Nirmala Carvalho

In Rajasthan, police beat 20 Christians for handing out leaflets. In Madhya Pradesh, a group of rightwing Hindus disrupted a local Pentecostal prayer service. For the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), "India is a secular democracy, not a theocracy."

The congregation has many chapels across the country, all open to Hindus, Muslims and Christians. During her fraternal visit, the Pauline superior general found a growing and developing nation. It is important not to lose from sight that 'Atithi Devo Bhav', the guest is God. We should regain the ability to share not only material goods, but also time and space.

Lenin Raghuvanshi, director of the People's Vigilance Committee for Human Rights (PVCHR), slams the Finance minister's financial bill. Large infrastructure and energy investments come with heavy cuts in educational and development programmes for the country's children.

The provoking remark was made by the leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which will celebrate the anniversary of the extremist group in Kandhamal. In 2008 the worst anti-Christian persecution of Indian history took place there. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC): "No concrete action of the Government after the statements on religious freedom by Prime Minister Modi."

Fr. Alexis Prem Kumar, head of the Afghan section of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is back in Delhi. The organization expresses "immense gratitude" to the Indian government. Former regional director for South Asia: "Positive sign for the volunteers who work in Afghanistan."

Fr Cedric Prakash, SJ, director of the Prashant Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace in Gujarat, speaks about the prime minister's statement on religious freedom. Leader of a right-wing Hindu nationalist party, Modi said that his "will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions". Yet, he has failed to mention attacks on churches and minorities across the country.

People from Blessed Mother Teresa Parish in Siadih are planning to travel to the Dhori Matha Shrine to ask for Mary's intercession during this liturgical period. The holy place holds a black wooden statue depicting the Virgin, found in 1956 by a Hindu woman in a coalmine.

For the 50th anniversary of the conciliar declaration "Nostra Aetate", representatives from the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions met in the holy city of India. Msgr. Machado: "It is necessary and possible to participate in the dialogue respecting differences between belief, and for this to become more open towards each other." Bishop of Pune: "We must learn to live together in peace."

It is the sixth aggression in three months perpetrated against the capital’s Christian community. The new chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, of the anti-corruption party: "This kind of action will not be tolerated." Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC): "Public order is getting worse in Delhi".

Vatican delegates and representatives of the three main Buddhist traditions (Theravada, Vajrayana, and Mayahana) are in Bihar to talk about the family and inter-faith dialogue. The gathering's objective is to propose ways "to support and revitalise family life in order to make human society prosper." Focus will be on children living in difficult situations: those born out of wedlock, those who experience divorce, and the victims of trafficking and abuse.

Across the country, members of the minority rejoice over the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party's victory in the capital. For the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the result "is the triumph of our democratic system" against growing religious intolerance. "My hope," a priest in Odisha said, "is that Kejriwal's development policies will not just be centred on economics, but will include fairness, equality and human dignity".

During the plenary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), the bishops spoke of "various untoward incidents affecting the Christian community in different parts of the country." The Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religion (art. 25) and equality (art. 14). The silence on the part of government institutions and law enforcement vis-à-vis such attacks is "baffling".