Nirmala Carvalho

Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Sikh leaders send a memorandum to Prime Minister Singh. A ruling by the High Court in New Delhi is creating a lot of “confusion” that represents a “grave danger to the social fabric of society.” The Church promotes meetings in Mumbai to bring clarity to the ongoing debate.

The Evangelical Jesus Lights Manna Church in the village of Metpally comes under attack. Police arrest local Bharatiya Janata Party leader and some militants from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The Global Council of Indian Christians has recorded 21 attacks against Christian places of worship in the State.

For activist Lenin Raghuvanshi, “the human rights situation in India is shameful”. Religious fundamentalism but also “torture by police” and the “collapse of rule of law” are to blame. The country suffers from a “mindset” that hurts the weakest and non-Hindu minorities.

Asgar Ali Engineer doubts that the parliamentary debate on the allegations against BJP leaders will bring any results . He invites Muslims and Hindus not to follow "aggressive and ambitious ringleaders " and work for education, development and secularism.

For the Catholic community in the country, 6.5% of the population, the situation has improved in recent years, although there is no full freedom of religion. Father Theodore Mascarenhas, an official of the Pontifical Council for Culture, reviews the situation in a conversation with AsiaNews.

On the night between 2 and 3 December 1984 a gas leak from the Union Carbide plant killed 20 thousand people. The population of the city of Madhya Pradesh awaits justice. Even today, every day, 6 thousand people with respiratory, motor and brain problems related to the tragedy arrive at hospitals in Bhopal.

The bishop of Guwahati sends a message to the faithful in one of the most conflict-torn States of India, where violence and terrorism continue. The Church is committed to bringing back to life the human sensitivity of those who practice a culture of death. The prelate urges the authorities not to “impose peace” but to have courage, an “open mind” and “far-sighted intelligence”.

About 80% of centres that deal with HIV is run by the Catholic Church. 140 institutes across the country, for the treatment of disease and improvement in quality of life. More than one million children orphaned by HIV, discriminated against at school and abandoned by their family.

The military carries out a “Protection March” through the streets of the city. A survivor of the Taj Mahal Hotel attack says, “Sadness clouds any feeling of anger or vengeance.” The tragedy taught him “that human life is precious and we treasure it, respect and appreciate everyone, friend, colleague or relative.”

The missionary from the Saint Francis Xavier Society attracts thousands of faithful who visit his tomb on Pilar Hill in Goa. Fr Mascarenhas, an official of Goan descent who works for the Asia desk at the Pontifical Institute of Culture, talks about Br Agnelo’s life of “simplicity, humility, renunciation and asceticism.”

On November 22, three bombs caused 8 deaths and 54 wounded in Nalbari. In north-east India, terrorism has religious, ethnic and political connotations. For the Bishop of Guwahati, engaged for years in peace-making, the attacks are a response to violent acts of force by the authorities. Politicians fail to offer an economic solution to a cultural problem".

A Chinese court sentenced Kunga Tsayang for revealing state secrets. Fifteen years for Kunchok Tsephel, founder of a website dedicated to the literature of Tibet. The trial was held behind closed doors. TCHRD activists demand respect for human rights.