'They have to prove the credibility of their talk; whether they want to focus on the secular face of India, whether they want to focus on democracy and above all freedom of an individual to practice his or her religion.'
It was on the 26th of July that Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis, two Catholic nuns from Kerala, working in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, were arrested along with Sukaman Mandavi, a youth from Narayanpur, by the Chhattisgarh police at the Durg railway station.
The alleged crime committed by the nuns: Forced religious conversion and human trafficking.
The nuns were charged under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (trafficking of persons) and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act (1968).
On the 30th of July a sessions court in Durg district disposed of the bail application of two nuns saying that the matter should be heard by the National Investigation Agency court.
On the 2nd of August, eight days after their arrest, the nuns were granted bail by a special NIA court on condition that they surrender their passports and furnish a bond of Rs 50,000 each.
The battle for justice is not over yet. It only begins now.
It is against this background that Rediff's Shobha Warrier spoke to the president of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, who is the current Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
"We want to see how the Centre and the party are going to tackle this particular incident, and their disposition to the minority communities in the country," Cardinal Baselios Cleemis says in the concluding segment of a two-part interview.
It was a big surprise for many when the Catholic church and members of the Christian community extended their support to the BJP in Kerala. With this incident, will the situation change?
I have to clarify your statement.
You cannot categorically say that the Catholic church in Kerala supported the BJP.
It is true that the BJP was trying to get close to the church by dialogue and visits.
But this incident has made a difference to the whole context.
The ball is in the BJP's court.
They have to prove the credibility of their talk; whether they want to focus on the secular face of India, whether they want to focus on democracy and above all freedom of an individual to practice his or her religion.
Have you lost faith in the BJP? Will you rethink about your support to the BJP?
You presume that the entire Catholic church in Kerala supported the BJP.
It is only a presumption. It is not totally true.
There may be cases of some promotion. But that is not the whole story.
It is up to the party and the BJP government at the Centre to prove that they don't support these fanatic, violent groups who take the law in their hands.
What about the 2026 state election in Kerala?
That is a little ahead.
What happened must be just an incident.
But we are looking at the incident in a different way.
We want to see how the Centre and the party are going to tackle this particular incident, and their disposition to the minority communities in the country.
The other day, the BJP state leadership said Islamic fundamentalist outfits had infiltrated the church and the protest march it had organised.
I want to ask, is that the biggest finding or the solution? I don't think so.
These are all presumptions.
We had a protest rally and a public meeting in Trivandrum where different denominations of the Christian community, and all the churches participated. It was organised by us.
And if somebody accuses that there were others infiltrating into it, they have to clarify it.
I don't know how a statement that radical Islamic elements were brought into our rallies is justifiable.
I don't think such a statement is made with certainty and respect for everyone.
IMAGE: Cardinal Baselios CleemisAre you disappointed with the state BJP?
You should ask me, are you happy with the whole development?
We are happy that they (nuns) are granted bail.
There will be joy and happiness when total justice is given to the sisters.
As justice gets delayed, the sisters are suffering and the anxiety of the Christian community in India goes up. Of course, the other minorities as well become anxious.
When we spoke 10 years ago, your message to the prime minister was, walk the talk. What will you tell him now, especially when he speaks about sabke saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas?
We are having such incidents in various parts of the country.
I think as a government, it is the obligation of all those in power to see that all communities stay together, and India achieves property as a unified mission.
Incidents of this kind should not obstruct the country's growth.
There should be a concerted effort from all; especially the central government should ensure that we all stay together as a country of diverse culture and diverse religions.
Of course, secular too. The word 'secular' cannot taken away!
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff