By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Protests broke out Monday in India’s capital, New Delhi, and the country’s southwestern coastal state of Kerala over the detention of two Catholic nuns and a young man on charges of “forced conversion” as well as “kidnapping” and “human trafficking.”
The Kerala-based nuns from the Congregation of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) and the teenager were arrested at Durg Railway Station in India’s state of Chhattisgarh over the weekend, Worthy News established.
Church officials said “Sister Preethi Mary, 45, and Sister Vandana Francis, 50, of ASMI, accompanied by 19-year-old Sukaman Mandavi,” were taken into custody after meeting three young tribal women” aged 18–19, at the Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh.
They reportedly tried to take the women for “nursing and domestic jobs” in Agra, the Indian city known for landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, the iconic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna.
The women were all above 18 and had written parental consent and identity documents, according to church officials
A train ticket inspector questioned the group, then alerted activists of the influential Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal, sources said.
Bajrang Dal was seen gathering at the train station and pressuring authorities to detain the group.
RAILWAY POLICE
Railway Police detained the nuns, Sukaman Mandavi, and the young tribal women. The three tribal women were placed in a government shelter while the nuns and Mandavi were remanded until August 8, officials said.
Chhattisgarh’s government defended the arrests, saying it wanted to “protect tribal women.”
Authorities accused Catholic leaders of “hiding” facts, saying a minor had stated that “forced relocation and conversion” from Hinduism, India’s main religion, to Christianity were attempted.”
The state’s leadership called for “scrutiny of Christian evangelism practices in vulnerable areas.”
Under Chhattisgarh’s Religious Freedom Act, conversion “via force, fraud, or inducement” —including for minors or tribal individuals—can lead to up to 4 years’ imprisonment and fines up to 200,000 Indian Rupees ($2,304).
Critics argue these laws are vague and often misused, especially against Christian missionaries. According to experts, legal terms like “allurement” can “criminalize” standard charitable or job-based activities.
Biblical scholars also argue that forced conversion toward the Christian is impossible as believing in Christ is a voluntary decision.
LEAVING HINDUISM
“Anti-conversion laws penalize only those who leave Hinduism, their birth religion. Thus, India’s anti-conversion laws are discriminatory by selectively hitting hard only those who convert out of Hinduism,” argued PhD-wielding Paul Swamidass, Professor Emeritus at Harbert College, the business school of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.
Swamidass, who is a noted expert on the issue, said in published remarks that “a legitimate question for Indians to ask is: ‘Why is India selectively depriving constitutionally granted religious freedom from her non-elite, low caste, or poor Hindu citizens?’”
He added that “Right now, anti-conversion laws are placating elitist Hindus, whose feelings are hurt because some Hindus are converting to another religion. This is not an adequate reason to peel away the constitutionally granted rights of some Hindus, who want to leave the Hindu faith and take on another faith, such as the Christian faith.”
He stressed that only “a few of the converts to the Christian faith are from privileged upper castes and elites, but most are not. Poor, non-elite Hindus, who make up the lower castes or are from outside the caste system, tend to pay closer attention to the claims of Jesus Christ in the Bible.”
Advocacy group Open Doors suggested that many of India’s roughly 73 million Christians, who comprise approximately five percent of the population, face an uncertain future. “In India, Hindu extremists view all Christians as outsiders and aim to cleanse the nation of Islam and Christianity, often using extensive violence.”
Open Doors ranks India 11th on its annual World Watch List of 50 nations where it says Christians suffer most for their faith.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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