India

The church in Nazat is targeted. The radical group's leader issued a seven-day ultimatum to the parish priest to leave. Christian groups reported the incident to the police, to no avail. The bishop of Baruipur, who praises the missionaries' work, expressed his firm condemnation to AsiaNews.  

The government reports that the number of taxpayers with incomes above Rs 100 crore has jumped from 142 to 576. Independent studies show that the richest 1 per cent hold approximately 40 per cent of the nation’s wealth, favoured, among other things, by the abolition of the wealth tax in 2016.

Heavy monsoon rains have submerged hundreds of villages in the worst natural disaster in recent years. The local diocese is mobilising to help everyone, without distinction, in the emergency and reconstruction efforts. For Bishop Hemron, “let us be instruments of God’s compassion”.

The mobilisation led by the Cockroach Janta Party has forced the Modi government to make its first concessions. For Jesuit and activist Father Cedric Prakash, the Education minister's resignation represents just "the tip of the iceberg" of a protest movement bound to have an impact on national politics.

He tendered his resignation to Modi following demonstrations led by the Cockroach Janta Party over irregularities in public examinations. The news comes the day after talks between the CJP and the government. Party leader Abhijeet Dipke said: “This is just the beginning”. Bishop Savio Fernandes tells AsiaNews: “A victory for the people of India”.

In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, protests during local elections have left at least 40 dead. On the Indian side, New Delhi has stepped up arrests and security operations following the killing of a police officer. These two crises confirm that the region remains the flashpoint between India and Pakistan.

The police have cleared the protest camp set up by tribal communities who had been protesting for weeks against India’s first major river interconnection project. Whilst the government defends the project, which is intended to provide irrigation and energy to arid areas, environmentalists and local residents are denouncing forced evictions and environmental risks.

Following police violence against Cockroach Janta Party protesters, the auxiliary bishop of Bombay calls for an independent inquiry and accountability from the Narendra Modi-led government. For him, “democracies are not weakened by peaceful dissent.”

The movement born on social media after the public exam scandal continues to bring thousands of young people to the streets despite clashes with the police. Calls for reform of a system perceived as increasingly less meritocratic and the support of various figures now mark a new phase of protest.

The national football team’s victory in the final against Argentina in New York provided an opportunity for many parishes to rediscover the Iberian missionary tradition, which has given rise to numerous educational institutions in India and still maintains a significant presence there. It is no coincidence that Kerala is the football capital of India.

In Kashmir and Punjab, two films bring some controversial moments in Indian history back into the spotlight. The Modi government is struggling to come to terms with the past and the still open wounds of domestic conflicts.

As part of the ‘Act East’ strategy through which Delhi aims to counter China, the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Jakarta was marked by significant agreements. In addition to the sale of BrahMos missiles, the agreement for the joint development of the port at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca strengthens India’s presence on the region’s main trade route.