Six years on, Jallianwala Bagh remark returns to haunt Church

Kozhikode: The situation was not too different in north Kerala where largescale violence had erupted in the hilly regions of Kozhikode in November 2013 during the protest against the implementation of Kasturirangan report. There was widespread unrest and incidents of arson in rural areas especially Thamarassery-Adivaram route and even strikes.

During that time, protestors barged into the forest office at Thamarassery and set fire to the building and files. The mob detained the then district police chief (Rural) PH Ashraf for hours, forcing the police to open fire. The mob – which went on a rampage – also attacked the media and vandalized shops at Thamarassery, Engapuzha and Adivaram areas.

The role of the church in this violence was a point of debate with Thamarassery diocese denying a role in the incidents. But Fr Saji, the vicar of Chembukadavu church, was named as a suspect in the violence.

Addressing a protest meeting in front of the collectorate in November itself after the incidents, Thamarassery bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil then warned that another Jallianwala Bagh will take place if the Kasturirangan report was implemented.

Systematic campaigning and rumours brought mass support to the agitation. Vested interests had fuelled gullible peoples’ emotion by injecting apprehension among them.

“It was a well-designed propaganda. In Wayanad. they spread stories that certain areas will be made a tiger reserve. People were told that many tigers will be bought from other places and let loose in Wayanad,” said president of the Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti N Badusha.

“People in Wayanad were also told that they will have to paint their houses green and would be disallowed to leave their homes after 8pm. It was told that people even have to switch off their lights after 8pm so that the animals won’t be disturbed,” he said.

Different stories were spread in Thamarassery areas to ignite mass anger. “People in the area were told that there will be mass evacuation if Kasturirangan report was implemented. They were made to believe that no new hospitals and educational institutions will be permitted in the area and nothing new could be built. People working in quarries were brought in tipper lorries for the agitation and they were at the forefront of violence. The campaign didn’t have much impact in Wayanad region because we had successfully launched counter campaign through an umbrella organization,” Badusha said.

Thamarassery diocese, however, did not respond to the current controversy over Kasturirangan report. When contacted by TOI, a representative of the diocese told that the church would not like to react to the discussions raging outside.