Nirmala Carvalho

The issue is linked to education support for “Untouchables” whose families embraced Christianity. For the leader of the Ambedkar Makkal Iyakkam group, extending the programme would be "illegal" and limits must be imposed. For a CBCI official, it would acknowledge past discrimination.

India’s rank in the Global Hunger Index worsened from last year's 107th place out of 125 countries, coming in last for child wasting. Only countries like Mozambique, Afghanistan, Haiti, Yemen, South Sudan and Somalia are worse than India. The Indian government, however, has dismissed the findings, arguing that the GHI report is methodologically flawed.

The Indian National Congress would like to see such a survey conducted across India, while the ruling BJP has accused the eastern state of trying to divide society along sectarian lines. In fact, the survey’s aim is to help broaden quotas in public services and education reserved for disadvantaged classes to other sections of the population as well. Sister Dorothy Fernandes, the survey generates fears “because the upper castes have ruled the country for years.”

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Linus Neli to lead the archdiocese of Imphal, which has been shaken for months by ethnic violence that has already caused 200 deaths. The new archbishop tells AsiaNews: "We pray for a peace that is not just cosmetic, strong in a hope that has its root in God. We will remain close to the refugees who still suffer in the camps'.

Fr. Robert Athickal, founder and director of Tarumitra - active in 23 states of the Asian giant - emphasises the salient passages of the apostolic exhortation. 'Friends of Trees' in Sanskrit, the Catholic environmental association is committed to the conservation of biodiversity and ecological issues.

The archbishop emeritus of Ranchi passed away yesterday at the age of 84. An ethnic Oraon, he was appointed bishop very young by Paul VI. In 2003 Pope John Paul II made him the first Indian aboriginal cardinal. The encounter with Jesus changed his people and “their strong faith in Jesus Christ continues to liberate, transform, and empower them,” he said. He was friends with Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

The case of Fr. Kuriakose Mattam in Idukki. "I disagree with the belief that the BJP is not a party for Christians." The party flaunts his words to dismiss criticism of the Modi government over failures to act against violence in Manipur. Hindu nationalists' courtship of Kerala's large Christian community.

A school in the Diocese of Sagar run by nuns was targeted simply because a picture of Ganesh went missing from a notice board. The religious sisters responded today by bringing together teachers and friends, mostly Hindus, to mark the birth of the country’s founding father, champion of non-violence.

The nun, who pioneered the prison ministry in the Indian Catholic Church, passed away at the age of 92. Speaking about prejudices against inmates, she said: “If Christ did not discriminate, why can't we, who claim to be his disciples, do the same?”

The Hindu nationalist who heads the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights this time targeted a well-known evangelical preacher, Ajay Lall, accusing him conversions and even "human trafficking" at an educational establishment he runs. This is similar to the campaign against Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur, in the same state which goes to the polls in state elections in a few weeks.

Located in a mission in Andhra Pradesh started in 1942. Apostolic Nuncio Msgr Leopoldo Girelli at the inauguration: "Shrines remind us that the Church is not born of our initiative, but of God's".

In a message for Ganesh Chaturthi, which begins today, the archbishop of Goa urged the faithful to share the joy and harmony among religious communities. His message comes in the wake of a controversy caused by a local priest whose remarks failed to uphold mutual respect. For the cardinal, “Catholics are called to acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral values found” in “other religious traditions.”