One of my schoolmates had asked me this in all innocence and a helluva lot of ignorance I guess. What she meant was, am I a Catholic or a Protestant. To most people it doesn't matter but we from Mangalore have to know which religion one belongs to and which bloodline also, so it's a non-offensive question. Mangalore has the Catholic community as a major among the Christians, and they are known as ‘Romans’ (because they belong to the Roman Catholic Church) and Protestants are known as ‘Germans’ (because the Protestant church in Mangalore was set up by the German missionaries from Basel, Switzerland). The Catholic and Protestant churches never acknowledged each other except in derision and I suppose this was a norm followed by the faithful of either church.
It's only when the VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal began persecuting all Christians in Mangalore equally, (poor things didn't distinguish the prostitute from the christian, have to hand it to them, they are fair, no discrimination there) that it dawned on the two churches that they are better off together than alone.
I hear that even St. Agnes, my Alma Mater (I don’t have the luxury of a smiley here, if I did it would be a sick smiley!) now admits Protestant students into catechism classes. When I was in school, I was sent for Moral Science classes because I wasn't Catholic and Thank GOD for that, I hear catechism is torture.
It's funny how perceptions and attitudes change, even those built with great care over years. Disdain and discrimination undergo a dramatic change when a threat is posed to the existence of its being. How quickly self-preservation sets in, even if it means consorting with the enemy.
At least now I guess, no one will be asked in Mangalore whether they are Christian or Prostitute… and funnily enough we have the Bajrang Dal to thank for that!!!
