Nirmala Carvalho

The family of Manish Nishad, 50, moved his body from village to village for three days because residents refused to allow his burial on private land after he “abandoned” his original religion. This is the latest in a series of cases in tribal areas. “Kanker has become the hotbed of Hindu fanaticism,” International Christian Concern reports.

The prime minister met with a delegation from the Syro-Malabar Church in Delhi a few days after the controversy over anti-conversion billboards in Chhattisgarh. BJP representative: ‘We are ready to help anyone, not everything should be viewed through a religious lens.’ Meanwhile, in another state governed by Hindu nationalists, young people studying at the seminary in the diocese of Gwalior are being targeted.

The local High Court rejected a petition challenging signs banning Christian clergymen and converts from certain villages, ostensibly to defend the “local cultural heritage”. For the Syro-Malabar Church, this is the worst example of divisiveness since partition, marking out Christians “as second-class citizens”.

The place of worship, dedicated to St Joseph, is located in the village of Munpi, a remote area in the Singngat region. A Catholic couple from Goa made a significant contribution to its construction. The inauguration was presided over by the Archbishop Emeritus of Imphal. For the prelate, the church ‘will contribute to their healing, their relief and their sense of stability’.

Eight officers suspended from duty in Kathua district: they stood by and watched during an attack by Hindu fundamentalists on a minibus carrying participants in a Christian initiative. Behind the ‘anti-conversion’ initiative is the local BJP leader, already reported for other acts of violence.

The 2021 legislation, which imposes up to 10 years for converting to another faith, has come under scrutiny. Some of the law’s provisions violate personal rights and privacy. For the bishop of Lucknow, the rulings are a “welcome relief and a sign of hope for the Christian community”, but all "unconstitutional" provisions must be struck down.

In Uttar Pradesh, opposition is mounting after Hindu nationalist Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has 2.6 million oil lamps lit for the Festival of Lights. For some it was a waste of resources taken from the poor, a view seen as anti-Indian by the ruling BJP. For Father Anand Mathew, while inequalities are growing, and many, especially Muslims, are suffering, Diwali remains a “joyous celebration” for all.

The controversy over the Islamic veil at St. Rita's Public School in Palluruthy continues: the student has finally left the school. The family: ‘Great psychological distress’. The Catholic newspaper Deepika defended the management's position on the dress code. Minister Sivankutty: ‘Kerala supports secular values. No institution violates constitutional rights’.

The case of a student at St. Rita School in Palluruthy who wants to wear the hijab despite uniform regulations prohibiting it is reigniting interreligious tensions in Kerala. After attempts to resolve the matter peacefully, the local government has asked the school to comply. Criticism from the National People's Party: ‘This is not an isolated attack on Christian institutions; the authorities must not be complicit.’

The court ruled that the land is a private donation, not religious property, squashing the Waqf Board’s attempt, in 2019, to claim the area as a religious asset, creating uncertainty for more than 600 Catholic families who had legally purchased the land. The court called the Board's action a “land-grabbing tactic”, clarifying that the state is not bound by its orders. The Archbishop Chakkalakkal of Calicut calls for the full restoration of property rights.

The head of India's highest judicial body was targeted with a shocking gesture by a lawyer from a Brahmin family for comments he made during a hearing regarding a temple in Madhya Pradesh that Hindutva nationalists deemed offensive. The judicial community was outraged by a casteist attack that “cannot be tolerated”.

The boy, accused of ‘contaminating’ the home of a higher caste family, was beaten and locked in a barn. They demanded a goat from his parents as a sacrifice to ‘purify’ the home. The bishop of the diocese of Simla and Chandigarh told AsiaNews: ‘This is not an individual tragedy, but a social sin. We are all responsible if structures of discrimination go unpunished.’