Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
In a hard-hitting editorial, Deepika — the mouthpiece of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church — has drawn a stark parallel between the plight of Indian Christians today and the persecution of minorities in Pakistan, blaming radical Hindutva groups for fostering a climate of fear and repression across the country. “Minorities in India today are facing conditions similar to what Hindu and Christian minorities experience in Pakistan — oppression and fear at the hands of radical Hindutva groups,” the editorial published on August 3, Sunday, stated.
Published in the wake of the controversial arrest and subsequent bail of two Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh, the editorial wrote, “The nation, which once bravely crossed borders to confront those who attacked fellow citizens in Kashmir for their religion, now sits cross-legged in silence before communal forces operating within its own borders.”
It referenced the 1999 killing of missionary Graham Staines and his two sons by Bajrang Dal activists in Odisha, labeling the outfit an extremist group that has “carried out countless attacks against Christians” ever since. “Those in power at the Centre must reflect: aren’t they the ones standing guard for these groups?” it asked.
The editorial also praised Kerala’s unified secular response while criticising the systemic bias faced by religious minorities elsewhere. “This did not happen in Kerala, which many innocently still believe to be a golden bastion of secularism. It happened in Chhattisgarh,” it wrote. “Christians across the country — especially in Kerala — have already begun their introspection. No one needs to explain to Christians who helped get the nuns released. They also know whose strength led to their imprisonment.”
Sisters Vandana Francis and Preeti Mary were arrested under charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking, in a case that Deepika described as manufactured and communal. The arrest reportedly followed the intervention of Bajrang Dal activists at Durg railway station, where the nuns were accompanying young tribal girls to their workplace.
Criticising the unequal application of the law, the editorial noted: “Not even a petty case has been filed against Jyoti Sharma — the woman who orchestrated a direct attack on the nuns and their companions — while two innocent nuns were made to sleep on the floor of a jail alongside 52 other inmates.”
The editorial also issued a broader warning against rising extremism: “Before communalism and extremism build muscle, they grow in the mind… A single fresh spell of power or authority is all it takes to shed one’s civility.”
While welcoming the temporary relief granted through bail, Deepika underscored that “bail is only a temporary victory” and warned that “mob trials, lynchings, bulldozer justice, and the eerie silence of high authorities still persist.”
Calling for constitutional integrity and moral courage, it wrote, “If there is even a shred of respect for the Constitution, the case should be dismissed, and those who committed this blatant act of communal aggression should be charged with sedition.”
Finally, the editorial praised Kerala’s response to the incident as a model of secular unity. “Ten days have passed in which secularism proved stronger than communal alliances. That Kerala led that march is no trivial thing. This is the Indian story of secularism authored by Kerala.”
Adding his voice to the growing concern, Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, the head of the Malankara Orthodox Church, welcomed the court’s decision to grant bail to the nuns but demanded accountability.
“It is a relief that the nuns were granted bail after nine days of unjust detention. However, those responsible for their wrongful treatment remain at large. The Chhattisgarh government must file a case against the extremists who detained the nuns and assaulted them in public,” he said.
The Catholicos called the incident a serious violation of rights and urged civil society not to remain silent.