Madhya Pradesh: nun accused of 'conversion’ for raising health awareness among children
The initiative by Sister Sheela Savari Muthu was held in a public park in Indore in partnership with St. Francis Catholic Hospital to benefit the children of domestic workers. Police detained participants for a few hours, after moving in following complaints by Hindu extremists. “We do not accuse these brothers,” said Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal. “We respond with prayer."
Indore (AsiaNews) – Last Sunday, Sister Sheela Savari Muthu, a lawyer and a Missionary Servant of the Holy Spirit, was holding a health awareness session for the children of domestic workers in a public park in the city of Indore after duly notifying the authorities.
In the latest example of intolerance by local Hindu nationalists, she and those present ended up at the police station on “conversion” charges.
The event was held in cooperation with St. Francis Hospital, a 100-bed tertiary medical facility owned by the diocese that offers “affordable quality healthcare for all, irrespective of their caste or creed, particularly to the poor and the marginalized, [. . .] in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ”.
Some passers-by, at first intrigued, asked for information and then went into a rage. The police intervened and took Sr Sheela and her fellow Sisters to the police station for questioning.
The situation worsened when members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist group, protested outside the police station, accusing the nuns of conversion.
The nuns were able to return home in the evening, but some fear that the police might give in to political pressure from Hindu nationalists, who often lash out at minorities, especially Christians, who are but 2.3 per cent of the population.
The nature of the allegations is disturbing. It is claimed that the children were forcibly taken to a church by the missionary nuns as part of the programme organised with St. Francis Hospital. This is patently false.
In fact, the children, whose parents are domestic workers, were not taken to any place of worship and the event was organised and carried out entirely in a public park in Indore.
"Sister Sheela Savari Muthu and her companions were conducting a medical camp for underprivileged children of domestic workers,” said Bishop Emeritus Chacko Thottumarickal of Indore, speaking to AsiaNew.
“To accuse her of conversions without any evidence is only a ‘devilish act’, nothing else but a devilish act, and we respond with prayer,” the prelate added.
“We don't accuse these brothers,” he said, addressing the accusers; instead, “we pray for their conversion of heart, so that they stand for truth, not falsity.”
.png)
