Santosh Digal

The first session of National People's Tribunal yesterday in New Delhi. It runs until August 24. Participants include former judges, activists, journalists and political analysts. They will hear the testimonies of survivors of the massacres to shed light on the anti-Christian pogrom that erupted August 23, 2008 and request the arrest of Hindu extremists perpetrators of the massacres who are still unpunished.

Fr Jerry Rosario, a Jesuit, set up Dhanam, a movement promoting organ donations. In Asia, people tend to be reticent when it comes to organ donations. Many however are pushed to sell organs by their utter poverty. Currently, in India a 1994 law regulates the field.

In 1985, Sister Jeane Devos founded the National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM), an organisation that now has 53 branches in 23 states. Domestic workers are often denied their rights, underpaid and treated like animals. A domestic worker in Tamil Nadu recounts how she was not treated as a human being but thanks to the NDWM, her situation improved.

The initiative by the Diocese of Khristnagar occurs on a weekly basis and is attended by 25 people. Open to all, the workshop explains the Christian worship, provides shared moments and helps analyse everyday life situations through Biblical readings with the help of priests, nuns and lay people.

Sister Meena recognized the rapist among a group of 30 people. Of these three suspects were real. The identification was made on July 31. To date, she has identified four of ten religious extremists who had beaten and raped her during the pogroms of 2008. Because of continuing threats faced by Christians her case was moved in 2009 from the District Court in Kandhamal to Cuttack.

Between 85 and 100 million working children in India. The Hand in Hand Association is active since 1984 and works in four states in the country. Committed to the fight against poverty, it has eradicated the scourge of child labour in the district of Kancheepuram.

Over one thousand people march through the streets of Bhubaneswar to ask local authorities to ensure justice and peace after the anti-Christian pogrom of 2008. Dalits and tribal peoples complain of continuing discrimination by the Hindus.

Hindu extremists killed 93 people and burnt 6,500 homes in 2007 and 2008. As the monsoon season gets underway, many Christians remain homeless, without a proper roof over their head. More than a hundred Christian priests and missionaries meet in K. Nuagam to bear witness to their faith’ strength despite ongoing persecution.

The Kurubas live in north Karnataka and survive by grazing animals. They were not aware of modern medicine or integrated in to society. Thanks to the work of the Jesuits, for over 15 years, they have learned veterinary medicine and founded a federation. For Kamal Kishore, a veterinarian and scientist, the Jesuits "have done monumental work, the only example of its kind in India”.

A dispute linked to land and the passage of livestock sparks violence. At first the police refused to open an investigation. The doctors treated the wounded after receiving police permission. Fr. Ranjit: Hindus have been brainwashed by extremist groups.

Each year, about 1.2 children are victims of human trafficking and prostitution. More than 100 million people are forced to work in slave-like conditions. Sex tourism continues to be highly profitable. A fair-skinned eight-year-old girl can fetch US$ 2,500 a night. Underage female prostitution is a billion-dollar industry, up 30 per cent over previous years.

According to a new UN index for measuring poverty, more than 421 million poor people in the eight Indian states, including Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, compared with 410 million of 26 African countries, like Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Niger and Somalia. The new measure takes into account not only per capita income but also access to resources, education and medical care. For the Indian Church a major cause of poverty is the corruption of local governments and the indiscriminate exploitation of resources to the detriment of the population.