The ruling CPI (M) in Kerala warned its cadre regarding the dangers of Islamist Extremists and their attempts to lure educated young women to extremism in the state, which was revealed in a leaked internal note that the CPI (M) distributed amongst its cadre warning about the same.
Read more: Why are Christians of Kerala suddenly scared of Muslims in their state?
Cautioning against Islamist extremist outfits, on Thursday the CPM flagged the issue in a pamphlet distributed to speakers at a meeting of its branch and local-level committees “support for the Taliban”, and the “trend of communal influence” among Christians.
“At professional college campuses, there are deliberate bids to distract educated young women to extremism and fundamentalism. The student fronts and the youth front should pay special attention to this issue.” the note said.
As the Congress and BJP seized on the written note to attack the CPM, party state secretary A Vijayaraghavan defended it, saying communalism could come in many forms. “Communalism will operate in many ways. It does not have any framework. It will work in many disguises, at various places. Our party will fiercely fight against communalism,’’ he stated.
It is interesting to note that this statement comes in the backdrop of Catholic bishop from Kerala Joseph Kallarangatt’s statement, on September 8, about how Muslims use love-jihad and narcotic-jihad to end the non-Muslims.
Read more: While Kerala was a decelerator in India’s post COVID growth, UP was clearly the accelerator
He earlier stated, “They’ve realised that in a nation like India, taking up weapons & destroying others isn’t easy, they’re using other means. Their aim is to promote their religion & end non-Muslims. They use ‘love jihad’ & ‘narcotic jihad” ANI had quoted Pala (Kerala) Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt.
“Jihadis, through love or other means, use women from other religions for misusing, for terrorist activities, or for economic gains. Those trying to prove that there’s no ‘love jihad’ are trying to feign ignorance. It’s not just a love marriage, it’s a war strategy.” He further added.
“The narcotic jihad is the activity of spoiling the life of non-Muslims, particularly youths, by making them addicted to drugs…Various types of drugs are being used in ice-cream parlours, hotels and juice corners run by hardcore jihadis. They are using various types of drugs as a weapon to spoil non-Muslims“, the bishop said.
While the BJP had supported him, saying what he had said was a reality, both the CPM and the opposition Congress had criticized the Bishop’s remarks earlier.
Cases of Love Jihad in Kerala
Since last year, Kerala’s Syro-Malabar church has been raising the alarm about Christian girls were being targeted and killed in the name of love jihad. There were reports of Christian girls getting converted and taken abroad. They are made to live with more than one person, and some are even pushed into becoming sex slaves
Moreover back in June 2021, a clubhouse chat room named “Christian Youths, This Way” was in the news where a section of Christians on the platform indulged in a discussion over the menace of ‘Love Jihad’ which has spread its tentacles in the states down South after encircling the Hindi heartland states. According to a report by the New Indian Express, in the chatroom, some of the speakers had raised the delicate issue and allegedly made some communal remarks against the minority community which appears to have irked some of the Muslim leaders.
Read more: Christians and Muslims in Kerala are clashing as more Christians speak openly against Love Jihad
As the CPI(M) has urged its supporters and party workers to remain vigilant about these issues in private, they are far from accepting them publicly. The communist party should stop its double standards and do a proper investigation on the rise in extremism in the state.