“Kerala Christians in the Spotlight as Church Decries Sign-boards and Raises Broader Questions of Conversion, Employment and Identity”

The Syro‑Malabar Church, one of the largest Eastern Catholic Churches based in Kerala, has sharply criticised the erection of signboards in some villages of Chhattisgarh stating that “pastors and converted Christians” are barred from entry — calling it a move that marks out a group as “second-class citizens” and describing the boards as “the most divisive boundary the country has seen since Partition”.

The Church said the recent High Court ruling allowing such signage must be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court of India.

The statement further charged that in secular India, the forces of Hindutva have launched “yet another experiment in religious discrimination and aggressive intolerance” through institutionalized communalism.

What makes this concern even more poignant is the backdrop of Kerala’s large Christian community — one that has grown in size, visibility, and influence over decades, with many thousands of Keralites working outside the state (and country) as nurses, health-care professionals, and in service sectors, often under Christian institutional networks.

 

The question of why many Keralites became Christian, what caused their conversion or affiliation, and how conversion relates (or doesn’t) to employment, caste, migration, and social mobility thus looms large.

Kerala’s Christian community: size, growth & history

According to the 2011 Census, about 18.38 % of Kerala’s population identified as Christian. The figure is widely quoted at around 6.14 million people in Kerala identifying as Christian.

Historically, Christianity in Kerala has ancient roots, traditionally traced to the arrival of Thomas the Apostle in AD 52.

While the Christian share of the population remains substantial, data indicate that in the decade 2011–21 in Kerala, the Christian population’s natural accretion (live births minus deaths) was estimated at only ~2.88 lakh people, compared with ~6.44 lakh among Hindus and ~16.08 lakh among Muslims. This suggests that growth among Christians from births alone is modest; large-scale net conversions in or out would be harder to detect clearly.

At the national level, a survey by the Pew Research Center found that just 0.4 % of adults in India say they converted to Christianity from another religion. So while conversions do happen, at least as one method of religious change, they appear relatively rare in large-scale statistical terms in India.

Why did many Keralites become Christians? What lured them?

There is no single monolithic explanation, but several factors come into view:

• Historical mission-work & education/health-care institutions: Christian missions in Kerala established schools, hospitals, and colleges early on, which created pathways for social mobility, literacy, and employment.
• The Smithsonian noted that though Christians formed ~18 % of Kerala’s population, they “remain a prominent presence in all sectors of social, political, and economic endeavor”. (smithsonianmag.com)
• Caste / social-mobility factors: Many converts historically came from lower-caste or economically marginalized backgrounds seeking dignity, escape from caste oppression, and access to services.
• The Pew study found that Indian Christian converts disproportionately come from lower castes (SC/ST/OBC) and poor backgrounds.
• Employment opportunities: You note correctly that many Keralite Christians, particularly women, found employment in hospitals, nursing homes, domestic service, and abroad.
• While hard data linking conversion to job promisee in Kerala specifically is scant, it is plausible that affiliation with Christian institutions (churches, schools, hospitals) created employment networks.
• Migration & remittances: Keralites have long migrated to other states and abroad (Middle East, etc.). Christian networks possibly provided social support, enabling migration and jobs.
• Identity and community: Once a strong Christian community existed, social peer effects, church networks, and community institutions (schools, hospitals, charitable institutions) may have reinforced affiliation and retention.

What the evidence does not show — and why caution is warranted credible public data shows massive recent large-scale conversions of Keralites to Christianity purely for jobs. Most surveys show conversion as a small percentage.

• The number of people who register changes of religion is minute: for example, in one year (2020) in Kerala, about 119 people registered conversion to Christianity and 241 to Hinduism per government data.
• Therefore, statements claiming “thousands of Keralites converted in recent decades” exclusively for employment lack robust statistical backing — they may contain elements of truth in anecdotal or local contexts, but cannot be generalized without caveats.

Linking back to the Church’s concern and the broader picture

Given this background — substantial Christian presence in Kerala, migration & employment links, social mobility factors — the Syro-Malabar Church’s concern over signboards in Chhattisgarh gains added resonance.

If a religious minority community (such as Christians) is being singled out with entry bans, the irony is heightened by the fact that many Christians (including Keralites) have contributed significantly in sectors such as health care, social service, migration/employment, and form part of India’s service economy.

The Church’s statement that “in a nation where lynch mobs, persecutors of Dalits and Adivasis, and those forcing ‘ghar wapsi’ conversions are not prohibited, this verdict must be challenged” reflects anxiety that the social gains of communities — often enabled by religious affiliation, migration, and service employment — could be undermined by discriminatory signage and institutional exclusion.

While the claim that “lots of Keralites converted to Christianity in the past several decades because of job promises” touches upon plausible social patterns (migration, employment, social mobility, Christian institutions), the evidence for large-scale job-driven conversion is thin. What can be affirmed:

• Christians form a significant minority in Kerala with historical roots and a strong institutional presence.
• Many Christians in Kerala have benefited from education, health care, and service employment networks.
• Conversions happen, especially among lower caste/poorer backgrounds, but remain statistically modest.
• The issue of discrimination against Christians (pastors/converted) as the Church raises is serious and needs to be contextualized in broader socio‐religious and migration/employment dynamics.

In a recent development in Chhattisgarh, the High Court’s Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru weighed in on the controversy surrounding signboards put up in certain village areas restricting the entry of pastors and individuals who have converted to Christianity.

Delivering its view on October 28, the Bench noted that the hoardings “appear to have been installed by the concerned Gram Sabhas as a precautionary measure to protect the interest of indigenous tribes and local cultural heritage.”

The court’s remarks underscored that the move seemed aimed at safeguarding tribal identity and cultural fabric, rather than being expressly unconstitutional on its face.

This ruling has come against the backdrop of earlier tensions in the state. In July, a high-profile incident stirred debate in both Chhattisgarh and Kerala when two Catholic nuns from Kerala — Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis — were detained at the Durg railway station.

Authorities accused them of alleged human trafficking and involvement in forced religious conversion activities.

However, the case took a dramatic turn when the women whom the police had described as “victims” clarified that the nuns had not coerced them into changing their faith.

According to their statements, the nuns’ role was limited to assisting them in securing employment opportunities, and there was no element of compulsion or inducement linked to religious conversion.

The arrest and subsequent testimony created widespread uproar in Kerala — not only because the accused belonged to the Syro-Malabar community, but also because it revived debates over the intersection of religious assistance, migration for work, and allegations of coercive conversion practices.

The eventual revelation by the women involved fueled questions over whether the incident reflected misunderstanding, overreach, or deeper socio-religious anxieties in the region.

Amid these developments, legal observers and social commentators continue to monitor the situation closely, as both the signboard controversy and the nuns’ arrest highlight the delicate balance between protecting tribal rights and heritage and preserving constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, movement, and dignity.

 

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