Nuns watch an act, staged as part of a protest against the arrest of two Kerala nuns on allegations of forcible conversion and trafficking in Chhattisgarh, in Kozhikode, Kerala, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.
Credit: PTI Photo
The arrest of two Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion is the latest incident of harassment targeting minorities in BJP-ruled states. It has led to strong protests from the community, especially in Kerala, the nuns’ home state. The nuns were arrested at the Durg railway station last week, when they were headed to a convent in Agra, along with three tribal girls. They were apprehended on a complaint by a Bajrang Dal member. According to reports, the nuns, the girls, and the brother of one of the girls who accompanied them were intimidated and manhandled. The Railway personnel had reportedly informed the Bajrang Dal about the nuns’ presence at the station. Following cases registered on the Bajrang Dal activists’ demand, the nuns are now held in a jail in Durg. Two courts have rejected their bail petitions, which will now be heard by an NIA court.
Trafficking is a serious offence, making bail difficult to secure. The girls were going to take up jobs in the convent. They are adults and had their families’ consent to travel. One of them has said that they were coerced to make false statements. There was no reason to invoke charges of forcible conversion and trafficking. However, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has backed the police and defended the charges. Chhattisgarh has a strong anti-conversion law that has been used indiscriminately in the past against members of the Christian community. The BJP government and Hindutva organisations have maintained that there are large-scale efforts for the forceful conversion of tribals. The state has a large tribal population, and Hindutva groups consider them to be part of the Hindu fold, though many tribal groups do not accept this classification.
Controversies over conversions have erupted regularly in states where Hindutva groups have influence. The Constitution gives citizens the right to profess and practise any faith, and the right to convert to other faiths. But there is a tendency among Hindutva outfits to dub all conversions as forced and target Christian priests and nuns. Killings and assaults have taken place, and Christian places of worship have been vandalised. The case against the nuns has attracted attention when the BJP is making serious efforts to lure a section of Christians in Kerala. The party’s Kerala leadership has tried to intercede with the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre. But its overtures to the community are now bound to be seen as insincere and hypocritical.