Mother Theresa’s missionaries attacked in Kerala

Mother Theresa’s missionaries attacked in Kerala

BANGALORE, India — Four nuns and three brothers belonging to India’s most famous religious order, Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity, were attacked Sept. 25 by Hindu extremists in the southern state of Kerala.

The incident took place on the outskirts of a Dalit colony in the Kozhikode district when two missionary sisters arrived to distribute food and medicines to members of the Dalit caste, formerly known as Untouchables.

A gang pulled the nuns from their jeep, accusing them of using charity as an inducement to convert “gullible” Hindus. When six members from the mission house came to the nuns’ aid, a mob assaulted the missionaries with iron rods.

Several of the victims were admitted to the hospital with head injuries. Sister Kusumam, the mission’s Mother Superior and one of the injured, strongly denied charges of using charity to convert Hindus.