When two ASMI nuns, Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, were released from jail in Durg, Chhattisgarh, after being granted bail by an NIA court, representatives of different political parties from Kerala, including Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, were vying with each other to take credit for their release.

There have been multiple instances of nuns being detained by police on suspicion of indulging in religious conversion while travelling. Earlier this year, in January 2025, a CMI priest originally from Kerala was arrested and imprisoned in Bhopal for about three weeks on similar charges. Two priests were mobbed and assaulted by Bajrang Dal members in Jabalpur in April 2025. However, these incidents did not receive the same level of media attention or active political intervention as the recent case.

Following the arrest of the two nuns, public protests erupted across Kerala and in many other parts of the country by the Christian community. Political leaders from both the UDF and the LDF took up the issue seriously and appealed to the Prime Minister for the nuns' release. Some leaders even travelled to Durg and waited before the prison till the nuns were released from jail on August 2. Kerala BJP leaders, including Rajeev Chandrasekhar, were also present to welcome the nuns upon their release.

According to media reports, the proactive involvement of leaders from all three major political alliances was largely influenced by the upcoming Kerala assembly elections, which are less than a year away. The Syro-Malabar Christian community, to which the nuns belong, represents a significant vote bank, and the BJP has been actively courting the community's leadership for several years. The BJP's victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency is often attributed to its outreach to Church leaders.

However, Church leaders should take note of the BJP's double standards in this case. While the Kerala BJP denounced the arrest and distanced itself from the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and the Bajrang Dal, the VHP, Bajrang Dal, and BJP leaders in Chhattisgarh held a different stance. Even after Home Minister Amit Shah assured Kerala MPs of support, the prosecution opposed the bail application of the nuns. The official X handle of BJP Chhattisgarh even posted a cartoon depicting two nuns placing a noose around a young girl's neck while forcing a crucifix upon her, with political leaders kneeling behind them. The post, which went viral, was later deleted following criticism.

Church leaders in Kerala should not be satisfied merely with the release of the nuns, nor should they feel indebted to BJP leaders for it. Bail was granted through due legal process, a right available to every Indian citizen. The Church leaders and the civil society must demand legal action against the Bajrang Dal members who harassed the nuns, the police who colluded with the attackers, and the railway authorities who failed in their duty to protect the nuns as passengers.

It was reported in the media that some railway staff informed the Bajarang Dal members about the presence of nuns in the railway station. If strict action is not taken, such incidents will continue. The BJP has a history of promoting individuals who engage in anti-minority rhetoric and violence.

Dayal Paleri and Kunal Shahdeo, in their article "Kerala vs Chhattisgarh: Nun arrests expose how BJP deals with two kinds of Christians," published in The Indian Express on August 2, observed: "Where Christians are institutionally powerful and caste-aligned, they are accommodated; where they are subaltern and assertive, they are policed." The BJP has little interest in empowering marginalised communities, which may explain its suppression of welfare and developmental activities of Christians, especially in BJP-ruled states.

The arrest of the nuns has revealed the limitations of the BJP's attempt to politically include Christians in Kerala. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) issued a strong statement condemning the arrest, and Deepika, the Church's official publication, ran an editorial describing the incident as an "arrest of the Constitution."

The large-scale protests by Christians in Kerala indicate that they are aware of the BJP's political games. Even if some Kerala Church leaders fail to recognise the wolf in sheep's clothing, the Christian faithful are now convinced of the BJP's true colours and can no longer be misled by false propaganda. The strong protest by the Christian community, along with the support of the civil society organisations, proves that Kerala is a fortress of secularism that cannot be dented by the Hindutva promoters.

A headline in the New Indian Express on August 3 was "Bail for Kerala nuns a feather in the political cap of BJP and Rajeev?" If the BJP thinks that Kerala Christians have accepted the BJP as their saviour because the BJP was seen to be playing a role in the release of the two nuns, they are thoroughly mistaken. Kerala Christians are intelligent enough to understand the political games the BJP plays in Kerala vis-à-vis the BJP-ruled states.

While the Church can and should engage in dialogue with all political parties, it must do so without compromising the teachings and ideals of Jesus. Religious leaders, in a secular state like India, should not campaign for any political party. However, they must have the courage to urge people to vote for parties and candidates committed to the core principles of the Indian Constitution. Secular democracy, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case, is a basic feature of the Constitution.

Church leaders in Kerala must recognise that the BJP's ideology seeks to transform India into a Hindu Rashtra—a theocratic state where Muslims and Christians would be treated as second-class citizens. This vision was clearly articulated by M.S. Golwalkar, revered by the RSS-BJP as "Guruji":
"The foreign races in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment— not even citizen's rights" (Bharat Publications, Nagpur: We, or Our Nationhood Defined, 1939)

Golwalkar viewed Muslims, Christians, and Communists as internal threats to the Hindu nation (Bunch of Thoughts). The BJP has never disavowed Golwalkar's views regarding minorities.

The BJP's political expansion strategy has often involved aligning with regional parties, only to weaken or absorb them later. The decline of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra are prime examples. Similarly, the Biju Janata Dal maintained a friendly relationship with the BJP, only to be ousted from power later. The BJP is adopting the same strategy in Kerala by wooing the Syrian Christian community and creating a divide between Muslims and Christians. Movies like The Kerala Story and narratives such as "love jihad" are tools used to attract the Syrian Christian community.

Christian leaders in Kerala must understand that the ideology of Hindutva stands in direct opposition to the teachings of Jesus. The BJP's promises will not ensure the safety of Christians in India. For short-term benefits, Church leaders should not align with the BJP. The true security of Christians lies in the secular Constitution of India.

The RSS-BJP has never fully accepted the Indian Constitution. Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, some BJP leaders openly stated their ambition to win 400 seats to amend the Constitution. Providence alone prevented the BJP from securing an absolute majority, forcing it to rely on allies to form the government. Yet, the party's aversion to the secular Constitution remains clear, as reflected in its relentless attacks on secularism and pluralism.

If the current Indian Constitution is ever undermined, minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, will be reduced to second-class citizens. The stringent anti-conversion laws passed and strictly enforced in BJP-ruled states are already eroding India's secular framework. These draconian laws have been weaponised to persecute Christian missionaries. This is a negation of Article 25 of the Constitution that guarantees every citizen has the right to "freely profess, practice, and propagate religion."

Today, even a small prayer gathering in a private home can be misinterpreted as an act of inducement for conversion, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of participants and organisers. Sadly, Church leaders in Kerala have not strongly protested these laws, which blatantly violate fundamental rights. As long as the BJP remains in power and these draconian laws exist, persecution of Christians in BJP-ruled states will persist. The Church leaders should not forget this reality while they engage with the BJP.