Mananthavady: A wave of protests has erupted across Kerala and other parts of India following the arrest of two Keralite Catholic nuns in Durg, Chhattisgarh, under controversial charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethi Mary, belonging to the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Assisi, were taken into custody amid allegations that Church institutions were luring young women into religious conversion a claim dismissed as baseless by Church leaders and Christian organizations.
The Malankara Catholic Association (MCA) in the Mananthavady region strongly condemned the arrests, accusing communal forces of deliberately targeting Christian missionaries to disrupt India’s secular fabric. During a protest gathering at the Pastoral Centre in Mananthavady, MCA regional president Philip George Kottakkat declared that the nuns were “symbols of compassion and service” who had been unfairly framed. Several others, including Fr. John Panachiparambil, regional general secretary Shindu Philip, and treasurer James Palavila, emphasized that such actions weaken the foundation of Indian democracy and create a hostile environment for religious minorities.
Simultaneously, the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM) issued a scathing statement against the arrests, terming them an “embarrassment for a democratic republic.” According to KCYM, the young women accompanying the nuns were being taken for legitimate employment in Church-run institutions and had full parental consent. The organization alleged that extremist elements had used threats and misinformation to falsely implicate the nuns, while the local police failed in their duty to protect the innocent. KCYM leaders called for the immediate release of the nuns and the withdrawal of fabricated charges, warning that failure to act would only deepen communal tensions.
Further condemnation came from the Catholic Congress Cathedral Unit in Mananthavady, which labeled the arrests as “a gross misuse of the law” and a clear violation of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion. The meeting, led by Cathedral Vicar Fr. Soni Vazhakat and Assistant Vicar Fr. Jerin Poikayil, criticized the weaponization of anti-conversion laws by extremist factions and demanded that the government uphold the constitutional rights of religious minorities. The protest emphasized that Catholic missionaries operate based on values of mercy and service, not coercion or conversion.
Across the spectrum of Catholic leadership, there is a unanimous call for justice and due process. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has taken up the matter at the national level, seeking intervention from central authorities. Protestors and Church leaders fear that the incident marks a growing trend of hostility towards Christian communities under the guise of protecting religious integrity.
As tensions continue to rise, Church institutions have announced plans for peaceful demonstrations, legal assistance for the arrested nuns, and national awareness campaigns. They assert that this is not just a legal battle it is a moral and constitutional fight to safeguard the integrity of service and the rights of India’s religious minorities.