'Religious fundamentalism affecting Kerala'
by James Varghese
August 11, 2007
PATHANAMTHITTA, KERALA, INDIA (ANS) -- An Indian Member of Parliament says that "religious fundamentalism" is affecting the "spirit of social harmony" in the state of Kerala.He is Jairam Ramesh, who represents Andhra Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, in the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He is also the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in the current Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
In a story carried in The Hindu newspaper, Ramesh said that the state of Kerala is witnessing the ill effects of religious fundamentalism.
The Minister was inaugurating a meeting, of a self-help group called Bodhana Sangamom, a social welfare organization attached to the Thiruvalla Archdiocese of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, at the St. John's Cathedral Hall in Thiruvalla on Friday, August 3.
"It is unfortunate to see Kerala losing its tradition of social harmony," he said. "Now, there is Hindu, Christian and Muslim fundamentalism in Kerala, which ultimately destroys the social harmony and it is not at all proper to cover up this sad truth." The minister added that secularism had given freedom to everybody to practice the religion of his or her choice.
At the event, Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas also distributed the keys of seventy-five houses constructed by the Church for the homeless.
