Don't question Christian missionaries: Alexis Prem Kumar

NEW DELHI: Statements such as those made by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat questioning the intent behind Mother Teresa's service are politically motivated, according to Father Alexis Prem Kumar, who was just released after eight months of Taliban captivity in Afghanistan.

Kumar, in an interview to PTI today, said he did not have any mindset of conversion while working with refugees in Afghanistan and even this identity was not of a Christian priest as people knew him as "Mr Prem Kumar".

"For me religion is not the thing. For me goal of religion is service. To bring humanity joy, peace, justice and equality. All the religions must work towards that. That must be the goal. Actually all this fight is politically motivated... That is way I think India must grow out of it," he said on the statements of Bhagwat on Mother Teresa.

Recounting his experience of captivity, Kumar said that he was not tortured even once by the militants during the eight months and they took good care of him by providing him good food and basic facilities.

"The only torture was that they had kept me tied 24 hours. I could not move around," he recounted.

He said he was grateful to the efforts undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his release.

Kumar, 47, who was serving for three years as Country Director of Jesuit Refugee Service, a voluntary group working for the refugees, in Afghanistan was abducted by a group of Taliban militants on June 2, 2014 from Sohadat village, 25 km from Herat where he had gone to inspect a school supported by his organisation.

"The talks of militants planning to kidnap a foreigner were very common. But it was only after attack on Indian consulate in Herat in May that Indian diplomats