Nirmala Carvalho

Chief Minister announces plans to reserve quotas for Dalits in schools and public service. No details are yet forthcoming but everyone is waiting for a Supreme Court decision on the matter.

A report published in New Delhi condemns the tragic situation of women in countries hit by the 2004 killer wave: domestic violence, unemployment, lack of government aid, induction to prostitution and forced to sell their organs are just some of the problems highlighted. An appeal for local authority intervention.

The National Sample Survey Organisation indicates that Christians have a higher rate of unemployment despite lower illiteracy. They are also under-represented among the self-employed and over-represented among wage labourers. States should guarantee more job reservations for needy Christians, says bishop of Hazaribag.

The programme proposing sex education and a HIV/AIDS awareness schemes for the primary schools of Karnataka – India is number two in the world among the countries most effected by the virus – has been blocked by the government. The Archbishop of Bangalore Bernard Moras speaks with AsiaNews.

A farmhand in the Indian state of Bihar asked for a loan offering a day’s work for each kilo, but his debt kept on rising and he does not how to settle it.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination calls on Indian government to find a solution to segregation. Caste discrimination also has a religious dimension.

The rising number of conversions is worrying local authorities who accuse Christians of stealing from the poor and carrying out all sorts of vile acts. In Jharkhand there is a growing demand that Tribal converts be denied government benefits. In Andhra Pradesh campaigns of open intolerance are underway.

The High Court of Allahabad is seeking a precise definition of who the Hindus are. The question is: should Hindus be considered as members of one religion or as a combination of various religious groups born and brought up in India from time to time?

India’s central government wants to provide additional aid to victims of the 2002 Gujarat massacre, but the decision draws sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party which accuses the government of trying to buy Muslim votes in an upcoming state election.

Caritas India will launch a national campaign in April with the slogan, “Save the farmers, Save India” in order to help the regretful phenomenon, which is spreading across the country: suicides amongst farmers. The loss of crops and insurmountable debt has driven farmers into poverty and desperation. They see suicide as the only way to salvation.

They have asked the local government for a law protection ethnic minorities. 4 murders and countless attacks have targeted the Christian community there. In Tirupati, seat of important Hindu Temples, a violent Hindu protest has broken out. They are asking that all Christian activities be outlawed. A newly converted student commits suicide.

Stephen Maria never went to Catholic schools but an act of forgiveness by a Christian friend towards a student who defrauded him of money led him to know more about Jesus. “The love of Jesus is not only for Christians,” says archbishop who will ordain him next Saturday.