Nirmala Carvalho

The superior general of the Missionaries of Charity is given the high honour for her work on behalf of the poor and her action in favour of peace in the country. The Padma Vibhushan is India’s second highest civilian honour. Sister Nirmala dedicates the award to the poor, urging everyone to take part in building “a civilisation based on love.”

For some slum dwellers, it is a smear against poverty. For activists and social workers, the film permits international public opinion to understand the situation of the poor in India, and press the public administration to do more.

10 years ago in Orissa, Hindu extremists burned alive the Christian Graham Staines and his two sons. His wife, back in India, connects the recent anti-Christian persecution to her husband. To the many recent widows of Kandhamal, she speaks of forgiveness and strength "in Christ."

At the WSF in Brazil, beginning on January 27, the Indian delegation intends to recount how the state deprives tribals of their ancestral land, favoring multinational companies, and the danger of Hindu fundamentalism. The testimony of some of the participants.

Residents lived in the shanty town for five generations, surviving by scavenging recyclable materials from a local dump and taking odd jobs. Now a court has decided to clear the area without giving them a hearing. A human rights group slams the decision.

The government closes down camps, handing out paltry sums to refugees. After being forced to return to their destroyed homes, the latter must live side-by-side with their persecutors. Back home they are refused employment, even day work, whilst store owners refuse to sell them any supplies.

The Marxist-leaning government wants to legalise euthanasia and decriminalise attempted suicide. Bill would allow patients to choose between continued treatment or letting themselves die. Catholic Church slams the bill as a “new attack against life.”

The ruling, issued last Sunday, criticises the authorities’ slowness in responding early to the violence. Also on Sunday the nun raped in K. Nuagaon on 25 August identified two of her assailants.

Many Tibetans will mark 50 years since the 1959 uprising in exile. Today’s greatest challenge for them is to retain intact their cultural and religious traditions whilst developing an appropriate educational policy for the younger generation. Tibet’s Prime Minister-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche talks about his hopes for the new year.

Two shops and a Christian center have been burned. More than 10,000 refugees gathered in the camps have celebrated Christmas under the protection of the army. In the villages, the Masses were moved up to the afternoon in order to avoid returning home in the dark.

Mrs. Kadamphul Nayak talks about the attack by Hindu fundamentalists, who killed her husband and mother-in-law. The body of the man, an itinerant pastor in the most remote areas of Orissa, was burned and scattered by the extremists after three days. He was killed because he refused to convert back to Hinduism.

The lower house of parliament has drafted an anti-terrorism law that does not satisfy the bishops' conference. According to the bishops, the attacks against ethnic or religious minorities are among the instances to be condemned. They are calling upon the government to revise the national security law of 1986.