Kerala Orthodox Church head, once pro-Modi, criticises RSS over hate crimes against Christians
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In a significant shift from his earlier stance, the Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, has strongly criticised the Sangh Parivar for "the patronage and encouragement of hate crimes against Christians in India".
His remarks come amid a spate of attacks on churches and Christmas celebrations across several parts of the country towards the end of 2025.
The Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan said such incidents could no longer be dismissed as isolated or regional.
“Today, one thing we are forced to face is attacks against the Christian community. It is necessary to create proper awareness about this,” he said.
Calling the violence a “very wrong approach,” Mathews III accused RSS-affiliated groups such as the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of targeting Christians and other religious minorities.
“I saw it reported in Malayala Manorama and other media. First it was the nuns, now it is the priests. Christmas celebrations outside churches have been destroyed. It won’t be long before they enter churches and disrupt worship,” he warned.
The church leader stressed that while every religion can produce extremists, it is the responsibility of the state to control such forces.
“When rulers remain silent and do not condemn or control such actions, minorities can only understand it as approval. Silence becomes part of the programme,” he said.
Referring to slogans raised during an attack on Christmas decorations — “We don’t want foreigners or foreign religions here” — Mathews III dismissed the claim as historically ignorant.
“If the RSS believes in ‘India for Hindus,’ much like Trump saying ‘America for Americans,’ it will not work in this India. It will never happen,” he said.
He traced India’s religious and cultural history to argue that no community can claim exclusive ownership of the land, noting that both Aryans and Dravidians were migrants at different points in history. He added that Indian Christians have lived in the country since the first century AD.
“Christians here were born and raised in India. The same applies to Muslims. They are citizens of this country. No one here has come from Israel or the Middle East,” he said.
Mathews III also reiterated constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, including the right to practice, propagate, and build places of worship.
“No extremist group has the right to act against these freedoms. If rulers support ignorance or sing hosannas to it, minorities will inevitably be suppressed,” he warned.
The church leader concluded by saying that Christians were prepared to resist persecution, noting that martyrdom and resistance have been integral to Christian history since its earliest days.