Nirmala Carvalho

In the state that includes Mumbai, the state government is targeting people who allegedly hide their conversion to Christianity to avoid losing benefits reserved for disadvantaged groups. The state legislature is expected to vet a new anti-conversion law in the coming winter session. The Church is against forced conversions,” said Card Gracias. For Fr Devasagaya Raj, crypto-Christians is a meaningless term. The real problem is discriminatory laws in a multicultural country.

The woman had given birth on the vehicle during a trip in the interior. This extreme act is one of 160 cases of newborns dangerously abandoned every year in the garbage or on streetlights in the large state that includes the metropolis of Mumbai. The Church remains committed to welcoming life.

On 29 June, nine minors fled the Vidyadeep Children's Home in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. They caused a disturbance and reported abuse to the district authorities. The Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod deny all allegations. Sr. D'Souza: ‘The story has taken a political turn.’ Bishop Pinto: ‘An example of selfless dedication for over a century.’

The purge of non-Hindus at Sri Venkateshwara Swamy in Tirumala has also reached the top of the organisation that manages the sacred site. Muslims object: ‘If Hindu temples are to be administered only by those who profess this religion, why is this same principle not applied to the Islamic Waqf?’

Just four months before local elections, the Commission has ordered a review of the eligibility of nearly 30 million voters who have registered over the past 20 years. Sr. Dorothy Fernandes tells AsiaNews: ‘The government is afraid of losing and will end up depriving the marginalised, migrants and Muslims who are unable to complete the necessary paperwork of their right to vote.’

The report was presented in Geneva by the World Organisation Against Torture. There were 2,739 deaths in prison in 2024, an increase on the previous year. New Delhi has never ratified the UN Convention against these horrific practices. Emblematic of impunity is the story of two Christian traders from Tamil Nadu who died in prison in 2020 after being arrested for violating the lockdown during Covid: their family has still not obtained justice.

Seven Christians were hospitalised after being attacked by a mob incited by Hindu nationalists as they were returning home from church in their village. Threats and intimidation have been on the rise since the BJP came to power in the local government in Bhubaneswar. Bishop Aplinar Senapati told AsiaNews: ‘People are being persecuted for their faith.’

Major Archbishop Thattil and Vicar Pamplany have decided that, in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, it will be sufficient to celebrate at least one Sunday Eucharistic liturgy according to the unified rite decided by the Synod, thus leaving the possibility that other celebrations can be conducted following the older rite. The community had been split for years over the issue, with frequent protests. New priests will no longer be required to celebrate only with the new rite.

The High Court in Delhi has upheld the dismissal of Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan, ruling that obedience to orders takes precedence over personal religious beliefs in the military. The soldier, in the name of his Christian faith, respectfully remained outside Hindu and Sikh temples during ceremonies. Jesuit lawyer Fr. Santhanam tells AsiaNews: ‘A ruling that further weakens India's secularism.’

The two women belonged to the ethnic groups clashing in Imphal and were crew members on the flight that crashed in Ahmedabad. In the great tragedy, a sign of unity beyond conflict

Tragedy in Gujarat: an Air India flight crashed in a residential area. Among the victims are several doctors from a hostel involved in the explosion of the aircraft. In addition to many Indians, there were also British, Portuguese and Canadian passengers on board. Archbishop Macwan tells AsiaNews: ‘We are in shock at the news. We pray for the families of the victims and for the injured.’

Two serious incidents have occurred in recent days in rural areas of Jharkhand and Orissa. Several priests were forced to seek hospital treatment after being beaten, forced to sing Hindu hymns and robbed. The secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, Msgr. Aind: ‘These are not simple thefts. It is a way of persecuting and preventing pastoral activities.’