Each citizen has a duty to protect the Indian Constitution, at a time when attempts are being made to remove the words “secularism” and “socialism” from the Preamble, Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, has said.
Apart from paying taxes and casting vote in elections, members of the civic society are duty-bound to be a corrective force, he said. The Catholicos was speaking after inaugurating an event attended by legal experts at St. George Orthodox Church here on Sunday (August 24).
He expressed concern at the increasing number of attacks on members of the minority communities, who have been playing a notable role in nation-building, and at attempts to do away with reservation for minorities. Former Kerala High Court judge K. Surendra Mohan delivered the keynote address.
Syro Malabar Church
The Syro Malabar Public Affairs Commission, in the meantime, termed as “misleading” a comment reportedly made by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee vice president V.T. Balram against extending reservation benefits to students from economically weaker sections (EWS) of the Christian community for admission to medical and dental courses.
The commission said that most members of the Christian community were outside the scope of reservation benefits. The EWS reservation was extended as a constitutional right, it added.
Published – August 25, 2025 01:23 am IST
