Nirmala Carvalho

Redemptorist Fr Thomas Koncherry, founder of the National Fishermen Forum, is happy about the response to yesterday’s quick tsunami alert, but points the finger at international organisations and local politicians who are using the Christmas 2004 disaster to destroy local economies and steal money earmarked for victims.

For S. N. Srivastava, of the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh, the state must recognise the Bhagavad Gita (a Hindu epic poem) as the national religious doctrine and impose it on members of other religions. Minority group leaders react angrily.

Hindus claim Christians tried to entice Dalits to join Church through money and promises. John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union, shows the claims are baseless, demanding that India’s laws be respected.

For Tibetan government in exile in India, Beijing’s attempt to control reincarnation is intended to strike at the Dalai Lama and “brutally repress innocent Tibetans under their tyrannical rule.”

Celebrations in Kolkata (Bengal) in Gujarat and in Karnataka. The Missionaries of Charity’s commitment against abortion. The Archbishop of Bangalore defends Mother Teresa against accusations of proselytism.

In an interview with AsiaNews, the superior of the Missionaries of Charity takes stock of what her congregation has done in the ten years since the Blessed’s death. She discusses the rejection of God in today’s world and thirst for God in Mother Teresa’s dark nights. Even the many anti-conversion laws in India cannot stop the sisters’ peaceful and loving mission.

Following an incident in which two priests were nearly lynched by a mob and the latest car bomb, Fr Tom Mangattuthazhe talks to AsiaNews about the situation in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. He lays blame on both the army and guerrillas, whose actions run the risk of turning the area into a ghost land.

The balmiki community protests over the murder of Rakesh Kumar, imprisoned for assassinating Baljit Siwaich (from a superior caste) and then released because innocent.

An amateur video clip shows the two officers intervene in a lynching provoked by an attempted theft, they tie the thief’s hands to their motorbike and drag him along a street. The police condemn the incident, but the area is infamous for officer’s abuse of power.

In West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh the opening of new Reliance Retail supermarkets is met with violence. For many these big stores undermine India’s traditional small-scale economic operators. The large retail company temporarily shuts down its operations to better prepare to re-enter the market. Analyst tells AsiaNews that if the government does not defend the population, India’s economy will be destroyed.

Mgr Marampudi Joji slams the two blasts that killed 42 people, injuring 60. Catholic doctors and nurses are called up to help the victims. Schools and parishes made available as places of refugee for people frightened by the violence against the innocent.

Catholics in the archdiocese begin triduum and novena to prepare celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the Blessed’s death on September 5. Organisers are certain that “sainthood for Mother Teresa in a real sense may not be far away.”