ICC Note: Christians in India claim that the order of nuns founded by Mother Teresa has been victimized by fake news and “baseless innuendos” after the government ordered all the country’s states to inspect childcare homes run by the nuns. Earlier this month, two of the orders nuns in Jharkhand were arrested on suspicion of child trafficking. The order of nuns has cooperated with investigations and have condemned the actions of the nuns in Jharkand, but Hindu radicals have taken this opportunity to malign the name of Christians in India generally.

07/19/2018 India (World Watch Monitor) – The order of nuns founded by Mother Teresa has moved to defend itself from “false news” and “baseless innuendos” after the government yesterday ordered all the country’s states to inspect all childcare homes run by the Kolkata-based order.

The women and child development minister, Maneka Gandhi, made the announcement on Monday as criticism of the nuns has intensified following the arrest on 5 July of an MoC nun and a staff member on suspicion of child trafficking. The two, Sister Concelia and Anima Indwar, worked at a home run by the order in Ranchi in eastern Jharkhand state. They were arrested following a complaint to police by the Ranchi unit of the government Child Welfare Committee. The superior of the MoC house, Sister Marie Deanne, was also detained by police, but was released after questioning the next day.

In a statement signed by the Superior General, Sister M Prema, and released today (17 July), the Missionaries of Charity (MoC) condemned the women’s alleged actions, and said the order was “fully cooperating with the investigations”.

Senior police officials on Sunday announced the last of four babies allegedly sold from the home for unwed mothers had been found. According to The Guardian, the alleged sale of the fourth baby had not been completed.

However Sister Prema’s statement criticised the response of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which she said had, on the day of the arrests, demanded that the 11 mothers, one baby and one guardian in the home, Nirmal Hriday, leave immediately. Sister Prema regretted that the mothers “were subjected to the utmost humiliation and public embarrassment by the officials as they were carried [out] in full view of the media”. She also accused police of “raiding” a MoC home in nearby Hinoo and endangering the health of a baby who was among the 22 children there they took into the custody of CWC.

She also suggested that the sisters might have been able to ascertain that a baby born in their care had not been delivered to the CWC as arranged, if the CWC had had a practice of giving an acknowledgement to the home after obtaining custody of a child.

There are concerns that the scandal is being used to discredit the order and by extension, Christians in India at a time when non-Hindus are complaining of worsening discrimination and marginalisation. Speaking after the two arrests, Mamata Bannerjee, chief minister of West Bengal state, in whose capital Kolkata the order has its headquarters, accused Hindu nationalists of exploiting the allegations to “malign the name” of the order.

Bannerjee accused BJP politicians of using the actions of individuals to target the whole order, which she added was “highly condemnable”.

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