Murdered nun gave her life in the service of the Gospel: cardinal

The President of the Bishops’ Conference of India has praised Sr Valsa John, the nun who was murdered in the eastern province of India last month.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias said the nun, who was hacked to death, was fearless and, "a person of courage and faith who gave her life in the service of the Gospel.”

The 52-year-old member of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary was brutally murdered in Pachubera village in Pakur district of Jharkhand, 400 km away from the State capital of Ranchi on the night of November 15. 

She had been working among the tribal communities in a coal-mining region near the city of Dumka in the Indian state of Jharkands for the last 20 years.

Founder of NGO, Pahar Bachao Andolan, Sr. Valsa lived in a rented house in Pachubera village.  

She had begun a forest conservation movement at the Rajmahal Hills.  The initiative had not only brought her to public attention, but also had caused discomfort to the stone mine and timber mafia.

Originally from Ernakulam district (Kerala), Sr. Valsa, 52, was reportedly dragged out of her rented house in Pachaura, 60 km from the district headquarters around 10:30 pm and was attacked with weapons by a gang of 50.  

Official statements say she died on the spot.  

The killers fled the scene, leaving behind Maoist posters, but the police dismissed involvement of the 'Ultras' group even though they were finding it hard to infiltrate the area where the nun had considerable influence.

Her family and others believe it is more likely that Sr Valsa was murdered by a mining mafia, who had already threatened her.  

In addition, she is said to have annoyed local tribesmen when she filed a complaint with the police over an alleged rape of a local woman.  

The tribesmen had wanted the matter settled without recourse to the courts.  

Cardinal Gracias, who is archbishop of Mumbai, said that although Sr Valsa had received death threats, she had not been deterred from her work of defending the local population against the acquisition of their land by coal mining companies.  Since the murder, the police have arrested a number of Maoist extremists but there is still widespread speculation that the coal companies were involved.

The killing has been strongly condemned by many groups, including the Kerala Council of Churches (KCC), who organised an all faith prayer to pay homage to the dead nun.  KCC general secretary, Philip N. Thomas, said media reports suggested that “criminal elements” attached to the coal mining corporates were behind the brutal murder of the nun from Kerala. 

Prof Thomas said Sr Valsa was more a human rights activist, fighting for protection of the rights of the tribal community who are the real holders of the mining land. 

Human rights activists were frequently under attack by mafia at the behest of the mining corporates that denied the genuine and just claims of the local people. The State machinery has miserably failed to safeguard them, he added. 

According to Prof Thomas, “corporate invasion with mafia intervention has become an inherent part of the neo-liberal market thrust in the name of development, especially in the mining sector in Bihar, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and elsewhere. This kind of development culture has been leading to a wide social disparity at the expense of the displaced, the victims and the very precious nature.’’ 

According to Amnesty International, Sr Valsa was the fourth social activist to have been killed in unexplained circumstances in India this year.