Brutally beaten and falsely accused, Catholic priests and nuns become the latest targets in India’s growing tide of mob violence Jaleswar attack exposes the chilling rise of religious vigilantism and the silence of the state.
In a remote corner of Odisha, in the village of Gangadhar under the Jaleswar Parish, India witnessed a tragedy that should shake the conscience of every citizen. On August 6, 2025, two Catholic priests, two nuns, and a catechist were mercilessly attacked by a mob of nearly seventy Bajrang Dal members. This act of brutal vigilantism was not a spontaneous burst of anger it was a calculated, orchestrated ambush steeped in communal hatred and emboldened by political protection. The victims had gone to the village to conduct a peaceful requiem Mass in memory of two deceased local Catholics. After the service and a simple meal with the grieving families, they began their journey home only to be met with violence that has now become all too common in today’s India. The catechist was dragged from his bike and thrashed. The priests and nuns were beaten, insulted, and falsely accused of attempting forced religious conversions. Phones were stolen, slurs were hurled, and the rule of law lay shattered on a forested path while the mob filmed their crimes for propaganda.
This horrific incident is not an isolated aberration it is part of a broader pattern of state-enabled religious persecution that is gripping the nation. Just days earlier, in Chhattisgarh, two Catholic nuns were jailed for nine days under fabricated charges of conversion. Across the country, Christians are being painted as enemies of the nation missionaries are accused of seducing the poor with charity, nuns are vilified as agents of Western influence, and priests are assaulted for merely praying. The truth is far more disturbing: this is not about conversion it is about control. It is about weaponizing religious identity to suppress, silence, and subjugate. And it is being done with terrifying efficiency by organizations like the Bajrang Dal, whose members now believe they are above the Constitution.
The Jaleswar attack makes one thing clear: India is not just tolerating intolerance it is institutionalizing it. When seventy men can attack priests and nuns with impunity, while police stand by and refuse to file even an FIR, what remains of our democracy? When law enforcement exists not to protect victims but to escort them away from mobs, what remains of our republic? The Constitution promises every citizen the right to practice and propagate their religion. But in practice, Christians today are criminalized for simply living out their faith. In states where political majoritarianism thrives, even a prayer service is deemed suspicious. Even grief becomes a trigger for violence. The attackers in Jaleswar didn’t even wait for a provocation they brought their own cameras, their own false narratives, and their own version of justice. They shouted, “This is BJP’s rule now. You cannot make Christians anymore.” That statement wasn’t just a threat it was a declaration of war against pluralism.
This war is not just being fought on the streets it is being fought in the silence of institutions. Where is the Prime Minister’s voice? Where is the action from the National Commission for Minorities? The silence from the state is deafening and dangerous. It sends a clear signal: minorities are on their own. If a priest is beaten, a nun jailed, or a church vandalized, justice will not come running. And this silence is complicity. It gives mobs the confidence to attack again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, sections of the media fuel the fire amplifying lies, ignoring facts, and demonizing Christian service as conversion conspiracies.
The Bajrang Dal and its affiliates have now evolved into India’s most dangerous ideological militia. They are no longer fringe. They are organized, well-funded, and politically protected. Their hatred is not random it is strategic. They aim to eradicate diversity and replace it with a uniform, militant, majoritarian identity. In their vision of India, there is no room for Christians, Muslims, or even dissenting Hindus. They want a theocratic nation, not a democratic one. Their ideology stands in direct opposition to the Constitution. And yet, they march freely, beat with impunity, and operate as parallel law enforcement agencies in states across India.
The Church in India must not remain passive in the face of this existential threat. Bishops, priests, religious congregations, and Catholic institutions must raise their voices, document these crimes, engage legal mechanisms, and join hands with civil society. The judiciary must act not just to give bail, but to ensure accountability. Suo motu action must be taken. Hate crimes must be prosecuted. Police officers who fail to act must be suspended. Every delay in justice is an invitation for the next mob to assemble. Civil society, too, must rise. Hindus who believe in secularism, Muslims who know the cost of silence, Sikhs who remember injustice all Indians must realize that this is not just a Christian issue. This is a national emergency.
Because when mobs rule and minorities are hunted, the idea of India dies a little more each day. When a priest is afraid to conduct a prayer, when a nun is jailed for compassion, when a child’s funeral is disrupted by hate, we must ask: what have we become? We are not just witnessing communalism we are witnessing the collapse of conscience. This is not about faith versus faith. This is about faith versus fascism.
Jaleswar must not be forgotten. The forest road where priests were ambushed must not be erased from national memory. That road is not just a path in Odisha it is a symbol of the crossroads India now stands at. One path leads to a plural, secular, constitutional democracy. The other, to a violent, theocratic majoritarian state. The time to choose is now.
If we do not speak today, if we do not act now, the crosshairs will move from priests and nuns to anyone who dares to be different. The Constitution is under siege. The Republic is bleeding. And history will ask: When they came for the priests, who stood for India?