News Tamil Nadu

BJP TN Slams DMK For Protecting Pastor Over Anti-Hindu Remarks, Cites Inaction And Legal Support Given To Pastor By DMK MP NR Elango

September 17, 2024
The Commune

BJP National Secretary Arvind Menon has condemned the ruling DMK government for its failure to arrest and protect the Coimbatore pastor Prince Calvin, who made derogatory remarks about the Hindu faith during a church sermon. The situation has been further complicated by the controversial involvement of DMK Rajya Sabha member and advocate N. R. Elango, who has appeared in court on behalf of the pastor.

Despite the pastor’s remarks being made two months ago, and the DMK’s full engagement in appeasement politics, no arrests have been made. This inaction contrasts sharply to the swift arrests of others in Tamil Nadu for similar statements.

On September 16, 2024, Menon took to his official X account to express his disapproval, stating, “I condemn DMK’s attempts to protect Pastor Prince Calvin who openly made Anti-Hindu remarks. Do the beliefs and sentiments of Hindus in Tamil Nadu amount to nothing, Thiru @mkstalin avargale?”

“Two months have passed since Pastor Prince Calvin from Coimbatore made derogatory remarks against the Hindu faith. Despite widespread outrage and complaints, the @arivalayam Government and @tnpoliceoffl have failed to act, and no arrest has been made! It is further shocking to me, that a prominent lawyer belonging to DMK and its Rajya Sabha MP Thiru NR Elango has appeared in the Court on behalf of the Pastor and has gone on record stating that Prince Calvin has been “falsely implicated in the case”, while his hate-filled comments are open for the whole world to see. I urge the Tamil Nadu police to take decisive action to ensure that Pastor Prince Calvin is arrested immediately and held accountable for his remarks.” , he added.

What Did The Pastor Say?

On 16 June 2024, during the Sunday service at CSI Immanuel Church in Coimbatore, the Presbyter Prince Calvin made extremely derogatory Hinduphobic, especially anti-Brahmin comments. What started as a sermon describing how worship strengthens Christianity, and that worship must become one’s lifestyle, he tactically veered into derogating Sanathana Dharma.

Explaining some verses from the Bible about untouchability, he suddenly started talking about Sanatana Dharma and Hindus. He said, “Today it is the 2 descendants who are ruling the world, one is Abraham’s descendants and the other Ishmael’s descendants. Christians and Muslims are the ones ruling the world. Here people talk about Sanatanam and spirituality. They eat dumplings (kozhakattai) and coconut meat (Thenga moodi), and they drink cow urine. What is spirituality in this? They say those who eat beef are lower caste while those who drink cow urine are upper caste. Do they even have brains? One who eats cow dung is upper caste, “crossbelt” (a derogatory reference to one wearing sacred thread janeu/poonool) – the one who eats the cow that gives this cow dung is lower caste.”

He further said, “The only race which eats dung lives here. No other race in the entire world eats dung. Only in India do they eat the dung and drink the urine. We have such a disgusting race in India, and he proudly says that he came from Lord Brahma’s head. If you came from the head, why eat what fell on the ground? The one who comes from the head must stand on his head. We all stand in front of the cow, but these people stand behind it, waiting for it to lift its tail. And they call us savage. They call us uncivilized people and say don’t touch them; they are untouchable. We feel ashamed to touch them. They do such dirty things.”

Towards the end of the sermon, when describing how a character from the Bible verse he was explaining asked for water, he again made Hinduphobic remarks.

He said, “Water is a big problem here. Go to the villages and see, you cannot draw water from any well just like that. If you do that, they will chop you into pieces and put you inside the same well. It used to be like that at one point in time. There used to be a well for the village, a well for the slum (Cheri), and one well for every place. You cannot take water from a well that is not yours. You cannot drink any water, as if they discovered water. God gave us water. He gave it to everyone. Nature is for everyone, but these people took it away and created rules. They created water politics. Even today it is occurring.” And then he continues his sermon. He ended the sermon by commenting that Jesus was a very progressive person who never cared about anything and defied all rules (of untouchability and such).

The church frequently streams its prayer meetings on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, where the controversial sermon was live-streamed, attracting significant attention and criticism for its perceived inflammatory content. The sermon, which was seen as inciting discord between Hindu and Christian communities, led to widespread outrage among Hindu groups and prompted a police complaint.

The Race Course police in Coimbatore have filed a case against Presbyter Prince Calvin of CSI Immanuel Church for allegedly making defamatory remarks about another religion during his sermon. The case, registered under Sections 153 A, 295 A, 504, and 505 (ii) of the IPC, was initiated following a complaint by Priyanka, a sub-inspector at Race Course police station. The police argue that specific remarks made during the sermon were sufficiently offensive to incite hostility and communal discord potentially. The controversial video of the sermon has since been set to private on the church’s YouTube channel.

In response to the growing controversy, Pastor Prince Calvin issued a video expressing regret for his statements. He explained, “On Sunday, 16/06/2024, during my 9 o’clock sermon, I addressed issues of superstitions and cultural degradation, mentioning beef and related social views. I have learned that some of my remarks have caused significant distress to members of the Hindu community. I know a case has been filed against me with the police.”

The pastor clarified that his comments were intended to address issues of cultural decline and caste discrimination. He stated, “I want to clarify that I have been in close contact with many Hindus throughout my life, and my friends are predominantly Hindu. My intention was not to offend any religion or its beliefs, but to discuss beef politics and highlight superstitions and caste inequality.”

Pastor Calvin expressed, “I have no intention of causing harm or offence to the Hindu community, and I sincerely apologize for any hurt caused by my words. I deeply regret any distress my remarks may have caused.”

Despite the pastor’s apology and the sermon’s controversy, no arrest has occurred. This contrasts sharply with the swift arrests of a YouTuber for criticizing the government or Hindu activists for speaking about Dravidian ideologue E.V. Ramasamy. The situation is further complicated by the involvement of DMK Rajya Sabha member N. R. Elango, who has defended the pastor in court. This involvement has led to perceptions that the DMK may be tacitly endorsing such derogatory remarks against Hindus and signaling that the party will support them at any cost.

Subscribe to our channels on Telegram and WhatsApp and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.