THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan was the chief of the Mar Thoma Church when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency on June 25, 1975. Forty-three years later, the role played by the Metropolitan in opposing the draconian move is interesting to note.
Juhanon Mar Thoma was a staunch liberal and this belief led him to write a bold letter to Indira Gandhi, calling her to withdraw Emergency, release political rivals from jail and remove the gag on the media.
The letter created ripples in socio-political and religious circles. The then MoS Home Om Mehta was hell-bent on arresting him. R Balakrishna Pillai, who was a minister in the Achutha Menon Government in the state, recalled the controversy.
“There were protests to arrest Juhanon Mar Thoma on the basis of the letter he had written to Indira Gandhi, but myself and CM Achutha Menon strongly objected to it,” said Pillai. “After that, the entire Cabinet including state Home Minister K Karunakaran supported our stand.”
Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan, the current head of the Mar Thoma Church, added, “It was indeed a revolutionary decision and even I was part of that. The letter was written after a group of bishops met at the old seminary.Some bishops backed the decision, while others opposed. The Metropolitan then took a decision to write the letter.”
Former DGP P J Alexandar, who is also a former state council member of the Mar Thoma Church, told Express, “Dr Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan had mentioned in the letter that if she is going for elections, then the leaders of the Opposition who are in prison must be released. He had also called upon lifting the gag order on the press.”It is interesting to note that the Metropolitan had written such a letter when Indira Gandhi was at her most powerful and no other Christian group had dared to do such a thing.