Nirmala Carvalho

Speaking to AsiaNews, Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), describes the situation in some of the remotest villages in the Indian state. For some of the victims, recent events are a repeat of the bloody anti-Christian pogroms of 2008 by Hindu extremists.

Sister Gemma Marie, prioress of the Discalced Carmelites in Mumbai, talks about Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II. "For us, each one was a familiar figure," she told AsiaNews. "They were popes of our time. We knew them. Their canonisation is a sign that saints live among us."

Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, and other clergymen speak out against the reaction of Hindu nationalists to the principal of a Catholic college, a Jesuit priest who posted online his reflections on the so-called Gujarat model. In it, he calls on people to promote "human development" for everyone, and not only profits for the few.

The president of the Bishops' Conference of India sends a special Easter message to AsiaNews. The cardinal said that "As Christians we are to live a life of credibility as faithful to Christ and the Gospel", and this is possible even in the midst of tribulation and sacrifice".

Through AsiaNews, Card Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, calls on his community to bear witness with their lives to the light of Christ. "The Church's task is to defend man's dignity, especially that of the most vulnerable".

The 5th round in India's general election is set for Thursday. Mgr Thomas Dabre calls on the community in his archdiocese to vote for "candidates and parties who will take care of every citizen, [. . .] especially minorities. This is true secularism." Fearful of a victory by Hindu nationalists, the prelate notes that "No religious community has a monopoly over the nation's history and culture".

In 2008, the area was hit by violent anti-Christian pogroms carried out by radical Hindus. Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack -Bhubaneshwar, tells AsiaNews: "We hope that the new government will give justice to the victims of the carnage". Today sees the third phase of the general elections, one of the most important.

Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), lays out an "agenda" for the new Indian government. He talks to AsiaNews about the discrimination experienced by Christian and Muslim Dalits, the gap between rich and poor, and the need to empower women. He focuses on people with disabilities, who are still the victims of "of a medieval and retrograde mind-set that keeps them on the margins of the community."

Reported by Cobrapost, an online agency that specializes in investigative journalism and confirmed to AsiaNews by the activist Ram Puniyani. The destruction of the mosque (6 December 1992) did not take place as a "violent consequence" of a meeting among some Hindu radicals, but was ordered by the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP nationalists) .

For Lenin Raghuvanshi, activist for development of Dalits , Modi (BJP Hindu nationalist party ) and Kejriwal (AAP, anti-corruption party) " are trying to destroy the pluralistic fabric of Varanasi from different political positions". The two leaders have chosen to run for election in city.

The Archdiocese of Mumbai gives an award to Fr Cedric Prakash, director of the Prashant Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace, and to the Sisters of Mother Teresa orphanage in Mumbai for their pro-life work. For the Jesuit priest, Christians must defend life from "abortion, the death penalty and euthanasia."

Speaking to AsiaNews, Mumbai Archbishop Card Oswald Gracias says that celebrations will begin at the archdiocesan seminary, "proclaiming, bearing witness to and celebrating God's mercy". Churches, religious houses, convents and seminaries plan to stay open during the event. In addition to hearing confessions, the cardinal will also a pilgrimage that is expected to draw 25,000 people.