Nirmala Carvalho

Amidst heavy security measures, the prime minister began his visit to the state torn for the past two years by communal violence between ethnic Kuki-Zo and Meitei. In a speech, he highlighted local progress and development initiatives. India’s opposition party slams Modi for waiting so long before coming.

Consecrated last Sunday to coincide with the canonisation ceremony presided over in Rome by Leo XIV, the new church is located less than a kilometre from a large amusement park popular with young people. For Archbishop Kalathiparambil, it will be a “church for the new generation”.

St. Andrew's School in Mumbai - where teachers of different religions work side by side - has promoted a trip in the name of the historic document signed in 2019 by Pope Francis and Imam al Tayyeb. Headmaster Fr. Magi Murzello: ‘A common religious response to the challenge of pluralism and the promotion of diversity as a value rooted in religious freedom.’

In India's largest textile manufacturing hub, 60 per cent of workers are from scheduled castes working in factories. 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the US place Indian manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to their competitors in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia, who face lower tariffs. For Chief Minister Stalin, up to three million jobs are at risk.

The Indian state has approved an amendment to its anti-conversion law, increasing the penalties to include life imprisonment and a million-rupee fine. The bishop of Bijnor slams the law’s “unclear” rationale, which risks excluding and sowing suspicion about minorities. For the bishop of Lucknow, “freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution” is not being respected.

A Dalit worker told police that he was forced to remove the bodies of many victims of violence between 1995 and 2014. Having found some remains, the families of dozens of missing people are demanding full disclosure. But Hindu nationalists are calling this a "smear campaign", claiming (without evidence) that the man behind the charges was paid by Christians. For the Diocese of Mangalore, these claims are irresponsible.

Hundreds of members of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) stormed the ‘maqbara’ (tomb) of Nawab Abdus Samad despite police barricades. According to extremist leaders, a Hindu temple once stood on the site. Local bishops appeal for tolerance.

More than 600 young men and women from dioceses across India are currently taking part in the large gathering with Leo XIV at Tor Vergata. Many had something to say to AsiaNews. “I came with doubts, but I leave with deep gratitude,” said one. “I felt like I was part of a huge global Catholic family,” said another. “The songs and dances of our culture have found friends here,” said a third. For Father Chetan Machado, these youths show that “the Church is alive and vibrant in India.”

Pragya Singh Thakur, leader of the extreme right-wing nationalist party, and six other defendants have been acquitted of a 2008 attack that killed seven people in Malegaon ‘due to lack of evidence’. Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, two nuns remain in prison after being accused of forced conversions despite no evidence to support the charge. The case is sparking political protests and new accusations of repression against religious minorities.

Two nuns from the Green Garden Sisters of Agra were targeted at the Durg railway station by a group of Hindu nationalists while accompanying three Christian girls to work in a hospital run by their order, with the written consent of their parents. Cardinal Gracias: “India respects the law, but these attacks tarnish the image of the nation.”

In Trichy, Tamil Nadu, “outcastes” are marginalised even during annual Catholic celebrations. Bishop Amalanathan noted that inside the Church, Dalits “participate in the choir, do the readings, prayers, collections, etc.”, but the problem lies “outside celebrations”. For him, “all should be treated equally.”

The Bombay High Court has overturned the 2015 convictions of twelve men accused of carrying out the “7/11” attacks in 2006, in which 189 people were killed and over 800 injured. The judges ruled that the confessions had been obtained through torture. The charges were based on a flawed investigation and a presumption of guilt, denounced lawyer S. Muralidhar, highlighting the social stigma and devastation in the lives of the defendants, who had been imprisoned unnecessarily for years.