For a state where beef is so ingrained in its culinary tradition, any attempt to curb it is expected to meet with an equal measure of protest.
To this if you very lavishly add the contours of a ‘Hindutva’ majoritarian agenda then the minorities in a state like Kerala would surely be expected to spent sleepless nights. It is in the background of this inevitability that the visit of the BJP National President Amit Shah to Kerala is perceived as an attempt to soften the rising tempers against the party in the state.
“For the last so many days absolutely wrong and distorted facts have been spread by both the left and the congress in Kerala regarding the notification over cattle sale so as to fan the flames among the minority community. The party president’s visit is certainly an attempt to meet the minorities especially the Christian community and explain to them the reality surrounding beef and other issues. We hope it will have it’s effects,’’ MS Kumar, BJP State Spokesperson told Newsable.
For the past ten days since the Union government had passed the notification restricting sale of cows in market for slaughter, God’s own country’s has seen more than 200 beef festivals which even went to the extent of a youth congress leader slaughtering a cow in public and landing himself behind the bars.
As far as the BJP is concerned the damage has certainly been done in the public eye.
That the notification has nothing to do whatsoever with anyone ‘slaughtering a cow’ or ‘eating beef’ is something which majority of Kerala is not even aware of.
It is also one message the party is today desperate to send out to the people of the state especially to the minorities. A closer look at the itinerary of Amit Shah clearly tells you that apart from the usual party meetings, this time round Shah’s top agenda revolves around meeting community heads, especially those from the Church.
Beef being an integral part of Christian festivals and households, if sources inside the party are to be believed, Shah had specially demanded these meetings with the Bishops, long after his initial itinerary was decided. Perhaps never had any BJP President taken out time to meet such a wide collection of Bishops cutting across all denominations of the church in the state.
From the Syro-Malabar Catholic diocese which is the largest denomination of the community in the state to the Jacobites to the Orthodox to even the small Knanayas, all sat across a table with Shah, putting across their apprehensions and accepting the assurances from the saffron party at Kochi on Friday evening.
Both the sides have however remained tightlipped since then about what all transpired behind the closed doors of the Kochi meeting.
But the party as well as the Church agrees that a consolidation of the already existing vibes, between the community which holds away over 20 % vote share in the state and a party that is desperate to break ground among the community with ‘Sabke Saath Sabke Vikas’ slogan, has undoubtedly taken place.
“The Bishops had no misunderstanding about the government notification and that was reflected in the meeting. So they never pressed the problem of beef. The propaganda that was unleashed by the left and the congress had not had its takers,’’ BJP National Executive Member Alphons Kannanthanam told Newsable.
“It was a completely cordial meeting. There were hardly any differences. We raised a few issues and we got assurances from him,’’ added Fr. Jimmy Poochakkat, Spokesperson, Syro- Malabar Church.
Twenty four hours later, in the state capital, Shah also met Archbishop Soosapakyam, the custodian of the Latin Church which holds a tremendous amount of influence among the fishing community in the coastal belt of the state.
For the BJP winning at the Lok Sabha seat in Thiruvananthapuram in the immediate future would remain a distant dream without the Latin Church on their side. History tells us that the incumbent Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor was bailed out of a tough situation in 2014 by the crucial votes of the fishing community.
The saffron part now thinks that times have changed in Kerala and hence it is crucial for them to consolidate whatever small in roads they have developed with Christian community in the state.
“See the times have changed. There was a time when the Christians would never vote for the communist. But that was broken long time ago. Similarly the Christian mentality towards the BJP is changing as the party is now perceived as one that stands for development and that is what we hope to build on for the future,’’ Kannanthanam added.
But perhaps what is a glaring miss from Shah’s three day sojourn in Kerala is the nonexistence of any sort of effort to mollify the largest minority community in state. The Muslims who form 27 percentage of the total population would have a tremendous say in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 state elections.
That they are certainly a community much saddened by the present notification which not only affect their eating habits but also their profession as many of them run and own slaughter houses seem to have been over looked by Shah and his party men.
Perhaps the lessons learned at the recently concluded Malappuram by election where the BJP candidate remained at the usual third position in spite of promising good beef through well maintained slaughter houses still haunt the party.
The Left reiterates that the Malappuram lesson has only made the BJP play more divisive politics.
“If Shah’s aim was to reach out to the minorities, why have they left out the largest section? It is nothing but a part of the social engineering this party has been doing throughout the country. They got rejected in Malappuram. So they know the Muslims in Kerala won’t fall for their act. Hence they are trying other tactics now,’’ MA Baby, CPI (M) Polit Bureau Member told Newsable.
