Is The Namaz Row In A Kerala College A Symptom Of The Alleged Rise In Christian-Muslim Tensions In The State?

A recent incident in Idukki district’s Muvattupuzha, where Muslim girls were denied a room for offering namaz by the management of Nirmala College, a Catholic institution, has drawn nationwide attention.

The principal of the college, Father Kannadan Francis, who was gheraoed by a group of students over the issue, said:

“A mosque is only 200 metres away from the college. Boys at the college go to the mosque at noon for prayers. It is allowed in all educational institutions and we have also allowed it. However, the girls wanted to use a college room for their prayer, saying that they were not allowed at the mosque. We have told them the college cannot allow a room for prayers.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has supported the stance taken by the college. In a post on X, BJP state president K Surendran wrote:

“Deliberate attempts are being made to chaos (sic) in Hindu & Christian educational institutions in Kerala are unacceptable. Threatening principals for enforcing discipline shows the true face of religious extremism supported by the Left and Congress. Do any Muslim-managed institutions allow non-Muslim prayers? The government must clarify its stance on the Muvattupuzha issue.

“BJP stands firm against such provocations & will extend any and all support to the institutions against the bullying by provocateurs.”

The Nirmala College incident has raised a number of questions, most prominently whether it is a symptom of the alleged rise in tensions between Christians and Muslims in Kerala. The other is whether the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) had any role to play in the incident, like in the hijab row in neighbouring Karnataka.

Political commentators have pointed out that this college is located not far from where PFI members chopped off the hand of Professor T J Joseph in 2010 because a question he had included on a test was seen as insulting Prophet Muhammad.

Further, it is well known that the PFI has no love lost for Christians. This was evident in the slogans raised by a young boy during a rally conducted by the radical Islamist organisation in Alappuzha a couple of years ago.

“Hindus should keep rice for their last rites, and Christians should keep incense for their last rites. If your life (sic) decently, you can live in our land, and if you don’t live decently properly, we know Azadi (freedom). Live decently, decently, decently.”

The Nirmala College incident also comes a few months after a row over a group of students allegedly attacking Father Attuchalil Joseph, an assistant vicar of St Mary’s Forane Church in Poonjar, after he had asked them to leave the church premises.

While some said the incident was wrongly given a communal colour, it was seen by many as a group of Muslim students targeting a Christian priest.

What's notable in the latest incident is that the college is under the Syro-Malabar church, which is one of the churches of the Syrian Christian community in the state.

The Syrian Christians have begun voting for the BJP in good numbers in the past few years.

Among the issues cited for their shift in political allegiance are issues like love jihad, narcotics jihad, the feeling that Muslims were getting a vast majority of the scholarships provided for minority communities, and their growing dominance within the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

A number of churches in the state have been particularly sensitive to the issue of love jihad and showed their support to The Kerala Story, a film about Islamic State brides from Kerala, in spite of opposition from Muslim groups.

While a final decision is yet to be taken on the matter, and organisations like the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League and the Dakshina Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (a group of Islamic scholars) have asked students to refrain from making demands that could cause trouble, the Nirmala College incident could nevertheless be a reflection of the current reality in Kerala's society.