Bail for nuns brings in a rush of relief for Kerala

Church leaders, members of the laity, and politicians across the civic spectrum in Kerala appeared to breathe a collective sigh of relief on Saturday after a special court in Chhattisgarh released on bail the two Kerala nuns held in judicial remand at the Durg Central Prison on human trafficking and forced conversion charges since July 25.

The local law enforcement had arrested the nuns, Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, after Bajrang Dal activists, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s youth wing, harangued the sisters at the Durg railway station, accusing them of attempting to spirit out three tribal women to Agra for conversion to Christianity.

Archbishop Joseph Mar Pamplany, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] general secretary M.A. Baby, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty said the nuns’ fight for justice was only half-done.

The leaders said that nothing less than quashing the “false case” would satisfy the nation’s founding principles of secularism, religious freedom, protection of minorities and liberty of movement. The bail conditions set by the court precluded the nuns from speaking to the media or leaving the country. The court also directed the nuns to appear every fortnight before the investigation agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which investigates human trafficking, a scheduled offence with severe penalties and diminished chances for bail. 

Leaders across the political aisle jostled to welcome the nuns at the convent attached to the nearby Church-run Viswadeepam Senior Higher Secondary School and celebrated their release by distributing sweets.

‘Hindrance to early bail’

However, the political bonhomie appeared short-lived, with Congress and CPI(M) turning on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar for purportedly stating that political theatre in front of the prison by the ruling front and Opposition leaders from Kerala had hindered early bail for the nuns. 

CPI(M) leader John Brittas, MP, riposted that Mr. Chandrasekhar had resorted to absurd theatre by projecting that the BJP had done the Church a favour by securing the nuns’ release and making a public spectacle of escorting the sisters to the convent.

‘Words, deeds do not match’

Congress legislator Chandy Oommen said there was a dichotomy between the words and deeds of BJP leaders. “The BJP’s social media handles in Chhattisgarh broadcast pictures of Congress leaders supplicating before nuns,” he said. 

The release of sisters capped a week of social anguish and widespread protests in Kerala. Multiple party delegations had called on the sisters in prison and expressed their support. Ruling front and Opposition MPs from Kerala highlighted the nuns’ cause for justice in both houses of Parliament. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding justice for the nuns. Mr. Chandrasekhar lobbied the Central and Chhattisgarh governments to persuade the prosecution not to oppose the nuns’ bail plea.