Nirmala Carvalho

Due to Covid-19, many schools have only distance learning, but poor families cannot buy the tools needed for their children. The desperation of the parents following their children’s suicides. The work of the St. Catherine of Siena School and Orphanage, Welfare Society for Destitute Children.

A special court acquits members of the Bharatiya Janata Party accused of planning the destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. For a Muslim lawmaker, the ruling is a black day in the history of India’s justice system and a victory of the extremist Hindutva ideology. Fr Anand Mathew IMS believes that now anything goes in India.

The 19-year-old girl was cremated overnight; relatives were not allowed to take the body home. The perpetrators are allegedly four high caste men who also strangled her. A long list of violence against Dalit women and girls. Bishop Mathias: "The caste system is so deeply rooted in society that too many crimes committed against Dalit women and girls are passed over in silence".

For Archbishop Machado, the demolition was an act of religious intolerance. The local parish had not applied to use public land. However, Hindu temples in the same locations have been left intact. This is the fourth time in the last six months that crosses have been pulled down in the Indian state. Catholics plan to take legal action.

The victims were beaten, had their heads shaved, and were forced to sing Jai Shri Ram (Victory to Lord Ram). The attackers came from neighbouring villages. Police arrested four people, and are still looking for another ten. For Christian activist, extremist groups attack using false accusations and spurious evidence, favoured by radical local administrations.

The incident occurred overnight on Tuesday in St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Mandapeta. The statues were damaged by hammer blows. CCTV cameras show an unidentified suspect. In recent months, several places of worship, including Hindu temples, have been the target of vandals.

Some 14 Christian homes are almost destroyed. Hindutva followers want to ban Christian residents from their villages in Chhattisgarh unless they go back to Hinduism.

The man was arrested whilst his wife was rushed to a hospital in Bareilly in serious condition by her family with the help of neighbours. Reports suggest that he wanted a boy and attacked his wife to find out if the foetus was male or female.

The lockdown cuts domestic and foreign demand. Prices plummet by 60-70%, the most drastic drop in a decade. The textile sector employs 45 million people nationwide. Local authorities intervene, providing subsidies to producers.

NGOs will need an Aadhaar card to conduct financial transactions with abroad. To justify the bill, its proponents cite "forced conversions" by missionary Graham Staines, who was murdered with his two sons by Hindu radicals in 1999. Data by the Supreme Court show instead that conversions are incidental. For Sajan George, “citing the horrific murder of Staines and his children is a new low in humanity’s conscience.”

Seven of the victims are children. Another 20-25 are still trapped in the rubble. The building was over 40 years old and needed to be renovated. A building under construction also collapses in New Delhi. Accidents often caused by landslides due to monsoons. Msgr. D’Silva: The Catholic Church will do everything necessary to alleviate the suffering of the affected families.

Three Reddy upper caste priests are accused of attacking a Dalit bishop. They were suspended by the bishop himself; however, all three, currently out on bail, were reinstated by his successor.