Nirmala Carvalho

At least 70,000 Christians are not registered on the voter lists. Hindu extremists burned their identification documents in the pogroms in August and September. There are more than 3,000 people still living in the refugee camps. At least 18,000 have moved to other cities out of fear of violence. For the Global Council of Indian Christians, "depriving someone of their voting right is a way to disenfranchise and stifle the Christian minority."

The young man was hit by a tractor as he walked on the side of the road. Activist slams “targeted killings” disguised as road accidents. Hindu fundamentalist party picks candidate who masterminded anti-Christian pogroms to run in assembly election.

The fire was set at night, when there were no police to guard the building. For the Divine Word priest, "it is a clear indication that the area is still simmering" and that the mission "is under constant surveillance." In spite of the latest episode of violence, Fr. Edward is not leaving the village of Padampur: "we have to breathe life of hope into these people."

Speaking to AsiaNews the prelate talks about the Church and it 64 AIDS treatment centres. He reiterates that the Church cannot “water down its teachings just to please public opinion—what is objectively right is right and what is wrong is wrong.”

Archbishop Menamparampil tells AsiaNews about his reaction to the announcement. For Good Friday, he recommends looking at Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate. His courage and serenity should inspire our lives today: we are not a persecuted Church, but a people of hope.

Tashi Sangpo, 28, had been jailed for flying the Tibetan flag. He jumped into a river, possibly in order to escape torture by the Chinese police. Fears over the further reprisals that the authorities could carry out in a country kept far from the eyes of the world.

Prabhat Panigrahi had been arrested for involvement in the attacks against Christians. In the district of Kandhamal, there are fears of a new wave of violence. Meanwhile, Christians are being marginalized: they may return to their villages only if they convert to Hinduism.

Speaking to 650 bishops and priests of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, the archbishop of Nasik asserts: "God can never become a negotiable item." India's pluralist society offers Christians a great opportunity for enrichment.

For 14 years, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama, has been sequestered together with his family. Beijing continues to say that he is "doing well," and that there is religious freedom in Tibet: the liberation of the true Panchen Lama could be the only credible sign of this.

The Mumbai attacks and anti-Christian pogroms in Orissa are the “expression of a nihilistic mentality” that strikes at the defenceless and the innocent, says Bishop Dabre. Condemning violence is necessary but not enough; a particular commitment at the “political and educational levels” is needed. John Paul II is an example to follow: he condemned terrorism but was able to forgive his attacker, Ali Agca.

Clergyman slams the “silence” of the international community, including India, and their tendency to dismiss human rights as an “internal affair” and do business with the dictatorship. In Myanmar today is Human Rights Day, but democracy “will be reached only on the long run.”

Beijing claims that Tibet was released from the bonds of slavery and poverty. For many however, moral and religious freedom is more important. Chinese money primarily enriches non-Tibetans.