Thrissur Archbishop and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) president Mar Andrews Thazhath is blunt about what he describes as “a deepening sense of insecurity” among Christians in the country, particularly in Kerala. Christians, he says, are being systematically edged out of political power, economic opportunity and decision-making spaces, “not by chance, but by design”.
“Our first priority today is survival,” he says in an exclusive interview with The Hindu. “Christians have become a minority within minorities. When policies like the 80:20 minority scholarships in Kerala are pushed through with the backing of all major parties, it tells us very clearly where we stand in today’s democracy.”
Thrissur Archbishop and CBCI president Mar Andrews Thazhath speaking to ‘The Hindu’
| Video Credit:
K.K. Najeeb
According to the Archbishop, discrimination against Christians has moved beyond isolated incidents and entered the realm of structured political neglect. “Every party follows the logic of numbers. Parties chase the largest vote banks. Communities with smaller electoral weight, like Christians, are expendable. That is the political reality.”
He argues that Christians are being systematically framed as a ‘soft target’. “Because we are less communal and less violent, we are easy to attack. Ironically, that becomes our biggest vulnerability.”
Issue-based political stance
Archbishop Thazhath reasons why the Church has shifted to an issue-based political stance. “We are no longer emotionally attached to any party. We tell our people very clearly — vote for those who help the community survive and who contribute to nation-building. Nothing beyond that. The political stand we take in Kerala may not be the same as our stand in North India.”
He issues a stark warning against the “growing pattern” of forced political dependence. “In some regions, Christians are attacked by one communal force and compelled to seek protection from another. This is extremely dangerous. A democracy should not force a community to choose between two forms of communal forces just to stay alive.” However, the Archbishop is categorical that the Church’s political engagement does not dilute its constitutional values. “India is secular by design. Secularism is not optional — it is foundational.”
‘Love jihad’
The alleged threat of “love jihad” has added another layer of anxiety to an already insecure Christian community in Kerala, the Archbishop says. There are deliberate attempts to engineer divisions within the Syro-Malabar community, which runs the largest network of educational and healthcare institutions. These moves appear to be driven by vested socio-economic interests aimed at weakening the community’s collective influence and eroding its role in public life, he says.
Systematic sidelining
Despite running some of the country’s largest networks of schools, colleges and hospitals, Christians are sliding backwards on every measurable index of power, he argues. “We educate the nation but are locked out of general merit. We heal society but are absent from government services. That contradiction cannot be ignored.”
A recent survey in Thrissur, he points out, exposed this decline. “Even in parishes where Catholics form 30%, government employment is barely 1% to 1.5%. Political participation is negligible. Twenty-five years ago, Christians controlled trade and business here. Today, we are pushed to the margins. Small businesses have collapsed.”
Migration, he says, has become “both a symptom and a consequence” of insecurity. “Christian youths are leaving in large numbers because they don’t see safety, opportunity or dignity here. This exodus has weakened the community socially and politically.”
It was this reality that prompted his call for young Catholics to enter politics. “If Christians don’t engage in politics, business, agriculture and public service, we will disappear from the system. That is not fear-mongering — it is a factual assessment.”
The Syro-Malabar Church’s decision to declare 2026 as the Year of Community Empowerment must be read in this context, he says. “This is not communalism. This is self-preservation. Loving your community is not hatred of others.”
Addressing perceptions that the Church backed actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Archbishop Thazhath rejects the narrative. “The claim that Christians ‘made him MP’ is a myth created without our consent. We did not support any party. We respect him as an MP and Minister — that is all.”
However, he acknowledges that political signals matter. “When a party takes a stand favouring the Christian community — as in opposing the 80:20 reservation policy — people notice. That does not translate into blind loyalty. It translates into conditional engagement.”
Attack on Christmas celebrations
The Archbishop is particularly scathing about the silence of political leadership on attacks against Christians. “Christmas celebrations were attacked across the country. Even shops selling Christmas items were vandalised. These were not cultural disagreements — they were constitutional violations.”
As CBCI president, he formally conveyed these concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The government says fringe groups are responsible. If so, why the silence? Why no public condemnation? Silence is not neutrality — it is complicity.”
“When those arrested for attacking Christmas celebrations are welcomed like heroes after getting bail, what signal does that send to society?” he adds.
Archbishop Thazhath strongly rejects allegations branding Christianity as a ‘foreign religion’ or accusing it of forced conversions. “Christianity, originated in the Asian country of Palestine, reached India in the first century, even before it entered many western counties. St. Thomas came here in AD 52. If forced conversions were real, Christianity would not have declined from 2.7% to 2.3% in the county. These allegations collapse under historical and statistical scrutiny.”
He warns that extremism is no longer geographically contained. “In North India, Christianity is projected as a common enemy to consolidate votes. That template is slowly entering Kerala. Here, extremism wears a different face — but the impact is the same.”
Yet, he refuses to accept political irrelevance as destiny. “Christians still have the capacity to be part of decision-making bodies in Kerala. No one should assume we can be ignored.”
“If survival is threatened, we will stand together — politically, socially and constitutionally. Quiet service cannot become enforced silence.”
Persecution may be part of Christian history, he maintains, “but eradication will never be accepted.”
Published – January 09, 2026 02:09 pm IST
