Kerala Christians form coalition to fight 'organised forces'

Major church denominations in Kerala have formed a coalition to counter the various forms of challenges facing Christians in the state.

Representatives of the CMI, CSI, Syrian Catholic and Orthodox Churches on Sunday gathered in Kozhikode for the first meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that has come in the wake of the unsavoury act of cutting the palm of a Christian professor in Kerala.

The Christian Democratic Union feels that unorganised Christians were facing stiff challenges from other 'organised forces', according to the Indian Express

The Union has expressed apprehension over Christians being converted and sent to Kashmir to fight the Indian army.

In a note distributed before the meeting, the CDU further said political parties and the ruling class were hunting Christians and their institutions. "They want the support of the communities whose population graph shows an upward trend," it rued.

Referring to the attack on Joseph, the note continued, "Nobody reacts when the hands and legs of Christians are being chopped off."

In addition to this, CDU expressed concern over the decline of Christians in the state. "The population of Christians came down from 30 percent in 1950 to less than 20 percent in 2010."

Advocate Babu Benedict has been elected the president and Advocate Joy Abraham general secretary.