government aided educational institutions as well as the management-run educational institutions.”
Father Philomindoss, however, said that the Congress too has the same philosophy as the BJP, but in a milder form. He said that the denial of Scheduled Caste (SC) status for Christians was a failure of the Congress too.
“They (the Congress) were in power for so many years and never passed it,” Father Philomindoss said. “So today SC Christians are not considered in the category of SC and are given BC (backward class) status if they convert. So when they convert from Hinduism, even if they were SC/ST as Hindus they lose whatever benefits they had as that caste because they become Christians.”
Also Read | Opposition divided bloc, NDA united in Puducherry: Amit Shah; Rahul Gandhi promises full statehood
Locally, though, the religious heads agreed that since there is a large Catholic population in Puducherry, the present government of the AINRC-BJP combine is not openly against them.
“Sometimes they don’t approve of us, but in general they are helpful,” Father Kulandaisamy said. “At present we have some problems in the approval of the appointment of teachers and the pensioners. Because we are not able to pay the 5% due to the decline of the number of students, salaries are delayed for teachers in government-aided schools. We have been asking for amendments to the Pondicherry Education Act but the government has not been able to do that.”
The Catholic Church of Puducherry also came out strongly against the allegations of forced conversion and asked the government to statistically prove that foreign funds were used for such conversions.
“Most of the foreign funds we receive go towards education and social developmental activities, not for any conversion,” Father Kulandaisamy said. “Many of the ministers in their own government were educated in Catholic-run institutions. Were they converted to Christianity? We don’t run these institutions for that purpose. It is just for the upliftment of people, especially the marginalised communities.”
Christians make up roughly 6.3% of the population in Puducherry as per the 2011 census. Many of those from the Union Territory that ET spoke to echoed these sentiments of discontentment about the current regime being aligned with the BJP. They also spoke of how they were unhappy with the caste certificates that were provided to the community and the lack of adequate opportunities for minorities.
“I will be voting for the Congress this time,” said 53-year-old homemaker Pascal Mary. “This government is not really doing anything for Christians and has even gone to the extent of now changing our caste certificates from BC to OBC (other backward classes). So even the few opportunities that we were getting have gone because if there are 10 seats for jobs or education for BC, there is only one now for OBC.”
She added, though, that many people would vote on the basis of candidates rather than the parties since Puducherry is a small town and those candidates who have actually worked would be rewarded with votes. However, others were firm in their conviction about the BJP being a party that was not just a threat to them but to India’s plural fabric.
Some others from the community, especially younger people, said they were thinking of voting for the new party on the block - the TVK.
“Vijay is Christian and has achieved so much in his life,” said K Peter, a 22-year-old student. “It makes me proud as a Christian and I will vote for him not solely because of his religious identity but because I feel like he is one among us and will work for us. Other political parties have not done anything, so why not give him a chance?”
The Catholic church of Puducherry has said that the “ulterior motive” of amending the FCRA was to create a lot of stress and trouble among the minorities and take away the possibility of getting any foreign donations or funds for any development or religious needs.
“They don’t want us involved in the social upliftment of the poor, downtrodden and the rejected,” Father AJ Philomindoss, financial administrator of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, told ET. “Catholic people feel that we are not able to do even the religious constructions or repair and maintenance in our existing chapels, churches, orphanages and old age homes because of lack of funds. It is not possible for us to do that with local funds alone."
Further, he called the government “majoritarian” and “fundamentalist” and added that the BJP projects minorities as anti-Hindus and anti-national, which is false.
“We are not against majoritarian Hinduism but are against Hindutva,” Father Philomindoss said. “When pluralism is not respected on Indian soil, it is anti-constitutional and anti-national as well. We have urged those from our community to vote for candidates and parties who are secular in nature and do not divide society on the basis of religion and caste.”
Also Read | Confident of winning second consecutive term: Puducherry CM N Rangasamy
Vicar general of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, Father Kulandaisamy S too said that the Christian community felt that the BJP coming to power might cause trouble. “It was better when the Congress was in power because they did not restrict us this way and were not against us," he said. “We were able to do our work smoothly but the present government is putting a lot of restrictions in the field of government aided educational institutions as well as the management-run educational institutions.”
Father Philomindoss, however, said that the Congress too has the same philosophy as the BJP, but in a milder form. He said that the denial of Scheduled Caste (SC) status for Christians was a failure of the Congress too.
“They (the Congress) were in power for so many years and never passed it,” Father Philomindoss said. “So today SC Christians are not considered in the category of SC and are given BC (backward class) status if they convert. So when they convert from Hinduism, even if they were SC/ST as Hindus they lose whatever benefits they had as that caste because they become Christians.”
Also Read | Opposition divided bloc, NDA united in Puducherry: Amit Shah; Rahul Gandhi promises full statehood
Locally, though, the religious heads agreed that since there is a large Catholic population in Puducherry, the present government of the AINRC-BJP combine is not openly against them.
“Sometimes they don’t approve of us, but in general they are helpful,” Father Kulandaisamy said. “At present we have some problems in the approval of the appointment of teachers and the pensioners. Because we are not able to pay the 5% due to the decline of the number of students, salaries are delayed for teachers in government-aided schools. We have been asking for amendments to the Pondicherry Education Act but the government has not been able to do that.”
The Catholic Church of Puducherry also came out strongly against the allegations of forced conversion and asked the government to statistically prove that foreign funds were used for such conversions.
“Most of the foreign funds we receive go towards education and social developmental activities, not for any conversion,” Father Kulandaisamy said. “Many of the ministers in their own government were educated in Catholic-run institutions. Were they converted to Christianity? We don’t run these institutions for that purpose. It is just for the upliftment of people, especially the marginalised communities.”
Christians make up roughly 6.3% of the population in Puducherry as per the 2011 census. Many of those from the Union Territory that ET spoke to echoed these sentiments of discontentment about the current regime being aligned with the BJP. They also spoke of how they were unhappy with the caste certificates that were provided to the community and the lack of adequate opportunities for minorities.
“I will be voting for the Congress this time,” said 53-year-old homemaker Pascal Mary. “This government is not really doing anything for Christians and has even gone to the extent of now changing our caste certificates from BC to OBC (other backward classes). So even the few opportunities that we were getting have gone because if there are 10 seats for jobs or education for BC, there is only one now for OBC.”
She added, though, that many people would vote on the basis of candidates rather than the parties since Puducherry is a small town and those candidates who have actually worked would be rewarded with votes. However, others were firm in their conviction about the BJP being a party that was not just a threat to them but to India’s plural fabric.
Some others from the community, especially younger people, said they were thinking of voting for the new party on the block - the TVK.
“Vijay is Christian and has achieved so much in his life,” said K Peter, a 22-year-old student. “It makes me proud as a Christian and I will vote for him not solely because of his religious identity but because I feel like he is one among us and will work for us. Other political parties have not done anything, so why not give him a chance?”
