The case of Jeyaraj and his son Benniks – killed in 2020 during the Covid emergency over a (false) breach of the lockdown – has become a symbol of the arbitrary violence suffered by people in police custody in India. Fr Devasagaya told AsiaNews: “We are opposed to the death penalty, but it is important that a court has found the officers guilty. Now guidelines are needed to protect the accused.”
About 174 million voters will cast their ballot in the coming weeks in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Pondicherry. The results will be announced together on 4 May. These elections are crucial for the national balance of power, as these areas tend to be less favourable to Modi’s ruling party. In Kerala Mamata Banerjee is seeking a fourth term, reaching out to secure the Christian vote.
In the Philippines, more than six million people joined the Alay Lakad, the nighttime pilgrimage in Antipolo, while in Quezon province, a group of farmers interrelated the stories of the Passion with their own struggle to defend their lands. In Arunachal Pradesh, young people are celebrating the Easter Triduum by praying for religious harmony in India. The World Council of Churches in South Korea called for conversion and shared a prayer dedicated to the painful division between North and South.
After a battle lasting several years, the community of Ambala Cantonment has secured justice for an incident of desecration and vandalism that took place on Christmas Eve 2021. The resilience of the local community and the solidarity shown by other religious groups proved decisive. ‘May this ruling reaffirm the value of mutual respect between different communities.’
The Allahabad High Court orders Father Pereira to stand trial for calling Jesus's religion "the only true religion" in a church sermon. The court cited India's secularism to argue that such a claim denigrates other faiths. This is a paradoxical development in a state like Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu fundamentalist stronghold.
The US startup Nucleus Genomics, known for its controversial genetic testing on embryos, has signed a series of deals with Indira IVF, a chain of Indian fertility clinics with currently more than 180 centres across the country. Despite stringent IVF regulations in the South Asian country, the partnership will provide access to a huge market that is experiencing rapid growth due to declining fertility rates.
