IR #047

Kerala liberals were facing a dilemma of sorts for past few days after multiple statements from Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thompson who happens to be a follower of the Malankara Orthodox Church and the Kerala Sunni Muslim leader Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musalyar surfaced.

The usually laid back segment comprising of the Kerala intelligentsia (lead by Arnab Goswami’s favorite punching bag Rahul Eashwar) and the liberal society are in a massive confusion as to what should the general rhetoric be after these two highly profitable statements made by representatives of minority groups.

The almost simultaneous statements have rendered the usually cacophonous Kerala political scene eerily quiet as all major political factions have gone into their respective huddles to determine a feasible official reaction to these statements. Although highly irresponsible, these statements will not be countered immediately, explained a Kerala liberal who did not wish to be named. “Our user handbook written by Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy only states how to react in cases of Hindu statements and we have no clue what our reactions should be when something like this is said by Christians or Muslims”.Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thompson claimed that the ultimate role of the church is to spread religion of Christianity and all Christians should do their bit in this regard in society as well. On the other hand the Kerala Sunni leader claimed that gender equality is a myth and that women can never be equal to men.

Another social (media) activist from Kochi was quick to point out that they has far more important issues to raise awareness about rather than waste time on this. In a direct message on Twitter, she said, “We should not heed these statements as this is a trick by the mainstream media to take away the attention from the Kochi Carnival to happen late December”.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) refused to comment as both people are important to their coalition which is in power in Trivandrum. Chief Minister Ooman Chandy however was quick to respond by saying, “As usual, I have nothing to do with this. Rahul Gandhi has informed that he will be meeting rubber employees in Pala to discuss this issue and their opinion. He will be making an official statement after that”.

This article was originally published on Faking News.