Why Christian Nuns’ Arrest In Chhattisgarh ’Worries’ BJP In Kerala

The reaction of the Church against the arrest of two nuns surrounded and intimidated by Bajrang Dal activists in Chhattisgarh two days ago has considerably damaged the Bharatiya Janata Party’s plans for Kerala.

Though the BJP has distanced itself from the alleged incident and the arrest of the nuns, the Church has reacted vociferously against the party. In the last Lok Sabha election held in 2024, it is believed that the BJP gained votes from the Christian community in Kerala, which contributed significantly to the saffron party’s considerable increase in vote share. The victory of Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi from the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, which has a sizeable Christian vote base, is a testament to this.

But the arrest of Preetha Mary and Vandana Francis from the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate under the Syro Malabar Church, on charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking, has dented this image of rising support for the BJP from the Christian community.

The nuns were travelling with three women who, according to Church authorities, were to work as kitchen helpers at a convent. A statement issued to the media by the spokesman of the Syro Malabar Church, Olarikkot Thomas, said that the nuns had consent letters of their parents (although the helper women are not minors). According to the Church, they were at a railway station when a ticket examiner questioned them and informed some Bajrang Dal activists. The activists allegedly surrounded them and, soon after, the police detained and charged the nuns with human trafficking.

“The police and Sangh Parivar activists are working hand in glove. The case against the nuns was initiated at the behest of Bajrang Dal activists. Christian missionaries are being attacked in several parts of the state, and even ordinary Sunday services are becoming very difficult to conduct. I have been working here for the last forty years. The social climate here was vitiated after 2014, and attacks against minorities have become a regular feature,” Father Sebastian Poomattom, Public Relations Officer of the Raipur Archdiocese, told Outlook.

However, the BJP says it had no role in the arrest, and that “miscreants” carried out the attack.

Kerala’s demographic structure, with more than 45 per cent of the population belonging to minority communities, is creating hurdles for the BJP in Kerala. The significant presence of what MS Golwakar, the second Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had termed its three ‘internal enemies’—the Muslims, the Christians and the communists—makes it challenging for BJP to penetrate Kerala’s political structure.

To break the jinx, the party has been trying to placate the Christian community. According to the 2011 census, Christians constitute 18.33 per cent of Kerala’s population. And they are the deciding factor in many constituencies in central Kerala.

Hence, all political parties are vying against each other to express solidarity with the arrested nuns. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his immediate intervention to ensure justice to the arrested nuns.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the arrests reflect “a dangerous pattern: systematic persecution of minorities under this regime”. He demanded immediate release and accountability for the nuns’ arrest.

The Catholic Church has come down heavily against the arrest of the nuns and what it has called the BJP’s doublespeak. In a hard-hitting editorial in its mouthpiece, Deepika, the Church alleged that all over the country, except in Kerala, minority communities feel insecure. “The democratic secular constitution is held captive by the communal forces,” the daily said in an editorial.

The BJP in Kerala is trying to control the damage. Party state general secretary Anoop Antony, an emerging Christian face in the party, is visiting Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. Speaking to Outlook, Anoop Antony said there is a malicious campaign against the bonhomie that exists between the Christian community and the BJP. He said his party is falsely blamed for the attacks against Christian missionaries. He added that the BJP stands for religious freedom and every person has the right to pursue their religion under the law. He said that if any injustice has been done to the two nuns in Chhattisgarh, the party will ensure it is corrected.

The BJP has been promoting a Christian organisation called CASA or Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action, known for taking Islamophobic political positions. Like the BJP, it has been at the forefront of the campaign against alleged ‘Love Jihad’ and other issues aimed at the Muslims in the state.

A BJP leader confided without agreeing to be named that the frequent attacks against the Christian missionaries are creating a trust deficit within the community. According to him, the carefully charted plan to win the community’s confidence takes a beating when incidents such in Chhattisgarh occur regularly.

The support of the Christian community is essential for the BJP’s political ambitions for Kerala to succeed. With Local body elections just four months away and Assembly elections early next year, the state leadership has a huge task ahead: winning the hearts of at least a section of Christians to have an impact on Kerala politics. The news from Chhattisgarh does not augur well for this plan.

Every time Christian missionaries are attacked in North or Central India, the BJP’s Kerala plan gets punctured. The recent arrests in Chhattisgarh are only the latest to add to its worries.