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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUMBAI 000651 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO DRL-IRF (JOANNELLA MORALES) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM IN
SUBJECT: CHURCH ADVOCACY RESULTS IN ACTION BY RELUCTANT POLICE AFTER 
FIVE NUNS ARE ASSAULTED IN INDORE 
 
¶1.  Summary:  On October 25, 15 to 20 members of a right- wing 
Hindu group allegedly assaulted and injured five nuns of the 
Franciscan Clarist order near Indore, Madhya Pradesh.  Christian 
sources told us that the Indore police were initially reluctant 
to register a complaint against the Hindu attackers, but 
responded to advocacy by the Catholic Church and other Christian 
groups.  At the same time, the police also registered a counter 
complaint by the Hindu group against the nuns for "attempts to 
convert by inducement."  The incident is further evidence of the 
misuse of existing anti-conversion laws in some Indian states by 
right-wing Hindu groups to intimidate the small Christian 
minority.  However, this minority is now using protest and 
politics to counter this trend.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Hindu Extremists Assault Catholic Nuns 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  According to Father Anand Muttungal, Public Relations 
Officer (PRO) of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) Catholic Church, on 
October 25, 15 to 20 members of Hindu Dharma Raksha Samiti (DRS 
- Hindu Religion Defense Committee) assaulted five nuns of the 
Franciscan Clarist order, all of whom were Indian citizens, near 
Indore, in Madhya Pradesh.  Reportedly, DRS activists dragged 
the nuns to the nearby police chowky (a sub-station), beating 
them en route.  The assailants also damaged the nuns' vehicle. 
One of the nuns fractured her leg while another suffered head 
injuries. 
 
 
 
¶3.  Press reports indicated that the DRS members claimed that 
the nuns had been using "inducements" to convert people in the 
community.  The attackers confiscated a Bible and some pamphlets 
from the nuns and handed it to the police as evidence that the 
nuns were trying to attract converts.  Sister Jincy, one of the 
nuns, denied the allegation.  According to a faith-based 
website, she said: "We had gone to attend the Rosary Prayer at 
Mr. Anil's house.  Mr. Anil is a Catholic by birth and the 
driver of our convent."  The same website also quoted Dharma 
Raksha Samiti official Kamal Waghela, who said: "Sisters have 
done conversion in the locality, and they have allured people to 
accept Christian faith.  The people who came to meet sisters 
after the prayer picked up a quarrel on this issue which led to 
a clash between the sisters and our workers." 
 
 
 
 
 
Police Ensure Nuns' Safety, But Are Slow to Take Legal Action 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  Reportedly, the small police outpost, worried about the 
nuns' safety, quickly moved them to a bigger police station 
nearer the city of Indore.  "The Christian community should be 
thankful to us for saving the lives of the nuns because the mob 
had dangerous elements," Banganga Station in-charge T S Baghel 
told The Indian Express on October 26. 
 
 
 
¶5.  However, according to Father Anand Muttungal, Public 
Relations Officer (PRO) of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) Catholic 
Church, the Indore police initially refused to register a 
complaint (known as "FIR" -- First Information Report) against 
the Hindu attackers.  Only after Muttungal approached the MP 
state police chief, could the complaint be registered, on 
October 27.  Simultaneously, the police also registered a 
counter-complaint by the Hindu attackers against the nuns for 
"offering inducements to convert". 
 
 
 
¶6.  Muttungal criticized the police's response, noting that the 
 
MUMBAI 00000651  002 OF 003 
 
 
police only briefly arrested the attackers on October 30, and 
immediately released them on bail.  According to Muttangal, the 
police diluted the charges against the attackers in the FIR by 
a) delaying the nuns' medical examination by a government doctor 
(by which time the minor injuries healed), and b) down-playing 
the leg injury of one of the nuns in the doctor's report. 
(Note: Church sources say that she will not be able to work for 
at least a month because of a multiple fracture.  End note.) 
 
 
 
Christians Strategize Well To Get Heard 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7.  To overcome the police resistance to register the nuns' 
complaint, MP Christians used a two-pronged approach, Muttungal 
explained.  At the same time that Muttungal approached the state 
police chief, Indore organizations informed the police that they 
would be marching in protest on October 27.  (Note:  Indore was 
hosting a global investors' meet on October 26 and 27, organized 
by the Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government. 
Indore police did not want to risk the embarrassment of a 
demonstration during the meet.  End Note.)  Indore police 
registered the complaint and requested Christians to defer their 
protest march. 
 
 
 
¶8.  Accordingly, Indore Christians marched in protest on October 
28 and Christian organizations in Bhopal held a candle-light 
rally on November 2, a week after the incident.  The same day, 
Christian organizations met with the Madhya Pradesh Governor and 
apprised him of their concerns.  Moreover, Church leaders in MP 
have asked that Christians all over the country send letters to 
BJP President Rajnath Singh urging him to prevent his party's 
government in Madhya Pradesh from harassing minorities. 
Muttungal also told us that national Christian organizations 
will request women parliamentarians to raise the Indore incident 
as a gender issue in the November session of the Indian 
parliament. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶9.  The state of Madhya Pradesh's anti-conversion law dates back 
to the 1960s.  According to this law, it is illegal to offer 
"inducements" to attract converts.  Madhya Pradesh Christian 
organizations allege that under the current BJP chief minister 
Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan (who assumed office in November 2005) 
right-wing Hindu groups have systematically misused the law to 
harass Christian workers.  Right-wing Hindu groups accuse 
Catholic Church workers and Protestant evangelicals of offering 
inducements for conversion, and register a complaint against 
Christians under this law.  In addition, these Hindu groups have 
begun to use force and intimidation to discourage this perceived 
practice.  In many cases, leaders in BJP-led states have 
encouraged the police to register these complaints with 
alacrity, and to dilute -- or not register -- the complaint 
against the perpetrators.  Muttungal estimated that from 
November 2005 until today, there have been nearly 100 incidents 
in which Christians have been harassed or assaulted.  (Note: In 
recent trip to neighboring Chhattisgarh, a Hindu group 
representative told Congenoff that he was fighting conversion 
through "trickery" and protecting Hindu culture,  and denied 
reports of assaults on Christians.  Meanwhile, Christian groups 
admitted that in isolated cases, some preachers have used 
inducements to attract converts.  End Note.) 
 
 
 
¶10.  The International Religious Freedom Report for 2006 and 
2007 catalogues incidents where anti-conversion laws have been 
misused by Hindu groups seeking to "protect" Hindu culture and 
prevent conversions in some Indian states.  The incident in 
 
MUMBAI 00000651  003 OF 003 
 
 
Indore demonstrates two unfortunate trends.  First, the absence 
of a firm police and administration response has emboldened 
right-wing Hindu groups to continue their attacks against 
Christians.  Second, Christian groups have begun to assert 
themselves against this trend by using political action and 
protest to ensure that some justice is served. End Comment. 
OWEN