The fundamentalist group accuses the church of St. Mary in Panchalimedu of land expropriation. The cross was placed in 1954 on top of the hill, where the route of the 14 stations of the Via Crucis winds.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - In Kerala a group of Hindu radicals planted a trident in front of a Christian cross. Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), condemns the offense against the Cross, symbol of Christ's sacrifice for humanity: "All this just to plant a trident on the top of the hill! ".
The incident occurred last June 15 in Panchalimedu, in the district of Idukki, a well-known tourist resort in the Southwestern Indian state. Some members of the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad, a local Hindu extremist formation, positioned the trident (symbol of Hindu fundamentalism) in front of the cross. The group accused the local church of St. Mary of wanting to appropriate state-owned land.
On 19 June the nationalists also held a protest march against the 14 Stations of the Cross located along the path leading to the top. Fr. James, vicar of the church of St. Mary, explains to the New Indian Express that the cross "was installed in 1954, when the land of Panchalimedu belonged to two families of high social origin: Kallivayalil and Karimbanal. Later, when the government approved the Land Reform Act in 1963, the land was requisitioned by the state, but the crosses remained where they were. In the last 65 years the parishioners have always climbed the hill in the prayer of the Cross ".
The district administration has removed the trident. The police registered a complaint against the perpetrators and charged them with "attempting to create sectarian tensions". Eventually the church also removed the cross at the top of the hill, as a gesture of relaxation and appeasement, while the 14 stations of the Via Crucis remained in place.
According to Sajan K George, "the radical elements of the saffron brigades [the color of Hindu nationalism, ed.] Want to aggressively destroy peace between communities and tolerance in the southern state of Kerala". In conclusion he underlines: "Any land dispute must be resolved by a court, not by the thugs who incite the crowds to destroy and create a climate of fear. India is a secular and democratic country, where the rule of law prevails".