Catholic World News News Feature

Rape of nuns stirs new outrage December 21, 2001

Follow Up story

Indian Catholics, already reeling from reports of attacks on missionaries in rural areas, have been stunned and outraged by the gang-rape of four nuns and the looting of their convent. The crimes occurred on September 22 in the Jhabua region of the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

A gang of 10-15 hoodlums knocked on the door of the convent at 2 in the morning, and asked the nuns (who provide medical services to members of the tribes living in the region) to come with them to see a patient, according to Father Lucas Izidore, the secretary of the Indore diocese where the events took place. Izidore said that the nuns, suspicious of the request, refused to open the door and instead bolted themselves into the convent chapel and started praying.

The hoodlums then broke open the iron doors of the convent, and looted the convent. Later, they shouted at the nuns to open the chapel doors, promising that they would not harm them. "On coming out, all the four nuns in the convent were forcibly taken to the nearby fields and gang-raped," said Father Izidore. He requested that the names of the nuns, and the congregation to which they belonged, be withheld.

"We are shocked at this. I met the nuns at the police station [where they had been taken to lodge complaint]. They are terrified," said Bishop George Anathil of Indore.

Eleven of the twelve Catholic bishops of the Madhya Pradesh state held an "emergency meeting" on the morning after the crime, Bishop Anathil said, and decided to close all Catholic institutions for a day in order to organize a massive protest march from St. Francis Cathedral in Indore to protest this "barbaric act" and to demand immediate action against the guilty parties.

While several senior government officials of the state visited the convent to express their sympathy after the attack--including the Home Minister, who is responsible for the police-- Bishop Anathil insisted that Church leaders want more. "We want the government to act tough, to stop such attacks on us ," he said.

Describing the incident as "inhuman" and "a national shame," the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) said release that "this is not isolated incident, as is clear from incidents of attacks on minorities in the past few months, and appears to be part of a game plan of vested interest groups that are now operating in the country against the minorities." In a veiled criticism of the Hindu nationalists who now leading the federal coalition government, who have been accused of "Christian-bashing" in recent months, the statement-- signed by CBCI president Archbishop Alan de Lastic of Delhi--said that the Indian Church "would not be surprised to find that [the hoodlums] are working with the approval of higher-ups in the government and some rightist political parties." The statement further pointed out that there has been "increasing incidents of selective attacks" on Christians especially in the northern and western states where the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds sway. The Western Gujrath state, under BJP rule, has recorded over 30 attacks on Christians since March, which had prompted the National Minority Commission to send an investigative team into the state.

"I am not sure whether the nuns were victims of an anti-Christian conspiracy. We have no evidence," said the local bishop. However, Bishop Anathil said that there have been instances of harassment of nuns in the recent past, including threats and stone-throwing at the convents in remote areas where the nuns work.

Bishop Anathil himself had presided three years ago at the funeral of Clarist Sister Rani Maria, who was murdered in a macabre manner. The nun--who was popular with the members of impoverished tribal groups--was stabbed over 40 times in February 1995 before a crowd of 50 onlookers, including the local BJP leader. When her killers were released on bail, the culprits were even audacious to pull down the "shrine" local people had built in memory of the beloved nun.

John Dayal of the All India Catholic Union (AICU)--a group that is in the forefront of campaigning for Christians' fundamental rights--believes that "Christians have every reason to suspect a larger anti-Christian conspiracy" behind the latest incident. Several Catholic leaders contacted by this correspondent seemed to share the same concern that the gang-rape of the nuns in Madhya Pradesh is the handiwork of Hindu fundamentalists.

Hindu nationalist groups like Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have been increasingly aggressive and more vocal about driving away Christian "missionaries" (a category which in practice includes Christian social workers who the oppressed tribal people to resist exploitation) ever since the BJP-led coalition government took office in March. Meanwhile CBCI and AICU have appealed to the federal President K. R. Narayanan to direct the BJP-led federal government and the state government to ensure the safety of Christians.

Over 10,000 Catholics--including seven bishops and hundreds of priests and nuns--marched in New Delhi on the Saturday after the killing, bearing black badges to commemorate the victims of anti-Christian violence and chanting slogans such as: "Stop Atrocities on Christians!" and "We want justice!" The protest marchers were led down the 1.8-mile route from Sacred Heart Cathedral to by Archbishop Alan de Lastic.

The march, which took place just after the conclusion of a National Youth Convention organized by Indian Catholics, had originally been organized to rally support for a call to end discrimination against Christians of low-caste origins. The purpose of the protest was "broadened" to encompass complaints about anti-Christian violence.

"We Christians, one of the most peaceful communities of India, are utterly dismayed and alarmed at the sharp increase in incidents of violence and atrocities perpetrated on us," lamented Indian Church leaders in a memorandum submitted to federal officials. The memorandum cited dozens of cases of recent attacks against Christian individuals and institutions.

Almost all political major political parties in India--with the notable exception of the BJP--urged the government to ensure the lives and properties of Christians. A four-member investigation team of the opposition Congress party, after visiting the Jhabua site of the most recent and most outrageous assault, public announced their conclusion that Hindu fundamentalists were probably involved in the rape of the four nuns.

Hindu nationalists, on the other hand, made no move to back away from the controversy. B.L. Sharma, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Council of Hindus) and a former BJP parliamentarian, announced that the gang-rape of the nuns had been provoked by the "anger of patriotic Hindus against anti-national forces." He added that "anti-national" Christian missionaries should "pack up and leave the country."

Archbishop Lastic told this correspondent that the series of attacks on Christians and the provocative statements emanate from the "diabolical jealousy" of Hindu fundamentalists "who cannot do what our nuns are doing for the poor, so they are jealous." The archbishop even recalled that Mother Teresa, revered by one and all, was also the "target of their anger." Sharma and his followers had demonstrated in New Delhi three years ago calling Mother Teresa "a wolf in sheep's clothes" and demanded revocation of the "Bharat Ratna" (Jewel of India) award the Indian government had conferred upon the renowned nun for her dedication to the poor.

Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi, a member of Indian bishops conference's justice and peace commission, sees the roots of the Hindu fundamentalists' antagonism in the Catholic "commitment to equality and justice." He reasons: "As we stand for social justice, vested interests feel threatened. That is why we are attacked." - Anto Akkara