“We are running our Dravidian model govt aligning with the teachings of Jesus Christ that everything should be available to everyone,” said chief minister M K Stalin during Christmas celebrations in Tirunelveli. Since then, it’s been a season of giving to the Christian community.
In Dec, Stalin also announced a ‘Christmas gift’ to Christian institutions, amending a govt order to give minority-run educational institutions greater control over faculty appointments.
After roping in Muslim parties and outfits to counter
BJP and its allies, Stalin has been stepping up engagement with the Christians in the run-up to the election. The move comes amid perceptions that support for the traditional DMK–Congress alliance is fragmenting, with actor
Joseph Vijay’s TVK emerging as a new attraction. As part of this outreach, DMK and Congress have nominated J Constandine Ravindran and M Christopher Tilak, both Christians, to the Rajya Sabha.
The state has also withdrawn appeals in the Supreme Court challenging a high court order that removed the requirement for teachers in minority-run schools to clear the Teacher Eligibility Test. The decision benefits 1,439 teachers and paves the way for 470 more appointments.
In Nov, lands were allotted for 12 cemeteries in districts, including Theni, Tiruvallur, Perambalur, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Thiruvarur, Thanjavur and Tirunelveli.
While DMK has been solidifying support by highlighting its record on minority concerns and its consistent stance on issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, there seems to be no concerted effort from the NDA to woo the Christian population other than holding Christmas celebrations.
“We have had complete freedom in worship and prayer meetings in the past years. We are peaceful. It will reflect in our voting,” says D Johnson, 65, a resident of Velachery.
“Whenever minority identity is threatened or worshipping is disturbed, DMK stands by them. There is no visibility when it comes to Vijay on minority issues. Religious minorities always vote keeping in mind who should not come to power and in whose hands their social life is secured,” says Tamil Nadu Minorities Commission former chairperson and Congress leader S Peter Alphonse. Interestingly, Vijay is likely to contest from the minority-dominated Trichy East assembly seat.
DMK has also been intensifying its campaign to counter Joseph Vijay, with Stalin frequenting the coastal districts in the past six months, including Kanyakumari twice, meeting local bishops and representatives of Christian organisations. The emerging scenario puts the focus on the alliance’s traditional voter arithmetic as TVK outreach appears to be creating a new pole of attraction within the community that previously voted as a bloc for the DMK and its allies.
But members of the faith say families are divided, with the younger generation supporting Joseph Vijay. This support stems from three decades of accumulated fandom. “I will vote for Vijay. But it’s not because of his faith. It’s because I see him as an alternative to DMK. It was because of TVK, I’ve understood how we have been blindly supporting the DMK, a corrupt regime. I am politically aware now. But I won’t vote for Vijay if he aligns with NDA,” says J Timothy, 33, a marketing executive, and ardent supporter of the actor.
S Inigo Irudayaraj, founder-president of the Christian Goodwill Movement and a DMK MLA representing Trichy East, acknowledges a “disturbance” within the community. “Vijay may be a Christian, but we don’t know whether he is a practising Christian,” says Irudayaraj. “He does not speak for the community when the brethren are targeted elsewhere. DMK has addressed the grievances of the community in the past five years.”
DMK maintains its consistent support for minority causes, with Stalin recently issuing certificates of permanent minority status to 88 educational institutions. Irudayaraj spearheaded a felicitation of Stalin by the All-India Association for Christian Higher Education, an ecumenical body representing 500 Christian colleges at Women’s Christian College in Chennai recently. The institutions recognised Stalin for his welfare initiatives for the community. Representatives from prominent minority institutions, including Stella Maris, Loyola, American, Lady Doak, Holy Cross, St Joseph, and Bishop Hebar, participated, praising the govt’s schemes such as Tamil Pudhalvan, Pudhumai Pen, Kalaignar Mahalir Urimai Thittam (monthly cash dole of `1,000), Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil (free laptop), and a guaranteed pension scheme for govt staff and teachers, as well as the resolution of long-standing appointment issues.
“Christians feel secure under the DMK govt though here and there we hear violations against Christian minorities in Tamil Nadu by other agents,” said Paul Wilson, Madras Christian College principal. He highlighted how Christian institutions in Tamil Nadu faced challenges in exercising their constitutional minority rights to administer their institutions, particularly in forming appointment committees for professors and principals. “Universities insisted on including two nominees of the vice-chancellor in these committees to approve faculty qualifications. The chief minister amended the govt order but also was careful to see that it is implemented through adoption in the syndicate.”
Now, all eyes are on the influential Tamil Nadu Bishop Council, which is set to announce its support this month.
Here a Christmas, there a ChristmasRepresentatives from Christian organisations, including the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore, FSAG, Jesus Calls, Indian Christian Ministers Council, Jesus Christ Community and Edinbaro Ministries, participated in X’mas celebrations organised by TVK and extended greetings to Vijay. Days before, religious leaders such as Archbishop of Madras Mylapore Archdiocese Most Rev George Antonysamy, Archbishop of Madurai Archdiocese Most Rev Antonysamy Savarimuthu, CSI Bishop Most Rev ARGST Barnabas, TNCRI president Sr Maria Philomina and Mohan C Lazarus of Jesus Redeems Ministries attended Stalin’s X’mas celebrations in Tirunelveli
Community counts- Christians constitute 6% of the population.
- Significant denominations such as Roman Catholic, Lutheran Churches, Baptist, Methodist, Anglican and Salvation Army, and Pentecostals, have backed “secular parties” for several decades
- Emergence of BJP and Jayalalithaa’s anti-conversion law consolidated the community into a unitary vote base
- Dalits in north, Nadars in south, Vellalars of Trichy and Palayamkottai, the numerically strong fishermen community of Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and parts of Tirunelveli play a crucial role in elections
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