The Cross symbolises ultimate sacrifice but in Munnar, Kerala’s famous hill resort, it is impenetrable armour in the hands of many land-grabbing individuals and religious collectives. According to Revenue Department officials, hundreds of crosses can be seen guarding grabbed lands in Munnar and other places in the high ranges of Idukki district.
At nearly 6000 feet altitude, Pappathichola virtually is a heaven on earth with its scenic beauty and flowing mist even at noon in the peak of summer. It is now making headlines not for that natural grandeur but over the row that erupted on April 20 after officials razed a 20-feet tall solid-steel cross riveted to a huge concrete pedestal at the summit of a hill that forms part of a 300-acre allegedly grabbed public land by a Christian outfit, Spirit in Jesus.
Though several respected Christian leaders praised the officials’ act and criticised the outfit for using the Cross for unholy and illegal purposes, Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, a materialist to the core, came down heavily on the officials, instilling a new confidence in those who have been using religion and religious symbols to appropriate and polluting the invaluable and extremely eco-sensitive lands of the mighty Western Ghats.
“Incidentally, Pappathichola is not the only Munnar region where the Cross is tool for land-grabbing. You can see that everywhere in the high ranges of Idukki district. The encroachers are confident that even the boldest of the Revenue officials will think twice before attempting to retrieve the grabbed land where it is installed,” says a Revenue official in Devikulam, Munnar.
Anyone who takes a trek through the meadowy mounds of Pullikkanam near Vagamon, which is famous as a great site for paragliding, will come across dozens of medium-sized, white-painted concrete crosses that practically serve as posts marking the boundary of 15 acres of land which, according to the Revenue officials, belongs to the Government.
The authorities of Elappally Revenue Village, under which the allegedly encroached land falls, vouch that this 15-acre plot is Government land. “We have gone through all the documents in detail. We are convinced that it is public land. But after the Pappathichola row, we are a lot confused about how we can proceed against the encroachers,” said an official.
The allegedly grabbed land guarded by the border-marking crosses is lying adjacent to a Church in Pullikkanam but its authorities do not want to be dragged into a controversy regarding it, especially in the context of the Pappathichola incident. They claim that the church has nothing to do with the crosses.
However, some others who claimed to represent the laity said the land belonged to “us” (the church) for the past sixty years. “Prayer meets used to be held here,” said a believer. Fr Paul Thelekkat of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church said, “If the crosses are planted in public land and if the church has anything to do with it, it is unacceptable.”
“Why should Munnar, Marayur, Kanthaloor and the cardamom-growing areas in the high ranges of Idukki district have so many crosses that don’t have roofs above themIJ The roles of those crosses in their areas should be read along with the history of migration into and land-grabbing in Idukki district,” said a senior priest of the Syrian Orthodox Church.
Instead of allowing the Revenue officials to retrieve the encroached public lands in Munnar through legal means, the lDF Government has decided to go about the anti-encroachment drive through a consensus process in which religious heads and people’s representatives from the area (often accused of supporting grabbers) will have their strong say.
“What does this meanIJ laws are clear about land and land-grabbing. There are several court orders directing the Government to retrieve grabbed lands. The Government always says it is committed to ending encroachments in Munnar. Then why should they talk to religious leaders and othersIJ” asks lawyer and environmental crusader Harish Vasudevan.