Indian court rules in favour of ‘no God’ inscriptions on Periyar statues

September 6, 2019 By Barry Duke

ON pedestals of statues erected in honour of rationalist and humanist Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973) there is an inscription that makes it abundantly clear that the man best known as Periyar had nothing but contempt for religion.

The inscription reads:

There is no God, the inventors and preachers are fools and rogues and those who worship God are barbarians.

Many, of course, would find those words offensive, but as far as I can ascertain, only one has petitioned a court to have the inscriptions removed – and his case has just been rejected.

Someone called M Deivanayagam argued that Periyar had always advocated self-respect, not atheism, and insisted he that the quote had manufactured by the DK Party headed by K Veeramani.

The petitioner said that when Periyar was alive, on September 17, 1967, a statue honouring him was unveiled at Tiruchi bus-stand by the then Chief Minister C N Annadura and it did not have an atheist inscription. He insisted that Periyar had never uttered the words.

In dismissing the petition, a division bench of the Madras High Court found that this was baloney, and that Periyar’s speeches and expressions from 1928 made clear that he had no time for religion.

According to Periyar – founder of India’s Self-Respect Movement – belief in God was the sole reason for the inequalities that plagued India at that time, the judges said. They referred to his speeches and writings that made clear he was an ardent rationalist.

After going through all Periyar’s speeches and writings, the bench found that there is nothing wrong in having his views inscribed on the statues.

The judges said the contention of the petitioner that everything was done by Veeramani only after the demise of Periyar, was contrary to the facts and cannot be accepted.

According to Wiki:

The bedrock of E.V. Ramasamy’s principles and the movements that he started was rationalism. He thought that an insignificant minority in society was exploiting the majority and trying to keep it in a subordinate position forever. He wanted the exploited to sit up and think about their position, and use their reason to realise that they were being exploited by a handful of people. If they started thinking, they would realise that they were human beings like the rest, that birth did not and should not endow superiority over others and that they must awaken themselves and do everything possible to improve their own lot …

In a message to the Brahmin community, Periyar stated, ‘in the name of god, religion, and sastras you have duped us. We were the ruling people. Stop this life of cheating us from this year. Give room for rationalism and humanism’. He added that ‘any opposition not based on rationalism, science, or experience will one day or another, reveal the fraud, selfishness, lies and conspiracies.’

This collection of Periyar’s quotes contains a variation of the one that M Deivanayagam found so offensive:

There is no god, there is no god, there is no god at all. He who invented god is a fool. He who propagates god is a scoundrel. He who worships god is a barbarian.

He also said:

Man treats woman as his own property and not as being capable of feelings, like himself. The way man treats women is much worse than the way landlords treat servants and the high-caste treat the low-caste. These treat them so demeaningly only in situations mutually affecting them; but men treat cruelly and as slaves, from their birth till death.

In March, 2018, a Periyar statue was destroyed by vandals, and two further acts of vandalism against Periyar statues were committed in the same year.

Indian court ruling on females will render a temple ‘impure’

October 7, 2018 By Barry Duke

The Sabarimala Temple in Kerala has always prevented females between the ages of 10 and 50 from worshipping there – but last month India’s Supreme court ruled that this was discrimination, plain and simple, and the the practice was to end at once.

Fury came in the wake of the decision, with Hindu organisations protesting that the ruling was wrong, and that the temple – dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, above – would suffer all sorts of catastrophes it it were to be opened to “impure” women, especially those who are menstruating.

Sasikumar Varma, A member of the Royal Family and President of the Pandalam Palace Coordination Committee, expressed his shock at the verdict:

We felt like an innocent defendant who realises that he has been sentenced to death. We are not only the true devotees of Lord Ayyappa but we believe that he makes everything right for us. More than a God, we see him as our family member.

Our sentiments were similar to a father who feels that his son has been wronged. That’s how special the relationship of our family is with Ayyappan. [The verdict] was shocking, astonishing and unbelievable.

No, what’s “shocking, astonishing and unbelievable” is that people in this day and age are still clinging to blatant misogyny. Even more shocking is that many women support the restriction.

Varma claimed that at least 35,000-40,000 people had turned out last week to protest the decision – 85 percent of whom were women – and that the verdict was likely to force other temples to allow women of all ages to worship.

In delivering the verdict, Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, said:

Right to worship is given to all devotees and there can be no discrimination on the basis of gender. The practice of barring women in age group of 10-50 to go inside the temple is violative of constitutional principles.

But Varma warned:

If temple traditions and rituals are not followed, it will bring ill luck to the temple and the devotees. The connection between the Pandalam royal family and the Sabarimala temple is irrevocable. If there is a discrepancy in rituals at Sabarimala, it will have a direct effect on us and the ‘tantri’ (priest) family.

Naturally, small changes there will affect us. People may not believe me when I say this. In 1951, when there was a big fire at Sabarimala temple, the same day, our ettukettu (traditional homestead) made completely of teak was burnt to ashes barring a small prayer room where our forefathers used to light a lamp in front of our family deity …

Many years ago, in another incident, the priest one day saw a line of ants around the saligramam (stone used for worship) and came to our family, suspecting some kind of bad luck.

Varma went on to claim that the verdict was likely to force other temples to allow women of all ages to worship.

A line in the judgment says ‘This is applicable to all the temples in India.’

Devotees are agitated right now and there is a chance of conflict if their sentiments are sparked. Violence is not a solution to this as people cannot be beaten up. If that happens, it will intensify into a much bigger problem. I hope that doesn’t happen. The government must take care to not let that happen.

More fuel was added to the controversy when 21-year-old man from Chennai was arrested yesterday (Saturday) for allegedly circulating a video featuring Lord Ayyappa with a menstruating woman.

Hat tip: Gaurav Tyagi

Indian court asked to rule on 'blasphemous' movie song

April 10, 2018 By Guest Contributor

On Sunday it was wanking. Today winking.

In February Pakistan’s Daily Times reported on how Priya Prakash Varrier had become an overnight sensation after she posted a video clip on Instagram, showing her winking at a young man.
The scene is from a song in movie – Oru Adaar Love – and the video went viral. Her Instagram follower count shot up to over 1.5 million in just one day, and now stands at over 13 million. The clip on YouTube has had over 62 million views.
It is rumoured that her popularity has earned her a role in another film – even though her first is yet to be released.
But becoming a darling of Instagram followers and YouTube comes at a price, and now Varrier stands accused of “blasphemy”.
According to this report, in India two Hyderabad residents have approached the Supreme Court seeking a order to remove the song, “Manikya Malaraaya Poovi” because winking is “blasphemous” in Islam and several Muslim groups had expressed anger over the clip, claiming it hurts Muslim sentiments.

A post shared by priya prakash varrier (@priya.p.varrier) on Feb 9, 2018 at 7:53am PST

In their application, the petitioners said “objectionable scenes” had been superimposed with lyrics of the song that was originally written in praise of Prophet Mohammed and his wife Khadeeja Beevi.
The applicants said:

The 30-second clip shows a schoolgirl and schoolboy exchanging smiles, eyebrows wiggles and winks from across the way … Winking itself is forbidden in Islam and in a case where the act of winking is superimposed with a sacred song, written in the praise of Prophet Mohammed and his first wife … the same act becomes an act of blasphemy.
Picturisation of the present song is a deliberate attempt to malign the image of Islam. The present song is intended to outrage the religious feelings and beliefs of the Muslim community.

One of the applicants had earlier filed a complaint following which a FIR (first information report) was registered against film director Omar Lulu in Telangana.
Hat tip: BarrieJohn

Indian court rejects misogyny case against Hindu god Ram

February 8, 2016 By Guest Contributor

Indian lawyer Chandan Kumar Singh, above, has been heavily criticised for bringing a court action against the god Ram, hero of the Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic of 24,000 stanzas.

Singh told the BBC that he took the action because he felt “Lord Ram was unjust to his wife Sita”, and he wanted a court in the eastern state of Bihar to “acknowledge this fact”.
The court wasn’t convinced with his argument and rejected his plea last week, saying it wasn’t a “practical case”.
A group of his colleagues then accused him of “seeking publicity”, and one of them has sued him for defamation.
Singh is undeterred by the criticism, and strongly believes he has a valid case. He quotes from religious scriptures to support his argument.

It’s well known that Ram asked Sita to prove that she was pure after he rescued her from the clutches of the demon king Ravana. He did not trust Sita. Ram’s treatment of Sita shows that women were not respected even in ancient times.
I am aware that the case may sound ridiculous to many, but we have to discuss this part of our ancient religious history. I will file a case again because I really believe that Indians have to acknowledge that Ram mistreated Sita.

Singh also rejected allegations that he was merely seeking publicity.

I filed the case because we cannot talk about respecting women in modern day India when we know that one of our most revered gods did not treat his own wife with respect.

But he admits the reactions have taken him by surprise.

I expected some objection but did not anticipate that my colleagues would turn against me. I was only talking about justice and had no intention of hurting anybody’s religious sentiments.

And he asked:

Is it wrong to seek justice for women? The court’s acceptance of my plea would have sent a good message that respecting women was important to Indians.

But lawyer Ranjan Kumar Singh told the BBC that the plea:

Insulted Hindus. He has a history of filing publicity-seeking pleas. But this time he has gone too far. He has hurt our sentiments.

Ranjan Kumar Singh has also filed a defamation case against his colleague. He added:

We have also requested the bar council to cancel his licence to practice law. All lawyers are united against Chandan, he needs to learn a lesson.
We see Ram and Sita as one and worship them as a couple, there is no question of us believing that Ram mistreated Sita.

But Chandan Kumar Singh insists that his fight:

Isn’t against Ram. I too worship Ram. I am a practising Hindu. I apologise to people if they feel hurt, but I cannot ignore the fact that Sita wasn’t respected.

Court rejects racist's objection to Jewish and Indian lawyers

September 21, 2017 By Guest Contributor

Dylann Storm Roof, sentenced to death for killing nine church worshippers in 2015, has been told by a court that he has to accept two lawyers appointed to handle his appeal.

Roof, 23, according to this report, filed a handwritten request in his federal appeals case on Monday seeking new attorneys, saying:

Because of my political views, which are arguably religious, it will be impossible for me to trust two attorneys that are my political and biological enemies.

The ones appointed for him are Alexandra Yates and Sapna Mirchandani – Jewish and Indian, respectively. They were appointed after Roof was sentenced to death in January this year.
In June 2015, the white supremacist targeted a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. He killed nine people, all African Americans, including senior pastor and state senator Clementa C Pinckney, and injured one other person.
A self-described “white nationalist”, Roof added that he already had found it impossible to work with his lead trial attorney, David Bruck, because he too was Jewish. Roof wrote:

His ethnicity was a constant source of conflict even with my constant efforts to look past it. Trust is a vital component in an attorney client relationship, and is important to the effectiveness of the defense.

During the trial, he often feuded with Bruck, who wanted to present evidence of mental illness and possible autism in an effort to garner Roof a life sentence.
Roof sought to represent himself, although he wound up allowing Bruck to serve as lead counsel during the guilt portion of the trial. Roof still represented himself during the sentencing phase to ensure Bruck could not introduce mental health evidence.
At one point, Roof told Bruck he hated him, and that:

If he gets out of jail, he plans to come to Mr Bruck’s house and kill him.

After his death sentence was imposed, Roof asked US District Judge Richard Gergel to appoint him new lawyers so he didn’t have to continue with Bruck and his team.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia issued a one-line ruling on Tuesday saying only:

The court denies the motion for substitution of counsel on appeal.

Hindu god gets his day in court – and wins his temple battle

November 9, 2019 By Barry Duke

LORD Ram, represented by some of India’s most influential lawyers, today (Saturday) won the right to have a temple built in his honour on land where the 6th century Babri mosque in Ayodhya in was torn down in 1992, triggering riots in many parts of India.

Ram had an officially designated “friend” in the long-running case – Triloki Nath Pandey, inset, who claimed in August this year that Ram had a right to be represented in court because he was:

A living being, who eats, takes a bath, changes clothes, and is guarded by forces.

From the BBC:

For centuries, a deity or an idol has been treated as a ‘juristic person’ in Indian law because many devotees donate their land and possessions to idols who are synonymous with their shrines. A devotee or the manager of the shrine or trust typically handles the deity’s possessions. In light-hearted legalese, the idol is represented by someone called a ‘friend’ of God …

But how do you define the best interests of God? And how can you be sure that the person is acting in God’s best interests?

These are tricky matters which have never been statutorily defined in the law, and have been handled on a case-by-case basis. But usually, unless another person also claims to be a “best friend” of the deity, there is no dispute. In other words, says a lawyer, God is entitled to one friend.

That “friend”, according to court papers, was Pandey. Together with Lord Ram, Pandey was one of a number the litigants in the case.

Pandey, 75, said:

To represent God is a glorious job. To think that I was chosen to do this job from among millions of Hindus made me proud and joyful.

The mosque in Ayodhya was destroyed because Hindus believed that it stood on the exact spot Lord Ram, was born and wanted to build a temple there.

The Babri mosque pictured before its destruction

The Supreme Court acceded to the litigants’ wishes and ruled that Muslims would get another plot of land to construct a mosque.

Lord Ram’s petitions in the court – essentially backed by a clutch of Hindu groups and meticulously written and represented in courts by some of India’s leading lawyers – talked about worship, divinity, incarnations, and spirits of the divine.

They spoke about how it was “manifestly established by public records of unimpeachable authority” that the disputed plot was actually the place where the deity was born. The petitions added that the deity’s spirit:

Can be experienced by those who pray there.

The judges, after a marathon 40-day sitting, also concluded that it was the “faith and belief of Hindus” that the place was the birthplace of Ram, even before the mosque was constructed.

When the mosque was razed to the ground, Pandey became involved in organising legal aid for 49 men accused of participating in the demolition. He also helped a number of Hindu monks defend themselves in independent investigations probing the demolition. (One of the investigations took 17 years to complete; and the criminal cases are still pending in courts.)

Pandey said:

I must have visited courtrooms hundreds of times in the last 10 years or so. I didn’t talk much there. The lawyers spoke on my behalf. Remember, I am the symbol of God.

After the verdict, he ceased to be a “friend” of the god, but he is unfazed by this.

I am with Lord Ram always. When I am with him, what is to fear? God has been vindicated.

In the unanimous verdict, the court said that a report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) provided evidence that the remains of a building “that was not Islamic” was beneath the structure of the demolished Babri mosque.

The judges said that, given all the evidence presented, it had determined that the disputed land should be given to Hindus for a temple to Lord Ram, while Muslims would be given land elsewhere to construct a mosque.

It then directed the federal government to set up a trust to manage and oversee the construction of the temple.

However, the court added that the demolition of the Babri mosque was against the rule of law.

Raped Indian nun: Catholic bishop charged after a lengthy delay

April 10, 2019 By Barry Duke

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, above, was arrested in India last September, but it was not until yesterday (Tuesday) that Kerala police formally charged him with raping a nun on numerous occasions over a period of two years.

Why the delay?

Sister Anupama, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation in Kerala, has suggested that the Catholic Church interfered with the course of justice. In an interview published in February, the nun, who led a campaign calling for Mulakkal’s arrest, accused the Church of using tactics of “isolation, defamation and character assassination” against the bishop’s accusers.

This included an attempt to transfer Anupama and nuns that supported her campaign away from their convent in Kuravilangad. The transfer order was revoked after a couple of weeks.

Anupama, above, said:

The transfer letter issued to us was an act of vengeance by the Church body and had we had moved out, our lives would have been under threat, with no guarantee of protection by the authorities. All this was aimed at punishing us for speaking out against the bishop.

She added:

All of us are on the side of truth and what we want is a safe and secure place for nuns. Over the last two years, there have been many cases of priests in the state who have been accused of committing sexual offenses. Our struggle is for our sisters suffering in silence and we will continue our campaign until all of them get justice.

She pointed out:

We were heckled and asked to leave the funeral of priest Kuriakose Kattuthara who died in mysterious circumstances last year. The priest had supported us in the case against Bishop Mulakkal.

This is the first time in the history of the Catholic Church in India that a top clergyman is being tried in court over allegations of sexual assault.

The charge sheet was filed at a court in Kerala by a special investigation team formed to probe the rape allegations. Bishop Mulakkal has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rape, criminal intimidation, unnatural sex and wrongful confinement.

Four Kerala nuns had met the Kottayam Superintendent of Police last month to complain about the delay in filing charges against Mulakkal, and claimed that they were “living in extreme fear”. According to sources, a draft charge sheet had been ready for filing since December.

One of the protesting nuns said:

It’s only through a huge struggle that we have even come to this point of seeing this charge sheet get filed. We believe that we will get justice.

The nuns alleged that they have come under immense pressure over the last few months, with the Church attempting to separate them from the abused nun and even serving warning notices in an alleged attempt to dilute the case.

Said Father Augustine Vattoli, who is part of the Save Our Sisters campaign launched in support of the victim:

Save Our Sisters has always believed that every accused needs to be treated as an accused and not shielded by religion. This charge sheet comes due to the backing of the people of Kerala, who stood with the nuns and the demand for justice.

Bishop Mulakkal is accused of raping the nun on 14 occasions from 2014 to 2016.

Father Kuriakose Kattuthara was found dead at a church in Hoshiarpur’s Dasuya in October last year – months after he deposed against the bishop in the rape case. His fellow priests and family have alleged that he was killed for speaking against Bishop Mulakkal.

Women journalists assaulted as Hindus riot at an Indian temple

October 18, 2018 By Barry Duke

The Sabarimala temple in the southern state of Kerala, which was recently ordered by India’s Supreme Court to open its doors to women of all ages, was the focal point of violence yesterday when hundreds gathered to protest the decision.

The Huffington Post reports that the mob verbally and physically assaulted several female Indian journalists who were covering the protest.

The crowd fought street battles with police, damaged police and television vehicles, and ultimately bullied women into turning back from the temple.

In September, India’s Supreme Court lifted the temple’s centuries-old ban on women between the ages of 10 and 50, who were barred because they might be menstruating. The court agreed with Indian feminists that the blanket ban was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

About 1,000 police officers were dispatched to the area on Wednesday to control protesters and arrested 11 people.

But some reporters said Kerala’s police failed to ensure the safety of journalists and female devotees seeking to enter the temple.

CNN-News18′s Radhika Ramaswamy posted disturbing footage on Twitter of male devotees at Sabarimala trying to intimidate her. The conversation began civilly, but as soon as she mentioned the Supreme Court verdict, the crowd started banging on her car and demanding that she leave.

The News Minute, an Indian digital newspaper, said reporter Saritha Balan was physically attacked while travelling with a group of devotees traveling to Sabarimala on a bus. A mob of around 20 men reportedly forced Balan to exit the bus before kicking her, taking her photograph and calling her “derogatory names,” the news site said.

The paper wrote:

The News Minute condemns this cowardly intimidation tactic by anti-women mobs claiming to be devotees, and stopping journalists from doing their job. Why was the police not prepared to give protection to all women in the region?

The protesters who surrounded roads leading to the hilltop temple on Wednesday included many conservative Hindu women who believe the temple’s centuries-old ban honours its “eternally celibate” deity, Lord Ayyappa. Others who support the gender-based ban have said that it protects women, believing that the energy at Sabarimala has the potential to harm their health.

Kalyani Jacob, a devotee of Lord Ayappa who lives in New Delhi, said:

We don’t mind not being allowed in. We don’t mind waiting until we turn 50. The ban is not anti-women. This is just a very old custom the Supreme Court should not have interfered with.

A few female devotees of Lord Ayyappa have threatened to commit suicide if women of menstruating age are allowed to enter the temple.

Sabarimala’s blanket ban on all women of menstruating age angered some Indian feminists. Activist Meghna Pant said that Lord Ayyappa’s celibacy was not more important than the equality of women.

Who are men to decide where women can go or not?

Orthodox Jews seek court protection against Skunk spray

August 13, 2018 By Guest Contributor

The Israeli High Court of Justice has been asked to stop police using a foul-smelling spray called Skunk to break up ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrations against military service.

According to this report, four Haredi residents in Jerusalem asked the court to impose a ban on the spray, which they regard as “a collective punishment” and “a grave violation of human rights” when used in dense urban areas.
Skunk was initially developed for use against Palestinian rioters, but last year the police started using it against fervently Orthodox rioters protesting the draft.
Two of of the plaintiffs complained that their shops suffered thousands of shekels of damage when the spray was deployed against nearby demonstrators. A third complained of police shooting the spray onto his balcony as he watched a protest. He said that the spray entered his home, causing damage and injuring one of his grandchildren.
Members of the haredi Orthodox Jerusalem Faction, which was founded by the late Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, regularly hold protests against the Israeli Defence Force They block streets and clash with police. Nearly 50 protesters were arrested following a protest in Jerusalem earlier this month during which demonstrators attempted to block a major street.
One religious college student who was hit by a jet of Skunk last year is quoted as saying:

They spray it on us in direct trajectory, on purpose. Whoever it hits is flung a few meters back and falls down. I took it directly in the back a few times. I’m not even talking about the horrible smell, which is indescribable, but there’s no doubt that they are trying to injure you deliberately.

A video posted to YouTube late last year shows a bystander being hit by skunk spray and thrown several feet during a protest down the street from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.

According to Wikipedia, Skunk an organic and non-toxic blend of baking powder, yeast, and other ingredients. Deriving its name from the animal of the same name, it is dispersed as a form of yellow mist, fired from a water cannon, which leaves a powerful odour similar to rot or sewage on whatever it touches.
A BBC reporter described its effects as follows:

Imagine the worst, most foul thing you have ever smelled. An overpowering mix of rotting meat, old socks that haven’t been washed for weeks – topped off with the pungent waft of an open sewer … Imagine being covered in the stuff as it is liberally sprayed from a water cannon. Then imagine not being able to get rid of the stench for at least three days, no matter how often you try to scrub yourself clean.

A reporter for Reuters described its effect in the following words:

Imagine taking a chunk of rotting corpse from a stagnant sewer, placing it in a blender and spraying the filthy liquid in your face. Your gag reflex goes off the charts and you can’t escape, because the nauseating stench persists for days.

However, when tested in India, the product failed miserably. An Indian official said in this report:

We used it on a captive crowd consisting of CRPF personnel and the general public. But they managed to tolerate the smell without much difficulty … Those who can ignore the smell can drink the liquid also.

'Strip Mother Teresa of Indian honour,' says BJP politician

July 16, 2018 By Guest Contributor

Subramanian Swamy, above, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party MP who has attacked Mother Teresa for her efforts to ‘Christianise’ India, is now calling for her to be stripped of India‘s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India).

According to this report, his call last week came after Indian authorities busted a baby-trafficking racket in a shelter run by the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order set up by the late Albanian-Indian missionary in 1950.
Swamy said the award should be rescinded if the Missionaries of Charity group is found guilty.
He said his stance wasn’t merely influenced by the baby-trafficking scandal, saying he saw it as the last straw in a long line of criticisms levelled at Mother Teresa over many years.
He cited her loyalty to the late American financier Charles Keating, who was convicted of swindling millions of dollars from small investors in the 1980s — Teresa’s charity benefited greatly from Keating’s donations, and she even wrote to a California Superior Court judge seeking clemency for Keating on account of his being “kind and generous to God’s poor,” according to a letter published by Christopher Hitchens in his book, The Missionary Position.
Keating was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, but only served a third of the sentence before his conviction was overturned on a technicality. He died in 2014, two years before the Catholic Church pronounced Mother Teresa a saint.
Swami said:

If you have multiple examples of criminality by Mother Teresa, why should she be a person who should be celebrated in our country? We are not rubbishing the entire [Mission]. We are rubbishing the so-called ‘saint’ status of Mother Teresa.

Members of the Missionaries of Charity carrying a portrait of Mother Teresa when she was made a saint in 2016

In 2013, a trio of Canadian academics published a scathing critique, titled The dark side of Mother Teresa, in which they said her beatification was at odds with her true character.
Their review, published in the journal Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, listed a number of allegations.
They included Mother Teresa’s tendency to glorify human suffering at the cost of providing proper care to the poor, her ties with dubious political figures (including the Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier), her dogmatic stance on abortion, contraception and divorce, and her habit of being:

Very generous with her prayers, but rather stingy with millions of her foundation in the sufferings of humanity.

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal state (which includes Kolkata) and a political rival of the BJP, accused the BJP of being “malicious” in trying to tarnish Mother Teresa’s reputation.
A spokesperson for the Missionaries of Charity described the allegations as “nonsense.”
On Saturday, Indian police shared a clip of a nun confessing to the sale of three babies.
Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Ranchi criticised the manner of ongoing investigation amid attempts to systematically malign the charity set up in 1959. The police, he said, are:

Treating the whole of Mother Teresa’s organisation as a criminal gang.

The top church official also asserted that the nun is innocent and she had told her lawyers that the confession claimed by the police was extracted under pressure.