By Matters India Reporter

Mumbai, Aug 3, 2025: A group striving to uphold the values of the Indian Constitution has condemned increasing attacks on religious minorities in the country.

The Citizens for the Constitution (CFTC) has sounded alarm at “a growing pattern where the state appears to be complicit with Hindu right-wing vigilante groups in targeting religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians.”

The latest of such cases was the arrest and continued judicial custody of two Catholic nuns and a tribal youth in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and religious conversion. The Chhattisgarh police in Durg arrested Sisters Preety Mary and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi on July 25 and a court sent them to judicial custody.

An FIR has been filed against them under provisions of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act for trafficking three women from Narayanpur, some 190 km south of Durg.

The police reportedly acted on a tip-off by a Bajrang Dal member—a Hindu right-wing organization.

“Alarmingly, one of the women allegedly trafficked has revealed that she was coerced into making a false statement implicating the nuns, under pressure from Jyoti Sharma, a member of the Durga Vahini. In reality, all three women were already Christians and were traveling for a job offered by the nuns with the consent of their families, and there is no evidence of force or coercion,” the statement said.

The case, they said, should be viewed “in the broader context of increasing state-backed campaigns aimed at the identification and eviction of so-called illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

In Gurugram, Haryana, and Delhi, the administration has launched a drive to identify undocumented migrants—specifically targeting Indian Bengali-speaking laborers from the states of West Bengal and Assam—accusing them of being Bangladeshi or Rohingya.

The group members include Ram Puniyani, author and human rights activist, Irfan Engineer, a lawyer, and Pastor Devdan D. Tribhuvan, said these people possessed multiple valid documents proving their Indian citizenship, such as Aadhaar cards. However, those laborers have been arbitrarily and illegally detained, interrogated, beaten severely and harassed.

They condemned “the horrific mob attack” on a Muslim family in Pune on July 26, accusing it of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. “Shockingly, the family has a proud history of serving the Indian Armed Forces, including a relative who is a Kargil war veteran.”

The pro-constitution observed a common pattern in all incidents: Right-wing cadres randomly and arbitrarily accuse Muslims and Christians to be illegal immigrants or illegal conversions, only because of their faith. They are often accompanied by the police, and in presence of police beat them. The police arrest them, and slaps false charges.

Such incidents, they bemoaned, strike at the heart of India’s constitutional values and democratic institutions. The rule of law is being systematically undermined, and the principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity enshrined in our Constitution are being eroded by the unchecked power of majoritarian vigilante groups acting with state support or complicity.

CFTC demanded immediate accountability. “We urge the Prime Minister and the concerned state governments to take cognizance of these grave violations and halt the ongoing harassment, witch-hunting, and intimidation of Indian citizens in the name of religion or citizenship. The state must uphold its constitutional responsibility and take legal action against those inciting hatred and fear. It is imperative that justice is served, and the targeting of minorities under the false pretext of conversion or illegal immigration is brought to an end.”