Indian bishop slams intimidation of Catholic school staff

Priest, nuns, and other staff on a picnic were stopped, questioned by Hindu activists suspecting ‘conversion activities’

Updated: May 02, 2025 12:31 PM GMT

A Catholic bishop has condemned the harassment of staff from a Church-run school, including a priest and two nuns, while they were on a picnic, by alleged Hindu activists in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

“The men stopped us on spotting the nuns and some of our staff wearing rosaries around their necks, and started interrogating us,” said Father Sonu Vansuniya, the principal of New Catholic Mission School under the Catholic diocese of Jhabua.

The men claimed to be members of the Hindu organization, Bajrang Dal, or the army of the Hindu god Hanuman, and he recalled that they “suspected we were carrying out conversion activities.”

“They stopped us from getting into our bus after leaving the park we were visiting, and instead told us to accompany them to the nearest police station,” Vansuniya told UCA News on May 2.

When refused, they began questioning members of the staff, mostly from indigenous tribal or Dalit (formerly untouchable) backgrounds, if “they were being lured or forced to accept Christianity,” he said.

Meanwhile, some police officers arrived at the scene and repeated the same questions that the Hindu activists were posing.

“Failing to find anything wrong or objectionable, the police allowed us to leave after around two hours of harassment in full public view,” Vansuniya said.

Bishop Thomas Mathew Kuttimackal of the Indore diocese condemned the incident that occurred in his jurisdiction.

“This kind of behavior is not acceptable in a civilized society, and I condemn it,” the prelate said, appealing to the provincial government in Madhya Pradesh to rein in such groups that target Christians, alleging religious conversion.

Kuttimackal told UCA News on May 2 that the narrative of religious conversion was “totally false.”

“We don’t convert anyone through allurement, force, or coercion. We work for the welfare of the people in need, especially those on the periphery of society,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the 11 states in the country that enforce a draconian anti-conversion law, which criminalizes religious conversion.

The incident in Jhabua was the latest reported by Christians against the hardline Hindu groups targeting them and their institutions.

On March 31, two Catholic priests were assaulted by a mob inside a police station in Jabalpur district, where they had rushed to assist tribal Christian pilgrims who had been detained on suspicion of conversion activities.

The 50 pilgrims, including women and children from the tribal-dominated Mandla district, were visiting churches in Jabalpur, about 100 kilometers away, as part of Lenten activities.

The Hindu activists obstructed their path and forcibly took them to the police station, claiming they had undergone religious conversion.

Many church officials, including bishops, priests, nuns, and laypeople in the state, have complaints filed against them alleging conversion activities.

Christians make up 0.27 percent of Madhya Pradesh’s over 72 million people, around 80 percent of whom are Hindus, including the indigenous people who generally follow their animist religions.