India: NESCOM Condemns Detention of Catholic Nuns in Chhattisgarh

In a strongly worded statement covered by Catholic Connect, Bishop Albert Hemrom of Dibrugarh, who chairs the North East Social Communication (NESCOM) commission, condemned the recent detention of Catholic nuns in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh as a gross violation of human rights and religious freedom.

Describing the incident as “an alarming reflection of rising religious intolerance and systemic hostility against Christians in India,” Bishop Hemrom’s statement expressed both anguish and firm faith in the resilience of truth and justice.

The detained women were all legally consenting adults, traveling with full parental permission and accompanied by religious sisters, as they journeyed to begin work in convent institutions. “There was no trafficking, no coercion, no deception,” the NESCOM statement clarified. “Yet, they were intercepted, harassed, and unlawfully detained, while mobs watched, cheered, and filmed, in full view of a complicit state machinery.”

Bishop Hemrom warned that Christians are increasingly being vilified for their service and beliefs. “We are not aliens to this land. We are sons and daughters of India, educators, health workers, and social servants, reaching places others have long ignored,” he emphasized.

“What happened in Chhattisgarh is not an isolated event,” the bishop stated. “It is part of a broader, more insidious campaign, one that seeks to criminalize Christian identity and dismantle our constitutional protections. Vigilante mobs and hate-filled propaganda now threaten the very soul of our secular democracy.”

In his appeal, reported by Catholic Connect, Bishop Hemrom called upon President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uphold their oath to defend the Constitution. He also urged the National Human Rights Commission to immediately intervene, investigate the case, and guarantee the safety of the detained nuns and others unjustly accused.

The statement struck a deeply pastoral tone when addressing the Christian faithful, “To our brothers and sisters in faith: Do not be afraid. Do not despair. Remember, the early Church too was persecuted, and the truth endured. So it shall again. Let every prayer become a protest. Let every bell become a call to conscience. We will not be silenced. We will not be broken. And we will never abandon our mission, to love, to serve, and to forgive.”

Bishop Hemrom concluded with a public appeal for unity, justice, and peace, urging fellow citizens to rise above division and reclaim India’s founding values. “We still believe this country can do better,” the statement read. “May mercy awaken our conscience, and may justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”