Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), the apex body of the Catholic priests in the state, on Monday, urged the Left government to ban the staging of 'Kakkukali', a Malayalam drama, alleging that it defamed Christian asceticism.
A play based on a story by Malayalam writer Francis Noronha, 'Kakkukali' revolves around a young nun and the struggles and challenges which she comes across in a convent. Alappuzha-based Neythal Nataka Sangham gave the story a stage adaptation under the direction of Job Madathil.
The play's director has rejected the criticisms against the play and said the troupe would go ahead with its staging. In a statement, KCBC president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis claimed that 'Kakkukali' created a misunderstanding about asceticism in Christianity among other religious groups. He criticised the stand of certain mainstream political parties on the matter.
The Cardinal said that asceticism was the most beautiful expression of the Christian faith and alleged that there was a "secret agenda" behind the "invalidation" of the contributions of Christian congregations for centuries in the fields of education, charity, social service, and patient care, and the creation of misleading stories about them.
State secretary of the ruling CPI(M) M V Govindan had rejected the demand for banning the drama and said those who oppose it have the right to criticise its content.
Questioning the stand of ruling and opposition parties, the priest said, "It is doubtful whether the government and the opposition have yet understood the meaning of this agenda" and termed as "extremely painful" the stand taken by those who talk about secularism and their love for the minority community on the matter.
The Cardinal's statement seeking the position of ruling and opposition parties on the play 'Kakkukali' came amid a raging controversy in the state over the content of the upcoming Hindi film 'The Kerala Story'.
Both the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress criticised the makers of the movie, saying they were taking up the Sangh Parivar propaganda of projecting the state as a centre of religious extremism by raising the bogey of 'love jihad' -- a concept rejected by the courts, probe agencies and the Union Home Ministry.
The BJP has termed as "double standards" the stand of the Kerala CM and ruling CPI(M) that freedom of speech and expression could not be a justification for using cinema to spread sectarianism in the state and create divisions.
BJP state president K Surendran said the chief minister and CPI(M) leaders, acting as "apostles of expression", are saying that the film -- 'The Kerala Story' -- should not be screened. He contended that, however, it was considered freedom of expression when 'Eesho' movie allegedly hurt the sentiments of believers, when Christians are allegedly insulted in the play 'Kakkukali' and also in the novel 'Meesha', and when an exhibition of M F Hussain's paintings allegedly insults Hindu gods and goddesses.
Cardinal Cleemis said, "Those who are batting for the staging of this play are hate mongers against Christians." The church sees such actions as a physical assault on it, he added.
The Church was interested in knowing the position of all the political parties in Kerala on it, Cleemis said, and criticised the "hide-and-seek game" of certain parties on the matter. "It is highly condemnable", he said.
The Church has already petitioned all the District Collectors to ban the staging of the play in their respective districts.
Without naming any political parties or their allied organisations, the Cardinal said the delusion that they could destroy the Christian faith by putting their feeder organisations in front would not work.
The Cardinal said that Christians were entitled to justice like other communities.
A meeting of bishops and heads of various congregations, chaired by Cleemis in Kochi in March this year, had condemned the play 'Kakkukali' and opined that its staging was a blot on the culture of Kerala.
