Protestant bishop to contest Indian state election
Bishop Amrit Joy Ekka's plan could create confusion among Jharkhand's Christians, say observers
Tribal people protest in New Delhi on March 6, 2016, against a controversial land bill passed by Jharkhand state which they claimed would take away their land. (Photo by Bijay Kumar Minj/ucanews)
A Protestant bishop in India has joined a political party and plans to contest state elections in Jharkhand, promising to champion the cause of tribal people.
Bishop Amrit Joy Ekka of Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church joined the Janata Dal United (People's United Front or JDU) on Oct. 4. Elections to the state's 81-seat legislative house are due in November. The five-year term of the current government run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ends on Dec. 23.
"No political voice is being raised when tribal Christians are persecuted in Jharkhand. I am entering politics to mobilize society politically," Bishop Ekka told ucanews Oct. 17. The 46-year-old bishop, himself a local tribal, said that he plans to contest the election from Christian-stronghold Gumla constituency as a candidate for the JDU party. Gumla district, which also covers the constituency, has some one million people, and 20 percent of them are Christians. The Christian presence in the constituency is higher compared with their national presence of 2.3 percent. Tribal people form 26 percent of the state's 33 million population and some 4 percent or nearly 1.5 million are Christians. JDU state president Salkhan Murmu told ucanews that they had found a "strong candidate" in Bishop Ekka. "We decided to field the bishop because our party also has a strong presence there," he said. Mineral-rich Jharkhand was created as a state in 2000 purportedly for the advancement of tribal people. Tribal leaders say political will lacks in putting an end to the displacement of tribal people and land acquisition in the name of big-ticket industrial, commercial and welfare projects. Bishop Ekka alleged that political parties like the BJP had supported amendments to laws that protected tribal land. The planned changes were to support large companies to set up industries and commercial hubs on indigenous tribal forest land. Jharkhand holds 27.3 percent of India's coal resources and 26 percent of iron ore reserves besides 18 percent of copper ores, increasing the vulnerability of tribal people, the bishop noted. While the ruling BJP supported the exploitation of tribal people, opposition parties "could do only lip service," he said. The BJP is also intimidating Christians to polarize the votes of non-Christians, Bishop Ekka alleged.
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Ratan Tirkey, a member of the state-sponsored tribal advisory committee, told ucanews that a "bishop joining the JDU would create confusion among tribal Christians."
He said Christians in the state traditionally supported the national opposition Congress party and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Front for Jharkhand Freedom), a tribal-based party.
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