Kanthapuram condemns detention of nuns
In a statement here on Wednesday, he condemned the alarming incident of two Malayali nuns being mobbed and detained in Chhattisgarh over allegations of conversion and trafficking.
'State borders should not hinder education, employment, or travel beyond administrative purposes,' he pointed out.
He cautioned that the attack on the nuns had the potential to erode the country's diversity, secularism, and communal harmony.
Drawing parallels, Musliar recalled a previous incident where students from northern States, who had come to Kerala to study at local orphanages, were unfairly suspected of human trafficking and denied their right to education.
He warned that mob violence against minorities would erode India's legacy of unity, fraternity, and communal harmony, harming its global standing and violating fundamental rights. Citing concerns over voter list revisions in Bihar and disenfranchisement in Assam, he stressed the importance of collective vigilance and cooperation to protect India's diversity and unity.
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The Wire
14 hours ago
- The Wire
Kerala Nuns' Arrest: Chhattisgarh Woman Now Says ‘Was Coerced to Give Adverse Statement'
The woman has said that she was 'threatened and assaulted' by Jyoti Sharma, a woman associated with a right-wing outfit, and that the police based their FIR on what members of the Bajrang Dal told them. Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal and Hibi Eden with others stage a protest over the arrest of two Catholic nuns. Photo: PTI New Delhi: In a fresh twist to the arrest of two nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh, one of the women who they attempted to convert to Christianity and thereafter traffic, has told The Indian Express that she was 'coerced to give an adverse statement against them.' The arrest of the two Malayali nuns – Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis – along with another person, Sukhman Mandavi, by police at Durg railway station on July 24, based on the complaint of a local Bajrang Dal worker that they were forcibly converting three women from Narayanpur and were attempting to traffic them, has created a nationwide uproar, and also caused an attack on minority communities. The Indian Express report said that one the three persons, a 21-one year old tribal woman, told the newspaper that she was 'threatened and assaulted by Jyoti Sharma, a woman associated with a right-wing outfit, to change her statement, and the police based their FIR (First Information Report) on what members of the Bajrang Dal told them'. The woman, who had returned to her home in Narayanpur on July 30 after spending five days at a shelter home in Durg, told the daily on phone, 'Please release all three (the arrested accused), they are innocent.' Recounting the sequence of events on July 24 that led to the arrest of the nuns at the Durg railway station, the woman said she had gone to the station to travel 'with the nuns of her own will' and with her 'parents' consent.' She alleged that 'Sharma assaulted her', and the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Durg 'did not record her statement'. Instead, she alleged, the police based the FIR on a statement given by Bajrang Dal members. The woman from Narayanpur said she, along with the other two women from Orcha in Narayanpur, had reached the railway station around 6 AM. According to the report, 'They were accompanied by Mandavi. Around 9 am, the nuns, whom she had never met, arrived. Shortly after, a Bajrang Dal worker and the GRP reached the scene and started questioning them.' She related over phone, 'They took us to the railway police station. We were scolded a lot, and Jyoti Sharma hit me twice on the face.' The woman alleged that Sharma told her 'if you do not follow what we say, we will put your siblings in jail and assault them. They wanted us to say that we were brought here forcibly. I told Sharma that I have come of my own will and have the consent of my parents. I said this inside the police station in the presence of two to three policemen.' 'I had met the nuns for the first time. When we were being assaulted, one of the nuns said, 'do not worry, I am here with you.' She told the person beating us, 'hit us, but not them',' the woman said. Jyoti Sharma, when contacted by Express, said, 'I did not touch any one of them. When I reached, they were already inside the police station. Will the police allow me to touch them? I am hearing this allegation for the first time; earlier, they were saying I beat a nun, which is false.' Meanwhile, Rishi Mishra, the Bajrang Dal's state coordinator, told the daily, 'A rickshaw driver associated with the Bajrang Dal overheard the conversation between the nuns and the women and suspected they were being trafficked, after which our workers reached the spot and gave a complaint to the GRP.' Misha told the newspaper that Sharma 'is not from the Bajrang Dal but from the Durga Vahini Matrushakti.' On being asked, she identified herself as 'a Hindutvawadi who turns up wherever Hindutva needs saving.' Chhattisgarh DGP Arun Kumar Gautam declined to comment on the Narayanpur woman's allegations, saying, 'Matter is sub-judice,' the report added. The nuns were refused bail by a local court in Durg on July 30, stating that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the plea as the charges involved serious offences, including human trafficking, which comes under the ambit of the National Investigating Agency (NIA). 'The judge directed that the matter be taken up with the special NIA court in Bilaspur,' as per a Matrubhumi report. It said the advocates of the nuns are preparing to move a fresh bail plea in the Chhattisgarh high court. 'Meanwhile, the court move triggered celebrations by Bajrang Dal activists who had gathered outside the court in large numbers,' said the report. The issue has been raised in the ongoing parliament session, with MPs from Kerala demanding immediate release of the nuns. Three MPs from the southern state who visited the nuns in Durg jail, also met Union home minister Amit Shah on July 30 on the matter. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
New Indian Express
20 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Kerala nuns' arrest casts shadow over BJP's outreach
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The arrest of the Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh has snowballed into a political storm in Kerala with the Left parties, Congress, and various associations mounting a strong campaign that threatens to derail the BJP's outreach among Christians in the state. Senior BJP leaders acknowledged that the issue has shaken the party's recent gains in building closer ties with Church authorities. 'For some time, the Congress and Left were worried about our growing proximity to bishops and the Church. Unable to stop it, they are now using the Chhattisgarh arrests as a weapon to break that trust,' a BJP leader said. The BJP had planned a ward-level campaign across Kerala from August 1 to 10, aimed at expanding its membership. Party insiders say the meetings will now double as a reality check on how much damage the controversy has caused. Even while firmly opposing forced conversions, the Kerala BJP moved quickly to intervene in the Chhattisgarh case. A delegation was sent to assist the arrested nuns after the state unit concluded there was no evidence of conversion attempts. 'We took a bold step, fully aware it might backfire, but it was clear this was a genuine case. Our priority is ensuring justice for the nuns,' a senior leader explained.
New Indian Express
21 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Kerala BJP, Sangh parivar divided over the arrest of nuns
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the state BJP has been trying to contain the damage over the arrest of Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh, differences have cropped up between the state unit and Sangh parivar, with the latter strongly coming out against Rajeev Chandrasekhar's statement giving a clean chit to the nuns. With the crucial 2026 assembly elections approaching, the BJP is using all the tricks up its sleeve to wriggle out of the situation with minimal political backlash as both the UDF and LDF have taken up the issue. Though the BJP has sent its general secretary Anoop Antony, who has a good rapport with national Sangh parivar leaders, to Chhattisgarh, it now knows that nothing more can be done till bail is granted to the nuns. The BJP is facing its worst dilemma with core Sangh parivar organisations toughening their stand against the arrested nuns and Rajeev Chandrasekhar's statement supporting them. 'Before the judiciary and police come to a conclusion, any statement issued by anyone exonerating the nuns is an injustice to the victims,' state president of Hindu Aikya Vedi, R V Babu, told TNIE. Rejecting the state BJP president's stance that the nuns are innocent, Babu said that BJP as a political party might take a position. 'However, as organisations working on the basis of Hindutva ideology, we demand that the Christian Church must reject the religious conversion going on, including in states like Kerala. Why are these missionaries carrying out their service only on Hindus and not on Muslims?' he asked. He said that Hindu Aikya Vedi will oppose any attempt to convert Hindus in the name of service or love.
