“If you insist that we wear habits everywhere, then be ready to defend us when we are attacked on the streets,” she was referred to the church authorities of Sr. Sujat Jena, who currently serves in Bhubaneswar in Odisha. Against the background of growing hostility towards Christian missionaries in northern India, sr. Jena became a strong voice and pointed out the growing intolerance and the urgent need to observe the constitutional values. In this interview with the Hinduist, he describes in detail the threats facing missionaries, shrinking space for religious freedom, and why visible symbols of faith should not become the reason for violence.
Recently, Fr. Suresh Mathew, a Catholic priest in northern India, has issued instructions for nuns in the region to equip them to avoid hate attacks. Are instructions useful in preventing attacks against missionaries?
Yes, the instructions can be useful, especially for religious choirs looking for direction in the middle of growing hostility.
Have you ever faced threats or problems during your travels who wear a religious habit?
I belong to the assembly of the sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary, the apostolic pontification congregation founded in France in 1800. Historically we have never had a formal custom. After the second Vatican Council, we returned to our original charisma – dressing simply, suitable for missions. Our constitution, approved by the Vatican, confirms this practice. Personally, I did not wear a habit, so I did not encounter threats for my garment.
Do you think that changing the dressing code is a way to avoid these problems in the future?
In a secular, democratic country, citizens have the right to choose dresses, religion and way of life. An attack based on religious clothing is a violation of constitutional rights, human dignity and crime. There is dangerous thinking supporting one culture, one religion, one language, etc. It goes against the constitution. India is multicultural, multilingual and multi-religious. Today we want hijab to ban, the next day the habit of nuns and the next day something else. This is unacceptable. However, due to these marginal elements, religious choirs may have to consider their priorities. Sometimes discretion ensures the continuity of the mission.
What will be the impact of the dressing of the dressing code, positive or negative?
The idea of right -wing hooligans will not change, even if we do not wear a custom in public. However, the dress can cause them to create problems. One has freedom to wear what he likes. The decision to wear a habit or not should be controlled by a mission, not to control fear.
Is religious habits wearing compulsory? Why do some provincials deny the permission of nuns to travel in normal clothes?
Perfectae Caritatis The Second Vatican Council (Article 17), which deals with the adaptation and restoration of religious life, states that a religious custom must be simple, modest, poor and adapted to time, places and ministry. Habits that do not meet these criteria must be changed. Many churches in India were simple clothing or uniforms that are better suited to missing their ministry. However, some churches have politicians that may not allow major changes.
Do the arrests of Malaysian nuns in northern India create fear among missionaries? How does marginalized communities see nuns in their regions?
After a nun was detained in Odisha, I heard some young sisters express the fear of wearing habits in public. Many nurses, some without dressing habits or formal clothing, continue to live and work among the most marginalized, such as Dalits, Adivasis, Migrants, Women in Need and Children in vulnerable situations.
It concerns missionaries and nuns to fundamentalists?
Yes, and the threats are escalating. But more than nuns or priests, they are ordinary Christian believers who are under persistent attack, especially in rural northern India and tribal regions. These stories are insufficiently announced in the mainstream media and often ignore the leadership of the church. According to United Christian Forum based in Delhi, only documented attacks on Christians-Tuto, arrest, church vandalism, forced conversions and rejection of funeral rights occurred in 2024. In Odisha, Christians are denied funerals, forced to give up faith, detained for false accusations and physically attacked. Tribal villagers now demand “Ghar Wapsi” or reconversion for funeral permission; A cruel exchange of faith for dignity at death. Pastors continue to disappear into prison for fancy accusations of forced conversion. Hundreds are trapped without deposit. Meanwhile, the institutional church remains largely quiet.
Fundamentalists claim that nuns are involved in religious conversion in tribal areas. What is ground reality?
These accusations are unfounded and politically motivated. Catholicism has a strict, lengthy process for initiation – catechism, preparation and voluntary acceptance. No one is forced. In fact, most who choose Christianity, especially among the Dalits and the tribes, do this because it offers them dignity, their own value and human rights, which are hierarchies based on caste.
How can we stop ongoing attacks on the Christian community in northern India? Any suggestions?
Political leadership should take over the initiative and punish violence perpetrators. But that doesn’t have to happen in India. Here the perpetrators were often rewarded.
