The supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has strongly condemned recent attacks on Christians across India, directly blaming RSS-affiliated organisations and criticising the government’s silence on the matter.
Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, made these remarks while delivering a festival message at St Mary’s Church in Panayampala, Kottayam, on January 2. His statement came against the backdrop of targeted violence against churches and Christmas celebrations across the country during the end of 2025.
Speaking about the escalating violence, the Catholicos said that RSS affiliates like Bajrang Dal and VHP were behind the attacks. “We know that after the nuns, now it is the turn of the priests (to be attacked). Now that they have destroyed the Christmas celebrations outside the church, it won’t be long before they enter inside the church. Maybe, the coming attacks will be against worship inside the church. We must surely expect that,” he said.
The church head emphasised that while religious fanatics can exist in any faith, it remains the responsibility of those governing the country to control them. “When they remain silent without raising their voice against it or condemning it, Christians or minorities can only understand it as being part of their programme. Everyone knows that if they do not condemn or control it, they are silently approving it,” he stated.
Addressing recent incidents where protesters destroyed Christmas symbols and chanted slogans against “foreigners and foreign religions”, the Catholicos questioned the notion of religious exclusivity in India. He traced the historical migration patterns that shaped the Indian subcontinent, noting that Hinduism emerged after Aryans migrated from Iran around 2000 BC and established Brahmanical worship.
“Who are the Hindus? Hinduism is a religion that emerged here after the Aryans, who migrated from Iran around 2000 BC, established Brahmanical worship. There is no Aryan or Hindu who originated solely from India; everyone came from the aforementioned Iranian region,” he said, explaining that the Indus Valley civilisation was created by Dravidians around 4000 BC before the Aryan migration pushed them southward.
The church head asserted that Christians have existed in India since 52 AD. “The Christians here are also born and raised here, having embraced Christianity since 52 AD. They are citizens of this country. No Christian is here who has come from Israel. No Christian is here who has come from Arab countries. The people here are of Indian origin; they are born and raised in India,” he stated.
Drawing a parallel with American politics, the Catholicos said, “It is the truth that if the RSS has a major motto which says, ‘India for Hindus’ – much like Trump saying ‘America for Americans’ – it is not going to work in this India. It will never happen.”
He reminded the audience that the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the right to build places of worship equally to all faiths. “Christians have no hesitation in becoming martyrs for this cause because the Christian religion was formed through martyrdom and persecution. Resistance against persecution began in the first century. When St. Thomas came to India and preached the Gospel, the people here accepted it. No one here attempted forced conversions. If that were the case, Christians would not have accounted for only 2.7% of the Indian population today,” he declared.
The Catholicos’s remarks are significant as he had earlier viewed such incidents as sporadic and limited to specific regions, and had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023, praising his development initiatives.
Article image from Wikipedia.
