Nuns’ arrest in Chhattisgarh State-sponsored terrorism, says Hibi Eden

Terming the recent arrest of two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on charges of alleged religious conversion and human trafficking as an incident of State-sponsored terrorism, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said he would raise the matter in the Lok Sabha, along with the increasing number of attacks on members of minority communities in northern India.

Uniformed forces like the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the respective Government Railway Police (GRP) are behaving like affiliates of the RSS, he alleged. Nuns and other members of minority communities are increasingly being denied the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution across the country. In this situation, the Lok Sabha must adjourn its sitting until the government makes a statement on the recent ‘terror attack’ targeting nuns—forcing them to hide their attire—and on the measures being taken to ensure the safety and security of religious minorities. Such incidents are a threat to the rule of law, he said.

Sunday’s arrest of the nuns raises serious questions about the safety and security of religious minorities in our country. Given the gravity of the situation and its potential implications for communal harmony and national security, it is imperative that the House discusses this matter at the earliest opportunity. The government’s response to this incident, and the measures it proposes to prevent such events in the future, are of utmost importance, Mr. Eden added.

Terming the arrest of the nuns as part of the ‘Sangh Parivar agenda’, the Kochi-based Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (AMT) of the Syro Malabar Church said most Christians in northern India are living in fear of attacks. This is especially true in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Nuns and others from the community have been doing voluntary service in such remote areas, where the government machinery has little presence, said Riju Kanjookaran, spokesperson of the movement.

‘CBCI inaction’

Sadly, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is weak and unable to find solutions to such issues or initiate legal action. Their role ends with issuing a statement in the wake of such attacks. The CBCI has failed to initiate policy measures or bring international pressure to end such well-planned and coordinated attacks, he added.