Should a communist party organ dealing exclusively with theoretical matters carry stories and poetryIJ Even if it chooses to carry literary creations, should a story appearing in it be allowed to blaspheme Jesus Christ by alleging illicitness relationship between him and Mary Magdalene, especially in a State like Kerala where followers of Christ are a big forceIJ
Faced with these questions, the Kerala CPI has reportedly decided to stop dedicating space in its theoretical publication Navayugam to stories and poems. The State secretariat of the party, which had recently found itself in an unenviable situation following the cash-for-candidature scandal, has decided that Navayugam should confine itself to discussions on theoretical matters.
The party decision follows the controversy sparked off by a story, “The Holy Mass of Maundy Thursday” written by R Thulasidas in the September 15 issue of Navayugam. As the title itself suggests, the content of the story is the life of Jesus Christ but what triggered the scandal was the references to his miracles and relationships.
The story was supposed to be a satirical criticism of Jesus but many Christians in Kerala were not prepared to accept this in good humour because Thulasidas had allegedly tried to belittle the supernatural deeds of Jesus and to find elements of illicitness in his relationship with Mary Magdalene.
The story had also tried to criticize the deeds of Jesus like the transforming of water into wine at the Marriage at Cana, the death by cross and the resurrection. There were also other descriptions in the story, like the one on the realities of what all had been served at the last Supper’s table, which could infuriate Christians.
However, the worst kind of blasphemy is in the part which raises questions about Christ's relationship with Mary Magdalene. One of the characters in the story airs a doubt over why Mary alone had shed tears when Jesus was staggering through the crowd bearing the cross. The answer the character herself gives casts aspersions on the Jesus-Mary Magdalene relationship.
Though there were no big protests from the Christian community of Kerala against the story and Navayugam, the CPI leadership decided to take the matter seriously by refusing to be dragged into a controversy. CPI sources said that they did not want to be dragged into a controversy over the story and how it had got into the publication.
The position the party has taken is that the publication need not carry literary creations because its intended mission is to spread the party's ideology, programmes and theoretical stands on issues among the activists. It is said that some big changes are now possible in the editorial board of Navayugam.
The Kerala CPI is still struggling to get out of the controversy related to the selection of Bennet Abraham, a total outsider and a prominent member of the Church of South India, as its candidate for the last lok Sabha election in the Thiruvananthapuram seat. In such a situation, the party could not afford another scandal, sources said.
Impious depiction of Jesus Christ had sparked intense protests in Kerala in the past also. The State had witnessed huge protests by Christians over a play, “Christuvinte Aaraam Thirumurivu” (The Sixth Wound of Christ), which allegedly contained blasphemous references. Even Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel “last Temptation” had faced the ire of Christians in connection with this.