Kottayam: A controversy erupted in Kerala after a now-withdrawn article published by Organiser, a magazine linked to the RSS, questioned the land holdings of the Catholic Church. The backlash intensified as reports emerged of an alleged attack on Catholic priests from Kerala in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
The Church leadership reacted strongly, accusing the BJP and its affiliates of targeting the Christian community. The timing of the article and the attack has jeopardised the BJP’s ongoing efforts to garner support from Kerala’s Christian population ahead of local body polls and the 2026 Assembly elections.
In a sharply worded editorial published in a Church-run daily, the Church criticised the Union government’s silence, stating that attacks by the Sangh Parivar have nationwide consequences. “Even children believe the anti-conversion law can be used to imprison Christians. In this situation, how can we speak against the blasphemy law in Pakistan?” the editorial questioned.
The Organiser article alleged that the Catholic Church is the largest non-government landowner in the country, claiming it possesses 700,000 square kilometres—nearly 21 per cent of India’s total land area. The Church rebutted this, calling the numbers “laughable” and asserting that most of its land is used for public welfare. It also pointed out that this figure was wildly inflated when compared to the Waqf Board’s 940,000 acres.
The controversy comes amid recent cooperation between the Church and BJP in the Munambam land dispute, where Christian residents opposed claims by the Waqf Board. Following this, the BJP introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, aiming to protect local interests.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar confirmed the article was removed once the error was identified. He maintained that owning land was not a crime unless it was illegally acquired and accused the Congress and the Left of politicising the matter.
The Church editorial also criticised the Congress and CPM for not supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Bill despite appeals from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC). It argued that opposition parties were attempting to link unrelated issues to weaken the BJP’s position.
“The Sangh Parivar doesn’t need the Waqf issue to attack minorities,” the editorial stated, concluding that the Organiser article was based on misinformation and that the opposition should focus on correcting such falsehoods rather than using them for political advantage.
