The Catholic church in Kerala has launched a strong protest against the central government following the arrest of two nuns from the state who are currently held in Durg jail in Chhattisgarh.

On Wednesday, their bail plea was rejected by a sessions court in Chhattisgarh, which directed them to approach the National Investigation Agency-designated bench at Chhattisgarh High Court instead.

On Wednesday evening, members of the Thiruvananthapuram Catholic Forum, led by Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, carried out
a silent protest march to the Raj Bhavan. Protesters had their mouths gagged with black cloth to symbolise what they called the silencing and humiliation of Christian religious personnel.

This marks a shift in the Church’s relationship with the central BJP leadership. Cardinal Cleemis, known for his cordial ties with BJP leaders, has now taken a strong stand after the arrest of Sister Vandana and Sister Preethi of Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (Green Gardens) Convent in Cherthala, Alappuzha, under the Syro-Malabar Church.

Both the ruling Left Democratic Front and the Opposition United Democratic Front staged separate protest marches to the Raj Bhavan. As news of the court ruling spread, Cardinal Cleemis and numerous nuns joined in the protests, expressing concern over what they described as a sign of growing religious intolerance.

“The nuns are the pride of secular India. Their services have brought tens of thousands of people into the mainstream. It was indeed very sad to see a section of people celebrating the sessions court’s denial of bail to the two nuns,” said Cardinal Cleemis.

On July 26, while accompanying three women from Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district to Agra for jobs as kitchen helpers in a convent, the nuns and a man, Sukhman Mandavi, were stopped at a Chhattisgarh railway station by Bajrang Dal activists and later taken into police custody.