A nun gang-raped. A church vandalised.
As a community cries for help, and as public anger gathers momentum, PM Narendra Modi has ordered an administrative probe, while West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has ‘expressed concern’ over the incident in Nadia. It remains to be seen whether ‘probes’ and ‘concern’ will end in concrete action.
A Modi-cum of Hope
Modi has sought intervention into the rape of the 71-year-old nun in West Bengal’s Nadia district and the vandalism of a church in Haryana’s Hisar district.
The PM seems keen to deal with religious intolerance with an iron hand. But only tangible, positive outcomes will convince observers that there is a marked shift in the NDA government’s approach in tackling these repeated attacks on the Christian community.
The other concern - there are those singing off key. On Monday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, while justifying the Hisar church vandalism, commented that “the priest was luring youths with the promise of a bride.”
Not long after, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu smugly responded to the Opposition that “the Government couldn’t be expected to intervene every time such an episode occurred.”
Loose Cannon Mamata
Even as the Sister Superior of the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School in West Bengal’s Ranaghat was gangraped and a nation was left shocked, the Chief Minister continued to merely observe from the sidelines.
All it took was one visit to Nadia for Mamata to gauge the extent of public anger as her convoy was blocked by angry protestors.
It took Mamata years to woo voters away from the Left towards a ‘secular’ and ‘liberal’ Trinamool Congress. Yet, in several key cases, Mamata is often seen to do nothing, and has taken public criticism very poorly.
Not long after Park Street rape survivor Suzette Jordan’s ordeal became public, Mamata called her a “liar” and declared that the incident had been “staged.” What followed was a circus, with Didi shunting out administrative officers and walking out of television interviews, alleging that those around her were “Maoist agents.”
Can the nun who has been so mercilessly assaulted and a community that continues to remain vulnerable, repose their faith in their CM?
Christians comprise 2.3% of India’s population. Modi’s intervention could be a ray of hope for a community that has repeatedly fallen prey to bigotry in recent times.
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